“Again!” Melisdra called.

  Kar barely raised his practice blade in time to block a swift strike. His attacker—a boy little older than Isa. He was an Enhancer, clearly one who’d been training his whole life. For Kar, this was his first day.

  Their blades clanged together, once, twice. Then Kar lost sight of the other boy’s movements. The follow-up strike slammed into Kar’s left side, doubling him over and making him drop his weapon.

  Kar backed off, one hand held upright as he winced in pain. This was nothing like the fights he’d endured so far.

  “In a real fight, I’d be Focusing or Forging.” Kar mumbled.

  Melisdra shook her head disapprovingly from where she stood beyond the practice circle, “In a real fight you’d be dead. You have no foundation, no skill. No training to fall back on.”

  Kar tried not to make a face at her. He’d survived so far, hadn’t he? What frustrated him most, was that she was right. He’d lucked and improvised his way through everything so far. And—on more than once occasion—only lived because others had chosen not to kill him.

  Why’d she have to put him up against a kid, though? That was humiliating.

  “That’s enough Iskan.” Melisdra told the boy. He bowed, first to her, then Kar, and left the circle. He rejoined the row of young ones waiting patiently behind Melisdra.

  Kar thought he saw a slight smile on her crystal face as she called another child forward, “Elena, you may join the circle.”

  A girl of no more than twelve stepped forward. Slight of build and stature. Her practice blade short to match.

  Really?

  Kar stared at Melisdra in disbelief.

  “It will do you no good to train with someone beyond your skill level.”

  Kar stood straight and adjusted his grip on the practice blade. The bruises he’d accumulated so far smarted fiercely. He wished he had a shard to heal himself with. But he’d been given access to no Energía since awakening in his cell days before. And it looked like that wasn’t going to be changing any time soon.

  “Begin.” Melisdra called out.

  The girl, Elena, darted forward. She Focused, and Kar too late realized she wasn’t an Enhancer.

  She created a blast that propelled her blade strike forward with surprising force and speed. Kar had no time to block or dodge. Instead, he angled his shadowcryst arm between himself and her blow. The arm took the brunt of it, and the girl’s practice sword cracked loudly against the dark crystal. Small chips flew off, but Kar felt no pain.

  He hacked his blade towards Elena, but she had already leapt away.

  They circled one another, Kar more cautious now. He lunged toward her and swung, once, twice. She evaded and slipped away, then stabbed her blade towards his unguarded side.

  Kar swung his shadowcryst arm.

  It moved faster than the rest of him could, and he finally caught her with its forearm. It pummeled into her—harder than he meant it to—with an ugly crunch. Elena was slammed sideways across the training circle. She—impressively—ducked into her fall and rolled to her feet shakily, favoring her left side.

  “That’s enough!” Melisdra said sharply.

  “Sorry.” Kar told the girl, cringing. He could tell she was hurt badly. But still, she bowed to Melisdra, then him, before limping off. As she dragged herself back in line with the others, though, he could see that her body was shuddering as she cried silently. All Kar could see was Isa, at that age. He hadn’t meant to hurt the girl.

  Melisdra strode over to him, and Kar’s right arm pulsed. It was hungry and could sense the Energía within the Guardian. He sub-consciously reached over with his left hand and clamped down tightly on it.

  She examined him shrewdly, keeping her distance. “Are you right-handed?”

  Kar was surprised she had been able to tell. He’d been using his left hand as much as possible ever since he’d gained his shadow appendage.

  “I am.” He replied.

  “Why are you using your left, then?”

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  Kar shrugged, “It just, feels weird, to use my right, now.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “That’s foolish. You’re giving up an advantage and making it more difficult on yourself by only using your left. Swap to your right from now on.”

  “I thought I needed to avoid using it, though?”

  “I’m afraid that ship has sailed. Use the advantages available to you. The real danger is your Absorption. That I will not permit you to use, not here.”

  Kar inhaled. He was relieved to notice an adult Adept tending to the girl, Elena. They Focused, Imbuing and healing the injuries Kar had given to her. He breathed out a sigh of relief, glad to see her taken care of at least.

  He’d been shocked on coming out here to the courtyard this morning and being greeted by all of these human Adepts. Kar had plenty of questions about that, but no opportunity to ask.

  Melisdra called an older acolyte forward, and Kar tossed his blade to his right hand as instructed. He tried a few practice swings and was impressed by the menacing sound the blade made as it sliced through the air.

  His personal style quickly became apparent, which was to say, Kar had none. He leaned on the superhuman strength of his shadow arm and overpowered his opponents one by one. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective, for the most part. Some older Enhancers still handled him easily though, blitzing him with speed, precision, and superhuman strength of their own.

  He finished that first training session hardly able to move from all the hits he’d taken.

  “Can I have some shards or something, to heal myself?” He asked Melisdra after bowing to the row of acolyte boys and girls before they left for the day.

  She shook her head, “As I told you, no Absorption.”

  Kar frowned, “I thought that was Imbuing, though.”

  “No, Imbuers can heal others, not themselves. If you’ve been healing yourself, then you’ve been using your Void abilities to do it.”

  That reframed things in Kar’s mind. This whole time, then, he hadn’t truly understood what he was doing.

  “I will allow another to heal you, though.”

  She was leading him out of the courtyard where she and Kar had first dueled, back into the Fortress where Kar’s cell was located. They entered into a side hall and there was Morrow, sitting on a bench, waiting.

  “You’ve had a rough time of it, I see.” The man said, wincing on seeing Kar.

  Kar could feel his face was swollen and must look as badly bruised as the rest of him. He sighed in relief as Morrow took most of the hurt and inflammation away.

  Melisdra started to lead Kar back to his cell when Morrow said, “The others wanted to see him as well, if you will allow it?”

  Melisdra halted in place, considering it. She turned and stared at Kar. He realized he was holding his breath. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to see his friends again. “I will allow it,” she finally said, “but only while I am present.”

  She led him along then, and Morrow hurried off.

  The rest of Kar’s party crowded the hallway outside his cell while he sat on his cot. It was strange, he was obviously under guard and restricted, but he didn’t feel like a true prisoner. As he thought about it more, he realized why that was. Kar himself was not the one Melisdra and her Valorcryst were worried about; it was his Shadowcryst arm that engendered fear.

  Kar couldn’t say he blamed them. Especially since they seemed to understand far better than he did what it was capable of. What it represented.

  Melisdra opened his cell door, electing to stay outside while she allowed the others to enter. The room quickly felt crowded.

  Derek hugged him first, then Lore. She scrunched her nose in disgust. “They need to let you shower or something.”

  Kar started to shrink back, embarrassed, but she jabbed him in the side and grinned, “I’m just teasing.”

  Aldwin came forward and embraced Kar as well. Kar was glad to see how rested they all looked. Many of them wore new clothing that matched what he had seen the acolytes and their handlers wearing out in the courtyard that day.

  The three Hunters—Jon, Rowan, and Cyse—greeted Kar with smiles and came over to shake his hand or pat him on the back. Kiya, Erio, and Tharn all lined up along the wall by the exit. Morrow came in last and shut the door behind him.

  “I feel out of touch,” Kar began. “I’m glad you’re all ok.”

  Kiya grunted, “We’re just lucky you didn’t get yourself killed. Why did you try to fight that Guardian on your own? With our help, we might all be back home by now.”

  “I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt…”

  “It would have made no difference,” Tharn rumbled next to Kiya.

  “This is better,” Erio added, “now you’ve all had time to rest and prepare for the final trial. Has she said when she will permit you to continue?”

  The door creaked as it was opened from the outside, and Melisdra herself stepped in to join them. “The boy is not ready,” She answered Erio.

  Erio frowned, “With our help—“

  “He cannot rely on the help of others!” She snapped.

  Her outburst brought silence.

  Tharn shifted his arms, and was the first who dared to speak. “How long do you intend to keep him back for training?”

  Before Melisdra could respond, Derek stepped toward her, “You can’t keep us here. We have people waiting, people who need us!”

  The Guardian turned a cold stare toward Derek. Measuring him. Weighing him. He didn’t flinch or back down. The edge of one side of her mouth curled up in a little smile, “Time usually passes more quickly for us here in Dagenar than it does back on Dara. How long were you in the Vault before arriving in this Hub Realm?”

  “Two, maybe three days?” Aldwin offered.

  Melisdra nodded. “So it’s been twelve to thirteen days for you, total. Back on Dara, it’s likely been little more than one.”

  “How is that flaming possible?” Kiya asked.

  Erio talked over her, “The ratio was never so steep before, Melisdra.”

  The Guardian held up her hands to quiet the mumbling and muttering that had erupted with her statement. To Erio, she turned and said, “The Causeways to our Realm have been closed for quite some time now. The Dilation steepens the fewer Realms or Worlds we are connected to.”

  “I did not realize.” Tharn said softly.

  “It’s not something any of us would have, back in the old days. When everything used to be connected. But now what remains is cut off and separated from the rest.”

  She turned back to Kar, “You have a unique opportunity, Marked. Here, in my Realm, you can grow stronger in a fraction of the time it would take you to do so anywhere else. For now, you are untrained and unskilled. Try and race ahead, and you will fail, I guarantee it. Choose to stay and let me nurture and guide you? And I will forge you into a weapon all Shadowcryst fear.”