The backyard was alive with the rhythmic, heavy swish of steel. Trinity stood in the center of the grass, a thick strip of black cloth tied firmly over her eyes, turning her world into a vacuum of sound and scent.
It took everything in her to still her racing mind—to stop herself from wandering to the darkest moments when she was left in the cold. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest, a physical vibration that seemed to thrum through her skin. Yet, she remained calm, rooted to the earth, patiently waiting for Raven's first move.
Raven circled her, moving with erratic, predatory grace. Trinity felt the minute shift in the soil, the weight of Raven's body compressing the plush grass before her feet even left the ground. Raven's breath left her lips in slow, even pants. She was taking her time, wanting Trinity to become attuned to the displacement of the air. Raven knew Trinity could only tap into her wolf abilities on instinct, and she wanted to force those instincts into a state of permanent, high alert.
"Don't guess," Raven whispered, her voice appearing to come from everywhere at once. "Don't look for me. Feel the air move."
Raven lunged. The silver blade cut through the atmosphere with a deadly hiss. Trinity tilted her head at the last micro-second, the metal whistling past her ear so closely she felt the cold wake of the steel. In her mind, the world sharpened.
Raven grinned, noticing the hair-trigger tension in Trinity's frame. She picked up speed, her boots churning the dirt as she moved counterclockwise. Suddenly, Raven pivoted, her muscles bunching with a sudden burst of power. Instead of swinging in the direction she was walking, she whirled around, the broadsword carving a violent arc toward Trinity's forearm.
Clang!
The collision was jarring. Trinity's head tilted a fraction before her own blade met Raven's. The vibration of silver clashing against silver traveled up her marrow.
Raven let out a sharp, breathless laugh, her eyes bright with the joy of the hunt. She stopped testing and began actively sparring, her strikes coming in a relentless, full-force barrage. Her blade came down at odd, jagged angles, but Trinity's parries pushed her away every time. No matter how much weight Raven put into the swing, Trinity never moved from her spot.
Trinity's body felt like it was humming. She didn't just feel Raven; she felt the heat radiating from her friend's skin.
"Impressive," Kale said through the mind link. He stood on the perimeter, fascinated, his eyes locked on Trinity.
"Do you think she can last in the exams?" Gibbs wondered. There was a fair amount of gambling that went on at the exams, and he wouldn't mind winning some money.
Trinity suddenly exploded into motion. She was no longer stationary. She went on the offensive, her body a blur of controlled violence.
Clash! Trinity parried a strike that had no business being caught—a silent, low-angle kill shot that moved faster than sound—but as the blades ground against each other, a new noise pierced through the ring of steel.
"I'm here to see Grayson," a bright, bubbly voice drifted from the front of the estate.
Trinity's jaw tightened. In her mind's eye, the image of Vivian appeared—vibrant blonde hair, beautiful brown eyes, tall and tan. The woman sounded so... happy.
Raven's broadsword swung, aiming for Trinity's middle, but Trinity moved like a ghost. Her blade met empty air as Trinity disappeared before her eyes. Raven's eyes widened, realizing that Trinity moved with that same level of terrifying speed even without vision.
Trinity tracked Raven's heartbeat—the growing thud-thud-thud acting as her guide. When she moved, she lunged closer to that heartbeat, ending up just beside Raven. Raven continued her swing, aiming for Trinity's chest, forcing Trinity to quickly duck under the steel and create distance once again.
She's this good with a blindfold, Raven thought, her mind racing with the possibilities. It wouldn't even be outrageous for her to wear it during the exam. She'd humiliate them.
The watching warriors' focus shifted as a new wolf entered the treeline. Kale saw Vivian. She gave them all a polite smile as she asked permission to enter the Beta's property.
"I'm expected. Grayson Hunt invited me."
Raven swung again, a horizontal cut aimed at Trinity's ribs. Trinity leaped over it, her movements growing more aggressive, more frantic.
Kale nodded, waving her through.
"Thank you," Vivian said. Her eyes briefly found the clashing swords of Trinity and Raven. She hadn't given Trinity much thought or attention; to her, Trinity was a defective. And from what she knew of them, they were whores and murderers. She had no need to interact with those kinds of people. But she had to admit it was shocking to see a defective move so gracefully. She had heard that quite a few defectives had been able to trigger a latent shift, but from here, she could tell Trinity was still very much defective.
"Strange!" Vivian muttered to herself as she went to knock on the Beta's front door.
Trinity could hear the door creaking open. The sound of the maid's heels clicking across the floor. The low timber of Grayson's voice. The rhythmic footfalls of his shoes as he walked toward the door.
Trinity's blood boiled. She sent a flurry of slashes and kicks toward Raven. She could smell the copper tang of blood in the air; she had managed to slice Raven's skin more than a few times by now. But Raven didn't quit. She kept parrying, kept slicing, the clash of their swords never lessening.
"Hey," Vivian's voice chirped again, followed by the soft rustle of Grayson's clothing.
"Hi, thanks for helping me," Grayson's smooth voice responded. Trinity could hear the smile in his voice. The familiarity between the two enraged her.
Clang. Trinity drove Raven back, her strikes becoming heavy and oppressive. Raven was panting now, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she struggled to defend against the sudden spike in Trinity's power.
Step. Step. Step. Trinity heard the feet closing the gap on the porch. She heard Grayson's breath hitch. Then came the sound that felt like a physical blow: the soft thump of Grayson's chest against Vivian's as he wrapped his arms around her. Trinity could hear the fabric of his shirt rubbing against Vivian's skin.
"Anytime. Come on. I'll get you there on time," Vivian whispered.
Trinity's strike nearly took Raven's head off. Raven barely ducked in time, her eyes wide with shock at the raw ferocity. She noticed Trinity's attention had shifted; her head was tilted more toward the house than the battle.
Trinity could hear them walking away now. The sound of dry leaves crunching beneath their feet. The soft thud of the dirt path as they reached the edge of the property line. She heard the playful thump as Vivian bumped her shoulder into Grayson's.
The humming in Trinity's blood turned into a roar. She stopped dead. Her hand reached up, ripping the cloth from her face.
Cresting the forest line, Grayson and Vivian were retreating into the trees. Trinity's eyes didn't just glow; they ignited into a brilliant, solid gold. The gold flecks in her blue eyes had inverted—her eyes were now molten gold, flecked with blue.
Just before Grayson crossed into the timber, he looked over his shoulder. His eyes met Trinity's for half a second before he turned away as if she were completely invisible.
Raven, still caught in the lethal momentum of the fight, swung the silver blade toward Trinity's shoulder. Her eyes went wide with horror and shock as she realized Trinity had stopped moving. She tried to pull the strike, but she couldn't slow the heavy blade enough.
Trinity didn't even look. Her arm shot out like a lightning strike, her fist closing around the silver blade.
Clank.
Raven's heart nearly stopped. Trinity held the lethal metal with her bare hand. There was no sizzling of flesh, no scent of burning skin, no flinch of pain. Trinity held the edge with ease, her hand crushing the steel as her golden eyes remained fixed on the treeline. There wasn't even blood.
Kale's heart hammered against his ribs. He saw the transition—the solid gold of her eyes. "Her eyes..." he whispered. "Blades up! Move!"
The warriors moved in a synchronized blur, closing in on Trinity at high speed, weapons drawn.
"Wait!" Raven cried out, holding up a hand to the advancing guards. "Don't!" She looked at Trinity with unending fascination, her eyes flickering to where Trinity still held the sword. "You can withstand silver?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Trinity remained frozen, her chest heaving, her gaze locked on the spot where the forest had swallowed Grayson. A low, gravelly growl vibrated in her throat—a sound of ancient, territorial rage.
Finally, she turned her head. "It burns. Just not yet." Trinity's voice was deeper. Far more resonant.
The guards froze. Skip was the first to notice that the color was wrong—it was a shade none of them had ever seen. Gold eyes with blue flecks. "She's in control!"
"Yes," Trinity said.
Suddenly, an oppressive, invisible pressure slammed into the clearing. It spoke to their inner wolf spirit, a raw authority that demanded absolute submission. Kale and the other warriors felt their knees weaken, a primal urge screaming at them to bow and expose their necks.
Raven couldn't fight it. Her body acted on instinct; her eyes turned black as her wolf rose to the surface. Her knees hit the grass and she tilted her head back, exposing her throat in a total show of deference.
Kale felt the strain of remaining upright as the other warriors struggled, their eyes flashing between the black of their wolves, fighting for a dominance they couldn't hope to achieve.
"Why are you kneeling?"
At Trinity's question, the oppressive air dissipated. Raven collapsed on her side, gasping for air as she clawed at the earth beneath her. The other warriors could no longer remain on their feet; the second the strain was gone, they collapsed to their knees, panting as if they had just survived a horrific battle.
Author's note:
I'm going to spend the weekend updating my other book. So anybody who's reading that one and wondering where the updates are. They're coming... 😁