His hands grabbed her wrists firmly and pulled her fingers from his shirt; she could feel his strength as he did so and it honestly frightened her. If only she could see, fight as she was used to…

“I am Daehyun,” he said quietly, still sitting on her hips and pinning her to the ground. She could feel his gaze on her and could smell the soap and wood even better now that he was so close; she wondered if he knew how much he scared her. “I’m part of the Brotherhood of Shadow, acolytes to the Dark Temple. Does that answer your question?”

“Only one of them,” responded before her brain could stop it; she didn’t think that being sarcastic when he had her pinned to the ground was her smartest move. “What do you want with me?” she added, and a long moment passed as her heart beat in .

Then he moved, shifted his weight back and up off of her before the grip on her wrists pulled her to her feet. He released her right away, though, and stepped away before disappearing into the anonymity of the darkness of her sightless eyes, and she rubbed her wrists from the firm grip he’d held. “How did you know where I was?” he asked, his voice coming from across the room once more, and she heaved a sigh as she realized that she would be getting now more answers that day.

“You smell,” she said tartly, lifting her chin and raising an eyebrow in challenge. She didn’t need to let him know that he smelled good…

To her surprise, Daehyun merely laughed in return, a bright and happy sound that lightened her fears just a bit. “Ah, then truly, a good job,” he finally said, his chuckles fading away. “You’re learning to not rely only on your sight but on our other senses as well. What else did you use to find me?”

“Sound,” she admitted, tipping her head to the side as she considered what he was asking. “You’re… training me?”

“What did you think I was trying to do?” he asked, amusement thick in his voice, and she felt a glare come over her face at the words. What did he think she had thought?

“You’re a jerk,” she told him flatly, and once again he only laughed.

“Keep learning, Amber. You’re doing well… no one thought that you’d be able to catch me within your first week here.”

No one… “You’re not alone?” she as