The coin felt wrong in my hand.
Not heavy. Not sharp. Just… wrong.
I stood on the rooftop long after Lyra had disappeared, staring down at the small black coin resting in my palm. It looked ancient, its surface scratched and worn as if it had passed through countless hands before reaching mine. Strange symbols were carved into it—symbols I didn't recognize but somehow felt familiar.
Every few seconds, the bloodline in my chest pulsed in response.
Like it recognized the thing.
Like it didn't like it.
"You shouldn't hold it for too long," Kael said behind me.
I looked up.
"Why?"
"Because it's reacting to your bloodline."
I frowned.
"That's obvious."
Kael stepped closer, studying the coin carefully.
"That coin belongs to the shadow realm."
A chill crept down my spine.
"The shadow realm again," I muttered. "Everyone keeps talking about it like it's a place I should already know."
Kael folded his arms.
"You will."
"That's not reassuring."
The wind picked up slightly, tugging at my jacket as the city lights flickered below us. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled across the sky. A storm was coming.
Fitting.
I looked back down at the coin.
"What did Lyra mean when she said I'm not the only one being hunted?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked out across the city skyline.
"Lyra has always had a talent for appearing when things become complicated," he said finally.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"No," Kael agreed. "But it explains why I don't trust her."
I sighed.
"That's becoming a pattern with everyone I meet."
Kael ignored that.
"Lyra used to be part of an organization that studied bloodlines."
"Used to?"
"She left."
"Why?"
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
"Because they stopped studying bloodlines."
I stared at him.
"And started doing what?"
"Using them."
That answer made my stomach twist.
"Let me guess," I said slowly. "That didn't end well."
Kael looked at me.
"Nothing about bloodline wars ever does."
I glanced back down at the coin.
"So this thing… it's connected to that?"
"Yes."
The bloodline pulsed again, stronger this time.
The shadows around my feet shifted uneasily.
I slipped the coin into my jacket pocket.
The reaction faded slightly, but the tension in my chest remained.
"So now what?" I asked.
Kael turned toward the stairwell door.
"Now we prepare."
"For what?"
He looked at me seriously.
"For what comes next."
—
We spent the rest of the night inside the warehouse.
Kael moved several crates aside, clearing space in the center of the room. The floor was cracked concrete, stained from years of neglect.
Perfect training ground.
"Stand there," Kael said, pointing to the middle.
I walked over reluctantly.
"You know," I said, stretching my arms, "most mentors give their students a day off after nearly getting killed."
"You're not most students."
"That doesn't feel like a compliment."
Kael ignored me again.
"Close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Because your eyes are becoming a distraction."
I hesitated.
"Just do it."
I sighed and shut my eyes.
For a moment, there was nothing but darkness.
Then the bloodline stirred.
The familiar warmth spread through my chest, branching outward through my arms and legs.
"Focus on the shadows," Kael said.
"They're everywhere," I replied.
"Exactly."
I breathed slowly.
The warehouse began to feel… different.
The air had texture.
The shadows felt like currents moving around me.
Then one of them shifted.
My eyes snapped open.
"Behind me."
Kael stood there, arms crossed.
"Good."
A thin shadow tendril whipped toward me from the side.
I reacted instinctively, blocking it with my own darkness.
Another tendril came from above.
Then another from the floor.
"What is this?" I shouted.
"Control training," Kael replied calmly.
The tendrils attacked faster.
I twisted and countered, sending waves of shadow back at them.
But the attacks kept coming.
Each one sharper.
Faster.
More precise.
"Too slow," Kael said.
I ducked under another strike.
"I'm doing my best!"
"Your best isn't enough."
The shadows surged again.
One tendril wrapped around my wrist.
Another around my ankle.
I slammed a burst of darkness outward, breaking free.
My breathing grew heavier.
The bloodline pulsed harder now.
Stronger.
Almost impatient.
"Stop fighting the shadows," Kael said.
"What does that even mean?"
"You're trying to control them like weapons."
"That's what they are!"
"No," Kael said sharply.
"They are extensions of you."
I froze for half a second.
That was enough for another tendril to wrap around my arm.
I didn't resist this time.
Instead, I focused on the pulse in my chest.
The shadow around my arm shifted slightly.
Then loosened.
Kael watched closely.
"Better."
The tendrils attacked again.
But this time I moved differently.
Instead of forcing the shadows to obey, I let them flow.
A small wave of darkness redirected one attack.
Another coil absorbed a second.
Within seconds, the tendrils dissolved back into the floor.
The warehouse fell quiet.
I stood there breathing hard.
Kael nodded once.
"You're beginning to understand."
"Barely," I said.
"That's enough for now."
I collapsed onto a nearby crate.
"You say that every time right before the next nightmare starts."
Kael almost smiled again.
But the moment passed quickly.
Instead, he glanced toward the warehouse door.
His expression shifted.
Serious again.
"Did you feel that?"
I frowned.
"What?"
The bloodline pulsed suddenly.
Hard.
The shadows around the room rippled violently.
And then—
A loud crash echoed outside.
Metal screeched against concrete.
My head snapped toward the door.
"That didn't sound friendly."
Kael's voice was calm.
"No."
Another crash followed.
Closer this time.
Heavy footsteps.
Multiple.
My pulse quickened.
"Hunters?"
Kael walked toward the door slowly.
"Yes."
I stood up immediately.
"How many?"
Kael paused, listening carefully.
Then he looked back at me.
"Too many."
The warehouse lights flickered.
The shadows along the walls thickened.
Something slammed into the metal door.
Hard.
The entire building shook.
I clenched my fists as darkness gathered around them.
"Guess the scouts finished their report," I muttered.
Kael's voice was steady.
"Adrian."
"Yeah?"
"Tonight will decide whether you survive this war."
My stomach tightened.
The door buckled inward with another deafening crash.
And for the first time since all of this began…
I realized the hunters weren't testing me anymore.
They were here to finish the job.