The morning siren split the air like a blade. Luna jolted upright, heart pounding, the taste of iron in her mouth from dreams she couldn't escape. Her blanket slipped from her shoulders as she staggered to her feet. The others were already rushing, pulling on boots, lacing straps, falling into formation.
Another day. Another test. Another war.
She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. Her body screamed in protest—the wall trial had left her bruised, her palms raw—but there was no room for weakness here. Weakness meant exposure. Exposure meant death.
Kai's voice cut through the morning fog. "Line up!"
The recruits scrambled into position. Luna stood among them, back straight, face blank. She felt his eyes on her—always on her—as though he were searching for cracks in her armor.
He moved down the line slowly, like a predator stalking prey. His boots hit the ground with measured weight. Thud. Thud. Thud. Each step made Luna's stomach tighten. She forced herself not to look away when his gaze locked on hers.
"Luna," he said softly, almost too softly. Then his voice sharpened like a whip: "Step forward."
Her breath caught. She stepped out, forcing her legs not to tremble.
Kai circled her. His presence was suffocating, his shadow falling long across her face.
"Do you know why you're still alive?" he asked.
Her lips parted, but no words came.
"Because," he continued, "life isn't finished breaking you yet."
A low murmur rippled through the recruits, quickly silenced by Kai's glare. Luna's chest tightened. The words cut deeper than his voice—because some part of her believed him.
"Today," he said, stopping in front of her, "you'll learn that survival isn't about strength. It's about obedience."
He turned sharply. "Pair her with Jax."
The command landed heavy. Jax, who had pulled her up on the wall. Jax, who had risked exposure to steady her hands. She felt the shift in the room—the unspoken understanding that Kai was setting her up. Pairing her with the only one she might begin to trust.
"Training grounds. Now."
---
The field was a wasteland of broken concrete and rusted scaffolding. Jagged edges jutted from the ground, as though the earth itself had been torn open for this purpose.
Kai barked orders from the perimeter while Jax adjusted his gloves. His face was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something steady, something almost dangerous in its softness.
"Don't hold back," he muttered to her under his breath.
She nodded stiffly, heart hammering.
"Fight," Kai ordered.
Luna lunged. Jax met her strike with effortless precision, his forearm blocking her punch, his grip twisting her wrist. Pain shot up her arm, but she bit it down and pivoted, kicking at his ribs. He absorbed it like stone.
Again.
Again.
Every move she made, he countered. Every strike, every dodge, he was faster. Stronger. Smarter.
Her chest heaved, lungs burning, but she refused to stop. She swung wildly, desperation seeping into her movements. Jax caught her arm mid-swing, twisted, and slammed her to the ground. Dust flew up around them.
"Get up," he said.
She tried. Her body screamed.
"Get up!" His voice cut sharper this time.
She staggered to her feet, vision blurring, and launched at him again. He didn't hesitate—he struck her hard in the gut. The breath left her lungs in a violent gasp, and she crumpled to the dirt, clutching her stomach.
Kai's voice rang out: "Pathetic."
The word echoed. Pathetic. She heard it in her mother's disappointment. In the sneers of the men who had stolen her body. In her own mind, whispering late at night.
She pressed her forehead to the dirt. For a moment, she wanted to stay there. To sink into the ground and let it swallow her whole.
But then—Jax's voice, low enough only she could hear:
"Don't give him what he wants."
Her head snapped up. His eyes locked with hers. They weren't pitying, they weren't mocking. They were fire.
Something inside her cracked. Not broken this time—ignited.
She pushed herself up with trembling arms, her body aching, vision swimming. Blood trickled from her lip.
Kai's lips curled into something dark. "Again."
She moved. Not gracefully, not perfectly. But differently.
Her strikes weren't wild now. They were calculated, desperate but sharp. Jax blocked most of them, but one—just one—landed. Her fist connected with his jaw. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it was enough to prove she wasn't finished.
The sound echoed in the field. A collective inhale rippled through the recruits.
Kai's smirk faltered for the briefest second.
And in that second, Luna realized something.
She would never be enough for Kai. She would never satisfy the cruel hunger in his eyes. But she could be enough for herself. She could fight—not to please him, not to prove him wrong, but to prove she was still alive.
She wiped the blood from her mouth and raised her fists again.
"I'm not done," she said hoarsely.
The words hung heavy in the air.
For the first time since she arrived, the others looked at her not with pity, not with dismissal—but with something else. Something almost like respect.
Kai's expression hardened again, but his silence said more than words.
The lesson was cruel, but clear: he wanted to break her by forcing her to rely on the one person she might trust. Instead, he had awakened a spark that refused to die.
And Luna knew—this was only the beginning.