The morning training with Marcus had gone better than usual.
Adrian had lasted twelve minutes in their sparring session before Marcus called time. Not enough to win. Not even close. But better than the five minutes he'd managed on the first day.
Progress. Small, but real.
Now he stood in the main courtyard with the other Initiates, waiting for Warden Cross to announce the day's training. The morning sun was bright and cold. Adrian could see his breath in the air.
Julian stood across the courtyard with two others. A dark-haired boy and a girl with red hair. They were laughing about something. Julian's eyes kept drifting to Adrian, assessing.
He knows I've been training separately. Marcus said to keep it quiet, but nothing stays secret in a place like this.
"Listen up," Warden Cross called from the centre of the courtyard. The conversations died instantly. "Today we're doing sparring rotations. I want to see improvement from last week. Pair off when I call your names."
He began reading from a list. Names Adrian didn't recognise yet. Initiates moved to their assigned partners and began warming up.
Please don't pair me with Julian again. I'm better, but not that much better.
"Adrian Blackstar and Thomas Vance."
Adrian looked around. A young man raised his hand near the far edge of the courtyard. He was maybe twenty, with brown hair and a solid build. Not as tall as Julian but broader through the shoulders.
Thomas walked over, his expression neutral. "You're the new one. The mysterious binding."
"That's what they're calling me?"
"Among other things." Thomas stopped a few feet away and rolled his shoulders, loosening up. "I'm bound to The Hunt. Stage 1, same as you. Fair warning, I don't go easy, but I'm not trying to cripple anyone either."
Not Julian then. That's something.
"Appreciated."
"Ready when you are."
Cross called out, "Begin!"
Thomas came at him fast but not recklessly. A testing jab to gauge Adrian's reaction time.
Adrian blocked it. Marcus's training kicking in automatically. Watch the shoulders. Read the telegraph.
Thomas threw a combination. Jab, cross, hook. Adrian blocked the first two, but the hook caught him in the ribs.
Damn. Still too slow.
But he stayed upright. Kept his guard up. Thomas reset and came again.
This time Adrian saw the pattern forming. The way Thomas's weight shifted before the kick. Adrian stepped back, and the foot missed by inches.
"Good," Thomas said, almost surprised. "You've been training."
. I'm improving too fast. I need to be careful.
They continued. Adrian blocked more than he missed. Landed a few hits of his own, though nothing that really hurt Thomas. His footwork was better. His stance more stable. Everything Marcus had drilled into him over the past four mornings was showing results.
After five minutes, Thomas got Adrian in a hold and forced him to the ground. Adrian tapped out properly.
"Good match," Thomas said, offering his hand.
Adrian took it and let Thomas pull him up. "You're skilled."
"Been at this for six months. You'll get there." Thomas glanced toward where Julian was demolishing his sparring partner. "How long have you been training? Before coming here, I mean."
"I haven't. Not really."
Thomas's eyes narrowed slightly. "You fought like you've had at least a few weeks of instruction. Maybe more."
I showed too much.
"Hunter Reed has been working with me. Early mornings."
"Ah. That explains it." Thomas nodded toward the others. "Not everyone gets private instruction from a Stage 3 Hunter. You must've impressed someone."
"Not everyone gets pushed into the Vigil without prior training like me"
Around them, other matches were finishing. Adrian noticed several Initiates watching him. Whispering. Some looked curious. Others annoyed.
They're talking about me. About how I'm improving. Julian's watching too. He looks angry.
"Switch partners," Cross called out. "I want everyone rotating. Let's see how you adapt."
The Initiates moved to new pairings. Adrian found himself facing a different opponent each time. A girl bound to The Armament who nearly broke his nose. A boy with the Crucible Dao who fought defensively and managed to outlast Adrian's stamina.
But with each match, Adrian learned something. Adapted. His body was still changing, healing from the morning's bruises even as new ones formed. By the fourth rotation, his breathing was easier. His movements sharper.
The binding is accelerating everything. Recovery. Learning. All of it faster..
After the final match, Cross dismissed them. "Lunch in thirty minutes. Use the time wisely."
The Initiates began dispersing. Some headed inside immediately. Others stayed in the courtyard, discussing techniques or comparing bruises.
Adrian stood alone, catching his breath. His ribs ached but not as badly as they should have. The bruises from this morning's session with Marcus were already fading to yellow-green.
I need to slow down. Be less obvious. But how do I do that without actually getting worse?
"You're the mysterious one."
Adrian turned. A young woman stood a few feet away. Maybe nineteen or twenty. Dark hair pulled back in a practical braid. Sharp eyes that studied him with open curiosity.
"I don't know about mysterious. Just new."
"New and improving rapidly." She held out her hand. "Elena Frost. Stage 1, bound to The Cipher Dao."
Adrian shook her hand. Her grip was firm but not aggressive. "Adrian Blackstar."
"I know. Everyone knows. You're all they've been talking about for days." Elena tilted her head slightly. "The boy who survived a binding to an unknown Dao. Who destroyed his entire house in the process? Who got destroyed by Julian Ashford in under a minute and is somehow still standing a week later."
They've been talking that much about me?
"I'm harder to kill than I look."
"Apparently." Elena crossed her arms, still studying him with that analytical gaze. "You fought well today. Better than someone with one week of training should fight. Marcus Reed is a good teacher."
"I'm a fast learner."
"You'd have to be." She glanced toward where Julian stood with his friends. "Julian doesn't like it. The attention you're getting. He's used to being the most promising Initiate."
"I'm not trying to compete with him."
"Doesn't matter. He sees competition anyway." Elena's expression softened slightly. "Be careful around him and his group. Marcus Kell and Sarah Byrne. They follow Julian's lead on everything, and he's not the forgiving type."
Marcus Kell. Sarah Byrne. Julian's cronies.
Before Adrian could respond, Julian's voice cut across the courtyard.
"Elena. What are you doing talking to Vale's pet project?"
Adrian tensed. Here we go.
Elena didn't turn around immediately. She gave Adrian a slight shrug, as if to say I warned you, then looked back at Julian.
"Having a conversation, Julian. You should try it sometime. Good for building social skills."
Julian walked over, his two friends flanking him. Up close, Adrian could see Marcus Kell was the dark-haired boy from earlier. Lean and quick. Sarah Byrne had red hair and a mean smile.
"Funny." Julian stopped a few feet away. "I just think it's interesting that Reed is giving special training to the shit new Initiate. Makes you wonder what makes him so special."
"Maybe Reed sees potential," Elena said calmly.
"Potential." Julian laughed. "I beat him in under a minute. What potential could there possibly be?"
Thomas Vance appeared at Adrian's shoulder. Adrian hadn't heard him approach.
"He's improving," Thomas said. His tone was level but firm. "More than you did your first month."
The courtyard went quiet. Several nearby conversations stopped. Everyone turned to watch.
Julian's smile faded. "What did you say?"
"You heard me." Thomas didn't back down. "I remember your first month, Julian. You got knocked on your ass by half the Initiates. Took you three weeks to win a single sparring match."
"That was different."
"Right. Different." Thomas's expression didn't change. "Keep telling yourself that."
The tension was thick enough to cut. Sarah Byrne moved slightly, positioning herself at Julian's side. Marcus Kell mirrored her on the other side.
This is going to turn into a fight. Multiple Initiates. Cross will intervene, but not before someone gets hurt.
Elena spoke before it could escalate. "We should head inside. Break time's almost over."
She looked at Adrian and Thomas. "Coming?"
She's giving us an out.
"Yeah," Thomas said.
They turned and walked toward the building entrance. Adrian could feel Julian's eyes boring into his back, but he didn't look around.
They crossed the threshold and the courtyard disappeared behind them. The tension in Adrian's shoulders eased slightly.
"Thank you," Adrian said quietly. "Both of you."
"Don't mention it," Thomas said. "Julian's been getting worse lately. Someone needs to push back occasionally."
"He doesn't like being challenged," Elena added. "Especially not in front of others. You might want to watch your back for a while."
Great. Another enemy. As if Julian wasn't enough already.
Thomas checked a clock on the wall. "I need to grab something from my cell before afternoon training. I'll see you both later."
He headed down a side corridor. Elena and Adrian walked together toward the cell blocks.
"He's right about Julian," Elena said after a moment. "He doesn't forget. And now you've humiliated him twice. Once by surviving his beating, and again today by having allies who'll stand up for you."
"I didn't mean to humiliate him."
"Doesn't matter what you meant. What matters is how he sees it." She stopped at an intersection. "My cell is this way. Yours is in the basement levels?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. See you at afternoon training." She paused, studying him again with that analytical gaze. "You're interesting, Adrian Blackstar. I'm looking forward to figuring you out."
Before he could respond, she turned and walked away.
Adrian stood alone in the corridor for a moment, processing everything that had happened.
First group training since the beating, and I survived. Made it through without getting destroyed. Even landed a few hits.
Thomas and Elena seem decent.
But Julian is watching. He doesn't like that I'm getting better. Doesn't like that Reed is training me. Doesn't like that other Initiates are talking to me.
Adrian turned and walked back toward his cell. His body ached but in a good way. The ache of muscles worked and improving. The ache of progress.
By the time he reached his door, the worst of the pain had faded. The bruises were healing faster than they should.
He entered his cell and sat on the narrow bed. Exhausted. Sore. But feeling something he hadn't felt since before his mother's death.
For the first time since the explosion, he had names. Faces. People who might not be enemies.
Thomas Vance. Elena Frost.
That was more than he'd had yesterday.
That was something.