The training kicked off exactly two weeks after that moonlit promise in the garden, and because fate loves a cruel joke, they dragged me straight to the marshes. My boots sank ankle-deep into the greenish muck with a wet, sucking sound that made my skin crawl. The air hung thick and sour, buzzing with mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds and the constant croak of things I didn't want to identify. Before me stood five Valerian princes—Aiden, Harlan, Damon, Ethan, and Gavin—looking far too comfortable in this swampy hell while I flailed like a drowned cat.
"Yuck!" I hollered, stomping in tight, furious circles and sending filthy water splashing up my shins. The slippery slope beneath my feet threatened mutiny with every dramatic step, so I wisely kept the full tantrum on a leash. "I can literally feel an infection brewing in my soul right now. This place is a breeding ground for every disease known to wolf and man."
