THE RUST DISTRICT - THE TRAINING FIELD

  Elara’s world was a tightening circle of black.

  Valerius held her by the throat, his arm as rigid as a ceiling beam. Her boots kicked uselessly, brushing against his greaves.

  She clawed at his gauntlet, her fingernails snapping against the matte-black steel. No air came.

  Her lungs felt like they were collapsing under a vacuum.

  Kaelen stood five feet away. His knuckles were white. His jaw trembled.

  He looked at the High Inquisitor and didn't see a man; he saw the crushing weight of the Royal Families. He saw the end of everything.

  "Valerius!" Kaelen’s voice broke. "I did it. I’m the one you want. She’s innocent. Put her down."

  Valerius didn't look at him. He kept his eyes locked on Elara, watching the way her face turned a bruised scarlet. He smiled. It was the expression of a man savoring a vintage wine.

  "You can lie all you want, giant," Valerius said. His voice was a silken thread of venom. "But I trust my boys. And I’d rather believe them than..."

  He turned his head. His eyes flared with a cold, psychic light.

  "...the word of a gutter-born dog."

  Elara’s hand tightened around her wooden practice sword. She used the last spark of her strength to swing. The wood whistled through the air, aimed at Valerius's temple.

  It stopped.

  The sword froze inches from his skin, vibrating against an invisible wall. Valerius’s gaze shifted back to her. The pressure in the air spiked.

  The hilt began to twist in Elara’s hand. She fought it, her knuckles white, but the force was absolute.

  Snap.

  The practice sword shattered. The pieces fell into the dirt.

  Elara’s eyes rolled back. Her hands fell limp.

  "VALERIUS! DROP HER!" Kaelen roared.

  Valerius opened his hand.

  Elara hit the ground like a sack of grain. She curled into a ball, drawing in wet, ragged gasps that sounded like tearing silk. Her hands went straight to the dark bruises forming on her neck.

  Valerius stepped over her. He didn't look back. "You're right. Killing her now would be a political headache. A war between houses is such a messy affair."

  He walked toward Kaelen. His pace was rhythmic. Predatory.

  "Instead," Valerius said, "I’ll just return the favor."

  He stopped in front of the giant. Valerius was nearly Kaelen’s height, but his presence made him seem twice as large. He radiated a cold, suffocating power.

  "I'll kill you instead."

  Kaelen’s fists were still shaking, but the fear in his eyes had hardened into something else. The giant roared—a sound that started in his chest and shook the field.

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  He brought his fist down in a hammer-strike meant to split Valerius in half.

  Valerius didn't move. He raised one hand and caught the punch.

  Crack.

  The sound of the impact was like a lightning strike. A shockwave rippled outward, flattening the grass and splintering the dry earth beneath their boots. Valerius didn't budge an inch.

  Thunk.

  Valerius’s other fist buried itself in Kaelen’s stomach.

  The air left Kaelen’s lungs in a violent spray of spit. His feet left the ground.

  He flew backward ten feet, tumbling through the weeds before hitting the dirt with a bone-jarring thud.

  "Kaelen!" Elara screamed.

  She thrust her hands forward.

  Water erupted from the stone well. It didn't flow; it exploded. The liquid coalesced mid-air, forming a massive fist the size of a carriage.

  Elara snapped her hand down.

  The water fist plummeted. Valerius blurred to the left, his movement unnaturally fluid.

  The water slammed into the earth where he had been standing, detonating in a spray of mud and foam.

  Elara didn't let up. She manipulated the spray, hardening the droplets until they had the density of river stones.

  Thud. Thud. Thud.

  The projectiles hammered into Valerius’s forearms as he raised them to shield his face.

  Each hit forced him back, his boots carving deep furrows in the mud. He bared his teeth.

  He lowered his arms. Red welts bloomed on his skin. "I see. You increased the viscosity. Clever."

  He tilted his head, inspecting her. "Your talent might even surpass Vespera’s."

  Elara went still. The mention of the name hit her like a physical blow. Her rage, previously a flickering flame, became a white-hot furnace.

  Valerius flicked his fingers.

  A boulder tore itself from the earth to Elara’s left. It hurtled toward her, spinning with lethal momentum. She raised a wall of water to intercept it.

  The stone smashed through the liquid barrier as if it were tissue paper.

  Crack.

  The boulder clipped Elara’s side, spinning her through the air. She hit the ground and skidded.

  Pain exploded in her ribs—white, blinding, and sharp. She tried to breathe, but her side felt like it had been hit by a runaway cart.

  Valerius started toward her.

  From the dirt, Kaelen surged. He tackled Valerius from behind, locking him in a desperate bear hug. His muscles strained, veins bulging in his neck as he squeezed.

  "Elara!" Kaelen choked out. "RUN!"

  Valerius smirked. "You first."

  He snapped his head back.

  Crunch.

  His skull met Kaelen’s nose. The giant stumbled back, blood spraying down his shirt. Valerius didn't let him recover.

  He stepped in, delivering a hook to the jaw, then a cross to the temple.

  The final blow was an uppercut that lifted Kaelen off his feet. The giant crashed onto his back, senseless.

  Valerius stepped forward and planted his boot on Kaelen’s throat. He pressed down, grinding his heel. Kaelen’s eyes bulged. His hands clawed at the black armor.

  Elara saw it. She saw her father figure dying in the dirt.

  Something inside her mind shattered.

  "VALERIUS!"

  The well didn't just provide water this time. It detonated.

  A massive column of water roared into the sky, blotting out the morning sun.

  It twisted into a hurricane of liquid rage, casting a long, dark shadow over the entire field. The ground began to vibrate.

  Valerius stepped off Kaelen’s throat. He looked up at the towering wave, his eyes glowing with a manic, psychic light. He dropped into a combat stance.

  "You’re nothing like Vespera," Valerius whispered, his voice trembling with excitement.

  He looked at Elara—at the monster she was becoming.

  "You're much worse."