Chapter 6: The First Test

I didn’t sleep.

Not because I was scared. Fear was too soft for what twisted in my chest.

I was restless.

All night, my fingers played with the hem of the sheet, my body aching from the maze, and my mind tracing paths that didn’t exist yet. What I did yesterday… it worked. I caught Lucian off guard.

But it wasn’t enough.

Getting through the maze was survival.

Getting close to him, that was the beginning of war.

Morning came too fast. Pale light soaked through the barrack windows. Girls rushed around the bunks, excitement bubbling in their throats like champagne. Giddy. Nervous. Trying to convince themselves they had a chance.

Mara handed me a piece of bread and a tight look. “They posted the next test.”

“What is it?”

“Combat rounds.”

I chewed slowly. “Weapons?”

She shook her head. “Claws. Teeth. Nothing but your own strength.”

Figures.

My body hadn’t fully recovered from the maze, but I didn’t let it show. Bruises could heal later. Bones could rest later. Right now, I had a part to play.

One of the handlers shouted outside, calling names.

Mara glanced toward the door. “You’re in the second match.”

“Who’s first?”

She paused. “Kade.”

My stomach knotted.

Kade wasn’t the strongest. But he watched people the way I watched prey. Quiet. Calculating. Like he knew too much for someone who said so little.

As if on cue, Kade stepped into the clearing outside, his jaw rigid, movements controlled like a soldier’s.

I forced myself not to react.

He couldn’t know.

No one could.

Especially not him.

The ring was smaller than expected. Just dirt and ropes. No glamor. No audience, just competitors standing around the edges like vultures.

Lucian stood beside the referee, arms crossed. His expression gave nothing away, but his eyes... they moved with intent.

Watching. Measuring.

Waiting.

I could feel the shift in the air when Kade’s opponent stepped into the ring.

It wasn’t a fair fight.

And Kade didn’t bother pretending it was.

He moved like a ghost, dodging the girl’s strikes before she could even register her own swing. His claws came out quick. One swipe, clean, controlled, and she was on the ground, winded, bleeding.

Not enough to kill. Just enough to humiliate.

He stepped back and let her crawl out on her own.

Someone clapped halfheartedly. Most stayed silent.

Lucian nodded once. No smile. No words. Just quiet approval.

Then the handler called my name.

I stepped into the ring.

My opponent was older. Taller. Her muscles looked like they’d been carved from stone.

I didn’t flinch.

We faced each other in silence, the way animals did before a storm.

“You’re the rogue,” she said. “The one who helped the girl in the maze.”

I didn’t answer.

“You should’ve let her die. This place eats kindness.”

I tilted my head. “So eat me, then.”

She snarled, and the fight started.

She lunged first, predictable. I ducked under her arm, slipped to the side, and drove my elbow into her ribs. She grunted, but didn’t fall.

We danced.

Her blows were heavy. Mine were fast. I didn’t aim to overpower, I aimed to break rhythm.

Break confidence.

I let her think she had me against the ropes, then spun behind and kicked her knees. She stumbled. I went for her shoulder, claws sinking in just enough to make her scream.

I could’ve ended it there.

But I didn’t.

I waited until she stood again. Blood dripped from her arm. Her eyes were furious.

She charged.

I ducked, caught her leg, and slammed her into the ground with a thud that echoed.

Then I walked away.

Lucian didn’t look at me until I stepped out of the ring. When he did, his gaze lingered just a moment too long.

Approval?

Maybe.

But it didn’t feel clean.

Later that afternoon, while others celebrated surviving the round, I walked alone to the far side of the camp.

That’s when I felt him behind me.

I didn’t turn. “If you’re going to stalk me, you should at least be better at hiding.”

Kade’s voice was low. “You didn’t grow up in this pack.”

I smiled slightly. “And you think you did?”

“You don’t smell like the rest. You don’t talk like them either.”

I finally turned. He was closer than I expected, arms folded, eyes scanning me like a puzzle he was almost finished solving.

“Why are you here, Sera?” he asked.

“To win.”

“That’s not it.”

I stepped past him, slow. “You sound like you want there to be more.”

Kade followed. “I want to know if I need to stop you.”

That pulled a laugh from me. “Are you threatening me?”

“No. I’m warning you.”

His tone didn’t match his words. It was calm, like we were talking about the weather. And that made it more dangerous.

I stopped walking. Faced him fully. “Why do you care?”

“Because I’ve seen what revenge does. And you’ve got that look.”

I didn’t answer.

Kade studied me for another beat. “You touch Lucian, you don’t just burn yourself. You burn us all.”

I didn’t blink. “Then maybe you should all start learning how to survive fire.”

The days passed in a blur of bruises, whispers, and stares.

I won my next match. Barely. The girl cracked one of my ribs, but I didn’t let her walk out of the ring without limping.

The other contestants started avoiding me, not out of hatred, but out of something colder. Fear. Confusion. Like they didn’t know where I fit.

That was good.

I didn’t want to fit.

I wanted to stand close enough to Lucian’s fire without melting.

Every evening, he watched the fights. But he never spoke to me. Not in front of others.

Until the fourth day.

I was alone in the weapons shed, wrapping my wrist with gauze, when the door creaked.

Lucian stepped in.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just leaned against the frame, watching.

“Done spying?” I asked.

His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re not who you pretend to be.”

I tied off the wrap. “Neither are you.”

That earned a small sound from him. Not quite a laugh. Not quite a growl.

“I don’t trust you,” he said.

“Good. I don’t trust you either.”

He walked closer. Stopped a few feet from me. “You helped someone in the maze. You didn’t have to.”

I met his eyes. “You think kindness is weakness.”

“Sometimes, it is.”

“And sometimes, it’s a weapon.”

His gaze sharpened.

I didn’t flinch.

Lucian stepped even closer. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Why did you really sign up for the Trials?”

“To win,” I said again.

His fingers brushed my injured hand.

The contact was light. Curious.

“You’re not afraid of me,” he said.

“No,” I said quietly. “But maybe you should be afraid of me.”

We stared at each other.

Long enough to say things without words.

Then he stepped back and left.

That night, I couldn’t sleep again.

Not because I was restless this time.

Because something had shifted.

Lucian looked at me differently now. Not as a rogue. Not as a threat.

Something else.

And Kade? He was watching even closer. Hovering on the edge of my path like a shadow.

The lines I’d drawn for myself, clear, clean, sharp, were starting to blur.

I told myself I didn’t care. That I still had a goal. That I was here for one reason.

Revenge.

But revenge was easier when hearts weren’t involved. When glances didn’t linger. When warnings didn’t sound like protection.

I stared up at the ceiling until my eyes burned.

Maybe Kade was right.

Maybe I was playing with fire.

But I’d come too far to stop now.

End of Chapter 6