Vireya cracked her knuckles and stared down the wolf in front of her.
He was massive—shoulders like stone, arms layered with muscle and combat scars. One of Kael's elite. A warrior trained to fight in wars she hadn't even been alive for.
He swung.
She ducked.
And then drove her elbow into his gut with enough force to drop a lesser wolf to his knees.
He didn't drop.
But he stumbled.
And that was enough for her.
She spun low, kicked his legs out, and pressed the blunt edge of her sparring blade against his throat before he could recover.
"Yield," she said calmly.
The warrior grinned up at her from the dirt. "Damn. You're quick."
She offered her hand.
"You're slow."
It had taken nearly an hour of arguing with Kael to get here.
He hadn't wanted to let her out of the castle walls—
