“State your names,” a cruel voice demanded as a man with bulky muscles strode forward. The scowl on his face didn’t add much to his looks. He had dull brown hair and lazy blue eyes. His height wasn’t very impressive as he came to a stop before Aidan and Fabien.

“I’m Aidan Aleta,” Aidan stated in a hard voice. It wouldn’t do to come across as weak. 

“Fabien Zale,” Fabien replied in a voice that could cut stone. 

“For your tardiness, the two of you will spend the first fifteen minutes running laps. There is a change of clothes located in the locker room. Due to your tardiness, the two of you have just become lifelong partners. Combat training never ends.” The trainer’s eyes narrowed in triumph as he took in Aidan’s distaste.

Fabien’s mouth quirked but he otherwise remained unfazed. “And your name is?” The trainer’s eye twitched in anger. “Cole. I’m adding an additional five minutes to your running. Outside.”

Aidan shot Fabien a dark look as he nodded his head in respect and strode off toward the locker room. The joy of leaving behind his old life was fast leaving him the longer Fabien was around. What had been a happy idea was turning sourer by the minute. 

However, he was looking forward to learning the secret ways of a Demon Hunter.

He just didn’t fancy doing it alongside a stoic idiot who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

When Aidan reached the locker room, he took a minute to appreciate the sheer size of it. There were rows upon rows of shiny, golden lockers; each with a last name printed in fancy script on the door. There appeared to be a shower area in the far back corner and toilets in the other.

He let out an appreciative noise before scanning the many rows of lockers to find his name. It didn’t take him too long after scanning the first three rows.

Aidan quickly yanked the locker open and striped down to his underwear. Weather proof pants, socks, shoes, and a shirt and jacket were folded in a neat stack on the middle shelf. Within minutes, he was dressed and ready to go.

His eyes quickly scanned the room, searching for Fabien. In his anger, he had forgotten the other man’s presence. Sharp silver eyes met his from across the room. Fabien’s eyes challenged him.

Aidan narrowed his eyes and looked away, quickly leaving the locker room behind. By the time he arrived back at the arena, he could see the fifty or so students stretching. Cole met Aidan’s eyes and a chill traveled down his spine. There was something off about that man. Rather than using his magic to poke holes in Cole’s defenses, Aidan quickly made his way to a side door and slipped outside into the pounding rain. When he looked behind his shoulder, he wasn’t surprised to find Fabien hot on his heels.

Fabien’s eyes smiled in hidden humor as he followed Aidan to a good starting point. “Are you going to show me a bit of your magic now?”

Aidan scowled in anger. “I don’t plan to use my magic for combat training.”

“How are you going to improve without it?” Fabien demanded as he stared off into the distance, a faraway look in his eyes.

“There will come a point in my life where I won’t be able to rely on magic to help me in a pinch. If I can reach the expected standard by human strength alone, then I have done more than mastered the art of combat.” Aidan replied in a hard voice.

Without another word, he pushed himself forward into a light jog before slowly turning it into a run. He didn’t expect Fabien to understand, or even expect him to. Being human in a world where demons and magic existed was something to be valued. Relying on magic for everything dampened that experience.

It wasn’t often, but there were a handful of people every year that succumbed to their powers. Either the darkness was too much or the light too strong. Most humans that fell to their own power were those that weren’t physically strong enough to wield that much magic. It was one of the reasons why combative training was so important.

Aidan had other reasons for valuing his human side more than his magical one. When he was growing up in the orphanage, the other kids had bullied him, often times calling him a freak or an unwanted creature.

Being so young, those comments and name-calling affected him in a negative light. Rather than channeling his inner magic to get revenge, he used his human emotions to come to terms with his situation in life. He had seen the damage magic could do at such a young age, that he didn’t think he’d ever want a life utilizing that.

However, all that changed when he realized how powerful he was becoming. Becoming a Demon Hunter meant more than partaking in the glorified job everyone didn’t want. It was a way for him to blend in and not stick out.

“Whoever finishes first has to do all the housework for a month.” Fabien’s voice penetrated Aidan’s thoughts.

“I’m not agreeing to that.” Aidan shot back in annoyance. 

“Why? Think you’ll lose?” Fabien taunted in a smug voice. 

Aidan felt his eyes narrow as he took in the sharp edge in Fabien’s eyes. “You’re stronger than me. Of course I’ll lose.”

Fabien’s eyes widened in surprise but quickly narrowed in anger. “How can you tell?” 

Aidan huffed out a breath as he tried to balance his breathing. He hated talking while running. “How about we save this conversation for a later date.”

Fabien raised a silver eyebrow at Aidan before picking up speed and disappearing around the first corner of the school.

Aidan glared ahead of him, focusing on running and not letting his thoughts get away from him.

Approximately twenty minutes later, both men returned to the arena, each drenched head to toe in chilling water. The other students looked at them with smug gleams in their eyes and lifted their faces in a cool arrogance.

Aidan cast Fabien an annoyed look and was startled to find the other man returning his look, expressing the same annoyance towards their classmates. His quicksilver eyes seemed to promise something—something Aidan didn’t necessarily want to find out.

Cole let out a chilling smile as he waved the two of them toward one of the many mats spread throughout the arena’s floor. It was an off-white and was stained a rusty brown in certain places.

“Okay, class, listen up!” Cole barked as he shoved Aidan onto the mat and gestured that Fabien stay back. “Due to their tardiness, I’ll make an example out of them. Keep in mind each of you will face the same punishment should you arrive a second behind schedule.”

The class seemed to groan as a whole and shot daggers at Aidan, seeming to forget that Fabien was standing feet from him.

“Prepare to defend yourself, Aleta.” Cole stated as he took on a fighting stance. 

Aidan’s eyes narrowed in concentration. He could sense a shift in the aura surrounding Cole. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he knew he wasn’t going to face a physical challenge. Something lethal was brewing just below the other man’s surface, yet Aidan could do nothing about it.

At eighteen, he shouldn’t even be able to sense another person’s aura. That ability was supposed to develop over the course of a decade or more—sometimes not fully forming until late thirties or early forties.

Aidan let out a quiet sigh as he mentally prepared himself for whatever attack was coming his way.

Cole let out a malicious peal of laughter when he brought his hands together in a forceful clap before pushing outward and sending a rush of white light towards Aidan.

Before he could think of a good strategy, Aidan suddenly found himself pinned to the ground, Fabien on top of him.

“What the hell?” He demanded as he tried to push Fabien off. 

Fabien’s eyes were full of rage when he whispered, “That magic would have killed you.” 

“What do you mean?” Aidan demanded in a hard voice. 

“There’s darkness inside of you,” Fabien whispered before pushing off Aidan and standing. He turned to face an angry Cole. “I assumed I was supposed to attack Aidan. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

Cole’s face was a sickly shade of red. It was with a visible effort that he managed to contain his wrath. “Zale, was it?” He asked in a voice dripping with hatred.

Fabien barely nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

“Have you already learned the basics of combative fighting?” 

Fabien nodded the affirmative. 

“Good.” Cole stated with a malicious glint in his eye. “You can teach Aleta. I’d hate to slow down everyone’s progress because a skimpy know-it-all decided to intervene in my lesson.”

Aidan forced out a cough to hide his laugh. He noticed several others doing the same and almost smiled—until he saw the look in Fabien’s eyes.

It wasn’t just the feel of Fabien’s power that seeped into the bodies of every person in that arena. It radiated and popped against the air as Fabien’s piercing eyes locked on Cole, promising a punishment worse than death.

Aidan suppressed a shiver as he noticed everyone was frozen in place—unmoving and unseeing. “What did you just do?” He demanded as his eyes came to a halt on Fabien.

“Time is standing still.” Fabien stated in a quiet voice. “Who were your parents, Aidan?” 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Aidan snapped as he forced himself to accept what should have been impossible.

Not even the strongest person alive could have pulled this off. 

Fabien’s eyes bored into Aidan’s when he answered, “There is darkness inside you. Darkness that, if touched, could kill you and everyone else around you. Keep that in mind the next time you’re offered up as an excuse for entertainment.”

Before Aidan had time to respond, Fabien’s power retreated and time re-started. It was surreal as Aidan watched Cole clap his hands together as if nothing had happened. “Okay! Break off into pairs and practice what you learned at the beginning of class.” His cold eyes narrowed at Aidan and Fabien before he turned to face the rest of the class.

Aidan’s own eyes narrowed at Fabien in suspicion. There was something strange about his magic and how it appeared as if he was the only one that could sense it. Fabien’s power didn’t feel like dark magic; but neither did it feel like light magic.

Aidan wanted nothing more than to expand his senses and probe into the aura surrounding this stranger with a stranger’s face. He forced himself to hold back when he noticed the other students looking daggers in his direction.

He let out a sigh when his feet touched the mat. He shouldn’t have left Lucy. 

Fabien met Aidan’s glare with a smirk before he lunged forward and pinned his arm behind his back, bringing him to the floor.

Aidan let out a frustrated noise as he yanked himself free. “Aren’t you supposed to teach me?”

Fabien lifted a shoulder before he grabbed Aidan’s left arm and flipped him over and slammed his body onto the floor. “I believe learning from experience is the best way to retain information.”

“I haven’t learned anything,” Aidan spat as he rose to his feet, gingerly rubbing his lower back.

“How did you even get accepted to this university?” Fabien asked in an exasperated voice. “Didn’t you have to face a physical test?”

Aidan dodged the next attack before saying, “That’s classified information.”

 Fabien narrowed his eyes in anger before darting forward and body slamming Aidan to the ground for a third time in eight minutes.

The rest of their practice passed in silence as each man tried to one-up the other. Aidan managed to get a few good hits on Fabien, but for the most part, his body became good friends with the mat.

At the end of class, everyone returned to the locker room to change and prepare for the rest of the day. It was with a bit of luck that Cole only glared at Aidan before storming across the arena and striding into an office.

Once Aidan changed, he finally used a bit of magic to help him read the atmosphere surrounding him.

Some of the students seemed curious and others indifferent. Though there were too many that were downright murderous towards him.

He hadn’t done anything except be late. With that sour thought in his head, Aidan’s eyes scanned the crowd before coming to rest on silver eyes that flashed with an emotion Aidan couldn’t place. He loosened up his shoulders before making his way towards Fabien.