Chapter 45

Julian leaned against the cold stone wall of the training hall, his chest heaving as he tried to pull oxygen back into his lungs. The air in the room tasted of ozone and scorched stone. Teagan stood ten paces away, her posture relaxed and her eyes bright with an intensity that bordered on predatory. She had spent the last hour systematically dismantling his defenses, and she didn't look like she was done yet. It was a jarring shift. Only a few days ago, Teagan had looked at his progress with...