The Anatomy of Shadows
The next morning didn’t begin with sunlight. It began with the crack of gunfire.
Aaravi flinched as the bullet split through the wooden plank, the echo sharp in the training hall Matteo had ordered to be cleared out for her. He stood behind her, impassive, his arms crossed as she tried to hold her stance steady.
Her fingers ached. Her arms trembled. Sweat clung to her skin despite the morning chill. But she didn’t drop the gun.
“Again,” Matteo said.
She reset. Aimed. Fired.
The bullet missed the target by inches.
“I said again.”
Her jaw clenched. Her nails bit into her palm.
“You’re not teaching me. You’re breaking me,” she snapped.
“No, Aaravi,” he said, stepping forward, his voice suddenly quieter but far more dangerous. “I’m unmaking you. And then I’ll build you into something they’ll never see coming.”
He reached over, adjusted her grip—his fingers brushing hers, electric. She stilled.
“Your stance is weak because your fear is stronger than your hate,” he murmured near her ear.
“I’m not afraid.”
“You’re terrified.”
He stepped away. Let her breathe. Let her lie to herself.
“Take the shot.”
This time, she aimed not for the plank, but for the red circle Matteo had drawn on it with marker—the same way they’d marked Ayesha Verma’s photograph.
She fired.
Bullseye.
She didn’t smile.
Matteo did.
---
By the end of the week, her fingers were blistered, and her arms bore bruises like battle scars. But she could disassemble a Glock in under twenty seconds. She could take down a man twice her size in under five.
And more than that—she started to see things. Codes. Patterns. Habits in Matteo’s men. Footsteps in the marble halls. Secrets whispered behind closed doors.
Matteo noticed it all.
One night, after a sparring session where Aaravi nearly took out Nico—Matteo’s most ruthless lieutenant—he cornered her in the hallway.
“You’re changing,” he said.
“Is that a threat or a compliment?”
He studied her. “It’s a warning.”
“For what?”
“For what happens next. When we go after them. When you see what revenge really costs.”
Aaravi didn’t flinch.
“Then let me pay it.”
