Birthright

Chapter 20 - simple training - Jackson pov

It was late in the afternoon, time was quickly running away. The waterfall roared softly beyond the stone, a reminder of how hidden this place truly was.

“Right then, Alpha, time to see what your made of” Mira excitedly says as I approached the training grounds, a wide, open chamber filled with the clatter of weapons and the hum of magic. Sparks danced in the air as a witch trained beside a wolf-shifter, both moving with practiced rhythm. “Thought we’d start simple today. Let’s see what you can do.”

“Simple,” I echoed, eyeing the pair as they tossed bursts of energy and dodged claws. “That word means something different to you, doesn’t it?”. Back home we were limited with training resources, the only warriors we could train with were of lycan and werewolf blood and there was Aunt Theo.

Mira grinned. “You’ll get used to it.”

Lex was already there, sparring clumsily with a vampire lord who looked more amused than threatened. “You’re late,” he called, panting. “They’ve been using me as the warm-up act.”

“You’re doing great,” I said, smirking. “Very heroic flailing.”

He threw me a glare, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

Mira motioned for me to stand opposite her in a small clearing. “Your bloodline carries strength beyond muscle,” she said. “Alpha Kade’s line was known for its connection to both earth and spirit. It’s dormant, but not gone. We’ll wake it. I hear that Alpha Kade’s youngest sister was a truly powerful with magic, one of a kind, truly magnificent”

Mira looked deep in thought but snapping out of it quickly.

“You could say that, but me.. what if it doesn’t want to wake? I have tried before, I don’t think it is in me” I asked.

“Nonsense, your of royal blood, we keep trying until it does.” She raised her hand, palm glowing faintly gold. “Focus on your heartbeat. Let it match the rhythm of the ground beneath you.”

I tried. For a moment, there was only silence, then a pulse, deep and steady, thrumming through my feet like the echo of something ancient. The air seemed to breathe with me. Stones near the edge of the clearing rattled, and a few lifted from the ground, swirling in slow circles.

“Whoa…” Lex breathed. “Show-off.”

I laughed, the sound shaky and startled. The stones fell harmlessly to the floor.

Mira smiled, a mix of pride and mystery in her eyes. “Not bad for a first try, Alpha Thorne. You’ve only just touched the surface.”

For the first time, I didn’t feel like an imposter wearing a title. I felt alive and connected. The magic wasn’t just in the ground beneath me. It was in my blood, waiting to be remembered like Aunt Theo once told me.

“Now we’ve done the hard part.. let’s see how you fight” Mira says just as tall vampire walks out of one of the caving systems. “This is Micheal one of our leaders”

By the time training ended, every muscle in my body felt like it had been set on fire, doused, and set on fire again for good measure. Lex wasn’t faring much better, he limped beside me, muttering curses under his breath that even the rebels pretended not to hear.

“If this is what ‘simple drills’ look like,” he groaned, “remind me to never ask what the hard ones are.”

I laughed despite the ache. “You’ll survive.“That’s debatable,” he muttered.

But as the others drifted off to rest or return to their duties, a heaviness settled over me. The kind that squeezed tighter the closer I got to a decision I couldn’t avoid.

“I need to talk to Mira,” I said quietly.

Lex straightened, still grimacing but alert. “Want me to come?”

“No, it’s okay, I got this. Can you collect our things, we need to leave soon. Can’t miss the portal opening” I say whilst walking towards what looked like a room within the cave.

He nodded and shuffled off toward the sleeping chambers. I enter the room, lanterns cast long shadows along the stone walls, I made my way toward Mira’s war table. She stood in her usual pose arms folded, feet apart, gaze sharp like a solider, she was studying maps as if she could force them to give up their secrets.

“You should be resting,” she said without looking up.

“I’ve had worse.”

“From what Lex tells me, you’ve trained day and night all your life.”

“He exaggerates.”

She finally lifted her eyes, one brow raised. “Then what brings you back to me instead of heading to the healers?”

I hesitated, running a thumb over the edge of the table. The maps were filled with marks, Lucian’s routes, rebel hiding spots, warnings scribbled in hurried hands

“I’m leaving.”

Mira’s expression didn’t change, but something in the air shifted. Calm. Inevitable.

She looked up, her gaze locked onto mine, “The realm won’t wait for you. Nor will Lucian.”

“I know but I need to get back to the other realm, get the others across. They’ll need to know I’m alive and that there’s still hope, a fight to be had.”

Mira nodded once, slow and deliberate. “And you need to gather your strength. Your people won’t follow a ghost. They’ll follow a leader.”

I swallowed the tightness in my throat. “Will you be ready when I call?”

“We already are,” she replied. “Go, Jackson Thorne. But know this the rebellion stands with you. When the time comes, we will rise.”

Her words settled over me like a weight and a promise all at once.

“Thank you, Mira.”

“Don’t thank me, Alpha,” she said softly. “Just come back alive.”