Chapter 93: Replacement Training Partner

The next morning started peacefully enough. Kai was eating breakfast alone, enjoying the quiet of the nearly-empty dining hall, when a shadow fell across his table.

He looked up to find Seraphina staring down at him with an expression that seemed like she had questions and intended to get answers.

"Where’s William?" she asked without preamble.

"He went for a family visit. He’ll be back in a few days."

"Family visit..." Seraphina’s crimson eyes narrowed. "He didn’t mention extending his visit when we talked before he left."

"Maybe he had a change of plans."

"Convenient." She sat down across from Kai without being invited. "You’re his roommate. You must know what’s actually going on."

"I know he’s visiting his family. That’s it."

Seraphina studied him with unsettling intensity. Kai had seen that look before, it was the same expression she got right before demolishing someone in sparring.

"You’re lying. Or at least not telling me everything."

"I’m telling you what I know. William visited his family and extended the visit, he will probably return Thursday." Kai went back to eating his breakfast. "If you want more details, ask him when he gets back."

"I would, except he’s not here. Which leaves you as my only source of information." Seraphina crossed her arms. "So let me be direct. Is William in danger?"

Kai paused mid-bite. That was a more perceptive question than he had expected.

"Why would you think he’s in danger?"

"Because you’ve been acting strange for days. You’ve been more active than usual." Seraphina leaned forward. "You don’t care about most things, Kai. But you clearly care about William’s wellbeing. So either something’s wrong, or you know something I don’t."

Kai set down his fork, considering how to respond. Seraphina was William’s training partner, teammate, and clearly cared about him. But telling her about assassination plots and family drama wasn’t Kai’s place.

"I don’t have information that says he’s in immediate danger," Kai said carefully. "It’s just normal concern about a roommate who’s late returning."

"Normal concern. From you." Seraphina’s tone suggested she didn’t buy that at all. "Right."

She stood abruptly, and Kai thought maybe she was leaving. Instead, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet with surprising strength.

"What are you—"

"You’re coming with me. Since William’s not here for our usual training session, you’re replacing him."

"Absolutely not."

"I wasn’t asking." Seraphina’s grip on his arm was like iron. "I need a training partner, you’re available, and you clearly need something to do besides sitting around worrying. Come on."

Kai tried to pull free but Seraphina was a combat prodigy even though he could probably pull away he couldn’t do so without creating a scene. She dragged him out of the dining hall while he protested.

"I don’t train with people. I have my own routine."

"You do now. We’re heading to the training grounds, let’s go."

Several students stared as Seraphina literally dragged Kai across campus. He could have fought back seriously, but that would reveal abilities he preferred to keep hidden. So instead he just resigned himself to whatever was about to happen.

They reached the training grounds and Seraphina finally released him, pointing at a practice weapon rack.

"Pick a sword. We’re sparring."

"This is a terrible idea."

"Why? Are you worried I’ll beat you too badly?" Seraphina’s smile was challenging. "I promise I’ll go easy."

Kai looked at her confident expression and felt a slight stirring of amusement. Seraphina had no idea what she was asking for.

"Fine. But don’t complain later."

He selected a practice sword and moved to the sparring area. Seraphina took position across from him, already falling into a combat stance that showed her combat experience.

"We’re using the standard sparring rules. First person to land three solid hits wins." She channeled fire essence into her blade casually, flames wreathing the practice weapon. "Ready?"

Kai held his sword in a basic guard position, deliberately looking unprepared.

"Sure."

Seraphina attacked immediately with the aggressive style she was known for. She was fast and used powerful strikes designed to overwhelm through sheer pressure.

Kai blocked the first combination easily with small movement and very precisely. Seraphina’s eyes widened slightly because she had clearly expected him to struggle more.

She increased the intensity, with her blade moving faster and the combinations becoming more complex. Kai defended without apparent effort, reading her attacks through essence sense before they fully developed.

"You’re better than I thought," Seraphina admitted, backing off slightly. "William never said you could fight."

"William doesn’t know everything about me."

"Clearly." She shifted her stance, and Kai recognized the change immediately. She was getting serious now.

The next exchange was significantly faster. Seraphina moved with the speed and precision of a true prodigy, her blade work flawless and her essence control was perfect.

Kai still blocked everything without breaking a sweat.

Seraphina stopped, breathing slightly harder, looking frustrated. "Okay, what are you? You move like someone with years of professional training, but you’re supposedly a lazy first-yera who constantly skips class?!"

"I’m adequately trained."

"Yeah. Right." Seraphina channeled more essence making heer flames burning brighter looking more like a mini sun in her hand. "Let’s see how you handle this then."

What followed was an increasingly intense exchange where Seraphina progressively ramped up her skill level, clearly testing Kai’s limits. Each time she increased intensity, Kai matched it effortlessly.

After about ten minutes of this, Seraphina was breathing hard and clearly frustrated, while Kai looked completely unbothered.

"This is ridiculous," she said. "You’re not even trying, are you?"

"I’m defending appropriately for the level of attack."

"Stop being cryptic and actually fight me properly!"

"You asked for a training partner, not a real opponent."

Seraphina’s eyes flashed with competitive fire. "Fine. You want me to treat this seriously? I’ll treat this seriously."

She channeled significantly more essence, and Kai felt the shift in her power level immediately. This was Seraphina Ashenheart at something approaching her actual capability.

She was of course still holding back because this was practice, but it was far more intense than before.

Kai adjusted his defense accordingly, his own movements becoming faster and more precise. The exchange between them accelerated to speeds that would have been invisible to most academy students.

Students training nearby stopped to watch, forming a growing crowd around their sparring area.

"They’re incredible," someone whispered.

"Is that Kai Wraith? I didn’t know he could fight like that."

"Seraphina’s actually trying. I’ve never seen her go this hard in practice before."

Seraphina heard the comments and her competitive nature flared even stronger. She launched a combination that Kai recognized as one of her signature techniques, it was like the kind she usually reserved for serious tournament matches.

Kai blocked it, countered smoothly, and actually went on the offensive for the first time. His blade moved in too quickly forcing Seraphina to defend with heer eyes widening at the sudden shift in dynamic.

"You’ve been holding back this entire time," she accused while defending against his strikes.

"Obviously."

"Why?"

"Because revealing your full capabilities is generally unwise."

They exchanged strikes for another minute before Kai deliberately created an opening that let Seraphina score a hit on his shoulder.

"First point to you," he said, stepping back.

Seraphina looked at the scored hit, then at Kai’s completely calm expression, and her frustration was visible.

"You let me have that."

"You can’t prove it."

Her competitive fire ignited completely. The next exchange was Seraphina going significantly harder, her movements approaching what she had used in an actual tournament. Kai matched her effortlessly, still clearly holding back but not making it as obvious.

He let her score a second hit after another minute of intense sparring.

"Stop letting me win!" Seraphina demanded.

"I’m not. You scored legitimate hits."

"You’re lying and we both know it." She reset her stance, breathing hard now. "Fine. If you’re going to treat me like I’m not worth fighting seriously, then I’ll just have to make you take this seriously."

Kai felt a shift in her essence flow and recognized what was coming. Seraphina was about to use a technique that was significantly above practice sparring level.

"That’s not necessary—"

"Too late."

She channeled essence into a stance Kai recognized from watching her tournament matches. This was her finishing technique, the one she used when she wanted to decisively end a fight.

The practice sword in her hands became wreathed in intensely concentrated flames, the heat radiating outward enough that nearby students backed away nervously.

"Seraphina, this is a practice session," Kai said carefully. "You don’t need to—"

"SHUT UP AND DEFEND YOURSELF!"

She launched forward with speed that cracked the ground beneath her feet, her blade coming at Kai with force that would definitely injure someone if it connected fully.

Kai had exactly two choices: reveal his actual combat ability by defending properly, or take the hit and probably end up in the medical wing.

The flaming practice sword came at his head with enough force to crack stone floor beneath them.

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