SIXTY | STEP TWO

Mikyle leads me out of the war room and through the courtyard, not even bothering to wait as I scramble to catch up. We don't stop to chat as a few of the vampires eye us curiously, a few calling greetings to my shadow. Mikyle leads me past the library and through the path to a large area between the library and greenhouse, out of sight from the others. A strong sense of dread tugs at my gut as he stops in the center of the field and turns to face me, grinning.

"Hale and your mother told me ahead of time about how inexperienced you are with fighting." He tells me, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt., though never taking his eye off mine.

"I don't," I rasp and clear my throat as that sickening twist in my stomach begins migrating up my throat. "Know how to fight, I mean." I add, taking a deep breath. There's a new uncomfortable feeling stirring in my chest I don't understand, my heart's steadily picking up speed and my mouth's gone dry.

"See, I don't buy that." Mikyle tilts his head, his dark eyes brightening to match the color of my hair. My breathing becomes shallow, my muscles tensing as I feel the fluttery feeling ramp up another degree. "You see," He begins, then he's gone in a flash. Time suddenly slows to a crawl as he rushes me, deadly intent in his crimson eyes. Unlike all the times before, however, my own body moves like the air's made of jello.

As he runs at me, arms pumping at his sides, shoes kicking up grass and dirt, I feel my body roll to the side. The movement is akin to ballerina twirling in slow motion, and I'm really not surprised when I feel Mikyle's strong arms wrap around me from behind a second later as time resumes.

"Your instincts are too good." He finishes, his grip loosening ever so slightly to hover over my own arms. "Lesson number one:" His voice takes on a cool, surprisingly serious tone. "Never let your opponent catch you." His fingers cover mine, gentle with barely any pressure. I do my best to hide the shiver involuntarily slipping down my spine. "But if they do," He continues as if he doesn't notice. "Drop your weight," He forces me to bend down with him and I nearly die a our bodies slide into an almost siting position, but he continues giving out instructions. "As you do that, wiggle around or try to slip free," My face heats and I do as he asks, bolting away from him as I do and springing out of his arms. I whirl around to face him, but he's moving again, this time, even faster.

Once more, he grabs me, but with real force, bear-hugging me from behind and squeezing me tightly against him. My mind snaps to attention as I recall everything he just said, squatting as low as I can and moving to try and break his hold- but since he's just taught me this, he's expecting it. I grit my teeth as the strength of his grip bruises my upper arms. On instinct, I bring my elbow back with as much strength as I can, simultaneously moving my opposite heel into the spot I know to be level with his knee.

The movement seems to catch him off guard and my shadow suddenly releases me, hissing as my heel makes his knee buckle. I spin around to face him and catch him smirking before his expression goes blank again, one knee on the ground, the other- My stomach flips and I clasp a hand over my mouth, taking in the sight of Mikyles leg bent at an awkward angle.

"Relax, princess, I've been dealt worse," He chuckles, shaking his head as I rush forward, only to be stopped as he raises a hand for me to remain calm. "Though, I must say," He drops his hands to the disjointed joint and - with a sickening pop - realigns it himself. "I wasn't expecting so much strength out of the gate. My mistake." He stands and shakes the limb out.

"I'm so sorry-" I rush out, surprised he's already up and moving, but he cuts me off with a frown.

"That was nothing, princess. I was serious, a dislocated knee is nothing. Good first effort, always go for the weakest, softest spots when breaking free." I blink a few times, thinking of al the time I've dislocating joint and had to give my body at least five minutes before the thing healed well enough for me to use the corresponding limb. "While I'm your mentor, I expect you to be as ruthless as you would with your own family." He tells me when I say nothing.

"But I don't want to kill them- I mean, not really." I admit. Mikyle raises an eyebrow at me.

"And that's your first mistake. Scarlett," He looks me dead in the eye. "They're trying to kill you. They've nearly succeeded twice over the last week alone. I don't think any of them are intending to take you back to the Reinier territory alive." I wince, knowing he's absolutely right, but still. Though I hate them, I can't bring myself to think about killing any of them. Well, maybe Craven.

"They're still family-" I reply, feeling nothing when I mentally reach for the bond that's been my constant companion for as long as I can remember. It's gone now, but what I feel instead is an ice so much colder than the chill I've felt this month. I recoil from the coolness and wrap y arms around my shoulders as the freezing sludge re-ignites in my bones and starts flowing like an icy river through my veins.

"Which is why you'll never be able to win against them. Not until you let go of that mentality. You're not part of their Pack anymore. You're not with any Wolven. You're part of a Coven now." He grits out, his eyes dimming a few degrees. "The same rules you've always lived by no longer apply."

"I'm still half-Wolven, I can't ignore that." I growl back at him, my hackles rising at his tone. "Sixteen years of Pack life isn't just flushed away because I drink blood now." I sneer at him, dropping my arms as the coldness suddenly explodes to life and overtakes me, painting my entire world in shades of red. I'm immediately calm, though the sting from his words is still echoing in my chest. Despite my words, my shadow's smirking now, his expression smug.

"You look more like a vampire than a Wolven to me, princess." He bites out, tapping on his canines for emphasis. I reach up to find my fangs have dropped once again, only this time, I hadn't even noticed. I stretch my lips until they touch, hiding the large canines. Mikyle's eyes narrow, the rest of his face becoming a mask of calm nonchalance. "I think we should end the lesson for today," He tells me so abruptly that the change snaps back and I can see in different colors again. My emotions fly back out the the box they'd been locked in and my teeth shrink back to their original size.

"I want to learn more-" I begin to argue, confused as to why he's suddenly ending a lesson when we were only out here a few minutes.

"You've expended a lot of energy for a fledgling." He explains, shaking his head. "You may not feel it now, but the drill we've just run though has wasted more energy than you can afford." I open my mouth again to argue, but he cuts me off again. "Let's get you lunch, then we can train some more."

"Lunch?" I repeat with a grimace, knowing exactly what kind of meal he's thinking about.

"I believed you promised a certain someone to have an entire donor bag as a supplemental starter." Mikyle's smirk returns, his dark red eyes glinting maliciously.

"First off, I never promised anyone anything, I said I'd think about it-" I narrow my eyes at him, taking a step forward- only to have my knees buckle under me as a cloud of black stops dance in my vision. Pain stabs at my throat and jaw, echoing through my bones with each beat of my heart. I let out a hiss, trying to blink away the dots as my head spins. "But maybe that's a good idea." I choke out, feeling Mikyle's arm sliding around my shoulders as he helps me to my feet.

"Good idea, princess." He replies dryly, but I don't even have the strength to smack him for the comment. I find I barely have enough energy to put one foot in front of the other as he leads me back to the main house.