"No, but you'd be bleeding so badly that you wouldn't last much longer."

"Fine. Count it." She stepped back and prepared to start again.

This time she was more careful, blocking him blow for blow. Sweat poured down her brow. Her muscles ached, her heart ached. She opened her mouth to say something about his new moves. But something completely different came out.

"You should have told me about Monique," she said, not realizing what she meant to say. The sound of wood being slammed together filled the air like thunder. "If I had known..." What would she have done?

Was there any chance in hell that she would have said it was okay? Probably not, but perhaps she wouldn't have felt so betrayed. Maybe she wouldn't have lumped him together with all the other betrayals of her past.

"You wouldn't have accepted it," he finished for her. It was the truth. He started those fancy foot moves around her again. "And you would have been right not to accept it. It was a bad judgment call on my part.""Bad for us, yes. But maybe it was the right call for you," she said. "You have too much to lose, Lucas."

"I have you to lose!" Their swords slammed together; the loud noise crackled in the air.

They backed away from each other. "I told you that we're over. Find Monique, tell her you'll marry her."

"I am not marrying her. I never planned to."

"Then go back to your original plan, say you'll do it, get on the Council, and then back out."

"No. It was a bad plan then and it would be a bad plan now."

She breathed in and caught the air in her lungs. "Everyone blames me for ruining your dreams," she said. And someday you will, too-if I live. And that was what hurt the most right now. Not dying. But the fact that forgiving him seemed easy compared to accepting that he would one day resent her. Resent the choice he'd made.

He lifted his sword to start sparring again. She went along with it because just looking at him hurt too much.

He started talking as he moved. "Anyone who blames you is a fool. I was the one who chose not to sign the betrothal agreement. Not you." The swords hit again.

"Your sister believes it. Even your grandmother believes it. I saw it in her eyes today when she started to come over to talk to me."

"My sister is stupid. I love my grandmother," he said, and the sound of his sword slicing through air sent a chill down Kylie's back. "But that doesn't make her right. She follows a lot of the beliefs of the elders."

"Your pack is turning away from you. I saw that." Her throat tightened again. "You can't lose them, Lucas. You've told me a thousand times how important they are to you."

"But you are more important to me," he said. "I can't lose you."

"You've already lost me!" she seethed, and blocked his sword again. She couldn't let him do this. She couldn't let him sacrifice everything he had wanted. She couldn't watch him grow to hate her someday.

He pulled back. She expected him to come to the left, but he came to the right, and she failed to block him. He placed his sword right over her heart.

This one was a death blow.

"No." He purposely tapped his sword to her chest. "Your heart belongs to me. Don't ever forget that."

She stumbled back, anger vibrating through her. Anger, not so much at him, but at knowing how much he could lose. She slung the sword down and turned around and stared at the water, her throat knotting, her vision becoming blurry.

He came up behind her-not touching her, as if he knew she wouldn't allow it.

Instead, he stood so close his words brushed against her cheek and sent shivers of regret down her spine. "I became blinded by what I thought I needed to do. I was wrong. I was stupid. But not for one minute did I ever stop loving you. And that's why I deserve to be forgiven."

Just like that, she felt the tight emotion in her chest lessen. He was forgiven. But as she'd known for a while, forgiving him wasn't the biggest issue. A tear slipped from her lashes. She moved a few feet away.

"I'm finished," she said. "I want to go back to the cabin."

"Okay," he said, but he sounded rejected and she felt the same emotion echoing inside her chest.When he went to pick up the swords, she turned to watch him. He looked up. She saw so much in his eyes-hurt, regret, a longing for her to say she forgave him.

But if she gave him that, he would only work harder to convince her to come back to him. And how could she when she knew that someday he would resent her for it?

After a few seconds, he said, "I think you're ready to start practicing with the real swords."

She considered how many times her sword had touched his body accidentally, but then she remembered what the ghost had said. Dying was her choice. And she chose to live.

She needed to be ready-ready to fight for her life.

"Okay," she said, and tried not to let the fear into her voice.

* * *

Are you ready?

Kylie had just fallen asleep that night, after fretting for a good hour, when the voice and chill woke her up.

"Ready for what?" she asked, not opening her eyes.

For practice. I told you. You need a better teacher.

"He's a great teacher," she said, defending Lucas before she even realized it.

He's great to look at. And I'll admit he has some skills, but you need more. So wake up.

Kylie pried open one eye and saw the spirit, her face inches away. "You do know that the living need eight hours of sleep?"