I gritted my teeth. The Dire might speak the truth, but in this case, it be because I be off balance. My focus should have been on training. Instead, it be bound up with how close the Dire ran to Anna, and the way their strides, as well as their energies, synced. The way he bounced his shoulder off her as they ran—and never be more than a few inches away from her.
Like he owned her.
I wanted to flatten him.
My fellow instructors would be right to hold my decisions in question. My mind be not in the unflappable place it needed to be.
Cara’s brief whispered conversation before we’d started the run sent my mind spinning. Anna had to have Liberi blood. What else could explain her ability to manipulate energy? Torshin blood be the only other possibility. In which case, we be in trouble. The last thing we needed be another energy-sucking Warlock. Or in this case, Witch.
But Torshin blood wouldn’t explain the affinity for animals. And Cara hadn’t sensed Anna pull energy from the life that surrounded her—her talent seemed focused on drawing from those she touched.
I knew about that power. Intimately. Because that be the weapon of the Bellatis.
But even if Anna possessed Liberi blood, she shouldn’t be able to do it. It be a sex-linked talent. Or so we’d always been told.
What if it be a lie? If the Watchers could drain life away, and the Bellatis could heal? Using his power to heal the land wasn’t easy for Nikolai, but if a Perditor could do it...
It be not as though the sardding Elders hadn’t lied to us before. If what Cara said be true, Isobel had gone after Anna’s family. At the time, she and I had been devoted to each other. Or, at least, I’d thought so. And Galeran be still confined to Elandriel. Had Isobel already been doing his bidding? Or be she acting on behalf of the Elder council? And what did it have to do with Anna? Had Isobel caused her family’s death, even if it be accidental?
If it be accidental.
I trusted Galeran not at all, nor the Elder council. The members kept the Bellatis locked within our home realm for over a thousand years. And the realms felt our lack—many be now so out of balance, that they be dying by degrees.
Where be the sense in all that? I believed it buried beneath petty squabbles, power struggles, and paranoia.
Yet Galeran be proof that my kind, when not governed, be deadly.
Surely there be a middle ground, if only we could find it.
If the Elders had found out about a Liberi crossbreed, what would their reactions have been? Had they sent the two Watchers? To do what? Bring Anna back to Elandriel? What had they wished to accomplish?
Be the death of Anna’s family truly an accident?
What if the savage warrior hearts of the Bellatisalso beat in the Watchers?
“Hey, dude. Are we going to get this party going?” Neil asked.
I blinked. I could not afford to have these issues distract me now. The recruits stood in the back field, staring expectantly at me.
Our main obstacle course had been built in the dense bush beyond the fence. After both designing and testing it, I had little doubt that the majority of these Shade wannabes would not complete it.
But I be here to force them to try.
I straightened to address them. “The path of the obstacle course be clearly marked, and it travels in a loop that begins, and ends, with this field. Your mission be to follow the five-mile route and complete each of the eight obstacles as you discover them.” I let my eyes drift over the students. Most couldn’t meet my gaze, but a few did. I mentally marked those as ones to be watched.
I continued my information session. “We be practicing over the advanced versions in the weeks to come, but today we will do the beginner-level obstacles—they be flagged for this problem-solving team exercise. The mission be not considered complete unless every member of your team crosses the line.”
I let them absorb that for a moment and then offered the next twist. “Shifters must choose before they begin whether they wish to do it in beast form or human—there will be no switching once you start. And no partials allowed either. Eventually, those with powers will be able to use them as well, but until you have completed three weeks of training, we will not permit it. So the humanoid form will be at a disadvantage for some obstacles, and those that be in beast form may have to assist.”
I allowed my lips to curve in a grim smile. “Bear in mind that the reverse will also be true. You must work together to get through the entire course.” I paused. “You can discuss as a team which forms would be most advantageous to your mission. The only equipment allocated be a rope with a grappling hook.”
Many eyes had gone very wide. My lips peeled back from my teeth, and only those unfamiliar with me would consider it a grin. “I do not expect that all the teams will complete the course today. Safety be paramount—an injured team member be a serious liability on a mission, and it jeopardizes the entire team.” I gestured to the instructors silently watching us. “If you are unsure as to how to complete an obstacle, Ryan, Neil, Tyrez, and Alex will be able to assist.”
I glanced toward Mari, Matt, and Anna. “For this exercise, I will be joining Team Phoenix. We will be first up on the course. Good luck to all.”
Ryan started calling off the team order, and I strode over to the three remaining members of Team Phoenix.
Anna watched me approach. What we’d gone through while getting the twins back threatened to alter our relationship, and I be determined to push it back where it belonged.
