The first light of morning spilled through the classroom windows. Painting honey-gold stripes across the worn wooden desks.
Dust motes drifted lazily in the sunbeams.
Catching the light like tiny sparks.
Kyle sat near the back.
Absently twisting the black ring on his finger.
The metal was cool against his skin. But there was a warmth beneath it.
A presence.
Zalrielle pulsed in response.
Not with words, but with a warm, sleepy acknowledgment.
Like a cat stretching in sunlight.
'Today's the day.'
His stomach tightened at the thought.
The spar with Cedric.
'How much of that gap have I actually closed?'
His mind drifted back to yesterday's experiments in the training yard.
The way Zalrielle had shifted forms effortlessly at his will.
Becoming a glaive with a wicked curved blade.
A compact recurve bow.
Even twin daggers that balanced perfectly in his palms.
But while the shapes changed, the 'understanding' didn't follow.
