Page 317 of Elemental Becoming

I circle away, forcing space between us. My leg throbs where she’d struck it.

Around us, the training hall falls silent.

I grit my teeth and press forward anyway. I drive my knee toward her ribs, but she pivots outside the strike with frustrating ease. My momentum carries me a fraction too far, and she punishes the mistake immediately. Her fist cracks against my ribs before I can reset.

Pain blossoms through my side.

I backpedal, forcing space between us as we begin circling again.

She’s not just strong. She’s technically better. Every movement is economical. Every counter arrives before I can finish my attack, as though she already knows what I’m about to do.

Ardyn’s smile returns, smaller now but no less infuriating.

“Is this what he’s taught you?”

I don’t answer.

“I expected more.”

Ardyn sneers, her voice low and venomous. “I built my life for this kingdom. For him. We were meant to rule together. Everyone knew it. And then you, some insignificant little peasant, stole him away. With your wide-eyed innocence andyour false humility.”

She takes a step closer, her gaze sharp enough to cut.

“You didn’t earn him. You don’t deserve him. You just existed, and somehow he handed you everything.”

Somewhere behind me, I hear Lyra shout, “Bitch!”

A muffled argument immediately follows as Rowena does her best to restrain my friend.

The composure Ardyn has worn for weeks is finally beginning to splinter.

She lunges. Raw force drives the attack as she slams into me, sending me backward toward the edge of the mat. I bare my teeth, watching every shift of her weight and every tightening muscle.

She lunges.

This time there is no measured precision. No probing feints. She drives into me with raw force, sending me backward toward the edge of the mat. I bare my teeth, reading every shift of her weight, every tightening muscle, searching for an opening.

There isn’t one.

Before I can plant my feet, she changes direction with startling speed. Her shoulder crashes into my chest, stealing my balance, and another shove sends me stumbling backward.

My back slams into a training post hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. The metallic taste of blood blooms across my tongue.

She’s on me before I can recover.

Her forearm crashes across my collarbone, pinning me against the post as she crowds into my space. Every ounce of pressure is deliberate. Her hips are square. Her stance is rooted. Every adjustment she makes cuts off another avenue of escape until there’s nowhere left for me to move.

Several soldiers whoop and holler. Others hiss their disapproval.

“Amara!”

Lyra’s voice cuts through the hall.

I hear the scrape of boots and the sound of a brief struggle. When I glance back, Rowena already has Lyra locked in a firm grip, holding her back as she fights to break free. Lyra is cursing loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, but Rowena doesn’t let go.

“This is her fight, Lyra,” Rowena says, her voice hard and unwavering. “It’s the Fire Clan way. You can’t interfere.”

Ardyn’s face is inches from mine. Fury twists her features, but beneath it, her eyes remain unnervingly focused, studying me as carefully as any opponent she’s ever faced. Every word, every movement, every hesitation seems to hold her attention.