The training grounds slowly returned to life. Warriors drifted back toward the sparring rings. The sound of wooden practice swords colliding echoed across the clearing. Someone shouted instructions. Someone else complained loudly about getting thrown into a wall. Rowan ignored all of it. She took another drink from her water bottle, leaning against the fence surrounding the training grounds. "Well." She nearly choked. That voice. Turning, she found Kael standing a few feet away, hands folded behind his back. His gaze flicked toward the direction Connor had disappeared. "That was interesting to watch." Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" "If you had told me a month ago that I would find my mate, Evelyn would find hers, and you would be defending Evelyn while kicking her mate's ass...

