I ignored the first jab to my ribs. And the second. But when the third came—this time with enough force to drag me out of the sleep I had finally fallen into—I cracked an eye open with a growl.

  "What?"

  Dominicus didn’t so much as blink. His expression was neutral, almost bored, as he prodded me again with my own staff. "You said you wanted to train."

  I glared at the still-dark sky in pointed silence before groaning. "In daylight, yes." I half-considered rolling over to ignore him. I hadn’t had a single restful night since arriving in Nexus, and I was determined to fix that tonight.

  Unfortunately, Dominicus had other ideas.

  The next jab sent me rolling clean out of my bedroll. I barely muffled a curse before landing face-first in the dirt and leaves. Spitting them out, I scowled up at him.

  "What do you have against a good night’s sleep?"

  Dominicus rolled his eyes and jerked his chin toward the road. "Nothing. But the best way to train is through practical experience, and nighttime is the best time to get it. Now get up and quit complaining."

  He started toward where he’d pointed—only to stop short when Time sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes far easier than I had. His scowl was sharp as a blade. "You insist I act suspiciously, yet here you are, trying to lure Nikolas away in the dead of night without telling anyone. When creatures are at their most active, no less. That is… quite hypocritical of you."

  Dominicus turned, mirroring Time’s glare. "The only creatures that spawn in daylight are weaklings that hardly give experience. If we trained with those, it would take him years to reach his next level. Henry might be content with that approach, but I’m not. Go back to sleep."

  Time’s lips thinned at the order, and Henry sighed from his place on watch. "You two squabble like children."

  I’d thought the same thing but had wisely kept it to myself. Sure enough, both of them turned their glares on Henry instead of each other.

  "There’s nothing wrong with doing things efficiently," Dominicus bit out. "I won’t let anything actually injure Nikolas, so extra caution isn’t needed."

  Time shook his head, not backing down. "And there is also nothing wrong with practicing forms before putting them into action. Nikolas can heal himself, but this is needlessly reckless. The fact that he would be going with you—someone who has shown great distaste for the secrets we must keep—only makes this more concerning."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The tension between them sharpened. Henry groaned and threw his arms up in surrender. "Fine. If you think something's off, then go with them. But take your bickering away from camp so the rest of us can sleep. You already woke Eleanor."

  I flicked a surprised glance toward her and caught the way she stiffened against a tree, where she had been trying to doze. She cracked one eye open and shrugged sheepishly. "I was trying to be polite and ignore it."

  Dominicus grimaced. "Apologies for waking you. We’ll train far enough away that you won’t hear us again." He gestured to me expectantly.

  I sighed, knowing sleep wasn’t happening now. "Fine, fine. But if I run into a tree tomorrow out of sheer exhaustion, I’m blaming you."

  He shrugged, utterly unconcerned.

  I had barely made it to my feet before Time stood as well, his eyes narrowed. "If you insist on this, then I am coming too."

  Dominicus bristled. "You can’t fight, and I don’t want to waste my time protecting you while training him."

  Tension crackled between them. Neither budged. I resisted the urge to drop back into my bedroll and let them hash it out on their own.

  It wouldn’t work. And worse, it would only deepen the divide between Dominicus and the rest of the group. He already distrusted Time—and even me, to an extent. The last thing we needed was to push him further away.

  Casting one last longing look at my bedroll, I placed a hand on Time’s shoulder and offered a weak smile. "It’s fine. We’ll be close enough that you’ll hear me if I shout. You’ll even be able to see us from here, right, Dominicus?"

  Dominicus nodded, though the scowl didn’t leave his face. "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have saved you from the shadows."

  I understood where he was coming from. I did. But…

  "Dominicus, be honest—if you were in Time’s place, wouldn’t you be suspicious?" I braced myself for the glare he leveled at me and pressed on before he could argue. "Someone you barely know demands to train with your friend—who has little to no combat experience—in the middle of the night, when monsters are everywhere. And you wouldn’t hesitate to let them go?"

  Dominicus’s scowl deepened, his expression sour, but after a moment, he gave a reluctant nod. "I suppose you’re right."

  Time didn’t look convinced. His eyes stayed sharp with suspicion. I squeezed his shoulder pointedly.

  I appreciate the concern, but one of us should actually get some sleep tonight, and it’s clearly not going to be me.

  His glare didn’t waver. You could. Simply refuse his ridiculous idea and train tomorrow, when the others will be around to step in. As they will need to, since disaster follows you like a shadow.

  Okay. Ouch. It wasn’t like I asked for a target on my back, thank you very much.

  Biting back my irritation, I tried again. We’ll be right over there. And after today’s fight, it’s obvious I need to get stronger. Karma isn’t awake yet, so we don’t have any spirit help. It’s all on us now. As much as I’d love to sleep, Dominicus is right—this is the fastest way to improve. Please. Just stay here and get some rest.

  Time’s lips thinned, but after a long pause, he exhaled and sat back down. His glare, however, remained firmly locked onto Dominicus’s back.

  Fine. But if something happens—or if your ‘friend’ ambushes you—I will be holding this against you the next time you ignore my caution.

  Yeah. I bet he would.