"We're not training at the ring today," Darius said, already walking past it, past the well, past the last scattered houses at the edge of Ashmoor."Where are we going.""Somewhere you'll actually have to use more than your fists."She followed him past the border markers into the trees, the packed dirt giving way to root and moss underfoot, the ordinary noise of camp fading behind them until all that was left was birdsong and wind moving through the canopy. Weeks of training had changed how her body moved through terrain like this, quieter now, more deliberate, but she still felt clumsy next to him, every one of his steps landing without sound while hers snapped the occasional twig despite her best effort."You're thinking about your feet," Darius said, not turning around. "Stop doing that.""How do you even know that.""Because you've gone quiet in the specific way people go quiet when they're concentrating too hard on something simple." He glanced back at her, unhurried. "Walking i
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