The night passed quickly enough, though sleep was hard to come by. My violet-eyed other paid me a visit in the dead forest, causing me to wake in a cold sweat as the shakes set in. Training with Lily didn’t go much better.

Now, after sitting at this cold desk for the last twenty minutes while Vonlowsky prattled on, I couldn’t help the irritation that was setting in.

Why is he even talking?

My inner demons agreed. He’d been appointed the ‘trainer’ to head this unofficial gathering everyday, and the one to enforce the Council’s will.

Anastasia’s nine sat amongst us in the classroom-like setting outside the simulation chamber. It still reminded me of the isolation rooms in a psych ward; I guess some things never changed—like how much I couldn’t stand my arrogant ex-Battle Simulation professor.

“Ms. Foster, I asked you a question.”

I snapped my head up to look at him. “What?” I asked blankly.

Blair kicked the back of my desk.

“Ms. Foster, is there a reason you’ve shown up here three minutes late and half-asleep? You’ve been honored by the Council—”

That was my undoing. “What. Do. You. Want?” I said through gritted teeth. What I meant to say was leave me the fuck alone.

The feeling of his breath in my face made me tense, as he leaned down to be eye level with me. My demons roared.

Too close. He’s too close.

I could hardly breathe because every hair on my body shot up. The need for pain filled me, begging for release.

“Excuse me? Until you leave the grounds, I am still your instructor, and I expect to be treated as such.” He pinned me with a heavy glare, demanding my silence before he continued. “For the next month, you’ll be training twelve hours a day in this building. You will eat, sleep, and fight together. After today’s session, you’ll find your things already moved to your new bunks on the level below, where all sixteen of you will stay. When you’re not in session or with the group, you’re free to roam the grounds, but you may not leave the school. Do I make myself clear?”

Mumbles of yes and nodding heads followed his statement. He stared down at me, waiting for confirmation.

“Crystal.” Even as I said it, the dread set in. How was I going to be around this many people and not lose my shit in such close quarters? It was last year all over again.

“Good. Council Member Fortescue has instructed me to hone both your bodies and minds, in preparation for what you’ll face beyond these walls. While Ms. Foster will lead you in your excursions, I’m here to ensure that those of you who make it past the eliminations are adequately prepared for what you’ll face. Sixteen is too large a group not to become discombobulated, therefore periodic cuts will be made based on performance, amongst other things…” he said slyly.

Vonlowsky continued to drone on for a few more minutes about the importance of his role in this, but I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t think. The pounding in my head came to a crescendo as the situation I had on my hands overwhelmed me and opened the gate for my demons. My heartbeat slowed, like a drum on the dawn of an execution. The killing calm had me, and something needed to sate it.

“Selena?” Something touched my shoulder.

I snapped.

I jumped out of my seat, pulled my knife, and pressed the blade against her throat before she could move.

“Selena, put the knife down. There’ll be time enough for that.” I recognized that voice.

As I looked into the face staring up at me, reality came back. Blair. This was Blair. I lowered my knife slowly and stepped away. “Blair.”

She nodded slowly, watching me for sudden changes. She tried to play it off, to look nonchalant, but we both knew what was really going on here. She’d seen it enough this summer, every time my self-control ran thin and the demons pounced. My violet-eyed other cackled wildly in the back of my mind.

“Ms. Foster!” Vonlowsky shouted, approaching me too fast.

I whirled, and ducked under his arm.

“What the—?”

“Don’t touch me,” I murmured.

Panic was seizing me as I backed away from the stares, from him. I looked from one person to another, lost in a sea of people. One dark-eyed gaze stood out. Aaron White, once again watching me with an intensity that gave Lucas a run for his money. I hadn’t seen the boy in months, and I was struck by how much he’d changed since last year. His dark gaze shifted to a glimmer of gold and back so fast I had to be hallucinating. He cocked his head, arching an eyebrow in a way that was too familiar.

Vonlowsky moved, pulling me out of the moment. “Ms. Foster, this is preposterous. What is going on with—?”

He reached.

Glass shattered.

The double-paned window cracked and blew apart, halting his approach.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to rein it in—but the power was like a dam, and once you broke it, the flood of power was too great to hold in.

“Selena!” Lucas shouted.

The world was a kaleidoscope of colors.

“I said, do not touch me.”

This time, Vonlowsky heeded my warning. Closing my eyes, I focused on the glass and forced it back into the window, one piece at a time. Perspiration dotted my forehead as I sealed the cracks—manipulating matter itself. Telekinesis was such a droll name for what I could do. Moving objects with my mind was just the tip of the iceberg.

A popping in my ears pulled me out of the vacuum I’d created. I focused on the man in front of me.

“As you wish, Ms. Foster,” Vonlowsky said slowly. His eyes betrayed nothing as he examined me like a puzzle he couldn’t piece together.

“I think we should let off some steam,” Alexandra announced. She strode toward me with purpose and a flounce in her hips.

“Sit down.” Vonlowsky glared.

“It’s been a long few days, and no offense to you, Professor, but some of us have to work harder to contain our gifts in high-stress situations with no release.” Alexandra put on a big front, and I had no doubt who it was for. She knew what this was about, and turning it into a power play would’ve been smart under other circumstances. It would’ve made me look strong, not insane, but here, now, it made me look defiant. The word release echoed in my mind, like a Ping-Pong ball going berserk in a box.

“Direct as usual, Ms. Foster.” He rolled his eyes, pausing as if actually considering her request. “But perhaps, given the state of things, we should begin training, and I can continue going over the more tedious aspects after lunch?” He phrased it like a question. Every head in the room nodded in agreement, but it was me he looked to.

“Please.” I lowered my eyes to quiet the demons urging me forward.

“Very well. Break into pairs and get in the simulator. I don’t want anything else broken,” he said.

I turned from the room and fled to the white room. Where was a straitjacket when I needed one?

“I’m her sister. I know what she needs,” Alexandra said, walking into the room with Blair on her heels.

“She’s not going to want you, because she doesn’t want to hurt you. She needs someone she doesn’t have to hold back with,” Blair insisted, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Find someone else, Blair.” Alexandra came to a stop in front of me with Blair.

“Selena?” Blair asked me expectantly.

I turned away, unable to look at either of them.

“Selena—” Lucas tried to butt in, but I silenced him with a hand. The room was filling quickly as the nine entered with Tori and Amber on their heels.

“I’m not fighting any of you.”

“What—?”

“Selena, you know this isn’t a good idea—”

Selena this. Selena that. Why couldn’t people leave me alone?

“Quiet,” I snapped.

Rubbing my temples, I looked over the entire group. If I was going to lead, I needed to get my shit together and lead. The war wouldn’t stop because of nightmares and insatiable urges. My penance, as Anastasia called it, wouldn’t be paid.

“Blair and Alexandra, you’ll practice together. Tori and Amber split off to the side. Lucas and Aaron…” My voice faltered.

That left me without anyone, and I sure as hell didn’t want to accidentally kill one of the royal rejects Anastasia had under her thumb. I needed someone I could hit, without feeling bad. A punching bag that could take the pain without me giving a damn.

“Use Aaron,” Blair said quietly.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know what she’ll do to him?” Alexandra nearly screeched.

“Yes, which is why I know that if she won’t use you or me, she won’t use him either.” She thrust her chin toward Lucas and crossed her arms.

She had a point. As pissed as I was with him, some part of me didn’t want to beat him to a pulp. Yet. I needed time.

“I can take it.” Aaron stepped up, getting closer than anyone else had dared. He was either the bravest man alive, or the dumbest.

I stripped off my jacket and tossed it to Blair.

“Ugh, whatever. Don’t ruin his face,” Alexandra muttered.

The absurdity of that made me snort.

“Go train with you cousin, Alex. I can handle her.” His assuredness was startling, and it made the hunter in me purr at the thought of a challenge. Something tickled at the back of my mind, though.

Alex? No one called her Alex. No one but our father. I didn’t like it.

“And me?” Lucas demanded, like I was a bad person for not picking him.

I still hadn’t gotten our confrontation yesterday out of my mind, though, and didn’t have the energy to waste on coddling him right now. I was far enough down this rabbit hole that I couldn’t wait to blow off steam, and he pushed my buttons.

“You’re with Alec. Make me proud,” I said, trying to lighten the blow to his ego, but he just stormed off toward his brother, who was watching us from the side.

I kept my eyes on Aaron.

He was just as tall as Lucas, but bigger. Bulkier.

He must’ve been training over the summer.

Not that that explained the golden eye shift. I reached for the knife holder strapped around my waist, and threw it to the side. Aaron never wavered as he slowly approached. Only a breath away, I inhaled once and struck.

I moved for his chest, but stopped an inch short as he closed his fingers around my fist. I flipped myself, pressing my back into him as I brought my other hand up and grasped his wrist. He shifted his body, almost as if he’d predicted I was going to throw him, and wrapped his other arm around my neck. Switching to a chokehold. He lured me in, pulling me close. I waited him out as he leaned into me, not releasing but not actively cutting off my airway either. Bringing my foot up over my shoulder, I kicked him in the face.

He stumbled, loosening his grip just enough that I slipped free and twisted to snap his arm. He closed his other hand around my wrist. We fell into a gridlock. Both unwilling to be bested by the other, but so evenly matched that it was going to take a lot more to win.

I glared up at him, and his black eyes swallowed me whole. So I did the only thing I could—I went low, and brought my knee up to mash his junk. A smirk crossed his lips as he pivoted and released me. We moved as one, two people lost in the dance of our lives. I kicked; he blocked. I punched; he pivoted. Time wore on, and I fell into a trance-like state.

It was kind of amazing that he could keep up—even with his enhanced senses, I’d expected him to falter, but he never missed a beat, and he never looked away from me. Unlike last year, when he’d lost a fight because I’d walked by, his eyes never strayed. Then we started landing blows.

Thud.

The power in my fist boomed through the room as he flew back, landing on his butt. I smirked, contorting my body to crack my neck. That’ll keep him down.

Thack!

“Ugh,” I exhaled, the fist in my gut bringing me to my knees. How did he do that?

“Didn’t think you could keep me down so easily, did you?” He grinned.

I spat blood on the floor and picked myself back up. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” I snapped.

We continued back and forth for a while yet, but no matter how hard either of us hit, the other got back up. I couldn’t keep him down, and it infuriated me. What had changed?

I stepped back and dropped. Kicking my leg out to sweep his feet out from under him, I waited for him to grab it as he had the last two times I’d tried this. He smirked to himself as he latched onto my foot.

Got you now.

Releasing myself to gravity, I fell to the ground and threw my strength into flinging him over me. He let go after he realized I intended to turn his own strength against him—but not soon enough. I brought the other leg up and hooked it around his neck, crushing him to me. Unable to hold himself up, he came down between my thighs and found his head trapped as I flipped. I straddled his chest, forcing his head between my knees as I used my weight to hold him down.

The world faded the moment our eyes met. His were so black, but not cold. Unlike the demons that haunted and hunted me. Now was my moment. This was when I was supposed to punch him—to bloody his face to a pulp. I should’ve slammed his head into the floor, as I’d done to so many others before him. He stared up at me, though, unafraid. If anything, he looked far too pleased with himself.

“Do it,” he said. His voice was husky and dark. Something in me squirmed, like a door trying to open. I had this bizarre feeling of him. That if I only reached, I could unlock the door.

No.

I ground my teeth and punched him.

Red flowed beneath my fingers as the pressure left me. His nose was broken, smashed in at an odd angle. I pulled my arm back, ready to strike again.

Until his nose started knitting itself back together.

That’s…

“Impossible,” I whispered.

Not quite, a small voice said. My own bones healing rapidly came to mind.

“I told you I could take it. Again.”

I looked at him like he’d grown a second head. He was asking for more?

“Again,” he urged.

A tingle ran up my spine. Something like déjà vu…or that feeling you got after being blackout drunk. Either way, it didn’t sit well. One second, I’d wanted blood and pain, and the next, I wanted to take a really long nap and forget this day had ever happened. Clarity hit me like a shot of adrenaline, and I was back. The demons would be sated for another day.

I let go and pulled myself up. Stumbling forward, I tried to ignore Alexandra’s pissed off glare. Whether it was jealousy or anger, I didn’t really care. I hadn’t picked him as the punching bag because I cared for him, but because I didn’t. Someone had needed to hurt, and I’d picked the person I cared the least about. She knew that, but I was still the bad guy. Some days, the cure is worse than the disease…

Lucas wouldn’t even look at me as he sulked off to the other side of the room to train with his brother. Part of me wanted to tell him to shove it for being petty and jealous, but the rest of me said to leave it. He’d figure it out on his own. He had to.

“Why are you all just standing here? Get back to training,” I said.

I left the room to take an unsteady breath. The white walls of the simulator were already splotched red, and the nine didn’t need to be told twice. I liked that.

“You’re stronger than you’ve let everyone believe.” Vonlowsky stood, stoic as ever, next to me, watching my team.

“Strength doesn’t come from power. It comes from control, Professor. The mind is a powerful thing, but one is only as strong as their weakest link.”

I felt his eyes on me for a moment. “Truer words have never been spoken, Ms. Foster,” he said.

Was that a compliment?

“Perhaps the reason they never win isn’t because they underestimate my power but my mind.” I paused. “Just food for thought.”

I could’ve sworn a smile formed on his lips, but knowing Vonlowsky, it was probably a trick of the light.