Page 10 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)

Chapter

Ten

Deklyn

I stomped through the academy’s corridors with barely contained fury burning in my chest. The adrenaline from our near-discovery in Vyk’s office was still coursing through my system, mixing with frustration and something else I didn’t want to examine too closely.

I needed to hit something. Preferably something that could hit back.

The twin blades etched into the stone archway above the entrance leading to the School of Battle seemed to mock me as I passed beneath them.

Symbols of honor and discipline—everything that Sasha’s reckless behavior had just put at risk.

My gut churned as I imagined what would have happened if we’d been caught in the security chief’s office.

Commander Vyk was an Inferno Force legend, a warrior with a reputation forged in battles that lesser men didn’t survive. Having to explain why I was snooping in his office would have been a career-ending conversation at best.

I used to think I was impulsive, but now I thought Sasha might actually be a bad influence on me.

The idea almost made me laugh despite my anger.

Here I was, a trained Inferno Force operative who’d rushed headlong into countless dangerous missions, getting led around by a woman who seemed to actively seek out trouble.

As I continued down the hallway leading to the Blade classrooms and training areas, I was relieved to hear the sharp crack of practice weapons, the thud of bodies hitting mats, and the heavy breathing of fighters pushing themselves to their limits.

The familiar sounds soothed something primal in me.

I ducked through the open door to the sparring rings, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting.

The raised sparring ring dominated the center of the space, a circular enclosed cage where cadets tested their skills against each other under the watchful eyes of their instructors.

It was the only part off the room that was illuminated, so that all the cadets waiting to spar lurked around the perimeter in shadow.

“Deklyn!” Kann called out when he spotted me. “Perfect timing. Want to join the rotation?”

I watched the cadets in the ring for a moment, noting their technique, their conditioning, and the controlled aggression that made Drexian warriors so effective. Being in a battle ring was exactly what I needed to take my mind off Sasha and her dangerous schemes.

“Absolutely,” I said, already beginning to strip off my outer jacket.

Within moments, I faced a third-year Blade cadet who looked confident and strong. He had the lean build of a fighter, muscles corded with the strength that came from daily training, and eyes that held the steady focus of someone who knew what he was doing.

Good. I needed a real challenge.

We circled each other in the ring, our bare feet silent on the padded floor. The cadet moved well, his stance balanced, his guard up but not rigid. He’d been taught by excellent instructors and had clearly absorbed their lessons.

But he was still just a cadet, and I was Inferno Force. Before that, I’d been a Blade myself, trained in these very halls. This should be easy.

Except it wasn’t.

The months in the Kronock prison had taken more of a toll than I’d wanted to admit. My muscles felt stiff, unresponsive in ways that betrayed my time spent languishing in a cell. My reflexes were a split second slower than they should have been, my balance not as precise as usual.

The cadet lunged forward with surprising speed, his fist cutting through the air where my head had been a moment before. I sidestepped and countered with a tackle that sent both of us crashing to the mat in a tangle of limbs.

We grappled on the ground, both gasping as we fought for position. His strength was impressive, but experience counted for something, and I had years of combat training he hadn’t even contemplated yet.

I was working to establish a dominant position when my mind betrayed me with a sudden, vivid flash of memory: Sasha pressed against me behind Vyk’s coats, her quick, shallow breathing, the way her chest had risen and fallen as she’d fought to stay silent.

The scent of her hair, the heat of her body, the way she’d felt so right in my arms despite the danger.

The distraction nearly cost me a head injury as the cadet’s knee ricocheted toward my face. I dodged at the last second; the impact missing my temple by millimeters, and I forced myself to refocus on the fight.

What the hell was wrong with me? I was in combat, facing an opponent who was clearly skilled enough to do actual damage, and I was thinking about a woman who seemed determined to get us both killed.

Scolding myself for the lapse in concentration, I shifted my weight and used the cadet’s momentum against him, finally pinning him to the mat with an arm lock that left him unable to move without risking injury.

“Yield,” he said after a moment, his voice tight with frustration but holding no resentment.

I released him immediately and stood, offering my hand to help him up. “You’re a tough opponent,” I said, meaning it. “Good technique, cadet. You would make a fine Inferno Force warrior.”

He grinned, revealing the eager boy beneath the tough Drexian. “Thank you, sir. That was an honor.”

But as I left the ring and nodded my thanks to Kann, I couldn’t shake the unsettling realization that the fight had revealed two uncomfortable truths.

First, I wasn’t as battle-ready as I should have been.

Months of captivity had degraded my conditioning in ways that would take more time to reverse than I’d expected.

Second, and more troubling, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sasha. Even in the middle of combat, when my entire focus should have been on survival and victory, my mind had wandered to her. That kind of distraction could get me killed in an actual battle.

I grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and wiped the sweat from my face, tasting salt and the metallic bite of adrenaline. The physical challenge had helped burn off some of my frustration, but it had also shown me something I didn’t want to acknowledge.

It was time for me to return to Inferno Force, where I belonged. Time to get back to doing what I was trained to do before I went soft. Before a reckless woman with dark eyes and a dangerous smile compromised everything I’d worked to become.

The problem was I’d told her I would help. And despite knowing it was probably the worst decision I could make, I couldn’t bring myself to leave her to her own devices. Just like in the Kronock prison, I couldn’t leave without saving her.

Even if staying meant risking everything. Despite every instinct screaming that I should walk away, I knew I’d be right there with her when she made her next reckless decision.

I huffed out a breath. “Some battles are lost before they even begin.”