Cameron bounced on his heels as he took his position, staff spinning in his hands with surprising skill. Blue electricity crackled along its length, making the air smell like ozone.
"Okay, so, full disclosure," he said rapidly, "I have no idea what I'm doing. Like, zero idea. This staff thing just kind of happened, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to embarrass myself, but hey, at least it'll be entertaining, right?"
Maya stood perfectly still on the opposite side, daggers held in a reverse grip. "Are you done?"
"Probably not, anxiety is kind of my thing, but sure, let's go with yes."
"Good," she said. "Try to keep up."
Sensei Shu's hand dropped. "Begin."
Cameron moved first this time, and he was fast. Lightning fast, literally. He closed the distance in a blur, staff swinging in a wide arc.
Maya wasn't there.
She'd slipped to the side, moving like water, like she'd known exactly where he'd strike before he did it. Her dagger came up, deflecting his staff with minimal effort, redirecting his momentum.
Cameron stumbled, caught off-guard. "Okay, that was cool, not gonna lie"
She was already moving, flowing around him, daggers dancing. He blocked desperately, staff spinning to intercept, but she was always one step ahead. Every time he swung, she wasn't there. Every time he thought he had an opening, she'd already closed it.
"You talk too much," she said calmly, her dagger tapping his shoulder not cutting, just touching. "And you don't think enough."
"I'm a verbal processor!" Cameron protested, jumping back. "I think out loud, it's how my brain works"
She came at him again, and this time he was ready. His staff met her daggers, and blue lightning arced between them. Maya's eyes widened, and she had to disengage, shaking out her hands.
"Okay," she admitted. "That stings."
Cameron grinned. "See? I'm not completely useless!"
"Didn't say you were useless," Maya replied, circling him. "Just unfocused."
They clashed again, faster now. Cameron's speed was incredible his strikes came in rapid-fire succession, staff blurring. But Maya was like water, flowing around every attack, adapting, redirecting.
She caught his staff between her crossed daggers and twisted, yanking it from his grip. It clattered across the floor.
Cameron's eyes went wide. "Oh, that's not good"
Maya swept his legs, and he went down hard. Her dagger pressed against his chest.
"Yield," she said.
Cameron lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. "You know what? I'm not even mad. That was actually pretty awesome. You're like, really good at this."
"I know," Maya said, stepping back and offering her hand.
He took it, grinning despite his loss. "Rematch sometime?"
"Maybe when you learn to stop announcing your every move," she said, but there was the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.
Jordan walked over to me. "They're good," she said quietly.
"Yeah," I agreed, watching Cameron animatedly explain to Maya exactly where he thought he'd gone wrong while she listened with patient tolerance. "Different styles, but good."
"We're going to need to be better than good," Jordan said, her expression serious. "If what Sensei Shu said is true, if this Lord Drakna is really coming back..."
She didn't finish, but she didn't need to. We'd all seen the vision. We all knew what was at stake.
Sensei Shu stepped forward, and we all turned to face him.
"You've taken your first steps," he said. "You've felt your power, met your dragons, and tested yourselves against each other. But this is only the beginning."
He looked at each of us in turn.
"Tomorrow, your real training begins. You'll learn to work together, to trust each other, to become what you were meant to be."
He paused.
"For now, go home. Rest. Process what you've learned. But remember you cannot speak of this to anyone. Not your parents, not your friends, no one. The Dragon Keepers exist in shadow for a reason."
"How do we get home?" Cameron asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I can't remember how I got here, and I don't think my mom's going to accept 'I fell through a magic floor' as an excuse for being late."
Sensei Shu lifted his hand.
"Close your eyes," he said.
We did.
I felt a strange pulling sensation, like the world was shifting around me, and then
I was standing in my bedroom.
"What the hell," I whispered, spinning around. My bed. My desk. My walls. Everything exactly where it should be.
The sword was still in my hand, warm and solid and real.
A voice slammed into my mind like a hammer, deep and scorching the Red Dragon.
The sword masks you from detection. Lose it, and whatever hunts you will find you easily enough. Whether you keep it close or throw it away makes no difference to me.
The presence lingered, cold and distant.
You lost today. Badly. The voice was flat, empty of emotion. In a real fight, you'd be dead. Your body would be cooling on the ground right now. That's simply fact.
"I got my ass kicked," I said quietly.
Yes. No sympathy. No encouragement. Just cold acknowledgment. Jordan is stronger than you. Faster. Better trained. She would survive where you would fall. That's the reality.
"What if I'm not strong enough?" I asked. "What if I can't do this?"
Then you die. The dragon's voice was utterly indifferent. Your death changes nothing for me. I existed before you. I'll exist after you. If you're too weak, you'll be replaced. Another will carry the mark. Another will wield the sword. Your life or death is irrelevant only the bond matters, and the bond will find someone else if you fail.
The voice paused, and when it spoke again, something darker crept into its tone.
But there's something you should understand, boy. If you lose control if fear or weakness breaks your mind I will take over your body. Completely. You'll still be conscious, trapped inside your own skull, screaming, but you won't move a finger. Won't speak a word. I'll wear you like a suit, and there will be nothing left of William Ashborne except a voice no one can hear.
Ice flooded my veins.
So don't lose control. Because if you do, you won't die. You'll just stop existing while your body keeps walking. And I don't care which version of you, I'm bound to the one in control, or the one screaming in the dark.
The certainty in its voice should have been comforting. Instead, it just made the weight of responsibility feel heavier.
I lay down, the sword beside me, and closed my eyes.
Tomorrow, training would begin in earnest.
Tomorrow, I would start becoming what I was meant to be.
A Dragon Keeper.
I just hoped I was ready.