Azura's POV
I stared at Silas.
He stared back at me.
Neither of us moved. The air between us was thick, heavy with silence.
Then something inside me snapped.
I ran.
My feet pounded against the dirt, my arms pumping at my sides. I focused on Silas standing ahead of me, his arms crossed, waiting.
Almost there. Almost…
My foot caught on something. Maybe a root. Maybe my own stupidity.
I stumbled forward, my arms flailing wildly as I tried to catch myself. But it was too late.
I hit the ground hard, my face smacking into the dirt. My momentum carried me forward, sliding across the earth until I came to a stop.
Right at someone's feet.
I groaned and looked up.
Silas stood over me, one hand on his hip, staring down at me with the most unimpressed expression I'd ever seen.
"You are so cooked," he said flatly.
I let my head drop back to the ground. "Yeah. I know."
From somewhere off to the side, I heard loud laughter.
I turned my head and saw Axel doubled over, hands on his knees, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"Tomorrow," he gasped between laughs, "you're fighting one of the strongest she-wolves in this pack. And you haven't even learnt how to run without tripping over your own feet!"
I rolled my eyes and tried to push myself up.
Silas crouched down beside me. "You need to focus. Or you'll be dead before the trial even starts."
I groaned. "Thanks for the encouragement."
He stood and held out his hand. "Try again."
I grabbed it and let him pull me to my feet. My legs were shaking, my body already screaming at me to stop.
But I walked back to the starting point anyway.
This time, I made it halfway to Silas before I stopped.
I just stood there, staring at him.
He frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Waiting," I said, breathing hard.
"For what?"
"For you to tell me what to do."
Silas blinked at me as if I'd just said the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. "You attack, Azura, you attack. When you see your opponent, you attack. You don't wait for them to tell you it's okay."
Axel, who'd finally stopped laughing, walked over shaking his head. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."
I turned to glare at him. "Why don't you help me then?"
He grinned. "I am helping. I'm keeping your spirits up."
"By laughing at me?"
"Exactly."
I wanted to punch him.
But instead, I turned back to Silas. "Fine. Teach me."
He sighed. "Alright. First, you need to learn how to move. How to dodge. How to block."
"What about attacking?" I asked.
"Forget attacking," Silas said firmly. "You need to focus on defending yourself first. That's what matters. You can't fight back if you're already on the ground."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice serious now. "If you go in there trying to attack Isadora without knowing how to protect yourself, she'll take you down in seconds. Defense first. Then we'll work on the rest."
I felt sick thinking about it. Having only one day to get ready felt like a death sentence. I didn't know the first thing about fighting, and I knew deep down that my big mouth wouldn't be enough to protect me this time. Tomorrow was coming fast, and for once, talking back wouldn't save my life.
But I nodded.
For the next hour, Silas drilled me. Not like a warrior, but like a clumsy pup.
"Move your feet, not your whole body!" he'd bark as I tripped over nothing.
My blocks were too slow, my rolls more like frantic collapses. My body wasn't built for this; it was built for scrubbing floors and running away. Every move felt wrong.
But then, it happened. Silas swung high, and before I could even think, my body just... reacted. Without my brain even giving the order, I slid right under his arm. It wasn't pretty or graceful, it was just me being desperate. It was the same way I used to dodge guards in narrow hallways back home.
Silas froze. Axel who was about to laugh stopped midway.
"Do that again," Silas said, his voice dropping.
I just stood there, breathing hard. I couldn't do it again. I had already forgotten how I'd even done it in the first place. But for a split second, I saw something new in their eyes. It wasn't pity anymore. It was pure surprise.
My body ached. My muscles screamed. But a tiny, stubborn coal of hope began to glow in my chest. Maybe I wasn't learning to fight like them, but I was remembering how to survive like me.
Finally, I collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
Silas and Axel stood a few feet away, drinking water and talking quietly.
I stared up at the sky, my chest heaving.
"I'm gonna die tomorrow, ain't I?" I muttered.
Silas glanced over at me. "Yeah. Probably."
Axel snorted. "Definitely."
I groaned and closed my eyes, " You guys are terrible at motivating."
Then I heard it. A sound. Feminine. Sharp.
I sat up slowly, my body protesting every movement.
Silas and Axel heard it too. They both turned toward the trees.
Curiosity pulled me to my feet. I walked forward quietly, peeking through the branches.
And there she was.
Isadora.
She was training too. But she wasn't alone.
Rhydor stood across from her, his stance relaxed but ready. He was teaching her. Guiding her.
I watched as Isadora swung at him. He caught her wrist easily, turning her around and pinning her arm gently behind her back. He leaned in close, saying something I couldn't hear.
She laughed.
He smiled.
Something sharp twisted in my chest.
They looked… perfect together. Like they belonged together.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.
A hand suddenly covered my eyes.
I looked up and saw Silas standing behind me. "Don't look," he said quietly. "You'll only hurt yourself."
"I don't care," I muttered.
"Are you sure?" Axel's voice came from beside me. "Because you're literally destroying that poor flower with your hand."
I looked down.
My hand was gripping a small branch that had grown out of the tree. The tiny flowers on it were crushed, the petals falling to the ground.
I let go quickly and stepped back.
Without a word, I turned and started walking away.
"Don't focus on that," Silas called after me. "Focus on the fight. What you just saw won't help you tomorrow."
I stopped and turned back to face him. "I wish I had the power to just blast them both right now."
Silas raised an eyebrow. "I'd advise you to wish for survival instead. You're definitely cooked."
Axel started laughing again. "How are you supposed to fight Isadora when you can't even walk without falling?"
I glared at both of them. "You two are useless."
I turned and stormed off, ignoring their laughter behind me.
I walked back toward the pack house, my body aching, my mind spinning.
Tomorrow was the day.
Win or lose. Survive or die.
I wasn't ready.
"Azura."
I stopped and turned.
Genevieve stood there, holding a flower vase in her hands. She set it down gently and walked toward me.
"I don't think I can do this," I said quietly.
She reached out and took my hands in hers. "Stop trying so hard."
I frowned. "What?"
"Just be yourself," she said softly. "Not everything is about power. Some people win without strength. Some people win with their mind."
She squeezed my hands. "If you know what you're good at, use that. Don't push yourself to be something you're not."
I stared at her, her words sinking in slowly.
"Thank you," I whispered.
She smiled and kissed my forehead. "Now go rest. Tomorrow is a big day."
I nodded and turned back toward the pack house.
Tomorrow.
The word felt like a heavy stone in my stomach. It was me against Isadora. The trial was finally here, and there was no middle ground anymore. I would either win and take my place, or I would lose and die.
I took a long, shaky breath. The sun was hot on my skin, and for a second, the world felt too bright, like it was staring at me, waiting for me to fail. I looked over at the empty training grounds where everyone would be gathered in twenty-four hours to watch us.
I didn't feel like a warrior. I just felt like a girl who was out of time. But as I walked away, I knew one thing for sure. Tomorrow, I'd find out if I really had the heart of a Luna, or if I was just a rankless girl about to disappear.