"Alright then, come at me!" Valerius hoisted his wooden sword. Eamon didn't need a second invitation.
He lunged like an unleashed beast. Dangerous. Violent. But foolish, I noted as I tracked his movement. Eamon didn't think before he acted. It made him unpredictable, yes, but also an easy target. His second weakness was even more glaring: he had absolutely no defense.
"The best defense is a relentless offense!" he roared, bouncing around Valerius like a rubber ball, striking from every angle.
Not when you leave yourself as open as a barn door, I thought. I had tried to drill it into him. In vain.
Eamon hammered Valerius with a cascade of blows. The Lord parried everything with a casual, almost bored elegance. His focus was locked on the whirlwind in front of him. He'd lost track of me.
I slipped into his blind spot, my feet barely touching the grass. I wound up for a strike.
Valerius didn't even turn his head. He ducked under Eamon's horizontal swing, stepped back, and avoided my blade by a hair's breadth. Damn. I thought he'd forgotten me. No. He'd baited me into thinking exactly that.
My wooden sword whistled through the empty air where his skull had been a second ago. I jerked the momentum back just in time to avoid hitting Eamon.
"Not bad," Valerius remarked. "Most wouldn't have been able to stop that swing." In the same breath, he drove the pommel of his sword into my ribs.
"Argh!" The air left my lungs as I hit the dirt.
Eamon looked over, confused for a split second.
"Pay attention!" Valerius barked, sweeping Eamon's legs out from under him. The boy tumbled into the dust. Valerius flashed a condescending grin. "Alright, Eamon, you're out. I've seen enough of your combat strength for today."
"Not a chance!" Eamon yelled. He grabbed a handful of mud and flung it straight at Valerius's eyes.
Valerius swatted the grime away with his blade. I didn't waste the opening. I had to bring him down. Against an opponent this much heavier, timing was everything. Muscle didn't matter if his balance was gone.
I stayed low, crouching behind him, using my wooden sword as a physical barrier behind his heels. I signaled Eamon. He didn't hesitate. He charged, aiming a high kick at Valerius's face.
Valerius blocked it, his body as solid as stone. He didn't budge an inch. But it wasn't enough. Eamon kicked again. And again. And again.
"This isn't working, Eamon," Valerius said. He flicked a glance toward the spot where I had been lying. Empty. He realized it too late.
That was the moment. Eamon shattered Valerius's guard and drove his foot into the man's chest with everything he had. Simultaneously, I lunged forward. I jammed my wooden sword into the back of his knees and pulled his feet out from under him.
Valerius lost his footing. Gravity did the rest. He slammed onto his back with a heavy thud. Before he could even process the impact, he felt two wooden tips pressing against the soft skin of his throat. Mine and Eamon's.
"You..." Valerius stared up at us, breathless. "You actually beat me."
"YES!" Eamon shrieked, throwing his arms into the air.
I sheathed my practice sword and offered Valerius a hand. "Good fight."
"You had me in your peripheral vision the whole time," I explained as he pulled himself up. "I fell for that once. So I waited for Eamon to distract you. When he threw the mud, you squinted—a reflex. You could still see what was in front of you, but your side-view was gone. For a fraction of a second, I disappeared. That was all I needed."
Valerius stared at me. Then, a rough laugh broke from his chest. "Wow. I, the Lord of Morhenhall, actually lost toz zwei kids."
"Don't feel too bad," Eamon said with his usual bravado. "Everyone loses to us."
"A pair of genuine prodigies," Valerius muttered, his expression turning grim. "Fine. Now we start the real training."
The week blurred past. We learned new mana techniques, learning to steer the energy through our bodies like water through a pressurized pipe. Then, the day arrived.
We stood in the courtyard—Maelis, Aurora, Eamon, Valerius, Elara, and me. A black carriage thundered through the gates. It jerked to a stop in front of us. The door swung open, and Daemon stepped out. He looked larger, heavier than he had four years ago.
His aura wasn't just intimidating anymore. It was suffocating.
He walked toward us, his boots clicking rhythmically on the stone. He stopped in front of Mother. He didn't speak; he just watched her.
"Welcome home," she said. A single tear tracked down her cheek. Daemon reached out, wiping it away with a rough thumb. "Good to be back," he whispered.
"PAPA!" Eamon launched himself like a cannonball. He collided with Daemon's chest.
Daemon caught him without swaying an inch. "You've gotten fast," he noted. "And heavier."
"And stronger!" Eamon grinned. Daemon gave him a brief, rare smile before setting him down and turning to Aurora.
She stood perfectly straight, chin high. "You've grown," he said.
"And I've gotten stronger too," she added proudly.
"Yes, I can see that," Daemon said casually. "Your mana level has multiplied. Impressive."
I froze. What? When did he scan her? I had been watching his eyes. There had been no concentration of mana, no telltale shimmer. He'd done it instantly. He stepped over to me. He stood there, a wall of cold authority.
"Kael," he said.
"Father," I replied.
He looked at me. Suddenly, I felt it. A weight on my skin. An invasive, piercing gaze that seemed to peel back my flesh and look at my bones. He was channeling mana into his eyes. He wanted to read me.
I wouldn't let him.
In a heartbeat, I pulled my mana inward. I tried to seal my core, turning it into a black, impenetrable void, just as Valerius had taught us.
Too late. The pressure vanished as quickly as it had come. The spark in his eyes died out. How? How could he read someone that fast? "You've gotten stronger as well," he said, his voice neutral. "Though... honestly, I expected more." He tilted his head. "Four years ago, you were on Aurora's level. Now, she has clearly surpassed you. I thought you would stay neck-and-neck—"
He stopped mid-sentence. He blinks.
"Mhm..." he hums. "There isn't a single drop of mana leaking out of you." He leaned down slightly. "Did you just close your core?"
"Yes," I said firmly.
"So you noticed I was reading you?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised.
"Yes. But you were too fast. I couldn't close it in time."
Daemon nodded slowly. "I'm impressed. Aurora and Eamon didn't even realize they were being scanned."
Aurora looked stunned. "You read me? When?!"
Daemon ignored her completely. He looked at Valerius. "Who taught him that method? It's the worst way to hide your mana level from anyone who actually knows what they're doing. It's for the weak."
"Good to see you too, brother," Valerius snapped, clearly irritated.
Daemon turned back to the rest of us. "Enough. Pack your things. It's time you came to Aeloria."