Cade had studied under the best and brightest minds in the world. His hometown, Eldrin, was famous for its scholars, the best of which taught and researched in the legendary Skyreach Academy, named so for the magically engineered island it sat atop. He had read, listened, annotated, and applied all sorts of knowledge during those wondrous times.

  But none of them—not a single instructor in all his time there—could prepare him for Nora’s ‘lessons.’

  This girl was brutal.

  “Ooft!” Cade groaned as a steel boot collided with his stomach.

  Again.

  “You’re sure Orro taught you self defense?” Nora asked lightly, and even had the indecency to look unwinded.

  “I know he wears softer shoes, that’s for sure,” Cade retorted while he blinked out the stars that flecked his vision.

  “Next time, try to use your winds to redirect my blow, rather than block it. Steel is heavier than air.” Nora rolled her shoulders as she spoke, unhurried and calm as she prepared to add another bruise to Cade’s body.

  Damn this all to the four hells, Cade thought bitterly as he called upon his core to aid in this one-sided fight.

  He still couldn’t believe he’d agreed to some lessons with this closet-sadist. He’d said yes just so that the team could get some much needed space from one another, but now he was the sacrificial lamb on the altar of the crew’s emotional health. Back at camp, the others recovered and tended to their wounds. When he made sure they were all taken care of and stable, one look at Nora told him that she needed to blow off some steam.

  Hells, so did he.

  So here they were, in a clearing far into the forest, and it was all Cade could do not to die.

  The power rose through his magical pathways, heat and storm searing their way past his bones and exhausted muscles. It might’ve been his imagination, but the speed at which this viscous energy moved felt more sluggish. More forced.

  Good.

  “Now, back to our lesson,” Nora said evenly.

  She dashed forward, her body a silver blur as she ran.

  Cade moved on instinct, raising a tunnel of wind in front of him and using it to shift her wicked jab away from his face. He ducked, careful to stay out of striking range. The paladin’s gauntlet slammed into the empty space where his head had just vacated.

  Cade yanked on the wind, trying to shift Nora’s footing just enough to where he could unbalance her. It almost worked. The warrior in front of him dug in her heels, taking the shift in momentum like a boulder in a stream.

  “What are the stages of core evolution?” Nora drilled him.

  The thief cursed under his breath. “Early, Middle, Late, and Peak.”

  “Good,” Nora answered like some bored drill sergeant. “And how can you tell which one you’re in, regardless of your core’s current rank?”

  The paladin got into another fighting stance. Cade didn’t want to know what would happen if she decided to draw that massive blade of hers. He wasn’t insecure about anything, but gods above and below did that monstrosity make him feel small.

  Cade readied his magic for her next attack. It would be a kick, if he had to guess, one to cleave his neck in half.

  “Everyone experiences the shift between stages differently,” Cade recited from memory. “Some describe it as taking another step up a staircase, while others say it feels like a perfectly sized crate sliding into place within their core, filling a crack they didn’t know existed. Still other core users mention it’s like growing a new branch on the tree of their core’s magical pathways.”

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  It had only taken one time for her to explain it for him to memorize the whole thing, but if this kept Nora from exploding on the rest of the team, he would play along. Besides, who didn’t want to sweat alone in the woods with a warrior goddess from hell? Even if she was more beautiful than one.

  “And for you?” Nora inquired a bit too softly. “What did it feel like to go from Early to Middle stage with your copper core?”

  Interesting.

  This was getting into more personal territory. If he played his cards right, he might even get her to open up this time.

  Cade considered for a long moment, dropping his hands slightly.

  “It feels like inserting a new page into an unbound book. It’s fuller—makes more sense now,” he admitted.

  The words felt oddly intimate, and there was a tension between them that hadn’t been there before even with the fighting. Cade watched, unwilling to let his guard fall. He noticed the tight braid Nora kept hidden beneath the lip of her armor, how her left hand shook with adrenaline.

  Nora shot forward, foot flying through the air at his neck. Cade tried to dodge, but the speed of the blow was too much for him even after he shifted his weight. His magic went wide, blasting into the canopy above. Leaves and dried sticks clattered down around them while a fresh bruise formed on Cade’s body. He fell like an old oak, and his body hit the ground hard.

  He groaned, arms shaky as he peeled himself off of the ground.

  “Hells, Nora. Ever tried not killing someone you’re teaching?” Cade asked while he spat out clumps of dirt.

  She gave him a flat stare.

  “That’s what I thought,” Cade sighed. “Again?”

  “Again,” Nora agreed with a nod.

  Good, Cade thought. Because despite their massive difference in power and skill, he was getting better. Faster.

  And his core was keeping pace, almost as if it were eager to grow.

  “What are the outward signs of each stage?” Nora asked, clearing Cade’s mind of all distractions.

  Cade lifted his arms, swirling winds aglow around his fist.

  “It all comes down to the hue of magic,” the thief explained as Nora stalked around him in a slow circle. The wind of his magic brushed against her face, and a loose strand of her dark hair danced within its embrace.

  “Early stage has the purest color of that rank. Middle stage evolution for a core is achieved when the first hue of the next rank is observed.” Cade paused his explanation as Nora swept in with a vicious combo.

  Cade rolled, punching behind him with a burst of his magic. A tight cyclone of air slammed into Nora’s awaiting forearms, though he took a bit of pleasure on how she slid back a few inches.

  “Middle stage is the bottleneck for all ranks, as it requires the most diligence!” Cade yelled as he fought off another flurry of strikes as best he could.

  One connected with his ankle, and he was sent sprawling across the leafy forest floor.

  “Late stage,” Cade hissed through the pain. “Is when the next rank’s energy begins to faintly accent every spell you cast. And Peak stage is when it’s a deep blend of the two.”

  “Example?” Nora inquired as she backhanded Cade with her gauntlet.

  Cade leaned out of the way and sent an open palm into her gut. Like the neck of a dragon, her other hand snapped forward onto Cade’s exposed wrist. A triumphant grin spread across her face.

  “Please, fair maiden. Not again!” Cade bemoaned, mostly for the dramatics.

  Mostly.

  She threw him over her shoulder.

  Cade shot through the air like an arrow, this time he managed to deploy his wind magic enough to slow his descent. It barely helped. With a crash and a curse, the thief became quickly acquainted with a large bush.

  “Shut up, tree,” Nora spat with a flat look at a nearby oak.

  “You okay?” Cade found himself asking. “You just said tree. I’m Cade. Cade Stormhollow.”

  “I’m fine,” Nora said a bit too quickly. “Here.”

  She held out a hand for him. After a heartbeat, he took it.

  “Example?” Nora repeated.

  “You’re the worst,” Cade sighed, though there wasn’t any real bite to it. “Yesterday, when I was practicing, the copper hue to my wind magic shifted briefly into silver. It was just a moment, but the second it did, I felt the shift. My core evolved to Middle stage.”

  “Good job,” Nora offered.

  It was such a shock from the brutal efficiency she’d displayed so far that he briefly didn’t know what to say.

  “You can pick up your jaw, Stormhollow,” Nora said with just the faintest twinkle in her eyes.

  “Yes. Yes, I’ll do that,” Cade answered, but then gave her a wide grin. “Wait… You complimented me.”

  “It was an observation of your retention,” Nora replied with a cocked eyebrow. “Don’t read into it.”

  “Reading into it is kind of my thing,” Cade offered with an even wider grin, this one tinged with a victory of his own.

  For Nora, paladin of shadows and big swords, was blushing.

  “From the top!” Nora ordered with a shout, and Cade got ready for another bruise.

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