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Alex swallowed. “I figured as much, since she beat six others to win your trials.”

“She is also overconfident, especially when it comes to you. She will not expect you to be prepared.”

Alex peered into the shadowy corner where Shirez stood as still as a statue. “Why are you telling me this? Why tell me what weapon she will use?”

“Knowledge is power, Alexandra Jennings,” came the Shadow Walker’s barely audible reply. “And you will need every advantage you can get.”

A moment later, the shadows rose and Shirez was gone.

Middle of the night or not, Alex drew back her covers and pulled herself out of bed, hushing Soraya when she gave a low whine and a pointed yawn.

Niyx?Alex called, then louder when, for the first time ever, it was she who got to wake him. Not surprising, given the time.

Kit’n, s’three ’n th’mornin’, came his grumpy, slurred reply.

I’m really sorry, she said, moving to her wardrobe and grabbing her warmest outdoor gear.But I need your help.

Shirez was right: knowledge was power. And knowing the kind of weapon Trell would be using was a great advantage indeed. So, despite the early hour, when Niyx heard that Alex’s battle was scheduled for noon that coming day, he swept in to collect her.

Hours went by as they sparred relentlessly, Niyx attacking her with a staff and Alex trying out different weapons against him. In the end, while she had more power in her strikes when she too fought with a staff, she was more comfortable with A’enara in her hands and needed to be as confident as possible during her fight. Her magical blade rarely let her down; there was no other weapon she would trust to help her in the coming battle.

As the sun began to rise across the horizon, easily admired from their position atop Mount Paedris, Niyx brought their session to an end.

They still had plenty of time left before Alex was due at Graevale, and she told him as much.

“You need to rest,” he replied, tossing her a pouch full of mixed berries and a flask of warmedlaendra. “It won’t do you any good to wear yourself out before your match.”

Throwing back some of the fruit and chasing it with the heated nectar, Alex said, “I’ll be running on adrenaline anyway. Might as well make sure I’m as prepared as I can be.”

“Kitten, youare,” Niyx said firmly. “You won our last three rounds, and I’d have the cuts and bruises to show you if I hadn’t just drunk my weight inlaendra.”

Alex winced in apology, since shehadnicked him a few times. And by ‘nicked’, she meant stabbed, sliced and very nearly gutted him.

Her Meyarin friend deserved a medal for being such a good sport. He hadn’t even protested when Soraya had eventually decided to join them and, at Alex’s request, ran around their legs to make their sparring more challenging than it already was. He’d actually encouraged the wolf, instructing her on how to be the most distracting to Alex. Soraya had thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the team and now lay panting in the snow, waiting to see if they would start fighting again.

“The only way you could be more prepared is with months, even years, of additional time,” Niyx went on. “And that’s something you don’t have. But what youdohave are keen reflexes, strong intuition, practised skills and natural talent.” He reached out and tilted her head up to his. “Your opponent might have her shadowing ability to her advantage, but on every other level, you can more than hold your own. And if you manage to pull off Aes Daega’s plan with your Shadow Ring, then you not only have a chance at winning, you almost have a guarantee of it.”

His faith was like a balm against her fears, but still Alex whispered, “If I don’t win—”

“Then we’ll come up with another plan,” Niyx interrupted firmly, even though he knew more than most how important it was for Graevale to stand with them. “Don’t think about it—just focus on the fight, not on what might or might not come afterwards. One step at a time, kitten.”

Alex exhaled and nodded, grabbing another handful of berries while desperately wishing they were chocolate.

“For now, we need to get you back to the academy,” Niyx said. “You need to get warm and do something relaxing for a few hours, maybe take a nap if you think you can.” He swiped the berry pouch from her to steal some of the fruit. “Do you know how you’re getting to Graevale?”

Alex shrugged. “I’ve been with you since I found out about the fight. I presume Caspar Lennox will have heard by the time I get back, so he might offer to give me a ride. But…”

“But?”

“I’m guessing Jordan, Bear and Dix will want to come for moral support,” Alex said. “In which case, we’ll go through the Library.” Deliberately this time, rather than by accident like she’d done the other day.

“Careful with that,” Niyx warned. “Remember that the Shadow Walkers won’t be thrilled to have one human amongst them, let alone three more.”

Raising her chin, Alex said, “They can suck it up.”

Niyx laughed. “Dare you to say that to the elders.”

Alex cringed at the thought, her courage only going so far.