The group headed from the oppressive heat of the smithy and back to the crisp air of the surface, heading towards the back of the main school building. As the name suggested, the Training Grounds were designed to aid hunters of any skill to hone their techniques and practise the basics. The field was filled with practice dummies in various states of disrepair, suggesting that they were replaced or repaired at specific intervals. Balance beams with swinging traps positioned between each one, targets for sharpshooting practice, all bordered within a thick brick wall. In the center of the Training Grounds, with a few other students waiting for them, was Joshua, cigarette hanging limply from his mouth, unlit.

  “Good, that’s all of you here now. Welcome to Weapon Training. I’ll be your instructor for this class. Now I’ve looked at all of your files and noted that you all use a variety of weapons. My goal in this class is to provide each of you with the tools you’ll need to become effective Daemon hunters. It may come in the form of hints or challenges. Sometimes, you may not even know which is which.” As Joshua spoke, he scanned them all with a gaze that matched the stern tone of his voice. He didn’t linger on Alexi any longer than he did the other students, ignoring the daggers she stared into him.

  “Hey, Alexi?” Lacey asked softly, leaning towards her. “I forgot to ask, how exactly do you know him?”

  Puzzled by the sudden question, Alexi raised her eyebrow as she turned to Lacey. “Joshua? He raised me for the last ten years.”

  Lacey’s mouth fell open in shock. “Joshua ‘The Armoury’ raised you?”

  “The Armoury?” Alexi snorted. “What sort of silly name is that? Sure, he’s mastered a few weapons in his time, but calling him an armoury seems overkill.”

  “Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Ms. Ira?” Joshua asked, his gaze boring into her.

  “Not at all,” Alexi replied in an icy tone, returning his look with a venomous one of her own.

  “Now that you’ve all done chatting, today’s class will be an assessment of your current skill level, through a series of one-on-one sparring matches. Only in combat will your true skills shine; however, I will be here to ensure your safety, and should I think things go too far, I will step in. With that, I would like any firearms users to come forward so I can replace your live rounds with rubber ammunition. Once that is done, we will discuss how match-ups will be handled.”

  Alexi was one of only five of her twelve classmates to line up for rubber ammunition. The line moved quickly, Joshua capable of providing them with the exact rounds they would need from glancing at their guns. When it came to Alexi, he already had her rounds ready for her. They were heavily rounded, made to inflict as little damage as possible, though they were sure to leave a bruise still. She remained silent as she collected her rounds, choosing not to engage with him. The last thing she needed was to lose her temper before a fight.

  Match-ups would be determined by chance, with each pulling a stone out of a deep blue velvet bag—six pairs of matching stones. Those with matching stones would be each other’s opponents. Alexi had one person in mind as she drew a luminous emerald stone from the bag. She tried to see who had the matching stone but came up empty.

  “You,” Joshua called, pointing at Nathan once they had all picked their stones. “Show us your stone. We’ll start with you.”

  Nathan took being the first to be chosen in stride and opened his hand to reveal a stone roughly the same shade as a robin’s egg. A thunderous cackle erupted from beside her as a mountain of a man showed the same stone in his hand. He had a spiked club resting on his shoulder, his grip tightening on the handle as he took Nathan in. “Won’t be much of a match against the freak.”

  Alexi gritted her teeth as she shot the older man a dirty look, ignored as he made his way to the centre of the field. Nathan followed closely behind with a sly grin, looking back and giving them a wink. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, Alexi silently hoped that Nathan would humiliate his opponent.

  Nathan pulled out his daggers and took a low stance, the curved blades gleaming like talons in the afternoon sun. His violet eyes were pinpoint focused on his opponent, and his breathing was slow and methodical. His opponent was easily twice his size, made of pure muscle, and glared down at Nathan with an unpleasant grin.

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  “Before I end your miserable life, why don’t you spill how you managed to weasel into Lostvail, eh, Elf? Sent from the Golden City to spy on us lowly Humans?”

  Nathan snorted. “Please. They'd have my head on a pike if I ever went to the Golden City. But trust me, big guy, I understand the sentiment. Although I don’t think murder is exactly allowed here.”

  The moment Joshua gave the signal to start, Nathan shot forward with shocking speed. Keeping low to the ground, he was easily able to duck beneath the wide swing of his opponent’s club, connecting an elbow strike with the man’s gut in return.

  “Bastard!” The man snarled as he stumbled back, before bringing his club down on the spot where Nathan had been mere seconds before. He had already leapt away from the attack and, in a single fluid motion, pushed up into the air before bringing his heel down on the bald head of his opponent with an audible crack. As Nathan landed lightly on his feet, his opponent collapsed like a crumpled piece of paper, unconscious.

  “The winner!” Joshua called, motioning to Nathan before writing down notes on a clipboard. Nathan returned to the group, followed closely by the bald man who, having just regained consciousness, shot him a withering look but nothing more. When Vincent rejected his attempt at a high-five, he quickly moved to Alexi, who was more than happy to reciprocate.

  “That was awesome. You took him down in under a minute.” Alexi praised as the next pair were called. “You didn’t even use those fancy daggers of yours.”

  Nathan scratched his cheek sheepishly. “Awesome, eh? I just stick to my strengths, what can I say? A speedy and agile body comes with the Elf blood, I suppose. Probably the only upside to it.” Nathan patted his daggers, his grin never breaking. “Not many weapons work well when you want to move constantly, so I finally settled on daggers. Before that, I was kind of a bruiser.” He emphasized the last point by shadow boxing the air between them.

  “How did you come to that decision?” Lacey asked, peering from behind Alexi curiously.

  “My Dad suggested them, actually. He knew I wanted to attend Lostvail to get my licence. He also knew you can’t fight a Daemon bare-handed and expect to survive. He saved up for months without telling me.” Nathan’s confident grin faded into a warm smile. “He’s always supported my decisions.”

  “Your dad was just ok with you becoming a hunter?” Lacey asked, her voice cracking slightly. Realization hit Alexi painfully as she finally began to piece together Lacey’s situation.

  “Well, my dad wasn’t exactly thrilled, I won’t lie. But he also knew my job prospects are pretty bleak considering my heritage. Most places wouldn’t even consider someone with a hint of Elf blood. But hunters are pretty public figures, and make good coin. Even if I’m not super popular, I’d live a comfortable life.”

  Turning her gaze from Lacey back to Nathan, Alexi playfully punched his shoulder. “Your talents would be wasted anywhere else if you ask me. You were clearly born for the hunter's life.”

  Lacey nodded enthusiastically in agreement, causing Nathan to shake his head, chuckling. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate that.”

  “Next pair!”

  Joshua’s voice cut through their conversation, the previous match having ended while they had been preoccupied. Joshua had already chosen the next combatant, who held a dark red stone in their hand, the exact stone that Lacey held. Upon the realization, she froze like a deer in the headlights. Alexi was about to ask if she was ok, but she was already walking forward. She held her chain-sickle in both hands, the chain length wrapped around her left while she had the bladed end in her right.

  Lacey’s opponent was a tall, slender woman, a rapier held in front of her, ready to strike. Lacey stared silently at her, her hands trembling slightly. The moment Joshua gave the signal, she let go of the handle of her sickle, grabbing the chain and spinning it at her side. Her opponent moved at almost the exact moment, pushing forward as she jabbed at Lacey with the point of her rapier.

  Alexi was impressed at how practised Lacey’s next move was as she threw the spinning sickle towards the charging woman, only to have it parried away easily. A slight, barely audible sound of panic escaped Lacey’s throat as she pulled on the chain as hard as she could. The sickle flew through the air, blade glinting in the light before connecting with the woman’s arm, opening up a small cut that was ignored. The tip of her opponent’s weapon connected with Lacey’s shoulder, pushing her onto the ground hard. Though her clothing had stopped the attack from piercing her skin, the blow would surely leave a bruise. The woman was on Lacey before she could counterattack, giving Lacey enough time to block the attack by pulling the chain taut between them.

  “That’s enough!” Joshua called as he walked over to separate the pair. It was clear to everyone watching that Lacey had been severely outmatched from the moment the match had begun. Joshua reached down to help her up, checking her over for injuries. “You’ve chosen a difficult weapon for an already difficult path, young lady. Make sure it’s the one you truly want to be on.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lacey said quietly before returning to the group, dejected. Alexi wanted to say something to try and cheer her up, but she knew nothing she could say would make any difference. She had known the moment she had met the other girl in the forest that she wasn’t a fighter. However, as Vincent was called next, all thought of Lacey melted away from Alexi’s mind. Her shining emerald stone was winking back at her from the palm of his hand.