Chapter 229 — A Different Kind of Victory

Chapter 229: Chapter 229 — A Different Kind of Victory

~ Raven ~

"Fair enough," Dante replied, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Cassian nodded in agreement before stepping aside, allowing Raven and Dante to resume their training.

Unfortunately, Raven quickly discovered that having both men agree on something didn’t necessarily make her life any easier.

Dante came at her almost immediately, forcing her to defend against a series of rapid strikes that gave her little opportunity to recover between attacks.

She managed to avoid the first two, but the third caught her raised forearm and sent her stumbling backward.

"Again," he instructed.

Raven gritted her teeth and returned to her position, determined not to let him knock her around quite so easily.

This time, when Dante approached, she concentrated on his footing instead of watching his hands.

His right shoulder shifted, suggesting an attack toward her left, but Raven noticed where he’d placed his weight and moved sideways before he could complete the strike.

His hand missed her shoulder.

Unfortunately, her satisfaction lasted only until he changed direction and caught her next movement.

"You’re getting better," Dante remarked as she scrambled away from him. "But you’re still thinking too much."

"Because somebody keeps trying to hit me!"

He laughed, although he made no attempt to slow down.

Raven was beginning to hate that laugh.

Over the next several exchanges, she gradually found herself responding more quickly, learning to distinguish between attacks she needed to avoid and those she could defend against without wasting unnecessary movement.

Cassian occasionally corrected her positioning from the sidelines, while Dante continued pressing her whenever she hesitated.

By the time she finally managed to slip past one of his attacks and strike his shoulder, Raven was breathing heavily.

Dante glanced at where she’d touched him before giving her an approving nod.

"Not bad."

Raven straightened, looking rather pleased with herself.

"Thank you. I was beginning to think you were physically incapable of giving compliments."

"Don’t get too comfortable," he replied.

Cassian, who had been observing them, approached the center of the court.

"She’s improved her reactions, but there’s another weakness we haven’t addressed."

Raven turned toward him suspiciously.

"Please tell me it isn’t something that involves getting punched again."

"Not necessarily," Cassian replied, although the amusement in his expression wasn’t particularly reassuring. "You’ve been concentrating on one opponent throughout this session. During Night Pursuit, there’s no guarantee you’ll have that luxury."

Dante glanced toward him, already understanding where he was going.

"You want us to attack together?"

Raven stared.

"Excuse me?"

Cassian turned toward her. "Not at full strength, obviously. We’ll keep our attacks controlled, but you’ll need to learn how to defend yourself when someone comes at you from more than one direction."

Raven looked between them in disbelief.

She was still having trouble defending herself against Dante alone, and now they wanted her to fight both of them?

"Have you two finally decided to kill me?"

Dante grinned. "You’ll survive."

"How reassuring."

Nevertheless, Raven considered the suggestion.

Cassian had a point. The vampires weren’t going to stand around politely waiting for her to finish fighting one opponent before sending another.

Besides, she couldn’t keep relying on controlled sparring if she expected to survive the Concord.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "But if either of you breaks something, I’m telling Berry."

Dante chuckled while Cassian moved toward her opposite side.

The first exchange was an absolute disaster.

Dante attacked from the front, forcing Raven to raise her guard, and before she could respond, Cassian approached from her left.

She barely avoided his outstretched hand before Dante caught her retreat and forced her backward.

Raven stumbled, narrowly recovering her balance.

"Again," Cassian instructed.

She shot him an irritated look.

"I’m beginning to hate that word."

Unfortunately, the next exchange wasn’t much better.

Dante kept her occupied with quick, forceful attacks, while Cassian moved around her, taking advantage of every opening she accidentally created.

Whenever Raven tried concentrating on one of them, the other immediately forced her to change direction.

She couldn’t even find enough room to counterattack.

"Don’t let us decide where you move," Cassian instructed as she avoided another strike. "You’re reacting to whichever one of us approaches first."

"I’m trying!"

Dante came at her again, forcing her to duck beneath his arm.

Before she could straighten, Cassian closed in from the opposite side.

Raven twisted away, but the movement left her exposed to Dante, who caught her shoulder and stopped his strike just before it could knock her backward.

"Dead," he announced.

Raven glared at him.

"I noticed."

They resumed, and the pressure only grew worse.

Cassian and Dante weren’t using their full strength, but that hardly mattered when their experience and coordination were so far beyond hers.

Every time Raven thought she’d discovered an opening, one of them closed it before she could take advantage.

Her breathing grew heavier, and the essence circulating through her limbs began to strain as she repeatedly reinforced herself to keep up.

Fuck.

She couldn’t even land a proper counter.

Dante came at her again, his movements becoming faster, and Raven managed to block his first strike before turning to avoid Cassian.

Unfortunately, she realized too late that she’d stepped directly into Dante’s path.

He reached for her shoulder.

Cassian was already closing in from behind.

Raven’s heart pounded as she recognized that she had nowhere left to retreat.

But at that moment, something inside her shifted.

A sudden pressure surged through her chest, so unexpectedly that she almost stumbled.

Her surroundings seemed to sharpen.

She could hear the scrape of Dante’s boots against the stone, see the movement of Cassian’s shoulder and recognize the exact direction his next strike would take.

More importantly, her body seemed to know what to do before she’d properly decided.

A strange heat flashed behind her eyes.

Dante’s hand reached her shoulder.

But Raven was already moving.

She slipped beneath his arm with a speed that surprised even her, twisting sideways before Cassian’s approaching hand could catch her.

The movement carried her behind Dante, and Raven barely had time to register what she’d accomplished before another attack came from her right.

She ducked.

Cassian’s hand passed above her head.

Raven moved again, her feet striking the stone as she darted through the narrow opening between them.

For several astonishing seconds, everything felt easier.

She could see their movements clearly, almost anticipating where their attacks would land before they reached her.

Dante turned sharply, his expression changing as Raven avoided another strike.

"What the—"

She didn’t give him time to finish.

Using the opening he’d left, Raven stepped forward and struck his chest with her palm.

The attack carried little force compared to what a Dominant wolf could withstand, but it was enough to make him take a surprised step backward.

Raven turned toward Cassian, narrowly avoiding his next attempt to catch her, and managed to brush her fingers against his shoulder before pulling away.

For the first time since they’d started training, both men stopped attacking.

Raven stared at them, hardly believing what she’d just done.

Then the strength vanished so abruptly that Raven barely understood what was happening.

One moment, her body had been moving with an ease she’d never experienced before, and the next, a terrible weakness swept through her limbs.

Her knees buckled.

"Raven!"

Dante reached her first, catching her around the waist before she could collapse, while Cassian quickly took hold of her arm to steady her.

Raven gasped, struggling to draw a proper breath.

Her heart was pounding painfully, and the essence she’d been drawing upon only moments earlier felt almost completely exhausted.

What the fuck had just happened?

"Easy," Cassian murmured, his grip firm around her arm. "Don’t try to stand on your own yet."

Raven wanted to argue, but another wave of dizziness made her abandon the idea.

Dante was staring at her face.

"Your eyes," he said slowly. "They were glowing."

Raven blinked, looking between them.

"What?"

"White," Cassian confirmed, his expression unusually serious. "And you were moving considerably faster than before."

Raven swallowed.

She thought of the sudden clarity, how easily she’d recognized their attacks and the strange feeling that her body had been moving almost without effort.

But whatever she’d done had lasted only a few seconds before leaving her completely drained.

"I didn’t do it deliberately," she admitted.

Cassian frowned slightly, although he seemed more concerned about her condition than the explanation.

"You’ve used too much essence. We should stop."

For once, Raven wasn’t interested in arguing.

She nodded, still trying to steady her breathing, when an unexpected warmth spread beneath her collarbone.

At first, she barely noticed it.

Then it intensified.

Raven froze.

What—?

She recognized that sensation.

A faint silver-white glow began spreading across the markings near her chest, bright enough to become visible above the neckline of her training uniform.

Cassian noticed immediately, his attention dropping toward the glowing markings near her collarbone as his grip on her arm tightened slightly.

Dante followed his gaze, and his eyes widened when he saw the silver-white lines spreading across her skin.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, staring at the markings before looking up at her. "Raven, since when have you had a mark?"

Raven swallowed, suddenly unsure how to answer. "It’s... complicated. I don’t know why it’s reacting now."

Dante looked ready to question her further, but before he could speak, the warmth beneath her skin intensified.

And this time, it had nothing to do with exhaustion.

Raven suddenly became painfully aware of how closely the two men were standing.

Dante still had an arm around her waist, supporting most of her weight, while Cassian stood directly beside her, his fingers wrapped around her forearm.

She could feel the warmth of their bodies against hers, and beneath the strange heat spreading through her chest was something considerably more difficult to explain.

Longing.

It came so suddenly that Raven drew a sharp breath.

She wanted to move closer.

The realization startled her, especially when the desire seemed to reach toward both men at once.

Cassian was the first to react.

His eyes lifted from the glowing markings to her face, and Raven felt an unmistakable warmth stir through their strengthened bond.

His expression changed.

The concern he’d been showing moments earlier gave way to something far more intimate, and when his gaze briefly dropped toward her lips, Raven felt her stomach tighten.

Goddess.

She knew that look.

She’d seen it during the Renewal Ball.

Unfortunately, looking toward Dante offered absolutely no relief.

He was watching her with an intensity that made her breath catch again, his earlier surprise slowly disappearing beneath an expression she hadn’t seen on his face in days.

His gaze lingered on hers, and Raven noticed him draw a sharp breath.

For a moment, the arm around her waist tightened.

Then he seemed to catch himself.

"Raven," he murmured.

The sound of her name made something inside her ache.

She couldn’t understand why she suddenly wanted him to pull her closer, or why the thought of Cassian releasing her arm felt equally unbearable.

The longing was becoming difficult to ignore.

Raven looked between them, her cheeks growing hot as she realized that neither man seemed particularly unaffected.

Cassian had gone unusually quiet, his attention remaining on her face, while Dante appeared to be struggling with something he had no intention of saying aloud.

And the worst part was that Raven wanted to kiss them.

Both of them.

The thought was so mortifying that she immediately tried to straighten.

"I think..." Her voice came out embarrassingly breathless, and she swallowed before trying again. "I think I can stand now."

Cassian released her arm slowly.

Dante hesitated for another moment before removing his hand from her waist, and Raven almost hated the small sense of disappointment that followed.

Fuck.

What was wrong with her?

She stepped away from them, pressing her hand against the glowing markings as the warmth gradually began to fade.

Neither man spoke.

For several uncomfortable seconds, Raven couldn’t bring herself to look at either of them.

She could still feel the lingering pull beneath her ribs, although it was finally becoming easier to breathe.

"We should end the session," Cassian said eventually, his voice quieter than usual.

"Yes," Raven agreed immediately. "That’s probably a good idea."

Dante nodded, although his eyes remained on her for another moment.

Neither asked her to explain what had happened.

Raven was grateful for that because she had absolutely no idea what she would have told them.

She hurriedly gathered her belongings, aware that her hands were still trembling from exhaustion and whatever ridiculous thing her mark had just done.

Cassian offered to accompany her back, but Raven declined, insisting that she only needed some rest.

Dante didn’t argue either.

That somehow made leaving more awkward.

By the time she finally stepped outside the training facilities, Raven felt as though she’d survived something considerably more dangerous than an ordinary sparring session.

Her legs were still unsteady, and although the glow beneath her uniform had disappeared, she could remember the way both men had looked at her with uncomfortable clarity.

Goddess, what the hell had that been?

She’d experienced the pull of her mate bonds before, but never quite like that, and certainly not with Cassian and Dante standing together.

Raven tightened her grip on her bag, trying to steady her trembling hands as she entered the adjoining courtyard.

She needed to get back to her room before somebody noticed what a complete mess she was.

Unfortunately, she’d barely started toward the main academic passage when a familiar figure near the opposite walkway caught her attention.

Raven slowed.

Celeste Blackthorn was standing a short distance away.

And their eyes met.