A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the other end of the castle, which had another hole opening to an indoor courtyard. Unlike where they found Hisato, though, this one had a concrete path leading to a large sand circle that took up most of the space. Patches of grass gave color to the corners, but that was it.

A dark-skinned man stood in the center of the circle. His body faced them, but he twisted his upper body to look at the left wall, his arms raised as if to fight. He punched once, twice, and then spun, delivering a snapping sidekick. He continued like this for some time. Each movement was so quick and precise that Josh had trouble believing there weren't actually invisible opponents around the man.

The sequence ended with the man facing them, though it took him a moment to focus on them. When he did, he gave a slight bow.

"Welcome," he said as he straightened back up. "It's nice to see you, Mara. And you must be Josh. I am Akachi, your combat teacher." He gestured to the ring. "Would you please join me?"

"Yeah, sure." Josh walked forward, Mara at his side. As he did, he examined Akachi. Even without the earlier demonstration, he would have believed the man to be proficient at combat. He wore sweats and a t-shirt, letting most of his muscled arms show. Although relaxed, he gave an air of being ready to strike at any moment, and his dark eyes studied every small move Josh made.

"I'll be right here if you need me," Mara said, jolting Josh out of his observations. They had reached the end of the concrete path.

"You're staying behind?" he asked.

She nodded as she took a seat. "I'm just watching this time, not learning anything," she said, then added to Akachi, "Let me know if you need me to move."

"You will be fine there," Akachi said, then turned an expectant eye toward Josh.

Taking a deep breath and shooting Mara a quick glance, Josh strode into the middle of the ring and stopped in front of his new teacher. "You're not going to make me meditate or something, are you?"

Akachi chuckled, and Josh relaxed. Laughter was always a great way to start an interaction, and it meant that Akachi probably wouldn't make him do something as boring as meditating—

"No, I leave the meditation to Hisato, but I would like you to run around the ring."

"Oh." Josh deflated. "Okay."

Akachi's lip twitched. "Don't worry. We won't be running the entire time."

"We?" Josh asked.

"Yes." Akachi nodded. "If I am going to ask you to run, it seems only fair that I do as well. I've also come to find I enjoy running. It is a great way to relax and focus the mind."

Well, maybe if it was so great for the mind, Josh could try meditating while they ran. Then he could knock out two boring tasks in one go. Instead, as he followed Akachi around the ring, he found himself talking with Boomer, discussing all the things someone could do while running. They started with something simple—eating—and somehow got to trying to sleep and run.

You know what? Josh finally said. How about you just try it sometime?

I'm not on a sandy field. If I do it, I can hit a tree, so you do it.

You're a dragon. Your head is harder, Josh pointed out.

I don't know, Boomer said. Have you ever tried to convince yourself to do something?

Before Josh could retort, Akachi started to slow down. Josh stumbled to match his pace. They came to a stop, and Akachi turned to fix Josh with an amused, assessing stare.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you realize how long we have been running?"

Josh frowned. He didn't feel tired, so it couldn't have been that long. "I don't know."

"Thirty minutes," Akachi said.

Josh gawked and reevaluated his current state. Nope, his legs didn't ache. His breathing came out even and controlled. Sure, they had been going at a steady run as opposed to sprinting, but thirty minutes? He should have felt something.

"Maybe a few minutes more or less, but yes. We have been running for nearly half an hour." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "When we bond with dragons, our human abilities become greater. We are stronger, faster, can endure more, but everyone still has different strengths depending on their soul and how powerful it is. You seem to have superior stamina."

Excitement swelled within Josh's chest. So he had bonuses to his physical abilities? He really had become a superhero or something. It took most of his willpower to keep the gigantic grin off his face as he said, "That's awesome."

Bet you I could still beat you in a race, though, Boomer said.

Josh fought the urge to roll his eyes since nobody outside of his head would understand. No duh. You're a huge dragon. "So," he said aloud, "running was just to test that?"

"Right. Now, we should move on to the next test." He walked to the center of the ring. Josh followed, coming to a stop when he turned back to him. Akachi raised his arms over his head. "I want you to punch me."

"Punch you?" Josh repeated. He looked past Akachi to Mara. She caught his gaze and nodded encouragingly.

Akachi cocked an eyebrow. "That is what I said. I take it you know how to punch?"

If Akachi's goal was to motivate Josh to punch him, it was working. His face burned as he focused on Akachi once more. "Yeah, I know how to punch, but do you really want me to just up and punch you?"

"Yes, and as hard as you can. You have no need to worry about me, if that's your issue. You can't hurt me."

It was so similar to Josh's way of mocking Darren that he almost laughed. Instead, he dropped down into a fighting stance and took a deep breath. Akachi spoke with unwavering certainty. Josh could go all out. It would be okay.

Josh stepped in, driving his fist forward as hard as he could. Akachi's flesh gave beneath his knuckles, providing the only proof that Josh hadn't punched a steel wall. He hopped back and grabbed his hand. His fingers throbbed, and his arm ached.

Akachi, on the other hand, rested a hand on his stomach and examined Josh. Almost as if he had just been poked rather than full-force punched.

"Your hand okay?" he asked.

Josh twisted his wrist. "Hurts a bit, but it'll be fine."

Akachi hummed to himself and nodded. "Apologies. I didn't expect you to hit so hard. Superior strength then, too."

The tests continued from there, including one where Akachi upped the power of his own punches until Josh felt the impact to see his pain tolerance. He excelled in that one as well, though it wasn't like before he bonded with Boomer and never felt pain. His speed, according to Akachi, was average.

Boomer wouldn't let him live that one down.

Maybe you won't be lightning as well, Boomer said while Josh strained in his next test—seeing how long his strength held out by holding up Akachi's arm. It didn't sound like it would be difficult, but Akachi's arm somehow weighed a ton.

How about you shut up?

Akachi suddenly lifted his arm. Josh sagged in relief, his own arms aching. "Not bad," Akachi declared. "Your endurance is also pretty good. You must have a powerful soul."

"What decides a soul's strength?" Josh asked as he shook out his arms.

"Nothing, really. It varies with everyone. Some have had to unknowingly exert their soul through life, strengthening it, and others are born with a powerful soul. But a powerful soul means nothing if you don't know how to use your abilities," Akachi added. "We will have to work on that and start on combat next time, though. I believe it is time for you to leave for your next lesson."

Josh bit back a groan. It was just his first day. He should expect it to be boring beginner stuff, but come on! Both times he had been so close to getting to the fun aspects just for the lessons to end.

As he and Mara headed toward the corridor that led to the clanging metal, though, he couldn't help but hope. The teacher would have to let him hold a weapon on day one. How else would it go?

"So Ioana is the teacher for this one, right?" he asked. They turned into the corridor between Akachi and Hisato's room.

Mara grinned. "Yes. I think you'll have a lot of fun with her."

As they got further down the corridor, voices joined the occasional clash of metal on metal. Josh frowned. Ioana's voice sounded over the noise, as well as two other voices. One he didn't recognize. The other, though...

Mara confirmed his suspicions a moment later, and he had to bite back a groan. "It seems Caleb joined Ioana today."

Caleb. Josh twitched. Usually when people used others' full names rather than nicknames, it felt formal and distant. When Cale and Mara spoke with each other, though, it felt different. Like a secret shared between them.

Just let it go, he told himself. His mouth decided not to listen. "So, what's up with you and Cale?" He winced. Great, now he sounded like... Well, like he was trying to make sure she didn't have a boyfriend.

Probably because that's exactly what he was doing.

What's a boyfrie—

"What do you mean?" she asked, thankfully cutting Boomer off. If she suspected Josh's motives, she hid it from her voice. She tilted her head as she looked at him.

Josh cleared his throat and glanced away. "Just wondering because I heard you and my dad this morning. You're staying with his family or something?"

"Oh." She paused as they reached the end of the corridor. It opened up to yet another courtyard, but this one had no ceiling. They stood at the top of a curving staircase that led down into the dirt field. Mara walked over to the steel railing. Josh followed.

Cale and a brown-skinned girl—twelve or thirteen at the oldest—stood facing each other with Ioana off to the side, watching. Cale wielded dual blades while the girl had a round shield and a sword. Despite her uneven breathing, she held the weapons steady in front of her.

"Again," Ioana barked.

The girl launched herself at Cale. She blocked one of his swords with her shield and intercepted his other with her own blade.

"You're right. I stay with Cale and his parents, though I think we both plan to get quarters of our own soon," Mara said, drawing Josh's attention back to her.

"Why don't you stay with your parents?" Josh asked.

Mara had always been pale, but he thought she'd lost even more color. "Unlike your parents..." She paused, gulped, then tried again. "Unlike your parents, mine didn't come with me to the Sanctuary. Not all choose to accompany their children into this life. Caleb and his father are the ones who found me when I was bonding with Kidron, so they offered to take me in."

"So they're like your family?"

Mara gave a lazy wave down at the courtyard. Josh glanced down to find that the three were looking up at them. Cale glared while Ioana smirked like she knew some secret they didn't.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Mara said. "It seems like they're ready for us. After you."

Josh headed down the steps, Mara right behind him. 

Fun Fact: In a way I had fun messing with stereotypes with the teachers.  The more karate based teacher is Black, the female teachers weapons, and Asian teaches magic, which I know there is the wise old Asian being spiritual... But magic teachers also tend to be females because magic is the "less dangerous" combat... Look, I tried, okay? XD

Two of the three teachers fully met, and about to head into Ioana fun.  I love all of the teachers but have this strange relationship with Akachi.  He's the one I feel least close to for some reason but I'm also extremely fond of him.  Hope that means you guys will be fond of him as well as the story goes!  Also, seems we get a small peak at something perhaps significant about Mara.  Wonder why her parents aren't there 👀

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!