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Ashlani flinched at first but sighed in relief when the dagger smacked against the wall just a few feet to her left.

I sighed too, releasing the growing tension from my shoulders.

“Again,” Commander Macanthos ordered.

My eyes snapped to him. “What? Again?”

“You heard me. Until you can actually hit the target, you’ll go again.”

“And you really think it’s necessary for Ashlani to stand there the entire time? There are other ways to practice!”

Hitting the target—what was left of it on the perimeter of Ashlani’s head, anyway—would mean showing one of my greatest skills. Sure, I wasn’t the only one here who could throw a dagger. But I wasn’t entirely sure that the others could throw with as much accuracy as I could. Could Espek hit the target beside her head without nicking her? Could Lanson?

Somehow, I doubted it.

I marched over to the wall, avoiding Ashlani’s chaotic and desperate gaze, and picked up Venom.

I wiped the sweat from my palm before tightening my grasp around the hilt.

One more throw. If I threw one more and made it close enough to the target, Commander Macanthos would relax.

That’s what he wanted, right? To embarrass me? To show the whole class I couldn’t hit the target with Ashlani standing there?

Commander Macanthos didn’t know me. Nobody here did.

I made it back to my original throwing position, taking one breath before throwing Venom. It was quick—too quick to give me time for hesitation.

Ashlani screamed this time. Her legs shook beneath her as my blade barely grazed the edge of the target before falling to the grass beside her.

An audible sigh escaped Lanson behind me.

I looked to Commander Macanthos, who only stared back at me with determined eyes. “Again.”

Ashlani cried out again. The sound of it rattled my bones, sunk my stomach.

“I can hit the target just fine without her standing there,” I argued.

“What’s the problem, then?” Commander Macanthos was testing me. Pushing me. Expecting me to quit.

Quit or kill Ashlani.

Sweat formed on the back of my neck. “This is fucking ridiculous,” I mumbled.

“Is it?” Commander Macanthos uncrossed his arms and stepped toward me. Whatever personal vendetta he had today, I was sick of it.

“Throwing a dagger at Ashlani proves nothing. Anybody can hit a target if they try enough. Putting her life in danger is pointless.”

He scoffed, not bothering to even glance at Ashlani before adding, “Ashlani, step away from the target. Huntyr here thinks she can disobey my orders.”

Ashlani scrambled away from the target, making her way to Voiler before tears poured from her eyes.

I let out a breath.

“If you think it’s so pointless,” Commander Macanthos muttered, “then you’ll have no problem standing there yourself.”

This was it. This was the real fucking test. Did he think of me as a coward? Did he think I would be too afraid to stand in front of the target while one of my classmates threw the dagger?

Fuck. Him.