#Chapter 43 A Watchful Eye

The sky is still dim when I arrive at the training grounds. Bianca trails a few steps behind me, quiet for once. She’s dressed appropriately, leggings, a fitted jacket, her hair tied back in a high braid that swings like a metronome with each step. She walks like someone with something to prove. For someone who once declared combat “uncivilized,” she looks almost determined. Almost like she belongs. It’s the first time she’s joining the wolves’ combat rotation. Not just the private sessions arranged to spare her from bruises and embarrassment. This is the real thing sparring with wolves who’ve fought beside each other for years and trained through blood, sweat, and repetition. Prince Kaine said it was time she joined the rest of us. He assigned me to ease her in. I still don’t know if that’s a punishment or a test. Maybe both. I stop just short of the chalk line marking the warm up circle and glance over my shoulder. Her eyes are fixed ahead, jaw clenched. She’s not talking. She