She dodged-barely. The spear grazed her, leaving a huge tear on her side, before getting half embeded into the dirt behind her.

  Mel choked on her breath, that was real, anything left of the voice in the back of her head saying that this was some sort of dream, some horrid nightmare went silent.

  "What the heck!" Raquel screamed, looking at the man, then the spear and then to mel.

  "Remember this," the man said coldly. "A hunter does not wait for its prey to get ready, hunters strike first, and may that be the killing blow."

  "You threw a spear at a kid!" Cairos said, stepping backwards outstretching his arm blocking hollis and liora.

  "And?" The man asked genuinely, "so what if i did, she is still alive is she not?" The mans gaze flickered to mel. "Correct?"

  Her shoulder stung, but she clenched her fist, willing herself not to react, not to show any sign of weakness.

  "What's your name?" Her voice steady, trying to find any way to win against the man.

  The man smirked.

  Lykos.

  Lykos went and grabbed a new spear, he then paced aroung them, glancing at each and every one of them.

  "Listen well trial initiates, when we're here You're not warriors. You're not children. You're not human." He stopped and locked eyes with mel.

  "You are prey." His voice coarced, his eyes still locked on mel.

  His words cut through the air like his spear cut throuh mel's shoulder.

  "But..." lykos continued, gripping the new spear, twirling it effortlessly in hand, "if you survive these trials, you may yet earn the title of hunters."

  He pointed the spear at them, then at a nearby racks.

  "Pick up a weapon."

  No one moved, still as the lion heads at the gates, then lykos sighed sharply.

  Then in a blur of motion, he swung the dull part of the spear at cairos's ribs.

  Cairos barely lifted his arm before the blow struck him, sending him crashing to the ground with a gasp of pain.

  "I said-pick up a weapon!"

  Mel grabbed a kopis sword, her heart pounding. The others scrambled, raquel hessitantly grabbed a short sword, liora snatched a spear and shield, hollis clutched lysandra's axe till' his knuckles turned white, cairos, groaning, pushed himself up and grabbed a sling.

  "Now..." lykos twirled his spear again. "Let's see if any one of you are worth keeping alive."

  Lykos didn't hesitate. He attacked first and he attacked hard.

  He moved like a storm fast, relentless, brutal The wooden staff struck out in a blur, sweeping at their legs, jabbing toward their ribs.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Mel ducked, barely dodging a strike, the kopis felt heavy in her hand, as she tried to pull off the scabbard, the blade falling as she moved dodging lykos.

  Raquel raised her short sword but was immediately thrown off balance by a well-placed blow to her stomach, the sword fell on the gound, she hurriedly tried to get her sword back while lykos focused on the others.

  Cairos grabbed a stone and swung it around and shot it at him, but lykos side stepped effortlessly, slamming the spear into his side once again.

  Liora didn’t even get a chance to use her spear she stumbled backward, falling onto her hands, lykos ignored her.

  Hollis was the only one who didn’t retreat. He swung his axe out of desparation and instinct, his eyes are full of tears but it precisely locked onto lykos.

  Lykos stepped aside at the last moment, the axe missed by inches, Then, with a brutal downward strike, he brought the spear onto Hollis’s wrist, leaving a nasty bruise on his hands, forcing him to drop the weapon with a pained yelp.

  Mel’s breath was ragged. The weren't fighting this man, no, they were being dismantled, every strike of this man felt too painful, too hard, too overwhelming.

  "Pathetic." Lykos shook his head, he stopped his attacks, giving them a moment to breath while he speaks.

  Theras, watching from the sidelines, crossed his arms but said nothing.

  "I think you all must be mistaken," Lykos paced again. "A hunter isn't consumed by fear they use it," he stopped pacing. "Your fear is your strongest weapon, it seems only one if you understands that."

  He looked over at Hollis, then his gaze locked onto Mel.

  "And you.... you claim to be a hunter do you?" His gaze was filled with dissapointment, and his voice was tired.

  Mel’s heart pounded, she has seen this look many times, she was not going to run from it again.

  Lykos picked up a staff, tossing it toward her feet.

  "Prove it."

  Mel stared at the staff on the ground, a chance to prove herself to someone she barely knows.

  Every muscle in her body screamed 'do not do it! Just run there will be another chance.'

  But then she looked at Cairos, who was still trying to get up while gripping his ribs and the sling. Hollis, hilding his bruised wrist tears falling out if his eyes. Liora wide eyed and frozen staring at lykos. Raquel, pressing a hand to her gut.

  If she didn’t fight… what then? Will they die? Will she never see her parents again? She them over something stupid, will that be their last memory of her?

  Lykos was right. She wasn't hunter, she wasn't a warrior.

  But she was human, and that would never change.

  Slowly, she bent down. Picked up the staff. Felt its weight in her hands.

  She met Lykos’s gaze.

  "Good," he murmured.

  Then he attacked.

  Mel barely lifted the staff in time to block the first strike. The force nearly knocked out of her hands. Lykos didn’t slow his next attack came even faster, a side swipe aimed at her ribs.

  She dodged. Not fast enough, the spear clipped to her side, sending shockwaves of pain through her torso, like it had hit her licer directly.

  She stumbled but didn’t fall.

  Lykos smirked.

  "Again."

  He came at her like lightning, his feet chipped the ground, but this time, this time she didn't just react.

  She swung first, and she swung hard.

  Her staff clashed against his, sending vibrations through her arms. Lykos was stronger, faster but Mel was learning. Adapting.

  For the first time, a flicker of amusement crossed Lykos’s face, a smirk on his coarse lips.

  "Better!"

  The fight didn’t last long. Lykos was too skilled, too brutal. But Mel… Mel didn’t give up, she kept hitting relentlessly, until her hands were weak.

  When she hit the ground, breathless, aching, she didn't want to be a loser, not anymore, and now she didn't feel like one.

  She felt like a survivor.

  Lykos stood over her, expression unreadable.

  Then he nodded.

  "Examination complete, verdict failure," He looked at them, a wide smirk. "Come back in a couple years, though you have the talent, you don't have the mind of a hunter."

  Mel let out a shaky breath, her eyes were glossy.

  She had failed them, failed them all, she wanted to cry, she had failed once again, dissapointed someone once again.

  The hollis lifted her up by her shoulder, walking with her to the others, "i think you did great." His voice was quiet but it was reassuring.

  Mel leaned against him, nearly tripping on her own foot, when she gets to the rest, she collapsed onto them, she felt like she had dropped the weight on her shoulders.

  They were all lead out of the palace, then out of the city by guards, theras didn't follow them, instead he went to talk with lykos.

  "They could have won you know," he looked at him his frustration clear. "You saw it yourself, though some of them might have died in the trials, most if them would have made it."

  "In their eyes what do you see?" Lykos asked, looking at the shorter man while putting down his spear.

  "What is that supose to mean?" Theras looked angrier, "they had conviction, if you had passed them they would have been useful!" His voice louder, making others stare.

  "Their eyes had hope," he paused, looking away from the other man, "hope in people, they haven't seen what people are capable of, they still believe goodness, that would have been a liability."

  "So what?!" Theras screamed grabbing lykos's shoulders, "A couple years of their naivety would not even compare to how much talent they had!" He screamed as guards started walking over.

  "Exactly they're talented, they would have turned against us as soon as they see us claim our war prizes from the enemy."

  The guards grab theras as he screamed at lykos, "we could have crushed their belief!" He turned back letting the guards lead him out. "Just understand you made a mistaje by not passing them.

  Lykos turned away from theras. "It would have been a great mistake of mine as a recruiter if i did." He then walked away going to the trials.

  We see the group on the steps to the palace, they are walking down, they had stolen the weapons they used in the fight, mel chuckling about it.

  Below the steps they pass a girl a couple years older being followed by a another person, she was adorned with jewels and her clothes are completely silk, when she passed a scent of lavender was left.

  One thought passed mel's mind 'iphigenia' alot of thouhts passed her mind, 'should i warn her?' And 'shoukd i say something?' But she stopped thinking them since it isn't her place to do so.

  They bump into an older man, "what in the-" he stared at them, then he spoke in a concerned manner. "Are you children alright?"

  **END OF CHAPTER 7**