The mark burned, but not in pain.
It pulsed with purpose.
Every heartbeat echoed with something older, deeper. Raine felt it—magic threaded in her blood, in her bones. The Grove had awakened more than a power… it had awakened her instinct.
And Nyra wasted no time.
Day One: Break and Build
"You're fast," Nyra said as Raine deflected her blade, breathless.
"But I'm better."
Nyra's foot swept her legs out. Raine hit the ground hard.
Again.
Xavier moved to help, but Raine growled, "Don't."
She rose, wiped the blood from her lip, and grinned.
Nyra raised a brow. "That's more like it."
The rest of the day was filled with grueling drills—tracking through scent-flooded mazes, sparring blindfolded, and running with the pack in their half-shifted forms.
Raine failed most of it.
But she never stopped.
Day Three: The Echo Flame
By the third day, her mark reacted to her emotions. Anger made it burn. Fear made it flicker. But love—especially when Xavier was near—made it hum.
During a breath-control trial, Raine's flame burst out, uncontrolled.
She nearly set the practice arena ablaze.
"You love too hard," Nyra said, smirking. "That will either save you or ruin you."
Xavier pulled Raine aside later, wiping soot from her cheek.
"You're doing well," he said.
"I almost incinerated you."
"Yeah, but I've never looked better charred."
She punched his arm, but smiled.
For a moment, she forgot the war.
That night, Raine dreamed of a name: Solari.
She didn't know what it meant—but when she whispered it aloud, her pendant glowed again, revealing another rune.
"Another key," Ezekiel muttered, studying it in the morning. "Whatever your mother left behind… it's locked by more than just blood."
"And I'm supposed to unlock it?"
"You and the flame inside you."
Final Trial: Lead the Unbroken
Nyra stood before the warriors that evening, her voice cutting through the dusk.
"From now on, if I fall, she leads."
Shock rippled through the crowd.
"Why me?" Raine whispered.
"Because leadership isn't about power. It's about who others bleed for—and they've seen you bleed."
Then Nyra turned, her voice iron.
"Tomorrow, we hunt. Raine leads."