Chapter 3 Tension on the training ground

The Kingdom of Caelaris woke under a pale gold sunrise, and by the time Lyra Thorn reached the royal training yard, the soldiers were already awake, stomping and shouting through drills.

She didn't come here to train.

She came because she knew they would be here.

Cassian Ale saw her first.

He leaned against a practice post, arms folded, dark hair falling into eyes that always carried that wicked glint as if he knew three things about you you never wanted said out loud.

His mouth curved.

"Thorn. I thought you'd still be sleeping off last night's attitude."

Lyra hooked her thumbs into the belt on her black leather trousers. "I don't sleep. I rest. There's a difference."

Cassian's smirk deepened. "You keep talking like that, I might start believing you're trying to impress me."

She rolled her eyes, though the corner of her mouth almost betrayed her.

Almost.

Before Cassian could shoot another one of his trouble-making lines, a quiet ripple of silence moved across the training yard.

Prince Aerion had arrived.

Tall, composed, golden, his presence was the exact opposite of Cassian's chaos. Where Cassian carried danger like a second skin, Aerion carried duty like a crown he never took off.

And both men's eyes found Lyra at the same time.

Wonderful.

Exactly the kind of mess she enjoyed.

Aerion stepped forward, regal even in simple training clothes.

"Lyra," he said, voice steady but warmer than he wanted it to be. "You're early."

Cassian scoffed. "Don't act surprised, Your Highness. Bad girls wake up with the sun. Guilt keeps them restless."

Lyra turned her head slowly.

"Cassian, darling, if guilt ever kept me up, you would've been the first to know. Since you're the cause of half of it."

A nearby soldier choked on his drink.

Aerion's jaw tightened. "We're not here to trade flirtations or... whatever that was."

He handed her a wooden practice blade.

"I asked you here because I need to test your instincts."

Lyra twirled the blade between her fingers, unimpressed. "Against you?"

"No." Aerion stepped aside.

"Against him."

Cassian pushed himself off the post, grin sharp enough to cut marble.

"Oh, now we're having fun."

Cassian moved first-fast. Too fast for someone who pretended to be lazy.

Lyra dodged cleanly, twisting under his arm, blade grazing the air beside him.

"Not bad," he murmured, circling her. "You move like someone born lying."

She winked. "Better than dying."

A quick spin, a clash, a step back-

Their bodies moved like two storms trying to swallow each other.

Cassian's smirk faltered once.

"When did you get faster?"

"When you stopped paying attention."

Aerion watched them, hands clasped behind him, expression unreadable-but the tension in his shoulders betrayed everything.

He didn't like the way Cassian looked at her.

He didn't like the way Lyra's lips curved when Cassian got close.

He didn't like any of it.

But he needed to see it.

Needed to confirm something.

Cassian lunged again-but this time Lyra blocked sharply and hooked her leg behind his, sending him crashing onto his back.

The soldiers erupted.

Lyra planted the tip of the wooden sword to his chest.

"Yield?"

Cassian looked up at her-breathing hard, annoyed, and unmistakably impressed.

"Only because I like the view."

She kicked his side lightly and stepped back.

Aerion stepped forward the moment Cassian rose.

"Again," he said, voice low.

"With me."

Aerion was nothing like Cassian.

Where Cassian was unpredictable, Aerion was calculated.

Where Cassian tried to provoke her, Aerion tried to read her.

And Lyra was suddenly aware of how close he stood.

How his hand brushed hers as he passed her another blade.

How he didn't smirk-he studied.

"Ready?" he asked softly.

She hated the way her breath caught.

Cassian shouted from the side.

"Try not to flirt your way through this one, Your Highness!"

Aerion ignored him.

He struck.

Their blades met with precision-his technique perfect, hers instinctive and wild.

Each movement pushed her backward until her back hit the wooden post behind her.

Aerion's blade stopped just against her throat.

Barely touching.

His eyes locked with hers-dark, conflicted, burning.

"You're stronger than before," he said, breath uneven.

"But your emotions... they make you reckless."

Lyra pushed his blade away, stepping forward until their chests almost touched.

"And you pretend you don't have any."

Cassian's frustrated exhale echoed across the yard.

Aerion stepped back, jaw tight.

"That's enough."

But Lyra knew she had struck a nerve.

And she liked it.

After dismissing the soldiers, Aerion motioned for Lyra to follow him into the shaded corridor leading out of the training grounds.

Cassian watched-expression darkening.

He wasn't done with her.

Not by a long shot.

Aerion didn't speak until the sounds of clashing steel faded behind them.

"Lyra," he said quietly, turning to face her.

"There is something I haven't told you."

Her brows lifted. "That sounds dramatic. I approve."

He didn't smile.

He looked... conflicted.

"I requested Cassian to train you because-"

"Because you wanted to see if I was loyal?" she guessed.

"No."

He stepped closer.

"Because someone has been watching you. And last night, they left a message."

Lyra froze.

"What kind of message?"

Aerion swallowed.

"A warning."

He handed her a folded scrap of parchment.

On it were the words:

"The Rogue must fall before the Prince chooses."

Lyra's pulse stilled.

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

Aerion's gaze was heavy.

"It means," he said slowly, "that this triangle we've found ourselves in... isn't just personal anymore."