By the time I finally stepped out of the steaming shower, the bedroom was quiet, and Demetrius was already gone. A lingering trace of his cedar-and-leather scent was the only proof he had been there at all. I smiled to myself, quickly drying off and pulling on my training trousers and a comfortable, dark tunic before tying my hair back out of my face.
I left our quarters and made my way down through the winding stone corridors of the stronghold, heading straight for the lower levels.
When I stepped into the training pits, the heavy scent of damp earth and old stone washed over me. Eloise was already there, standing near the center of the ring, checking over a row of silver-etched relics laid out on a stone bench. But as my eyes swept the perimeter, I noticed a distinct lack of a massive,
