The blankets on me were suffocating. It was forecasted to be a cold night; but now the lack of air swirling through my window, the two layers of blankets and Leraj's warm body beside me were all too much.

My eyes burned from crying so I didn't bother with making light. By memory and feel, I changed from my pyjamas into clothes laid out for another day of training. I crept from the room, the squeaky door causing me to flinch as it slowly, agonisingly clicked shut behind me.

I did not have a doubt that Leraj heard that. He had ears like a bat. I made my way outside, staying to the shadows. The moon loomed in the east, dazzling white in the clear sky. There was a cold nip to the air; I rubbed my arms and quickened my pace.

Liones was quiet and still in this part of town. I zigzagged down alleyways, keen eyes noting the scuffle marks in the alley Leraj had pinned me to the wall and kissed me until I felt the world didn't exist. I lingered, remembering the touch of his hands on my hips, the softness of his lips.

Then the memories after that came crashing down. My sadistic smile as I drained Emanuel and the disgust I'd felt when the mana was only trickling into my body. No concern for him, no pity or remorse.

My stomach flipped. I continued walking.

Leraj was already waiting for me. Sometimes I wondered how he had managed to always get ahead. The old crumbling wall on the outer edges of Liones was our meeting spot, a place to talk without being overheard. Normally he was already on top, legs dangling over the sides. He stood at the bottom now.

"You could have woken me," he whispered, taking my hand in his large one and pulled me close. He draped my jacket around my shoulders. "You didn't have to let the door do it."

"Didn't mean to let it creak," I responded. I wanted to be alone hung in the air though.

His amber eyes reflected the moonlight and in them, I saw sadness but also a deeper emotion. Grief. I wanted to ask what was wrong but when I opened my mouth, he placed his lips on them, kissing me deeply.

My hands tangled in his hair and I forgot how to breath.

After a long moment, we pulled apart. The grief was gone from his eyes. "You know you can talk to me."

I still haven't told him what happened. Like I could say much when I bumbled into the room crying my eyes out and he'd been sitting on my bed with a handful of flowers.

Leraj was always my rock, from the time we'd found our village burning to the slaughtered men, women and children along our journey in deserted and crow-filled towns. His lips would purse, eyes would hardened and dim but he'd never cry.

That was why the tears in his eyes had crushed me the most.

How did you tell someone that you were a monster? You couldn't. There were no words to explain that. So I had let him hold me until bed time then let him tuck us both into bed – me in a foetal position, my hands and knees touching his warm, bare chest, his strong arms encircling me.

I dropped my eyes; I couldn't hold his anymore. Instead, I began the climb up the wall face until I sat on top, overlooking... nothing. The tears blurred my vision until all I could see was a plain stretched out before me.

Body heat emanated from him, our shoulders barely touching. He found my hand again and ran his thumb along my palm. "What did he make you do?"

I sniffled. "He made me use Thief."

His hand tightened around mine in a quick contraction before he went back to stroking my palm.

"Fox," he said softly. He'd been calling me that for years, ever since our encounter with the tattoo artist. "It's okay."

"It's not okay. I almost killed the poor recruit!" The words burst out before I could calm them and it was a dam being cracked in half. "He knew. Hendrickson knew I had the ability which he also knew I couldn't control it. But still I... I.... I couldn't disobey him. And when I did it, I couldn't stop. I wanted to drain every ounce of mana from the poor boy; I wanted it all."

The heavy air compacted my lungs, making the next string of words that much harder to say.

"I'm a monster."

His hands grabbed my cheeks and forced me to face him. His face inches from mine, a defiant fire in those amber eyes.

"You are not a monster, okay, Estra? You are not a monster no matter how many times you use that power. The fact that you can cry afterwards, that you can show emotion, means you are the exact opposite of a monster."

His voice echoed around us. I laid a hand on his chest, felt the thunderous beat of his heart, the rise and fall of his rapid breath. He moved his hands from my cheeks and wrapped me tight in his hands. I dug my fingers into his back.

"I promise you, Estra, that you're not a monster and by the end of your training, you still won't be a monster," he whispered into my hair. "No matter what Hendrickson makes you do."

"Thank you," I mouthed against his shoulder, quivering.

~

Steely-eyed, I stalked into the training grounds at noon, challenging all who dared to look at me. Everyone scuttled out of my way, posture submissive but their eyes wandering over me.

I wore my lightweight armour today. Hendrickson said I'd need it.

I knew what he had planned.

"Ready for the next stage?" Hendrickson asked, standing before a wall with a large target painted on it.

I stopped a few feet from him and crouched to tighten my greaves. Beside the greaves, I had vambraces and a pauldron on my right shoulder, all the same burnt orange colour. Underneath that, I wore knee high boots, mid-thigh long shorts and a singlet, all made of black dragon scales. 

All fire resistant.

I straightened and flicked my plait over my shoulder, my hand brushing my sword hilt which I'd strapped to my back in preparation for this session. "Let's get this over with." There was a bite to my tone that surprised him.

He stepped away from the wall. "Your supervisors have been boasting about your hand to hand skills. Let's see how much your physical damage increases when you use your flame-based magic." He gestured to the wall. "We aren't using any recruits today; you might actually kill them."

My blood boiled as I moved into position. Using? We were not pawns or puppets for him to play with. I moved into position, an arm's length from the wall.

"Kitsune."

Just like yesterday, the magic seeped into my veins, deep into the fibre of my muscles. There was an appreciative look in Hendrickson's eyes and I growled, amplifying the absorption rate with my anger. I didn't stop until the mana I collected began to overflow my capacity.

"Enflame!" Brilliant orange flames burst to life around my right hand. I formed a fist and the flames twisted their way around my arm to my elbow. Stronger and stronger the flames burned, fueled by the mana of many. The flames darkened until red and dark orange danced together.

I panted from the heat, sweat dripping down my neck and back. The air shimmered before me, eyesight filled with orange and red. I drew my arm back and the flames flashed and crackled. The vambrace pinched my arm and I began to feel the metal burning my skin.

With a roar, I punched the wall.

An earth-shuddering bang, the sound of the blast splitting the air and rendering me deaf. Ears ringing, I surveyed the damage I had caused. A giant scorching hole that went through not just the wall Hendrickson had asked me to hit but the next one on the other side of a courtyard filled with a line of frightened Holy Knight recruits and a stunned Holy Knight supervisor.

Slow clapping behind me. "Well done, Estra."

I closed my eyes and willed the flames away. When I looked down, my arm was red and smoking. The vambrace had cut into my skin; I'd have to readjust their make again. I wiggled my fingers, satisfied this time that I hadn't broken my knuckles. Last time I'd punched something as hard as a wall with this power – a giant iron bell – I'd shattered my knuckle and wrist.

"I'll let you continue to practice the rest of your abilities," I turned to Hendrickson, who was rubbing his hands together. "You'll need them."

"Why?"

"Because I have a mission for you. And it involves the Seven Deadly Sins." 

A/N: She'll be reuniting with her misfit band soon enough everyone!