328 My Victory

328 My Victory

Meredith.

Jeffery lunged forward with his ws shing, but I dropped low, scraping dirt on my palms, and sprang up behind him before his

momentum could shift.

Then my hand grazed his side–a light tap, nothing that could hurt, but enough to mark.

His eyes widened. He never expected that I could do that.

“You are too slow,” I teased, the words slipping out before I could stop them. I guess this is what excitement feels like.

Draven’s chuckle rolled across the grounds. “Careful, wife. Keep taunting him and he might stop holding back altogether.”

Jeffery didn’t answer me, not that I expected one. He only recalibrated his stance and focused his eyes.

Then came at me again, faster this time. His body was almost aplete blur.

For a heartbeat, I thought he had me. But then, Valmora’s voice cut through the rush, “Don’t ifight /iihis /iforce. iRedirect /iiit/i.”

The moment his arm shot out, I pivoted, clutched it, and let his weight carry forward. He stumbled a step–Beta Jeffery stumbling. I

could hardly believe it myself.

The air around us seemed to change. Even without an audience, it felt like the world was watching.

I steadied my breathing, sweat rolling down my temple. My body felt lighter, sharper–as if every muscle knew exactly what to do before

I even thought about it.

i“/iiValmora/i,” I called her from within. “Is ithis /iiwhat /iiyou /iimeant/ii? /iiAbout /iisome /iof imy /iiabilities/ii, /iunlocking?”

Her voice was smooth and proud. “Yesi, /iiMeredith/ii. /iiThis /iiis /iionly /iithe /iibeginning/i. Now stop iholding /iiback/i. iYou /iiweren’t /iijust /iiborn /ito idodge/i. You

iwere /iiborn /ito istrike /iias /iiwell/ii./ii” /i

I felt a thrill run through me as I repeated herst statement. A secondter, I lifted my gaze to Jeffery.

He was circling me now and waiting for me to falter, but for the first time since I had started training, I didn’t feel like the prey waiting

for the predator’s blow.

No–I was the predator here, and now.

Instead of retreating, I advanced. My fists cut through the air, forcing him to block and step back. The surprise in his eyes fueled me

even more.

“Good,” he muttered under his breath as our arms collided. “You are doing your best.”

I wish I could agree with him, but unfortunately, this wasn’t my best. My best was yet toe.

Strike after strike, I pressed Jeffery, forcing his weight onto his heels. His counterattacks grew sharper and heavier.

One missed my chin by an inch, the wind of it sharp against my face, but instead of stumbling, I spun with it, using the motion tounch

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328 My Victory

my leg upward. He caught it, locking me in ce.

He smirked. “Got you-”

But in that split second, Valmora whispered to me, “Now.”

Without a break, I twisted my body, nted my free leg firmly on the ground, and mmed my elbow toward his ribs.

His eyes widened–he definitely hadn’t expected it. The hit hadnded. It wasn’t brutal enough to floor him, but it was enough to make

him grunt and stagger back a step.

For a heartbeat, silence stretched between us.

Jeffery red at me, shock flickering across his usually unreadable face. Even Draven’s brows lifted, his sharp eyes glinting with surprise. fnc254 ???? ????s? ???????s ?? find?novel/fnc254

I straightened, chest rising and falling with exertion, but my lips curved in a grin I couldn’t hold back. “Didn’t see thating, did you?”

Draven’s chuckle broke the tension, low and rich. “Neither did I.”

I wiped sweat from my brow with the back of my hand whilst stealing a nce at Jeffery. The look on his face was priceless–part

surprise, and part calction.

Draven finally spoke, his tone was low but threaded with amusement. “I think we have had enough for today.”

Jeffery’s gaze flicked to him, then back to me. Slowly, he straightened as his usual stoic mask returned, but not before I caught

something rare in his eyes–something called respect.

The next moment, he dipped his head. “You’ve done well, Luna.”

The word froze me for a second. ‘iLuna/ii?/i‘. There was no hint of mockery or reluctance. It was just a steady acknowledgement.

My chest warmed as my pride swelled higher than any victory could.

Draven crossed the ground to me, his presence overwhelming as always, but this time, his eyes weren’t sharp with correction. They were

proud, soft, even teasing at the edges.

“You have surprised us both,” he murmured, his lips curving into that knowing smile that always made my stomach flip. “I

underestimated you once. I won’t do it again.”

I giggled breathlessly, still high from the strike I hadnded. “Good. Because next time, I do n to more than surprise you.” iI /iihave /i

iunlocked /iia /iisupernatural /iiability /iinow/i.

Jeffery gave one final nod before excusing himself, his footsteps fading into the distance. The training ground suddenly felt quieter and

emptier–like it belonged to just Draven and me.

I turned to find him watching me, arms folded across his chest, his expression unreadable at first. Then, slowly, that dangerous smile of

his curved across his lips.

“What?” I asked, still catching my breath.

He closed the distance between us in a few strides. “You impressed him,” he uttered softly, tilting his head in the direction Jeffery had

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328 My Victory

gone.

“But more importantly…” His fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from my damp forehead, lingering longer than they needed to. “…you

impressed me.”

“You questioned me earlier,” I teased, trying to steady the flutter in my stomach.

But he smirked. “I doubt everyone. It keeps me sharp, but today, you earned a piece of his respect. And mine.”

Warmth spread through me, deeper than pride, stronger than adrenaline. I caught myself smiling too widely, but I didn’t care.

Then, to my surprise, Draven leaned closer, his voice dropping low enough for only me to hear.

“Luna,” he whispered deliberately, as if savouring the word. “Get used to hearing that more often.”

The sound of it on his lips, heavy with certainty, sent shivers down my spine.

And my heart soared, not just from hispliments or from the victory of a single strike, but from the proof that something inside me

had finally begun to awaken.

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