Shade inhaled through her nose. Her ribs still ached faintly, but that wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t the pain, or the exhaustion, or even the fact that everyone was watching her like a rabbit thrown into a wolf den.
It was him.
Viktor. The way he stood there, waiting, like he already knew how this would end. Like this wasn’t a fight, just a lesson she was about to learn the hard way.
She wanted to wipe that certainty off his face.
Throw a punch. That’s what he had said. As if it were that simple.
Shade had never been much of a fighter. She had survived Bastion #3 by being quiet. Even when she did have to defend herself, it was never about skill. It was just about getting away. Buying seconds. Not winning.
And now, standing across from Viktor, she knew she wasn’t going to win.
But maybe she could do something.
She curled her fingers into fists, tightening them until her knuckles turned white. Felix was still grinning, Helena looked like she was expecting a disaster, and Rivera… Rivera was watching, without blinking, like she was waiting to see if Shade was worth half a shit.
Shade squared her stance. She had no technique. No pn. Just instinct and a whole lot of frustration.
Alright, just move. You’re fast. Maybe not Viktor fast, but enough.
She stepped in and threw a punch.
Viktor dodged.
She barely saw the counter before it hit.
His palm shoved against her shoulder. Not enough to break anything, but enough to knock her bance off. She stumbled, feet scuffing against the warehouse floor.
"Sloppy," Viktor said, not even looking amused.
Shade gritted her teeth and lunged again, aiming lower, trying to use her smaller size against him.
It was worse this time. He caught her wrist mid-swing and twisted. Again, not hard enough to break it, but enough to make her gasp. She went with the movement, dropping to her knees to lessen the strain, but it was humiliating.
Her chest heaved.
This wasn’t working.
Use it.The thought came from nowhere, a whisper in the back of her head.
Use your gift.Shade had never suppressed her power, it had always been suppressed for her. The colr at Bastion had stolen it, silenced it, until it became just another part of her she had learned to ignore. Even now, without it, she still felt caged.
But she wasn’t. Not anymore.
No one’s stopping me.
Her heart pounded, not from fear, but from something else. Not even she knew what it was.
She reached for it.
The moment she did, her entire body shook.
It was like an unseen force suddenly cracked through her, a pull deep in her chest that made her breath hitch. A drain, immediate and raw, like something had been ripped out of her. Her muscles locked for half a second, her body tensing instinctively against the sensation.
She staggered.
Her essence. She could feel it leaving her. Moving.
She had never felt this before. Not fully. The only other time was that day, when she had lost control entirely. But now, it was different. It was smaller. Tamed. But still terrifying.
And yet, her body felt lighter.
Viktor moved to grab her again, but this time, when she pushed off the ground, it wasn’t just a step back; it was a glide.
It sted barely a second. A fraction of a moment.
But she felt it.
She had no control, no finesse, but the shift in gravity had happened. Her body had responded to it, weightless for just long enough to avoid Viktor’s grasp.
It was enough.
The flicker in Viktor’s eyes told her he had noticed.
That reaction sent a rush through her, and before she could think, she moved. She shifted her stance, still unsteady, her essence draining faster than she expected, but she swung anyway.
And for the first time, her fist connected.
It wasn’t much. A gncing hit against Viktor’s side, not nearly enough to throw him off, but she felt the contact.
The room went silent.
Shade’s breathing was ragged, her entire body tingling from the unfamiliar sensation of using something she had never before been allowed to.
But the water stopped circling the drain before she could even process it.
Like a rope suddenly cut, her entire body sagged.
Her limbs felt heavy, her lungs burned, and she barely had time to understand why before Viktor struck her.
She didn’t even see the hit this time.
A fist smmed into her stomach, and all the air in her lungs vanished.
She hit the floor so hard her vision went white for a second.
Pain. Not the sharp kind, but the deep, gut-wrenching kind that made her whole body freeze. She curled in on herself, gasping, hands pressed to the floor as she tried to force air back into her lungs. The exhaustion hit all at once. Like her body was screaming at her for even trying to use what little power she had.
Viktor stood over her. "Better."
Shade coughed, her arms shaking as she tried to push herself up. She didn’t even get halfway before her muscles gave out, and she colpsed onto her face once more.
Felix sighed. "Well. That was something."
Helena looked surprised but covered it quickly. "She actually hit him. Kind of."
Rivera’s expression didn’t change.
Asher, still leaning against the crate, grinned. "Gotta admit, I was not expecting that. She actually moved like she had a pn there for a second."
Shade barely heard any of them. She was still gasping for breath, still trying to understand what had just happened.
She had done it.
Not well. Not with any control. But she had used her power. And for the first time in nine years, she wasn’t afraid of it.
Viktor crouched in front of her, resting his arms on his knees. "You felt it, didn’t you?"
Shade forced herself to look at him.
He wasn’t smirking anymore. He was serious.
"You felt what you can do," he said. "And now you know how much further you have to go."
Shade swallowed the bit of puke climbing up her throat.
She didn’t need him to say it. She already knew.
She wasn’t strong enough yet.
But she would be. No doubt about it.
---
Shade sat on the warehouse floor long after training had ended, her back against a crate as she tried to steady her breathing. The others had gone about their business, but Cra lingered.
She approached quietly, sitting beside Shade. “How ya' feeling?”
Shade swallowed, her throat still raw. “Like I got hit by a truck.”
Cra hummed in sympathy. “You kind of did.”
Shade gave a weak, breathy ugh, but her exhaustion quickly swallowed it. She leaned her head back against the crate, closing her eyes for a second. Cra didn’t push, didn’t fill the silence with useless words. She just stayed there, a quiet presence.
After a moment, Cra spoke. “It’s… sad, isn’t it?”
Shade cracked an eye open. “What is?”
Cra hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “You’re young. Too young to have been in Bastion.”
Shade tensed slightly, but Cra’s voice wasn’t judgmental. Just sad.
“I don’t know what you did to end up there, Viktor doesn't tell me anything, ” Cra continued. “But I do know that no kid deserves that.”
Shade had no response. What was she supposed to say to that? It wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. Bastion had been her life for roughly half of it. What was the point in feeling bad about it now?
Cra, as if sensing her thoughts, sighed softly. Then, without warning, she pulled Shade into a hug.
Shade stiffened. Her breath caught in her throat. The warmth of arms wrapped around her was unfamiliar. No one had touched her like this since-
A memory hit her like a slightly rger truck.
Her mother.
Shade’s jaw clenched. Cra felt just like her. That same quietness, the same comforting presence. For a moment, she wasn’t in the warehouse. She was a child again, wrapped in her mother’s arms after a bad day, feeling safe in a way she hadn’t in years. Nine, to be exact.
Her vision blurred. Her fingers twitched against Cra’s back. And then, finally, she let herself rex. Her arms moved independently, wrapping around Cra as she buried her face into her shoulder.
She didn’t sob. Not loudly, anyway. But the tears came. Hot. Quiet. And years overdue.
Cra didn’t say anything. Just held her. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Afina
