FREYA
I don’t know why I kept pushing myself to show up for training every morning. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was the way Killian looked at me whenever I stumbled...half amusement, half challenge...that made me want to claw back some dignity. Or maybe it was just because I couldn’t stand being the useless outsider anymore.
The sun was barely above the horizon when we began. My body ached from the last session, but I forced my arms into position anyway. Killian was standing a few feet from me, arms crossed, eyes like steel as he watched. He had a way of making me feel as though he could see through me, peel back every layer I tried to hide beneath.
“Again,” he said simply.
I was panting, sweat sticking my hair to my face. We’d been sparring for what felt like hours already, though I
