Kane
The weight of the conversation with Fallon still lingered in the back of my mind, but I couldn't afford to focus on that right now. I had other matters to attend to, matters that had been hanging over me for days, and now they were impossible to ignore. Dorian.
Aldric was waiting for me in the training hall, his posture rigid as he stood near the far wall. The air in the room was thick with the tension of unsaid words, the kind that always seemed to follow a situation like this. Dorian had been trouble from the start, and now it seemed like the situation was about to spiral out of control. We couldn't let him stay a threat. Not after everything that had happened.
I stepped into the room, my boots echoing on the stone floor as I approached Aldric. He didn't look at me right away, keeping his focus on the floor, but I knew he could feel the weight of the conversation to come. We had been through too much together for this to feel like any normal discussion.
"Dorian," I muttered, my voice low, "he's pushing us. Again."
Aldric finally turned to face me, his eyes hard and cold, the same way they had been when we'd first trained together. "I know. I've been watching him. He's reckless. Dangerous."
I nodded, frustration clawing at me. "I can't keep protecting him, Aldric. I've been patient with him for too long. But his ambition, his obsession with powerâit's going to be the end of him. And the rest of us, if we don't do something about it."
Aldric's lips pressed into a thin line. "I've always said we should have handled him when we first got here. But now? Now it's different. He knows too much about us. About you. We can't just... get rid of him."
I clenched my fists at my sides, the anger rising in my chest. "I'm not suggesting we kill him, Aldric. But we can't keep letting him get away with his games. He's a liability. He's a threat."
Aldric met my gaze, his jaw tight. "Then what do you want to do? Take him out of the equation entirely? Discredit him? We can't just storm into the council and accuse him without proof. We need leverage."
I thought for a moment, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place in my mind. Dorian had been careless lately, too loud about his intentions, too eager to push his limits. That kind of arrogance would be his downfall. But we needed a way to make him trip over his own arrogance. A way to make sure he didn't come after us when we made our move.
"We gather evidence," I said, my voice steady. "We watch him closely. Let him think he's winning. And when the time comes, we use his own actions against him. We can expose him for what he really isâpower-hungry, dangerousâand turn the rest of the academy against him."
Aldric nodded, his eyes narrowing in agreement. "It'll take time. We can't rush it. But if we're careful..."
"We will be," I interjected, already thinking of how I would proceed. Dorian's pride would be his undoing. I just had to wait for the right moment.
The silence stretched between us, both of us weighing the risk of the plan. But in the end, we both knew it was the only option. There was no other way to deal with someone like Dorian. He wouldn't back down until we forced him to.
A sudden noise broke the tension, and I turned toward the door. My gaze locked onto Fallon as she entered the room, her steps light and determined. The moment I saw her, I felt the familiar pull, the heat between us that we couldn't fully hide anymore. Not after everything. She gave me a small nod, acknowledging my presence, but there was something different in the way she looked at me todayâsomething more certain, more knowing.
She didn't say anything, just moved toward the center of the room, where the rest of the training team was assembling. I quickly forced my mind back to the task at hand, focusing on the present. We still had work to do.
"Aldric," I muttered, turning my attention back to him, "We'll talk more later. I'll start making preparations. Keep your eye on Dorian. Don't let him slip through."
He nodded, then gave me a knowing look. "Be careful with her, Kane," he said quietly, glancing toward Fallon as she stretched, preparing for the next training session. "She's not the only one who's feeling the tension."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Aldric always had a way of cutting to the heart of things. He had been watching the way Fallon and I interacted, and I knew he wasn't the only one who'd noticed. But right now, I didn't have the luxury of dealing with any of that. There was too much at stake.
"Don't worry about it," I said, giving him a tight smile. "I'll handle it."
â
Fallon was already preparing for the sparring match when I stepped onto the mat, and despite the pull between us, I knew we both had to focus. It was time to get back to training, and that meant leaving whatever was simmering beneath the surface where it belongedâat least for now.
The rest of the trainees were already gathered around, watching, their eyes flicking back and forth between us. I could feel the weight of their gaze, their anticipation. It wasn't uncommon for Fallon and me to sparâshe was one of the few people who could challenge me. But today, everything felt different.
As she stepped onto the mat, her eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, there was nothing but the heat between us. It took all my control not to let that heat slip into our movements. This wasn't just a sparring matchâit was a dance, one that both of us had learned to perform with deadly precision.
We circled each other, her movements sharp, calculated. I could tell she was trying to keep her emotions in check, just as I was. But the tension hung between us, thick and undeniable, and I knew we were both struggling to hide it.
She feinted left, and I countered, our movements a blur of skill and power. I could feel the fire in her eyes, the desire to prove herself. But beneath that, there was something elseâa connection that neither of us had been able to ignore since the moment we'd crossed that line.
The spar was intense, every move calculated, every strike intentional. But all the while, I could feel the pull of herâher presence, her breath, the heat of her body. It was like we were dancing on the edge of something we couldn't control, and the more I fought, the more I wanted her to break. To show me she felt it too.
But we had an audience. We had to maintain control. And it was getting harder with every passing second.
As she dodged a particularly sharp strike, I caught her gaze again, and this time, it wasn't just the heat of the spar that caught meâit was her. She was trying to hold it together, just as I was, but there was no denying it anymore. We were both caught in the tension, and sooner or later, it would break.
But for now, I focused on the fight, on the discipline, and forced everything else back. There would be a time to deal with thisâjust not right now. Not with everyone watching.
Fallon's breath came in sharp, quick bursts, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something in her eyes. The same thing I had been trying to ignore for weeks.
We would have to talk about this. Soon.