Adrian's POV
The combat assessment began at midday, and by the time our group was called forward, the training grounds had already claimed several reputations and quietly ruined a few others.
I had watched enough of these gatherings to know how quickly a single display could shape how the rest of the realm perceived a future leader. Strength alone rarely impressed the instructors overseeing these trials. What they watched for was harder to fake—composure under strain, the ability to adapt when a plan collapsed, the difference between a wolf who fought to win and one who fought to prove something.
Riverline's candidates moved through their assessments with the same discipline I had drilled into them for years, efficient without excess, controlled without hesitation. When my own turn came
