I drag myself down the stairs and follow the squad onto the training arena floor. There`s a slight tremble in my fingers. I`ve never had to fight without being able to release some energy and I can`t risk doing that now. The squad fans out in front of a large area covered in padded blue floor mats. Kane steps onto the mats and I follow his lead.

　　He takes the furthest position facing the squad. I line myself up in front of him leaving a few feet between us. Kane is in his signature pose, feet apart, bulging biceps crossed at his chest, staring right through me. Out of habit or training, I assess my surroundings. I walk slowly to my right to keep the squad and Kane in sight. He moves with me so we stay facing each other.

　　Fletcher leans an elbow on Iva`s shoulder, whispering a bet in his ear as Iva taps the screen on his wrist. I`m not the winning pick and I can`t blame him. Addy bounces on her toes, eyes bright. Luce`s posture is rigid with her hands on her hips, lips curled in annoyance. I glance up to the mission room and see the captain still in her seat, head down. Her face glows from the screen before her.

　　Not sure what to make of her disinterest I settle my attention back on Kane. He`s slightly taller than I am, and solid in a way I`ll never be. I`ll need speed to get through this.

　　"At the academy," Kane`s starts and the squad stills, "you didn`t train against each other in one-on-one combat." It`s not a question, but I nod in answer anyway.

　　"As a member of the Elite Squad, we expect you to hold your own in outnumbered, unexpected situations. And there`s no smarter adversary to train against than another warrior." Kane drops his arms by his sides, and I fight the urge to create more distance between us.

　　"You`ll need to adjust your combat skills. Not only to complete mission objectives, but to keep your squad`s well-being in check. We look out for each other, not just ourselves."

　　Kane waits for me to nod my head again before he continues.

　　"These assessments will expose any weakness or need for advanced training."

　　I get it. They`re worried I`ll endanger them. They`ve all read my academy file, they know who I am. They`re worried I`m reckless, that I`ll leave them exposed.

　　"Most importantly, the assessments allow us to make adjustments to our fighting styles, to look after you too."

　　My eyes snap back to his not sure I heard him right. They want to see my skills, so they`ll know how to look after me? My shoulders feel heavy as I weigh his words.

　　"Today we`ll see how well you handle one enemy. I`m your enemy." He smirks and I bite back a groan. He`s not going to go easy on me.

　　"We spar until one of us gets knocked out or taps out. The first person to draw their weapon loses."

　　I nod my head in understanding, my mouth is too dry to speak. I think through a strategy. No blades, no abilities. What does that leave me with? My style has always been about speed, strength, and my warrior weapons. I can minimize my strength so it`s not obvious. But being able to change directions and outmaneuver the enemy with my blades or powers is all I know.

　　"Ready?" Kane grunts.

　　The silence in the arena is so loud it buzzes in my ears as he waits for me to signal I`m ready. My hands sweat, and my legs feel tight with energy begging to explode into action. I focus on my breathing.

　　In—one, two, three, four.

　　Out—one, two, three, four.

　　I`m not ready. I can hear Kane`s heartbeat slow, mocking mine.

　　"Ready." I call back.

　　And faster than I can inhale, he`s in front of me. My eyebrows shoot up at his sudden appearance. I slide a leg back to create some space just as one of his legs hooks the back of mine. I`m off balance, and he goes for the take down, shouldering my chest hard before I land on my back with a grunt.

　　I cough trying to pull in the air he knocked out. His hand comes into view, offering to help me up. I`m stunned, staring at the ceiling.

　　"Huh." I hear Fletcher breathe out from across the room.

　　Grabbing Kane`s forearm, I add a little more strength to my muscles and close my eyes in case my powers flare. Energy fuels me and I jerk Kane`s massive body towards mine. I get my legs under me and push off hard, ramming my shoulder into his chest. Knocking him on his back with me standing over him now.

　　Fletcher`s muffled laugh and some gasps sound out. I extend my hand to Kane the same way he did for me and I can`t help giving him a small smile. But it disappears quick when he flings into a back handspring off the mat to a standing position. I`m shocked his massive form can do acrobatics like that. He wastes no time coming for me, hooking his thick arm out to get me in a choke hold.

　　My instincts are to push power into my legs and jump over him before he reaches me. Instead, I do this weird hop and waste precious seconds tamping down my power. I duck into a roll at the last second, spring up, and jog away to give myself time and much needed space. But it`s not enough. Kane is already in my face again.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author`s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

　　He crouches low and spins around fast to deliver a foot sweep. I jump a little too high to avoid going down on the mat again and cringe when I hear gasps from the squad. I land on the mat not sure what to do. Kane`s eyes narrow as he studies me closer, then he`s advancing. He throws a fist so fast my neck strains with the speedy dodge. He grazes my cheek. I`m so surprised by the hit that I miss his fist delivering a powerful blow right to my gut.

　　I push him off with both hands to his chest and a bit of added strength, not worrying about my eyes flashing blue since I`m bent over from the gut check. I pull in a deep breath and tilt my head up to see him stumbling backwards from my shove, trying to keep from falling down. My body screams at me to catch my breath, my stomach spasms in agony, but I need to take the advantage.

　　I feel uncoordinated, clumsy, shuffling towards Kane. The pain from my cheek makes my right eye water and the energy pulsing to get out has me shaking. He`s too big for a regular punch to affect him, so I go for the same choke hold maneuver he tried to pull on me. I`m nothing if not a quick study, but it`s going to take more than my arms to take him down. I close in on him and jump up. Wrapping my legs around his neck. I twist my body over his shoulder and bring us both down. Backs against the mat with his neck between my legs, I squeeze.

　　I`m careful, waiting for him to pass out or tap out. Kane grabs hold of my thighs, and grunts loud before my body is rising off the mat. His muscles increase in size as he throws himself into a sit-up position. My legs clench hard to keep from releasing my hold as I slide to sit on his shoulders. He throws his body back, slamming me down hard, jarring my legs loose. My spine and head throb from the abuse.

　　I`m about to roll to my side when Kane`s chest presses down on me. His forearm is fast across my neck, pushing my air supply out. My chest burns, demanding oxygen. I kick my legs trying to get momentum but my vision gets fuzzy. Heat starts to flow down my arms. My powers scream to let them save me. I won`t be able to stop my energy from exploding. I squeeze my eyes shut and do the only thing I can. I tap out.

　　Kane releases me immediately and pulls me up by my forearm to stand. My knees wobble at the air loss and sudden blood rush. I don`t know if I could`ve beaten him, even with my abilities. Once in his hold, there was no getting out. He`s fast, and countered all my attacks. We were only taught the bare minimum at the academy. Most cadets will be gate guards or assigned to some other interior post. And I never realized how little training we actually received until now. How little they prepared us.

　　I look at Kane and the rest of the squad behind him. Feeling my face heat with well-deserved embarrassment. I overestimated my skills without my abilities. I have no clue what each of these Elites can do. They`re more dangerous than I thought. Especially since I don`t know their plans for me. Why did they select me, an outcast, to join them?

　　Kane`s heavy hand slaps me hard on the back, and I instinctively take a broader stance, fist ready. It`s Cole`s go to move. Hand to my back or head to shove my face in the ground. My eyes narrow, ready, almost in relief. I`ll finally see what this new group of bullies is all about. Kane nods once to me without a word, then walks off the mats, and exits the training arena.

　　"Damn, son!" Fletcher jogs up to me.

　　He shakes his head and smiles like he doesn`t know what to think of me. Which is fitting since I don`t know what to think of them.

　　"You lasted longer than any of us did. I got knocked out with the first contact, and I`m pretty awesome. But you . . ." He trails off as he studies me closer.

　　"Sure he lasted longer," Luce`s smokey voice rings out from her same rigid position. "He was on his back most of the time." She laughs out and turns towards the exit doors.

　　Yeah, she definitely has a problem with me. It`s actually a comforting, familiar feeling compared to the acceptance the rest of the squad is trying to convey. I extract myself from Fletcher to follow Luce to the exit. She isn`t wrong. I was on the run, reactive, not the best way to handle a fight.

　　I glance up as I get closer to the observation window. The captain is standing with one hand against the glass, staring down at me. Her features are blank, and her heartbeat is rapid. Her eyes are fixed on me, but the cloudy gaze tells me she`s somewhere else.

　　Fletcher jogs to catch up to me. Iva takes my other side, tapping away on his communication device. I sense Addy still by the mats. I look from Fletcher to Iva. They walk beside me, talking and laughing. I`ve seen this before. My classmates at the academy walked together in groups, joking around, patting each other on the back and laughing. I`ve never been in it.

　　"Oh!" Fletcher`s excitement is loud. "What was with that crazy jump?"

　　Iva murmurs his agreement, still looking at his device. "I`m not sure we saw that right." He mumbles as his fingers fly across the screen.

　　"What?" Fletcher looks to Iva. "We had an odd angle at the time but it was high."

　　Fletcher elbows me for a response as we continue down the corridor. "How high was it?" I pretend not to hear him looking straight ahead. "I can`t believe those skinny legs could jump that high."

　　I look down at my legs. They`re not skinny. They`re not tree trunks like Kane`s, but still. I squint my eyes at Fletcher in annoyance, and those bright blue eyes stare back openly, waiting for my answer. I don`t think he pays attention to what comes out of his mouth.

　　"I don`t know." I sigh and turn forward again. "I was running for my life."

　　Fletcher chuckles. "No shit, we`ve all been there."

　　Iva grunts in agreement. I think back to Kane flying toward me to cut off my air supply with his forearm.

　　"How does he move so fast?"

　　"He`ll tell you it`s cause he`s that good, but I think it has something to do with his family line." Iva sounds so matter of fact, almost bored.

　　I watch him swipe and tap his device with precision and speed, willing him to keep talking.

　　"Don`t listen to the nerd here." Fletcher says, reaching past me to hit Iva on the back of the head.

　　Iva`s hand snaps out to block and is back on his device without missing a beat.

　　"Ow." Fletcher whines, shaking his arm out.

　　Iva`s mouth curls up in a smile. "Kane could be related to one of the four families."

　　The four families, the founding families. I look back over at Fletcher.

　　"Iva has some random theory to answer everything and don`t get him started on ancient lore about founder DNA."

　　My mind reels with unspoken questions. Kane`s weird stealth and his speed. Is it because of his family line? Could my powers be because of mine?

　　"Even if that were a thing, which is more myth than fact, Iva comes from the four. And the only extraordinary trait about him is that he never falls on his ass with his face always buried in that damn device."

　　I look over to study Iva again. I`ve sensed nothing unusual from Iva like Kane displays. Other than his ability to do three things at once. Ivan turns to catch me and rolls his eyes before going back to his device.