Vadim PoV
I charged again, gladius raised high, heart hammering so hard it felt like it would crack my ribs worse than any blow from my old man.
He met me head-on, shadows whipping around him like a storm. Our blades crashed together with a sound like breaking thunder. The impact jarred every bone in my arms, but I pushed forward anyway, teeth gritted, tears still burning in my eyes.
"You taught me this, old man!" I shouted, voice cracking. "You taught me to never quit! So why won't you fight it?!"
Father's gray eyes, the same ones that had once looked at me with quiet pride while I swung that stick in the yard, stayed cold and empty. He twisted his wrist and sent a dark tentacle lashing out from his side. It tore across the breastplate of my black armor and hurled me sideways. I slammed into a marble column, the black plates absorbing most of the blow.
