Crescent (Book 1)

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When we walk to the hut the next morning, I'm already prepared for the moment Saren will sink a needle into my neck. I freeze when I see a table already set up in front of the door. There are no syringes, no brightly colored elixirs. Instead, six silver blades lay across the table's surface, each glistening in the light. We aren't shifting today.

She wears her usual bored expression, but ever since finding her with Ceth, I've grown rather distrustful of it. She's at least a few inches taller than me, but the difference now seems all the more ominous as she grabs a blade and tosses it into the air. I flinch, and she smirks as she catches it, twirling it easily across her knuckles. "This is always my favorite part."

I eye her as she circles me like a vulture honing in for the kill. She looks me up and down, and I meet her look with steel. "Finally decided I passed werewolf basics?"

She snorts, and in one swift movement, the blade impales the ground less than an inch from my foot. "Not my decision, princess." I guess Ceth changed his mind about something last night after all. He disappeared earlier this morning, muttering something about being 'back in a couple of days.' Which meant he probably mentioned something to Saren in passing.

Saren's fingers motion upward, and the blade floats back to her palm, the smell of magic strong in the air.

"So, what? Now I'm going to be used for target practice?" Saren shrugs her red hair back before launching the blade at me. On instinct, I raise my arm to block it. The blade lands tip-down in my palm, deep enough that the blade grazes bone. "Fuck!" I cry.

"Target practice is next week actually," she deadpans. "We won't be using these at all today."

I yank the knife out, wincing as blood seeps out of the wound. I cast it aside as the skin stitches itself back together ever-so-slowly, but blood still trickles down my arm. She reaches back onto the table, withdrawing a cube of steel I hadn't seen before.

"Stand up straight." I wipe my hand on the back of my suit but begrudgingly do as I'm told. Her blue eyes assess me again and she kicks my feet apart. She pats my shoulders, and I squat down until she hums her contentment and places the cube in my palm. "Lift your arm and balance it."

"For how lon-"

"As long as I say." I roll my eyes, squatting while holding the cube at my center.

For the first few minutes, the weight is nothing. After five, my muscles tire. She knocks my knees straight and smacks the small of my back when they bend. "What the hell does this have to do with blades?"

"When you learn proper form, then you can learn how to throw a blade. Until then, shut up."

I hold the position longer, maybe ten minutes until snow starts falling softly. Flakes brush against my lashes gently, and Saren smacks my back again when I move slightly. "What the hell??"

"Do it with one leg."

I gape at her. "Squat with one-"

Her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she sighs. "Every time you drop out of form, your time starts over." I inhale to keep from seeing red but ultimately listen. Lifting my right leg, I balance all of my weight on my left. Quietly. After two more minutes, my legs are both shaking, and when I drop my form, Saren smacks me again. She leans her hips against the table.

"Maybe if you tell me what I'm supposed to be doing, then I can actually do what you're wanting."

Saren shrugs. "Start over." I squat back down and curse her silently as she watches me. "Core tight. Back straight." I adjust mindlessly as she corrects me. "Control your breathing." I inhale deeply through my nose and out through my mouth, my breath fogging the air. I don't know how long I'm standing, balancing, engaging more muscles than I've ever thought about using before. "Balance it above your head now."

I do, body shaking as I brace the weight above my head. I hold strong as she watches me head on, but I'm breathless as I ask, "What are you waiting for?"

Her smile is small but devious. "For you to quit."

I ignore her, determined to stare straight forward even though I won't be able to hold much longer. "You can't possibly enjoy babysitting."

She smacks me again, and I straighten- though not without effort. "I think you underestimate how much I'm enjoying this."

I shake my head. Moira knows she's stuck here, but it almost makes me wonder if everyone else knows it too... or if they're all blind to it. "You trained harder than anyone here to get here... Yet Ajax is Ceth's beta. I'm guessing you didn't just volunteer to train me... You want something."

She purses her lips and rounds behind me again. She shifts my leg with a kick, and I nearly lose balance. Her eyes are void of amusement, and I know I've struck a chord. It's probably foolish to play games with Saren, but part of me is also curious. Does she hope for something from Ceth like Moira once had? Her eyes flicker with understanding as she looks at me. "This is about Moira."

My stomach sinks, and my core gives way as I topple into the snow. My breath comes out in pants, the weight forgotten on the ground next to me. Saren leans down. "I have nothing against her. Truly. I grew up here when her mother was in charge, you know that?" I don't respond. She grabs my still-bloodied hands and sets the weight back in place. "The difference between Moira and I is that I know my place. I don't expect anything from anyone."

There's a reason she's bedding him. That much is clear. I think back to what Moira told me yesterday: "You will do things you won't like. Shameful things. Things you don't like." Saren's ambitious- calculating, cold. But maybe it's the only thing she knows. Maybe it's what she has to be... But at what cost?

Brushing clumps of snow off her hands, she straightens, turning her back to me. I know she can't be trusted, but somehow hearing the words still leaves a pit in my chest. I take position again, my legs wider this time, and I hold the weight overhead. "If fucking him doesn't get you promoted, do you really think training me will do the trick?" Saren keeps her back to me but remains silent. I may not know Ceth, but I know him well enough to see that Saren means nothing to him. "But, then again... you know your place."