Adrian’s Frustration
The sparring hall buzzed with an undercurrent of energy, the blood moon’s crimson glow seeping through the tall, arched windows. The air inside was heavy, charged with tension that mirrored the turmoil in Adrian’s chest. His patience had frayed to its breaking point, and the focus of his frustration stood across from him: Lyra.
She held her practice blade with a precision that matched his, her silver eyes sharp and unyielding. Adrian couldn’t ignore how the moonlight danced on her skin, how her presence seemed to pull at something deep within him. It only added to the fire raging in his thoughts.
“Ready?” Lyra asked, her voice calm despite the weight hanging between them.
Adrian didn’t answer. Instead, he lunged, his blade cutting through the air with a swiftness that made Lyra pivot sharply to dodge. Their blades clashed, the sharp ring of metal echoing through the hall.
“You’ve been sneaking around,” Adrian growled as he pressed forward, his strikes calculated and unrelenting. “What are you hiding, Lyra?”
Lyra gritted her teeth, blocking his next strike with force. The impact sent a jolt up her arms, but she refused to falter. “That’s none of your business,” she retorted, her voice edged with defiance.
Adrian’s crimson eyes burned with intensity as he stepped closer, his movements fluid and precise. “It is if it puts the academy—and the realm—at risk,” he said, his tone low but biting. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you and Eryon disappear at night.”
Lyra’s heart raced, but she kept her expression neutral. “You’re paranoid,” she snapped, her wolf growling faintly beneath the surface. “Maybe you should focus on your own problems instead of inventing ones for me.”
Adrian’s smirk was humorless as he parried her blade with ease. “You think I’m imagining things?” he said, his voice rising slightly. “You’ve been lying to everyone, Lyra. And if you’re not careful, it’s going to blow up in your face.”
Lyra snarled under her breath, her wolf surging forward as she struck with more force than she intended. Adrian sidestepped the blow, his blade coming dangerously close to her neck.
“You don’t know anything,” Lyra said coldly, her silver eyes flashing with anger.
Adrian’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper as he leaned in, his blade poised just inches from her throat. “Don’t lie to me,” he said. “You’re smarter than that. So tell me—what’s your endgame?”
Lyra shoved him back with a burst of strength that startled even her. The force sent Adrian stumbling, his crimson eyes narrowing as he recovered. She leveled her blade at him, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her.
“Try me, Adrian,” she said, her tone icy. “See where it gets you.”
The hall fell silent, the tension between them crackling like a storm about to break. Adrian lowered his blade slowly, his gaze lingering on her as though he was trying to read the thoughts hidden behind her sharp eyes.
“You’re going to regret this,” he said finally, his voice quiet but resolute. Then he turned and walked away, his shoulders rigid with unspoken anger.
Lyra watched him go, her chest heaving as her wolf paced restlessly in her mind. The blood moon’s energy hung heavy around her, amplifying every emotion and sharpening every instinct. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Adrian’s determination to uncover the truth would end in disaster—for both of them.
As the door to the sparring hall closed behind him, Lyra lowered her blade, her hands trembling slightly. The weight of their confrontation settled over her, a reminder that the fragile balance they had been clinging to was beginning to unravel.
Her wolf growled softly, a warning that echoed in her thoughts: the blood moon was pulling them all toward something inevitable.
