Location: Vairo private training arena, underground bunker

Time: 4:11 a.m.

Status: Reconditioning: Initiated

Lucien didn’t say a word as he slammed Ember against the padded wall.

She didn’t flinch. She struck back.

Elbow. Throat. Knee. He twisted, caught her wrist, and slammed her onto the mat with bone-rattling force.

“You hesitated.”

“No,” she spat. “I calculated.”

“Wrong answer.”

He hit her again not in rage, but with brutal, exact precision. His eyes were ...