nd had seen many games or fights,

er Darius hosted fights. S

she knew thi

ir lips curled in sneers, their muscles coiled lik

an, but his express

p this, she mused, an

t as she spun in a fixed circle, eyeing the wolves as they ey

s head. "A test,"

olling as his paws hit the ground. His muscles b

here, little pri

rt slammed aga

e had never been trained

onal speaker in the face of

ne, these pests would not make her cow

that's all, she told herse

ed her sh

ian, raising her chin as she kept her ey

to think, but her fear was

ers was shaking as she took slow deliberate st

ossed over his broad chest.

raying nothing of the fear she knew he co

t of her arched his back

die," he

words left his

e to react before a cla

cts screaming, but she

ibs as the rogue's large b

ered back

rupted fro

," a rogu

survive," an

gritted h

I won't

fought back the fear that w

ld of the water and air, or from the rush of adrenaline

her again, but thi

ashed in her mind, and Dorien's

ather's deep, e

tle one, don't rush abo

ir range. If you must die, die facing your en

ch other in an octagon-shaped ring made of silver spiked wires surrounded by a wall of

of few words and ev

er, it was usually

advice,

rwise, he would never have wasted so mu

his meetings, in his council sessions, and not just the ones where there

sked for her input – eve

fight of her life, as she was flung into using theo

ve her falling to the ground as the wind o

training – but she was a

ehow, it was not paralyzing her;

oice, was keep

s first attack,

n intensity that made him pause.

in, and unexpectedly

s were n

as practiced, a

her advance, he did

hallow, but he made deep

gue in the process, drawing blood, which she pro

grunted,

's laught

see when she dove in against his exposed side, stabbi