My girlfriend is trapped in my superpower

The ground shook beneath me as I hit the dirt again. My chest burned, my lungs scraped raw, and every nerve screamed from the countless cuts and bruises Sareth had already delivered.

"Pathetic. Get up and do it again," he barked.

My hand trembled as I pushed myself up. The sword was heavy, heavier than it should be, as though gravity itself wanted me pinned. I tightened my grip anyway.

"You swing like a child," Sareth said, circling me like a wolf. His eyes gleamed in the dim light of the training hall. "Your enemy won't wait for you to breathe. They won't pity you when your bones crack. Again."

I charged, sparks bursting from the edge of my blade. My movements were sloppy, uneven, but my blood boiled hotter than my fear. I swung—only for Sareth to catch my wrist mid-strike and twist. Pain exploded up my arm, and I cried out as the sword clattered away.

Before I could blink, his foot slammed into my chest. I flew back, skidding across the ground.

"Your whole bloodline depends on you," he growled. "You carry fire in your veins and yet you move like a corpse. Do you want to die, boy?"

I wiped blood from my lip, forcing myself onto my knees. "I… I'm not going to die."

Sareth crouched, his voice low but sharp. "Not yet. Unless you stop clinging to that frail body of yours… you'll drag everyone else with you."

The words cut deeper than the blows. Bram. Mira. Even Lyra. If I broke, they broke with me.

I staggered to my feet again, every breath scraping like knives. My vision blurred, but I raised my fists anyway. "Again."

Sareth's mouth curved into something almost like approval. In the far corner of the hall, shadows stirred. Two figures whispered, their voices threading like poison into the cracks of my focus.

Master Corvin's cold tones: "He's unraveling faster than I expected. Push him too far, and he'll snap. That girl—the spirit bound to him—she'll be easier to rip free once he's broken."

Master Korran's reply was low, but I caught the slither of amusement in it.

"You think it will be that simple? Lyra isn't some trinket to be pocketed. She's fire bound in flesh. If we pull too hard, she might consume us instead."

Corvin scoffed. "Don't mistake danger for worthlessness. If the Voidflame spirit can be taken… imagine what it would mean for the Order. Imagine what it would mean for us."

The hairs on my neck bristled. Their voices were hushed, meant to be lost under the crack of strikes and the clang of steel, but I heard every syllable. My jaw tightened. "So they're watching her. Not just me."

"Eyes forward, Kael!" Sareth's bark snapped me back. His fist came like lightning. I barely ducked in time, the wind of his strike grazing my hair. "If your mind drifts again, I'll crush your ribs."

I growled and lunged, fists glowing faintly with ember-heat. His blade met my strike, sparks flying, the clang ringing in my ears. Every clash sent shocks of pain through me, but I refused to yield.

Hours bled together. Sweat soaked through my shirt, my hands blistered, my knees buckled, but I kept dragging myself upright.

"You think you're training," Sareth hissed, shoving me into the dirt again, " this is nothing. Real enemies won't stop until you're ash. Until your friends are ash. Until that child in the square who handed you flowers is ash. Do you understand?"

My chest heaved. My vision tunneled. And yet… a spark pulsed in my core. Lyra's voice, faint, teasing, echoing inside me even though she hadn't surfaced:

"Clumsy, stubborn idiot. Keep standing. Keep fighting. You don't get to fall, not yet."

I roared and surged forward, fist igniting with a flare of orange flame. Sareth's eyes widened for the barest instant before he blocked—and still the blast forced him to slide a step back.

I froze, chest heaving. The hall had gone silent.

Sareth's gaze burned into me, unreadable. His lips curved into something dangerous, sharp. "Finally," he said, voice low. "The fire remembers it has teeth."

Behind him, I saw Corvin and Korran exchange a glance. Corvin's eyes gleamed with hunger, Korran's with something sharper, almost calculating. I couldn't tell which unnerved me more.

I tightened my fists. My body ached, my blood screamed, and yet—worse than exhaustion—was the gnawing truth that I was little more than a pawn in this game they were playing. Lyra… She was the prize.

Sareth didn't let me breathe. The moment that flare of fire sputtered from my fist, he pressed harder. His blade cracked against my shoulder, splitting skin. I gritted my teeth, staggered back, and raised my guard again. Every nerve in my body begged me to stop, but something deep inside me refused.

"Get up" His command was sharp, merciless.

I swung. Too slow. His knee rammed into my gut. I coughed blood, doubling over, only to feel the flat of his blade slam down against my back. The floor kissed me hard.

"On your feet."

I wanted to scream at him, curse him, tell him he was breaking me—but I knew he wouldn't care. None of them would. So I spat the blood from my mouth and dragged myself upright again.

Bram's voice drifted from the sidelines, muttered low but not low enough:

"Hell's teeth, they'll kill him at this pace."

Mira hissed back, "He can take it. He has to take it. If he doesn't—he'll never stand against the things out there."

"Or maybe they just want him broken," Bram shot, his gaze flicking to the Masters. I saw it. The distrust. The way his hand rested on his weapon, as if ready to cut through more than just monsters.

Korran and Corvin didn't look his way. Their eyes stayed locked on me, burning with something I didn't want to name.

I charged again, throat raw from panting, and threw a punch laced with flame. Sareth blocked it, the force rattling his arm, but instead of pushing me away he leaned close, whispering through clenched teeth:

"Good. That anger. That pain. Let it swallow you whole. Or you'll be nothing but ash beneath the Devourer's jaws."

I snarled and shoved him back, flames crackling around my fists. The hall itself seemed to hum, the torches flaring as if pulled by my heat.

The Masters noticed. Their faces shifted—Corvin's hunger, Korran's cool calculation, even Mira's wary awe. Bram alone met my eyes with something else. Fear.

My knees buckled. The fire sputtered, fading just as quick as it had come, leaving me shaking, drenched in sweat, my body screaming for mercy.

Sareth didn't offer any. He simply stared down at me, blade lowered. "Again."

And I obeyed. Because what else was there but to keep rising until my body broke?

Sareth's blade whistled past my ear, close enough that I felt the sting of air. I dropped to one knee, chest heaving, every inch of me slick with sweat and blood.

"On your feet, boy." His command was ice.

I tried. God, I tried. My body trembled as though my bones had turned to glass. I pressed my palm to the floor, forced myself halfway up— then a spark shot through my chest. A flare of heat that wasn't mine.

"Pathetic, Kael." Her voice slithered into my head, arrogant and amused.

"Lyra… shut the fuck up" I groaned.

"You're letting him toy with you. If you had even a fragment of my power on your own, that old man wouldn't be smirking right now."

I gritted my teeth, stood, and swung again. The fire in my veins pulsed, spilling out through my fists. Sareth actually blinked this time, raising his blade higher to block.

Bram whistled low. "Well, well, look who decided to finally wake up."

Lyra laughed—out loud this time, stepping out of me in a shimmer of flame and shadow, her form twisting into something beautiful and terrifying all at once. She leaned lazily against Bram's shoulder as if she owned it.

"Of course I had to wake him. If I leave him alone for too long, he'll bore himself to death with all this whining."

Bram grinned at her, unfazed. "You're lucky you're cute when you're cruel."

Mira, on the other hand, stiffened immediately. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw set, her hand twitching toward her dagger. "Argh, You again."

Lyra tilted her head, eyes glowing like molten gold. "Don't sound so jealous, Mira. I know you'd rather have Kael's attention all to yourself, but—" She spread her arms wide, mock-dramatic. "—alas, he's mine."

Mira's glare could have cut steel. "You're a parasite."

"And you," Lyra purred, sliding closer, "are adorable when you're protective. Like a puppy trying to bite a storm."

Bram burst out laughing. "gods, don't stop. This is better than the fight!"

I rolled my eyes, rubbing the ache out of my arm. "Can we not do this right now? I'm dying here."

Lyra winked. "Don't be so dramatic. You're only mostly dead."

Even Sareth's stern mask cracked for a fraction of a second—an almost-smile—before he turned away. "Enough for today. He'll break if we push more."

Relief slammed through me like a tide. Bram practically dragged me up, Mira close behind, her sharp eyes still cutting at Lyra every time she smirked.

We ended up in the mess hall, bruised and battered, plates piled with food that tasted better than anything I could remember simply because I could still breathe.

Lyra perched at the edge of the bench beside Bram, stealing bites from his plate with a grin. He let her, pretending to pout. Mira sat across from me, stabbing at her food with far more force than necessary, muttering under her breath about parasites and freeloaders.

I leaned back, exhausted, watching them bicker and laugh, the tension fading with every jab and comeback. Lyra threw a sarcastic remark, Bram fired back, Mira huffed, Bram teased her, Lyra teased him back and despite the pain still burning in every limb, I laughed too.

For a moment, it felt almost normal. Almost safe.