The glowing eyes never blinked.
They remained fixed on us through the thick curtain of trees, burning like twin embers in the darkness. Every instinct screamed at me to move, yet my feet refused to obey. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, each pulse louder than the last.
This was it.
Every lecture from our instructors, every grueling day spent training until our muscles gave out, every bruise and scar we’d collected over the years had led to this moment.
Training grounds had rules.
Real trials didn’t.
For the first time since arriving at the tournament, I truly understood why the instructors had looked at us with such solemn expressions before we left Blackwood Academy. They hadn’t been worried about our strength.
They’d been worried about whether we’d keep our heads when fear took
