The training grounds were empty when Dorian arrived and that was exactly what he wanted.
He needed to hit something and to move his body until his mind stopped thinking about things he did not want to think about.
The sun was starting to go down and the sky was turning orange and pink but he did not care about how it looked because he was too angry to notice anything like that.
He pulled off his shirt and threw it to the side before he started moving through his fighting forms.
His muscles moved smoothly and his hands knew where to go without him having to think about it. This was what he needed.
This was something he could control and something that made sense in a way that nothing else did right now.
He was working through a combination that involved a kick and a punch when Carina walked in and stopped at the edge of the training mat.
Her fiery red hair was tied up in a ponytail and her intense green eyes were fixed on him, which instantly made him nervous, unable to stop the sigh which escaped his lips.
As beautiful as she was, his Gamma was a piece of work and she was only going to add to his pile of stress now that she was here.
She was strong and lean from years of training and fighting and she moved with the kind of confidence that came from knowing you were powerful.
She wore fitted black clothes made for fighting and they showed off the muscle in her shoulders and arms and legs.
If she wasn't one of his most valuable warriors, Dorian would have kicked her out for stressing him out the way she did.
"Dorian," She said and her voice was smooth like honey. "I did not know you were training today."
He did not stop moving, but he acknowledged that she was there. "I needed to clear my head."
"Well now you do not have to train alone," Carina purred as she walked onto the mat with confidence. "Spar with me."
It was not a question and he knew that if he said no, she would make a big deal about it. He did not have the energy to deal with that kind of drama right now.
So he nodded and got into his fighting stance, waiting for her to come at him.
She moved fast and her punches were strong, her kicks precise. She was almost as good as Magnus but not quite and she knew it too which made her push herself harder to close that gap.
Her power was real and it came from training since she was young and from having the kind of strength that only some people were born with.
Magnus came in after a few minutes. He looked at the two of them and grinned in such annoying way that made Dorian want to punch him.
Magnus picked another fighter from the guards who were standing around and started to spar with him, but his eyes kept moving back to watch Dorian and Carina, his grin never going away.
That grin was getting on Dorian's nerves more and more because he knew what Magnus was thinking and he did not like it.
Carina landed a good hit on his chest and he felt it because she was just that strong.
She was breathing hard from the effort and her eyes were bright with the joy of the fight and with something else that looked like she wanted him to see how strong she was.
They moved around each other, trading hits that were real.
Carina was fast and she pushed back, trying to beat him and that was something he could respect even if he did not want her here right now.
Between moves and hits, Carina started to talk and her words were about the slave girl from earlier. Her mouth twisted up in a way that showed she did not think much of her.
"That girl in the kitchens who you found," Carina sneered as she threw a punch that he blocked with ease.
"The one with the rags and the dirt. She was so pathetic standing there like she did not know what was happening. I would have taught her a lesson if you had let me deal with her."
Something inside Dorian snapped like a branch breaking under too much weight. He stopped moving and he stepped back from Carina.
His fists were clenched so tight that his nails dug into his palms.
"Do not talk about her," He growled. His voice was quiet but it had an edge to it that made everyone around them go still.
Carina looked confused like she did not understand what she had done wrong.
She was still breathing hard from the fight and her face was flushed, but her eyes showed that she was trying to figure out why he was so angry.
"What do you mean?" She asked, lowering her hands. "She is just a slave and a worthless one at that. I was only saying that I could have—"
"I do not care what you were saying," Dorian told her and he was already moving toward the edge of the mat to get away from her.
His anger was burning hot inside his chest and it was making it hard to think straight. "Do not ever talk about her like that again or you will regret it."
He pulled his shirt back on and he did not even wait for it to sit right on his shoulders before he was walking away from the training grounds.
Behind him he could hear Carina calling his name, but he did not stop or turn around. If he did, he might say things that would cause problems he did not need to have right now.
Magnus was still there, grinning and Dorian could feel his friend's eyes on his back as he walked awa.
That grin probably got even bigger because Magnus always knew things before anyone else figured them out and he was probably thinking all kinds of things about what just happened.
Dorian pushed through the doors, out into the hallway and he was almost to his room when he heard a scream come from somewhere deep inside the castle.
His blood ran cold and all the hairs and his body stood. This was no ordinary scream. This scream came from his mate.