The knock came in the afternoon.
Adrian sat on his bed. Staring at nothing. He'd been sitting there since returning from the memorial. Hours passing without notice.
The knock came again. Harder.
He stood. His body protested. Everything hurt from Marcus's beatings over the past three days. He opened the door.
A Hunter he didn't recognise stood in the corridor. Young. Maybe mid-twenties. He looked uncomfortable.
"Hunter Reed wants to see you. His office. Now."
The Hunter turned and walked away before Adrian could respond.
His office. Not the training room. That's different.
Adrian closed his door and followed. Through corridors he was learning to navigate. Up stairs. Past the library where he'd sat with Elena less than a week ago.
Don't think about that. Not now.
They reached a hallway Adrian hadn't been down before. Narrower. Doors with names carved into plaques. Officer quarters.
The Hunter stopped at a door marked 'M. Reed' and knocked.
"Come in."
The Hunter opened the door. Gestured for Adrian to enter. Then left.
Adrian stepped inside.
The office was small. Sparse. Functional. A desk covered in papers and reports. Shelves lined with books on combat theory and creature catalogues. Weapons hung on the walls. A sword. Two daggers. A rifle that looked well-used.
Marcus sat at the desk. Writing something. He didn't look up.
"Sit."
Adrian sat in the chair across from the desk. The same position he'd been in two weeks ago. When they'd offered him training instead of execution.
That feels like years ago now.
The silence stretched. Marcus kept writing. His pen scratching across paper. Steady. Methodical.
Adrian waited. His hands resting on his thighs.
Finally, Marcus set down his pen. He looked up. His eyes were hard. Cold.
"Tell me what you did wrong."
The question was direct. No preamble. No softening.
Adrian met his gaze. "I froze."
"Before that."
Before I froze? When Elena was still alive?
"I... wasn't prepared?"
"Before THAT."
Adrian didn't understand. His mind raced backward. Before the warehouse. Before the carriage. Before Marcus had handed him a loaded revolver.
What does he mean?
Marcus leaned back in his chair. His expression unchanged.
"You went on a hunt you weren't ready for. And that's on me."
He's blaming himself.
"I thought you could observe and learn. I was wrong." Marcus's voice was flat. Factual. Brutal. "I thought having you there as a secondary observer would be safe. That you'd stay back. Watch. Understand what hunting actually means."
He paused. Looking at Adrian like he was evaluating a failed experiment.
"And Elena died. Kane nearly died. Mara's leg is broken. And you almost died standing there like a fucking statue."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "I know."
"Do you?" Marcus stood. Walked around the desk. "Because from where I'm standing, you don't understand anything yet."
He's right. I don't understand how I could just stand there. How my body could refuse to move.
"Come with me."
Marcus walked to the door. Adrian stood and followed. Down the corridor. Down stairs. Through passages that led to the underground training room.
Their usual space.
Marcus unlocked the door. They entered. He closed it behind them. The lock clicked.
"From now on, training changes." Marcus removed his coat. Hung it on the peg. Started rolling up his sleeves. "No more teaching you to survive."
He turned. Faced Adrian fully.
"I'm teaching you so you never freeze again."
Finally. Something different. Something more.
"Every morning. Before dawn. Until you can't stand." Marcus's voice was steady. Clinical. "You'll learn to fight. Really fight. Not sparring. Not drills. Fighting."
He walked to the centre of the room.
"You'll learn to kill. Quickly and without hesitation. You'll learn what real combat feels like. What it costs. What it demands."
"And you'll learn what happens when you're not good enough."
Adrian stepped forward. "When do we start?"
Marcus's expression didn't change. "Now. Guard up."
Adrian barely had time to raise his hands before Marcus attacked.
No warning. No preparatory stance. Just violence.
A punch to Adrian's face snapped his head sideways. Blood filled his mouth.
Faster than before. Harder.
Marcus didn't stop. Didn't pause for corrections. Just kept coming.
A kick to Adrian's ribs. He doubled over. Marcus's knee caught him in the face. He went down.
"Get up."
Adrian pushed himself to his feet. His vision swam. His nose was bleeding.
Marcus attacked again. Combination after combination. Each strike landing with brutal precision. Adrian tried to defend. Tried to block. But Marcus was Stage 3 and not holding back anymore.
A throw sent Adrian crashing into the stone floor. The impact drove the air from his lungs.
"Get up."
Can't breathe. Everything hurts.
Adrian got up. Marcus swept his legs. He went down again.
"Get up."
He's not going to stop. Not until I can't stand.
Adrian got up. Marcus's fist caught him in the stomach. Then the face. Then the ribs again.
He fell. Got up. Fell again.
This is different from before. Before he was teaching. Now he's just breaking me down.
The beatings from the past three days had been silent. Methodical. This was something else. This was pressure testing. Pushing Adrian past every limit.
Finding where he broke.
Adrian lost track of time. Lost track of how many times he fell. How many times Marcus told him to get up.
His body moved on instinct. Get up. Raise guard. Get hit. Fall. Repeat.
I deserve this. For Elena.
Finally, Adrian's legs gave out completely. He hit the ground and couldn't get up. His arms wouldn't respond. His legs were dead weight.
Marcus stood over him. Not even breathing hard.
"Tomorrow. Same time."
Adrian lay on the cold stone. Gasping. Every part of him screaming. Blood from his nose pooling on the floor beneath his face.
Tomorrow. I'll be stronger tomorrow.
Minutes passed. Maybe longer. Adrian eventually managed to roll onto his side. Then to push himself into a sitting position.
Marcus stood near the wall. Arms crossed. Watching.
"You want to know why I'm doing this?"
Adrian nodded. He couldn't speak yet. His throat was raw.
"Because I saw your face. In that warehouse." Marcus's voice was still flat. Factual. "You didn't just freeze because you were scared."
Then why?
"You froze because you had no instinct. You saw something your mind couldn't process, and it shut down."
Marcus walked closer. Stopped a few feet away.
"So we're going to build instinct. We're going to build power. Every scenario. Every way to die. Every way to survive. Every way to kill. Until there's NOTHING that surprises you."
Every scenario. Every way someone can die. Every way to kill.
Adrian's voice came out hoarse. Barely above a whisper. "Okay?"
"Good."
Marcus crouched down. Meeting Adrian's eyes at level.
"Every hunt I go on from now on, you're coming. Stage 1. Stage 2. Doesn't matter. You're there. You're observing. You're learning."
"You'll see more death in the next six months than most Hunters see in years. You'll watch people die. Watch creatures die. Watch what happens when someone isn't fast enough. Strong enough. Good enough."
I don't care. I need this. I need to never be that weak again.
"Understand?" Marcus asked.
Adrian nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Now get out. Come back tomorrow at dawn. We're doing this again."
Adrian stood. His legs barely held. He stumbled toward the door.
"Blackstar."
Adrian stopped. Turned.
Marcus's expression was unreadable. "Elena's death wasn't your fault. But the next one will be if you don't get better. Remember that."
The next one. There will be a next one.
Adrian left. The door closed behind him. The lock clicked.
He limped through the corridors. Each step agony. His ribs screamed. His face throbbed. His legs felt like they might give out at any moment.
Keep moving. Just get to the room.
He climbed stairs. One at a time. Gripping the railing. His knuckles white.
The second-floor corridor. Almost there.
"Jesus, what happened?"
Adrian looked up. Thomas stood in the hallway. His expression horrified.
"Training."
Adrian didn't elaborate. Didn't have the energy. He walked past Thomas to his door. Unlocked it. Stepped inside.
The door closed. The lock clicked.
Adrian made it three steps before his legs gave out. He collapsed onto the bed. Face-first. Every muscle screaming.
Can't move. Can't think. Just pain.
He lay there. Breathing. Existing. Hurting.
I should sleep. Need to sleep. Dawn comes early.
But sleep wouldn't come. His mind was too active. Too full.
Elena's death replayed behind his eyelids. The claw. The blood. Her body in pieces.
I stood there. Watched it happen. Did nothing.
His hands clenched into the blanket.
Never again.
The thought was sharp. Cold. Like a blade pressed against skin.
Whatever it takes. However much it hurts. I'll get better. Stronger. Faster.
I'll learn to kill without hesitation.
I'll never freeze again.