They eventually found an empty hall on the eastern side of the academy, one of the smaller practice halls meant for light sparring, movement drills, and controlled demonstrations rather than large-scale combat.

It was spacious enough for two people to move freely without feeling cramped, with polished stone flooring, reinforced walls, and a slightly elevated platform at the center that stood only a few inches above the rest of the room. Tall windows lined one side of the hall, allowing sunlight to pour across the floor in long pale bands, while training markings had been engraved into the platform’s surface to help students keep distance and positioning during practice.

Liam stepped onto the platform first and moved toward the center without any particular urgency. Gabby followed him with far more energy, her dark eyes fixed on him as if she were afraid he might change his mind if she looked away for even a second.

Dylan, Sasha, and Anna remained off to the side, standing near the lower section of the hall where they could watch without getting in the way. Dylan leaned lazily against one of the side pillars like someone who had already decided this would be the highlight of his day, while Sasha stood with her hands clasped together in anticipation. Anna crossed her arms and studied the platform more carefully, her expression carrying the look of someone who had already accepted that Gabby was about to do something reckless.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Gabby rolled her shoulders, then flexed her fingers at her sides. Her breathing had evened out since the chase through the hallway, but excitement still showed in the small shifts of her posture. She tried to stand steady, yet her weight kept moving subtly from one foot to the other, as though her body was already preparing to burst forward before the spar had even begun.

Liam noticed.

"Relax," he said.

Gabby’s eyes narrowed. "I am relaxed."

Dylan snorted from the side. "You look like a firecracker that just found religion."

Gabby turned her head sharply. "No one asked you."

"I know," Dylan said, smiling. "That has never stopped me before."

Sasha giggled, while Anna gave Dylan a flat look that suggested she already understood why Gabby found him annoying. Gabby forced herself to ignore them and shifted her gaze back to Liam, who had not moved from where he stood.

He seemed almost too calm, one hand resting loosely at his side while the other adjusted the edge of his shirt sleeve. He did not look like someone preparing to fight. He looked like someone waiting for a late lecture to begin.

Liam’s gaze moved over Gabby once, not in judgment, but in assessment.

"The rules are simple," he said. "You lose each time you end up in a position where you could have died or been knocked unconscious. Five losses, and the spar ends. You win if you land one direct hit on me."

Gabby blinked.

Then her expression tightened. "One direct hit?"

"Yes."

"And I lose five times?"

"Yes."

For a second, Gabby simply stared at him, and the excitement in her eyes shifted into irritation. "You’re making it sound like I need pity."

Liam looked at her without reacting. "Take it however you want."

"That’s exactly what it sounds like," she said, her voice sharpening. "You’re giving me five chances because you think I can’t actually keep up, and you only need me to land one hit so I don’t feel completely useless."

Liam did not deny it or agree with it. He only folded one sleeve up to his forearm, then began folding the other. "Those are the rules. If you don’t want them, find another second year to spar with."

Gabby opened her mouth, then stopped.

The tone of his voice was not cruel, but it was final. He was not trying to provoke her. He was not negotiating. He had decided on a structure that made sense to him, and if she rejected it, he would simply leave. Somehow, that irritated her more than if he had openly mocked her.

After a moment, she clicked her tongue.

"Whatever. Fine."

"Good."

Gabby lifted her hands and took a steady breath. "I’m a fire affinity user," she said. "My second affinity is—"

"Stop."

The word cut through her sentence cleanly.

Gabby froze.

Liam looked at her with mild irritation. "That’s a stupid thing to do."

Her brows drew together. "What?"

"In a real confrontation, telling your opponent your affinity only helps them think of a way to handle you faster," Liam said. "Even if it only gives them a brief moment, that moment is enough to start forming a plan against you. Unless there is a clear advantage in revealing it, don’t give information away for free."

Gabby stared at him, caught off guard by how bluntly he said it.

Then the meaning settled in.

She had already told him one affinity. Fire. That much was not difficult to guess, but saying it had still been unnecessary. More importantly, she had nearly given away the second one as well before the spar even began. The realization hit her quickly enough that her irritation cooled into something sharper. He was right. She had done something careless before throwing a single attack.

Her fingers curled slightly.

Then she steadied herself.

"Fine," she said, her voice lower now. "I won’t."

Liam studied her for a moment, then nodded once. "Ready whenever you are."

As he said it, he began folding the other sleeve up with calm, unhurried motions.

Gabby moved before he finished.

Flames snapped to life around her right leg, not wildly, but tightly wrapped along the line of her shin and knee. At the same instant, the air around her foot compressed with a sharp push that made the floor beneath her heel give a faint crackle of pressure.

She shot forward in a sudden burst, crossing the space between them far faster than a simple fire-enhanced dash should have allowed. Her body tilted low, then rose sharply as she drove a flame-coated knee straight toward Liam’s face with enough force that the heat touched his skin before the strike arrived.

Liam’s head shifted to the side.

He simply adjusted the line of his upper body at the last possible moment, letting Gabby’s knee cut through the space where his face had been.

The flame grazed close enough to disturb a few strands of his hair, and the momentum of her attack carried her forward, forcing her to land past him with one foot skidding lightly across the platform.

Liam stepped back once, creating distance.

Gabby turned quickly, her eyes bright and focused now.

’She reminds me of Asher,’ Liam thought.

The comparison came naturally. Not because she fought exactly like him, but because the intention behind her first move carried the same aggressive quality. She did not begin cautiously. She tested through pressure. She wanted to force him to react, to establish pace, to make the spar move at the speed she preferred.

But there was something else.

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he replayed the movement in his mind. That burst had been too explosive for fire alone, at least for someone at her level. Flame could propel movement if used properly, but the acceleration had not felt like ordinary flame propulsion.

There had been another push, something cleaner and sharper beneath it. He had interrupted her before she revealed her second affinity, which meant she had one.

Two affinities paired well with explosiveness, perhaps even better than fire depending on control.

Lightning and air.

He had not sensed the distinct edge of Lightning Myst from her. There had been no electrical bite in the air, no spark along her movement, no sharp metallic pressure against his senses. What he had felt was displacement. Compressed force. A quick pressure shift beneath her foot.

’Air, then.’