The Girl with No Past
The scent of metal and sweat thickened the air in the arena.
It was dawn, but inside the underground training pit, there was no sun — only cold concrete, flickering fluorescent lights, and the sound of blades colliding. Ravenmoor didn't believe in warmups. You woke up, you bled, you survived.
Lux stood at the center, a dagger in each hand, her breath steady, her eyes locked on the boy circling her. Older. Stronger. Cocky.
He struck first — fast, arrogant, loud. She dodged low, swept his leg, and pressed a blade to his throat before he hit the floor.
Gasps echoed from the shadows above. Trainees watching from the upper balconies. Some surprised. Most scared.
She didn't flinch. She just stepped back, dropped the blade at the boy's feet, and turned to face the one person who didn't look impressed.
Knox.
Dark eyes. Scarred jaw. Arms folded like he'd rather be anywhere else. His voice cut through the silence.
> "Sloppy finish."
Lux didn't blink. "He's alive, isn't he?"
A slow smirk touched his lips — but it didn't reach his eyes. "For now."
The boy on the ground coughed and staggered up. Lux walked past him without a glance. She didn't care about winning. Not really. She just didn't want to be weak. Not here. Not again.
As she passed Knox, he spoke low — just for her.
> "Try that move on someone with real instincts, you'll be dead before you blink."
She didn't stop walking. "Then maybe I'll stop blinking."
That earned her a pause. Not approval. But interest.
Knox watched her disappear into the shadows of the corridor.
Lux was becoming a problem.
Or maybe… a weapon.
One he hadn't figured out how to control yet.
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