Two weeks
That's how long it had been.
Two weeks since I left
everything behind.
Two weeks since I chose this.
It felt like both nothing and
everything had changed.
"Again."
Callie didn't raise her voice.
She didn't need to.
I exhaled sharply, rolling my
shoulders as I stepped forward again.
We stood in the open clearing
behind the house- if you could even call it that. It wasn't just a training
ground. It felt… intentional. Like it had been used for this long before we
ever got here.
"Focus," she added.
"I am focused."
"Then stop getting hit."
That was easy for her to say.
She moved first.
A quick step in- her leg
snapped up in a sharp roundhouse kick aimed at my ribs.
This time, I don't hesitate.
I shifted my stance and
blocked, absorbing the impact before stepping in close. My hands shot forward,
locking into a clinch around her neck and shoulder.
Instinct.
I drove a knee upward toward
her midsection.
She twisted just enough for it
to glance instead of land clean.
"Better," she said.
Still not impressed.
I didn't atop.
I pulled her slightly off
balance and followed with an elbow strike aimed at her jaw.
She slipped it.
Of course, she did.
Her counter came fast- a sharp
teep kick straight into my chest that sent me stumbling back a few steps.
I caught myself before
falling.
Barely.
"Your balance," she said,
circling me slowly. "Still off."
"I noticed."
She didn't smile. didn't slow
down either.
"Again."
Training with Callie wasn't
fair.
Not even close.
She was faster, cleaner, more
experienced and worst of all she didn't hold back.
At first, I thought she was
just trying to prove something.
Now I understood.
She was trying to make sure I
survived.
That didn't make it hurt less.
I stepped in again, this time
initiating.
A quick jab, more of a
distraction than anything, before shifting my weight and driving a low kick
toward her leg.
She checked it instantly.
I followed through, stepping
into range and locking into a clinch again.
This time, I didn't hesitate.
Knee.
Knee.
Elbow.
One landed.
Barely but it landed.
Her head snapped slightly to
the side.
For a second I thought I had
her then she moved.
Fast.
She slipped out of my grip and
spun, her leg cutting through the air in a sharp hook kick that forced me to
duck.
Too slow.
It clipped the side of my head.
The world tilted slightly.
I staggered back.
"Don't assume you've won," she
said calmly.
"I didn't- "
"You did."
I wiped the sweat from my
face, breathing heavier now.
She wasn't wrong.
That split second, I relaxed
and that was enough for her to strike back.
"Again," she said.
I groaned. "You've said that
like fifty times."
"And you'll hear it fifty
more."
From the edge of the clearing,
Riley snorted.
"I'm starting to think she enjoys this."
"I do," Callie replied without
missing a beat.
Riley shook her head. "Yeah,
that's concerning."
Noah, sitting nearby, just
watched quietly as usual.
Always observing.
Ella sat beside him, knees
pulled to her chest, eyes locked on me.
She hadn't said much during
training these past few days but she hadn't looked away either. Not once.
"Focus," Callie said again.
I exhaled slowly.
Then stepped forward.
This time, I didn't rush.
Didn't force it.
I let my body move. React.
She attacked first- fat as
always.
But this time, I kept up.
Block.
Step.
Counter.
I slipped her strike and moved
into the clinch smoothly, pulling her in and driving a clean knee upward.
This one landed properly. I
felt it.
Her breath shifted slightly.
I followed immediately with a
sharp elbow.
She blocked, but not
perfectly.
Real progress.
Her eyes flickered, just
slightly.
"Better," she said.
"Enough."
Seraphina's voice cut through
the air.
We both stopped immediately.
I straightened, breathing
hard, sweat dripping down my neck as I turned toward her.
She stood at the edge of the
clearing, exactly where she always stood. Watching, Measuring, Judging.
"You're improving," she said.
It didn't sound like praise.
More like... acknowledgement.
"I'd hope so," I muttered.
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"But you're holding back."
I frowned.
"I'm not."
"You are," she said simply.
Before I could argue, she
stepped forward.
Slow and controlled. Every
movement deliberate.
"The realm responds to
intent," she said. "Not effort."
I glanced at my wrist.
It pulsed faintly.
"I've been using it," I said.
"Barely."
Well, that stung.
"You rely on your body," she
continued. "On instinct. On what you remember."
"That's how I fight."
"it's how you used to fight."
That made me pause.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"You are more than that now,
Rocco."
The name didn't feel wrong
anymore. Not like before.
"Then what am I missing?" I
asked.
She studied me for a moment.
"Purpose."
I blinked. "...What?"
"You fight to survive," she
said. "That's not enough."
I let out a short breath.
"Feels like it should be."
"It isn't."
Silence stretched.
Then she turned slightly.
"Callista."
Callie straightened.
"Swords."
I frowned.
"Now?"
Seraphina didn't look back.
"You've learned to move
again," she said. "Now you learn to kill."
The word landed differently.
More real.
Callie tossed me a pair of
short wooden blades.
I caught them instinctively.
The moment they settled in my
hands- something clicked. Familiar, comfortable, dangerous.
My grip adjusted without
thinking.
My stance shifted.
Callie noticed.
"There it is," she said
quietly.
This time, she smiled just a
little.
Then she raised her own
blades.
"Try not to embarrass
yourself."
I smirked despite everything.
"No promises."
But inside something had
changed again. Because now, it wasn't just about catching up or surviving or
even understanding. It felt like I was being shaped into something.
Something I wasn't fully ready
to see yet.
And judging by the way
Seraphina watched from the shadows.
Neither was she.