The next day, I watch them train in pairs along with Melody. She must be unstoppable. I'll make her fit to command an army. Not through intel. Through strength. She was nearly killed by those Axe-heads.

  Her sparing partner strikes. Too slow. She flings him to the dirt, then asks if he's okay. Maybe she isn’t the kind of person I think she is. Everything she does it to protect what she believes in. She wants to keep the thing she loves alive...the Wyre...the symbol of her freedom. She's made it this far in life. What could I offer her?

  When I first formed the Wyre, I had one goal in mind: provide a well-rounded education. The Wyre was always a taskforce. We carried out justice by any means necessary. It was also an academy. Still is. To teach healing. Law and order. Discipline. Respect.

  Knowing Nebula, she would have cursed Barthelemy to gain access to me again. That video...the fact that there are Nobles out there who can take down hundreds of soldiers in combat. It’s not unheard of, but it has been the story of legends. Nebula's is unknown. No one survives her...except Barthelemy. Had Chuboki not shown up, then he'd be dead.

  I shift my focus to Jackson. He looks like...someone I used to know. His fighting style is sporadic. He uses the ground to his advantage. Forming stone around his feet to keep himself in place. I've never seen that before. His strikes are heavy. His sparing partner is knocked down again and again. Lucas.... He's resilient. Fast. He uses sound to dismantle the rocks around Jackson's feet. They're a strong pair. I'll recruit them for my mission.

  I show them where to improve and when to strike. After a few days of back and forth, Melody calls me out... "Why don't you spar with us?"

  I flinch. "It wouldn't be fair."

  Melody laughs and shrugs her shoulders. "Why not do it blindfolded? Unless you're chicken!"

  The soldiers taunt me. Blindfolded? She must be eager to know why my name carries weight in these walls. Even blindfolded... "You'd still lose."

  None of them have seen me fight, but they’ve seen her fight. I guess I'll have to show them what they'll be up against if they encounter the Axeheads. Melody selected 100 of the most gifted Nobles to brawl with.

  We decided on a free-for-all.

  Garza rushes over. "I heard you were going to spar! Let me take the child."

  I snicker and hand Nathaniel to her. "Wanna see if I still got it?"

  She grins. "I know you do!"

  Chuboki and two of his underlings watch from the top of the training arena. They hide in the shadows, whispering...

  "He’s come to visit.”

  ”He hasn’t come back since the mine incident.”

  I glance up at them. Chuboki's eyes narrow. What's he thinking? Not even 100 can take me? Or...

  The additional soldiers watch from the sidelines, cheering with the countdown of the buzzer. I haven’t trained in years so this'll be a refresher. I put the blindfold on and listen.

  Their hearts beat... Lungs draw in air... Muscles tighten... Joints crack... Sweat pours from their skin... I can taste it on the tip of my tongue. Is it wrong to feel my appetite grow?

  The buzzer chimes. Movement. They fight amongst themselves until one rallies the others up to go straight for me. Melody joins them.

  I laugh. "101 against me?” I'm surrounded. "Who wants to go first?"

  One charges. I squat and spin. He trips over my foot. I rise and chuckle. "That's embarrassing!" Five more. Slow. Fist. Redirect. Swivel. Down. Forward. They're piled on top of each other. I scratch my cheek. "The trick is to predict where your opponent will strike."

  I leap backwards over one who attempts to grab me by the waist. A fist brushes past my face. I jab her in the gut. She chokes and falls to her knees. "Anyone else?"

  Melody clicks her tongue. "Show off!"

  I tilt my head. Grab a fist, then fling them aside. "You could help them out." She doesn't move. "I've fought both the Axeheads, too."

  Gasps and whispers flood the arena.

  Asana, Chuboki's right hand, turns to him. "Chu...you were there..."

  Chuboki squints.

  A soldier shouts. "He can’t take all of us on at once!”

  Chuboki chuckles.

  Right. Miss. Left. Kick. Up. Down. Fist. Knee.

  Each of my palm strikes halted them. I move faster. Left. Hit. Back. Hit. Up. Was that a nose? Right. Think I felt something break. One after the other, they fall to the ground in defeat.

  Melody is sneaking up behind me. I'll strike her just as hard. The rest try to pile on top of me. All I find are openings. Places to strike. Maneuvers to evade capture. There she is—strike. She stumbles. Another. And another.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I can hear her eye throb. Must hurt. Bet it's swollen. What'll she do? Defend the same place? Predict my next move? Where did the others go? Are they lying on the ground? I hear groaning. Someone grabs my ankle.

  "Get him!"

  Melody grits her teeth.

  I smile. "Can you fight me like I'm your enemy?"

  Her heart thuds. "I can't..."

  I dart behind her. "You know why you lost against the Axeheads?" She freezes. ”Lack of power? Perhaps." Her fists tighten. ”Incompetence? Probably." She punches. I block. ”Oooh, see? This is what was missing when you fought them!" She hits harder and harder. ”Think of how you could have saved everyone if you fought the Axeheads like this." Her foot slams into the ground. ”All the lives that were lost due to your throbbing hubris, and you couldn’t even do them justice by killing at least one Head?"

  I grab her fist and throw her beneath my foot.

  She whines. "It wasn’t my fault!”

  I release her. "You were foolish." She rises. ”You went up against an opponent—” My fist sinks into her gut. “—who you'd never fought before and foolishly got your troops slaughtered!”

  She wheezes and grips my arm. "I...didn't...mean to!"

  I tilt my head. "Weren't you prepared for battle?" I kick her across the face. She rolls on the ground. I march over and pull her by the hair. "You heard the stories... How they killed everyone in the mines... Including me."

  Melody cries. "I'm sorry!"

  I hum. "What does that mean?" I send her rolling. "Your words mean nothing, Mel."

  Bolts of lightning crackle, slicing through my skin. I feel her energy shifting. "All that power, what did it get you?" A ball of dust orbiting around her. Flames spewing from her eyes. Large wings rippling with heat. "Where would you be without me?"

  Lasers shoot from her eyes. Did she miss on purpose? Maybe she can't aim from that far. Fireball! I jump out of the way. Another. I dart behind. Wing. Down. I knee her in the face. Those horns on her head? Lasers through my chest. It'll heal.

  I laugh. "You really fucked up, Mel. Going in like that, knowing it was risky, poking the bear, seeking a reaction for so long. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?"

  She roars. ”I got exactly what I wanted!" More lasers. Fire. None land. "All I needed was proof!" She flies toward me. "The world should know!" Flames wrap around. "Fight like a warrior or die like cattle!"

  I frown. "Rage is consuming. An unforgiving nectar that comes with life. I imagine you drink it as an infant before being birthed into the world. That rage brews inside you, lying dormant until the moment comes when you unleash it upon the world. It will devour you whole, then once it’s gone all that you have left is the mess you've made." I sigh. "Anger and rage are different in that way... Rage is blind, chaotic, and destructive. Anger is heartbreak, personal, and there's a method to it."

  She grabs my throat. The fire tickles. I don't mind it. She squeezes. "I won't be like the cattle they consume!"

  I smile. ”Well... If that’s what you really wanted, then I guess you have no reason to keep fighting."

  Melody gasps. Flames distinguish. She falls to her knees. "What? What do you mean? I have to..." She looks up at me, grabbing my shirt. "Fighting is all I know!"

  I cackle. "Fighting is only half the battle!" I toss her across the arena. "You don't have rage." I walk away. "You're just a child who's angry at the world for wronging you. And I'm the man stupid enough to believe you have what it takes to lead. You're just a follower, treading the path I carved for you, and failing at every turn."

  Melody groans. "I have something you'll never understand."

  I stop. "What's that?"

  She spits. "A father..."

  My head… I stumble… Does she mean before I came into her life or after? Why’s everyone staring at me? I should go.

  Garza calls out. I can’t stop myself. The stairwell is dark. Empty. Voices drift through the air. Faces flash beneath my eyes. I collapse in a corner.

  She’d know. I’m nothing. A nobody. Orphan. We’re the same. Somehow different. She’s had time to put her life together and I’m still finding reasons to run from mine. I have to know… Who was I?

  Nebula hunches over her desk. Pen swerving on a page. Breath held.

  Veronica stares into the fireplace. Her orange eyes mirror the flames. She looks up at the painting. Four faces. A smile forms. “Were you ever happy?”

  Nebula hushes. “Quiet!”

  Veronica rushes to the desk and swipes the page from Nebula’s hands. Nebula stands, bumping the desk, and pages fall. “Give it back!”

  Veronica snickers. “Subject 8901… Spotted in Moonlight with a mask made from the bones of his victims. Approached a SAAF agent, asking for an alliance, but was unsuccessful.”

  Nebula rolls her eyes and tosses her pen on the desk. She crosses her arms. “Seriously, V? I don’t have time for your games!”

  Veronica crumples the page. “It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”

  Nebula scoffs. “He’s returned to the Wyre and it’s only a matter of time before he heads into Sector T, where you could have accompanied him if you didn’t let your anger get the better of you.”

  Veronica shrugs and flicks the page into the fireplace. “All good things come to those who wait.” She crawls on the desk, knocking a stack of files onto the floor. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Giving him that child will send him on the warpath.” Veronica sits on her knees. “Straight to you.” She boops Nebula’s nose.

  Nebula growls and swats Veronica’s hand away. “It’s not him I’m after.”

  Veronica tilts her head. “Don’t start on the amulet again!” She flops back, hanging her head off the desk, and watching the fire crackle. “He either hid it or lost it.”

  Nebula returns to her chair and rubs her head. “The amulet is a minor setback.” She spins around to face her bookshelf. “Sylvan never knew what he did with it.”

  Veronica grunts. “That old wench?” She sits up. “39 journals filled to the brim with our every indiscretion. His included. She got a few things wrong though, right?”

  Nebula sighs. “Yes, Veronica. She didn’t see everything. Just enough to predict how this little life of his would play out.”

  Veronica yawns and mocks Nebula with her hand.

  Nebula grips the armrests. “Theodore this, Theodore that. Zachariah. Zachariah. Zachariah. Who’s who? What’s what?” She spins and grabs Veronica’s wrist. “If I knew what that brat was scheming, I’d never have cut him a deal.”

  Veronica cackles. “Wouldn’t you love another do-over?”

  Nebula grins. “Oh, I’ll get mine in due time. While he’s distracted with his new project, I have plans for his old one.”

  Veronica hums. “What’d you have in mind?”

  Nebula releases her and brushes her hair. “The mole rat.”

  Veronica flinches. “The one who fought Lukrimora and Kaideses?” She scoffs. “Dumb thing led us right to him!”

  Nebula nods. “And if she’s that important, then what’ll you think he’ll do if we take her?”

  Veronica laughs. “He’ll lose his mind!” She holds Nebula’s hand. “What if I go?”

  Nebula raises a brow. “To Sector T? Not happening.”

  Veronica rolls her eyes. “Not Sector T… To his house!”

  Nebula stares. “Go on.”

  Veronica snickers. “It’ll be great! We take the mole rat and replace her with me.”

  Nebula drops her hand. “Transfiguration doesn’t work on you. Remember?”

  Veronica shakes her head. “We don’t need to change me. All I have to do is need him for protection from my mean boss.” She punches Nebula’s shoulders.

  Nebula chuckles. “Not a bad idea.” She stands. “You’ll have to time it right. Too soon and he’ll suspect something’s up.” She paces around the desk. “Too late and he’ll be long gone.”

  Veronica pushes the chair with her foot. “We could rough him up. That’d create an opening. He’d need time to recover. I come in when he’s all better, but not quite healed.”

  Nebula looks at the painting above her fireplace and clutches her chest. “Tell Neptune and the others.” She turns to Veronica and hisses. “Make it hurt.”

  Veronica laughs and skips to Nebula, planting a kiss on her cheek, then rushes out the door. She skips down the hallway, stops at a corner, and wipes her lips.

  She shivers then whips around. "Byrd?"

  He saunters towards her. Purple eyes pulse through the smoke of a cigarette hanging from his lips. "I have a tracker." He clicks his lighter. "One of Zachariah's underlings."

  Veronica shifts her weight. "You were supposed to report back a month ago." She chuckles. "Thought you were dead."

  Byrd blows smoke at her and flicks his lighter. "I can smell him on you." He steps closer. "Can you smell him on me?"

  She shrugs. "You smell like horse shit."

  Byrd laughs. "You hide it well, but..." He stares down at the flame hovering over his lighter. "Being in his presence is exhilarating."

  Veronica grins. "It's like breathing for the first time."

  He grunts. "Or the last!"

  She clenches her fists. "He's on the move. We've got a plan." She spins on her toes and struts around the corner. "Let's discuss it with the others!"

  Byrd shoves the lighter into his pocket, then flicks ashes on the floor and follows.