Three days passed in a rhythm of sweat and steel.

Morning light found us in the training yard before the servants had even lit the kitchen fires. Evelina pushed herself through forms that grew sharper with each passing day. I watched, corrected, and occasionally stepped into the circle to remind her why she was still learning.

By the second day, she could hold her own against three of my shadows at once.

By the third, she could defeat them.

Hand-to-hand combat wouldn’t be all that useful against an entire church congregation. But when it came to dodging spells from every direction, it would help. A lot.

It was the only thing we could really train for in that short amount of time at our level.

"Is my body really that interesting?" Evelina said, not looking up from where she was wrapping her knuckles. The white linen wound around her fingers, tight and precise, the same way she did everything.

"I like the change."

"It’s barely anything."

She flexed her wrapped hands, testing the tension. Three days of training had changed her. Not dramatically, not the kind of transformation that would make strangers do a double take. But I noticed.

The line of her jaw was sharper. The muscles in her shoulders more defined. Even the way she stood, weight balanced, center low, spoke of someone who had learned to trust her body in ways she never had before.

"We should spar," she said. "Properly. No shadows, no magic. Just us."

"You sure?"

"I’m sure."

She stepped into the circle, barefoot on the packed earth, her white tunic hanging loose to her thighs. The ring on her finger glinted in the morning light, the only magic she allowed herself.

I followed her in, shirtless despite the chill, the amulet warm against my chest. The hydra’s minds stirred in the back of my skull, curious, but I pushed them down. This wasn’t their fight.

Evelina moved first.

Fast, faster than she’d been on the first day, her fist cutting toward my ribs before I’d fully settled into my stance. I blocked, deflected, stepped back, and she followed, pressing the advantage with a combination of strikes that would have floored most academy graduates.

"Better," I said, catching her wrist on the fourth punch.

"Better?"

She twisted out of my grip and drove her knee toward my stomach. I turned, let it glance off my hip, and swept her standing leg out from under her.

She hit the ground, rolled, and was back on her feet before I could press the advantage.

"Much better."

"Stop complimenting me and fight."

I obliged.

The next exchange lasted longer, our fists and feet finding each other in a rhythm that felt almost like dancing. She was learning to read me, to anticipate where I would be instead of reacting to where I was.

A dangerous skill.

I feinted left, and she didn’t fall for it. I feinted right, and she stepped into my guard, close enough that I could smell the soap on her skin, the sweat on her neck.

"Got you," she breathed.

Her palm pressed flat against my chest, right over the amulet.

And then she pushed.

Just... pushed. A test of strength, of balance, of whether she could move me when I didn’t want to be moved.

I didn’t move.

But I also didn’t counter.

"Yield," she said.

"Not a chance."

She smiled, sharp and genuine, and dropped her hand.

"Fine. Break."

We stepped apart, both breathing harder than the exercise warranted. The morning sun had climbed higher, burning off the last of the mist, painting the training yard in shades of gold and green.

Evelina grabbed her towel and draped it over her shoulders, then sat on the bench beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched.

"Three days," she said.

"Three days."

"Think it’s enough?"

"No."

She laughed, soft and tired. "Honest, at least."

We sat in silence for a moment, watching the shadows shorten across the yard. Servants moved in the distance, quiet and unobtrusive, keeping their distance like they’d been trained to do.

"I’m scared," Evelina said quietly.

"Scared? You, out of all people."

"I’m as surprised as you are. But it’s not the fight itself that scares me." She pulled her knees to her chest, watching the servants begin cleaning the yard even though our training wasn’t over yet. "I’m scared of losing you. I know that sounds ridiculous, considering how strong you are... but still."

"I know what you mean. But I still remember what you said before."

"About summoning you as a demon just in case you die?"

"Yeah."

"I meant it. I wasn’t joking."

"I know you weren’t. Just... be kind with the contract you give me if I do die."

"Hmm... I don’t know. Maybe I’ll add something that makes you more obedient."

"You already love the current me. I know you wouldn’t do that."

"Maybe~."

I shifted the subject. "You know, after all this church business, the academy ball is next, right?"

"Do you want to go?"

"Yeah. I want to show you off to everyone. We never really got the chance to enjoy the spotlight back at the academy, considering how abruptly we were pulled into this special program."

"Hmm... you’re right, but we still have a lot of work to do here. What about the imperial ball instead? It’s far more popular, and by then, we should have enough time to finish everything in Berian."

"I’d like that."

*** Hours Later

The dining room was empty when we arrived, the servants having long since given up on waiting for us. A cold spread had been laid out on the sideboard, bread and cheese and cured meats, along with a pitcher of water that had gone lukewarm.

Evelina wrinkled her nose at the spread but filled a plate anyway.

"Marcellus sent a message..." a voice said from the doorway.

I turned.

Lillian leaned against the frame, her white hair loose around her shoulders, her arms crossed. She looked different than she had in the estate, softer somehow, though the sharpness in her eyes remained.

"What did he say?" Evelina asked, not looking up from her plate.

"Jayden is ready. He’s fully agreed to the bait plan. But he wants Cael with him the entire time. No substitutions, no last-minute changes."

"He’s the one who asked for me?"

"He said you were the only one strong enough he trusts."

Evelina glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. "Look at you. Making friends."

"I have a gift."

"You have a talent for collecting strays."

Lillian smiled, then wrinkled her nose the moment she took another step closer—immediately stepping back when she did.

"You two smell like you’ve been training since dawn."

"We did."

"Didn’t Marcellus explicitly tell you two to rest? You’re our biggest hitters, you know!?"

"It’s fine. We healed ourselves up just fine."

"Then what do you two plan to do about the mental strain from all that healing magic...?"

"We have some fun ways to deal with that." Evelina answered for me, winking at Lillian as she said it.

Lillian just stared at her like she’d just said the most scandalous thing imaginable. And considering their respective ranks, it definitely was.

"By the gods, you two are disgusting..."

"Shut up, Valemont. I know you and Julius have had your own fair share of fun from time to time." Evelina’s eyes narrowed, her smirk deepening.

"Y-You... you know!?"

"I have eyes everywhere."

"T-That’s not a good answer at all!"

For the night before a possible apocalypse, the evening was surprisingly cheerful.