Chapter 11
Theron
With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the physical targets. The arena shimmered again, the sand settling as a new scenario materialized. This time, there were no moving objects, no physical threats. Instead, a group of people appeared—a magical simulation, but startlingly lifelike.
Tess's brow furrowed as she took in the scene. "What is this?"
"Your next assessment," I replied, crossing my arms. "Mental acuity and decision-making under pressure."
Tess's eyes flickered with confusion and then narrowed in determination as she took in the figures before her. They weren’t just faceless dummies or generic enemies. No, I’d designed this scenario to challenge her in a way that went far beyond brute strength or reflexes.
Each figure wore a familiar face: Pippa, Mason, and Wesley, their features eerily perfect, down to the subtle flicker of emotion in their eyes. But something was horribly wrong. Above their heads, massive stone slabs, suspended by only the thinnest of magical threads, trembled ominously, ready to crash down at any moment. Beneath their feet, the ground cracked, revealing a swirling abyss of dark magic threatening to consume them if they so much as moved an inch. The air itself crackled with danger, thick with the promise of death.
This test wasn’t just about physical prowess—it was about judgment, about loyalty. About understanding what it meant to be a protector while faced with impossible choices.
I stepped back, my gaze locked on her, waiting for any sign of hesitation.
"Choose," I said, my voice steady, though my insides twisted. "One of them lives. The others fall."
I knew it was brutal. Unfair, even. But the world she was trying to fight for didn’t care about fairness. And if she was going to survive the path of a Dragon Rider, she needed to understand that.
Tess froze, her golden-brown eyes wide and horrified as she took in the scene. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her breath shallow as she processed my words. Above her friends, the stone slabs creaked ominously, sending chunks of debris raining down, and the abyss at their feet hissed with hungry energy. I could see the tremble in her hands. For a moment, I thought maybe she wouldn’t be able to handle it—that this would break her.
"I... I can't just..." she started, then stopped, shaking her head.
"Time's ticking, Tess," I reminded her, even as a part of me wanted to reach out and steady her. "What's your decision?"
Just then, a voice cut through the tension. "Having trouble with the basics, librarian?"
A fae woman strode into the arena, her violet eyes gleaming with barely concealed disdain. Behind her, a familiar indigo-scaled dragon, followed silently.
Bella. Just seeing her made my chest ache.
"This isn't the time, Ariadne," I growled, but she ignored me, her focus entirely on Tess.
Ariadne's lips curled into a mocking smile as she stepped closer, her booted feet crunching softly in the sand. "Oh, but it seems like the perfect time, Theron. After all, isn't this what trials are for? To weed out the weak from the strong? Why should this human have a dragon bond while my sister doesn't?"
"Your sister?" Tess asked.
Ariadne's smirk widened. "Yes, my sister. Selena." She let the name hang in the air for a moment, watching Tess's eyes widen in recognition. "I'm sure she’s made herself… memorable," she added with a saccharine edge. "She’s been wondering why someone like you deserves a dragon over her."
Tess’s expression faltered, the weight of the revelation clear on her face. She was already second-guessing herself. Now, with Ariadne here—a current student who had bonded with her dragon just last year—it only made everything worse. And knowing that Selena, Ariadne’s younger sister, had it out for Tess didn’t ease the tension.
"Leave," I ordered, keeping my tone low and controlled, though the anger simmered just beneath the surface. "This isn't your test."
Ariadne arched an eyebrow, unfazed by my tone. "No, it's not. But it seems to me that she could use some... assistance." Her voice dripped with condescension. "Or maybe you're going too easy on her, Theron. We wouldn’t want her to think that bonding with a dragon means she’s already earned her place. Some of us had to work hard for our bonds, after all."
Tess’s gaze snapped to Ariadne, her golden-brown eyes narrowing. "I don’t need your help," she said, her voice firm despite the tremble that threatened to betray her confidence.
Ariadne’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Bella shifted behind her, the dragon’s massive frame casting a longer shadow over the arena. The indigo scales shimmered under the high sun, and Bella’s violet eyes gleamed with the same quiet intensity that Ariadne held.
I glanced at Tess, watching the way her fingers curled into fists, the way her shoulders squared again as if preparing for another fight, this time a different kind of battle—one of wills, one of pride.
Ariadne tilted her head slightly, her raven-black hair cascading over one shoulder. "Of course you don’t," she said, her voice deceptively sweet. "But you’ll need more than stubbornness to survive out here, human. You’ll need skill. Strategy. And..." Her eyes flicked to me, and something dark crossed her features. "Judgment."
My chest tightened. Her words were a knife twisted in the wound that had never fully healed. The words she didn’t say hung in the air between us, a silent accusation that cut deeper than any blade ever could.
Judgment.
I hadn’t just lost a comrade that day—I’d lost him because of a failure in judgment. Mine. And now, Ariadne was standing there, her dragon at her back, throwing that word at me as if it were a simple reminder of the past. As if it hadn’t haunted me every single day since.
Bella’s presence only made it worse. She wasn’t just Ariadne’s dragon—she had once belonged to him. To Cassian, my fallen comrade. I could still see the day Bella roared as Cassian fell in battle, the bond between them severed in an instant, the agonizing scream that echoed through her mind and mine. I remember the metallic scent of blood, the torn sky, and the fire that rained down from the heavens as she went mad with grief.
I had failed him. Failed her.
And now Bella, once the proud companion of my closest friend, stood bonded to Ariadne. The reminder of my mistakes, my past, and the weight I could never shake.
Ariadne didn’t deserve her. Hell, I wasn’t sure anyone did. But the fact that Ariadne now rode the dragon I had once watched soar beside me—that just twisted the knife even further.
"Shut your mouth, Ariadne," I said, the words slipping out colder than I intended. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."
Her eyes widened slightly, just for a moment, but she quickly masked it with a smirk. "Don’t I?" she asked, her tone laced with bitter amusement.
Tess’s posture stiffened beside me, her jaw tense. I could see the burn of anger in her eyes, the way her body trembled, not from fear, but from frustration, from the weight of everything pressing down on her. She was caught in the middle of something she didn’t fully understand, and it wasn’t fair to her. None of this was fair to her.
Ariadne was watching me closely now. She knew what she was doing, pushing buttons she didn’t fully comprehend but was more than willing to exploit. And Bella... Bella stood silent, watching both of us, her silver-veined wings folded at her sides, her presence like a living reminder of the past I couldn’t escape.
"Enough," I said again, but this time my voice cracked.
Ariadne’s smirk faltered for just a second, a flicker of something that might have been surprise crossing her face. But she recovered quickly, her lips curling back into that same condescending smile.
Tess, however, didn’t wait for Ariadne to continue her verbal assault. She straightened, her chin lifting as if she'd made a decision. With a steadying breath, she stepped toward the simulation, her fists unclenching as her eyes swept over the faces of her friends—Pippa, Mason, Wesley—all frozen in peril.
“I’m not playing at this,” Tess said, her voice low but filled with a quiet determination that made something inside me twist. “And I’m not weak. If anyone here thinks that, they’re wrong.”
There was no real answer to the problem I’d created. That was the point. But watching her struggle to find the right course of action, to weigh lives in the balance—it was a cruel test. Yet necessary. We didn’t have the luxury of saving everyone in this world. Painful decisions had to be made, and sometimes, no matter what you chose, you lost something.
She was facing that truth now, head-on.
"Do you really think ideals are enough to save people?" I asked, my voice dripping with condescension, unable to hold back the bitterness curling in my gut. "This isn't some story where the hero swoops in and saves everyone with nothing but heart and hope. In the real world, people die. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can't stop it."
Ariadne's lips curled into a sneer. "Naivety like that will get you killed, human. Or worse, get others killed." She turned on her heel, beckoning to her dragon. "Come, Bella. Let's not waste our time on foolish dreams." With graceful strides, she led her indigo-scaled companion to the far side of the arena.
Tess flinched, but her gaze held steady, defiant. That fire in her eyes... it gnawed at me, because I knew where that kind of hope led. I'd seen it too many times before—watched it get crushed under the weight of reality.
Without waiting for her reply, I cut my hand sharply through the air. The figures of Pippa, Mason, and Wesley shimmered for a moment before dissolving into nothing, leaving behind only the quiet hum of the arena and the low, contemplative rumble of the dragons.
Tess’s shoulders sagged slightly, and I could see the way the tension drained out of her. But the defiance didn’t leave her eyes. Not even close.
I took a measured step forward, closing the space between us in an instant. My hand found her chin, catching her off guard as I tilted her face upward. She froze but didn’t flinch, her lips parting as her wide eyes burned into mine.
“Not good enough,” I said softly but with deliberate heat in my voice, weaving fire into every word. “You’re still not ready.”
Her breath shuddered under my fingers, her pulse pounding against my skin, but she didn’t pull away. Something defiant burned in her silence—a fire that only made me want to push her further, test her limits. Break her shield and show her what trust in someone stronger could mean.
"This assessment? It’s over for the day. You’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s required, and if this was your final testing day, you’d fail. Miserably." I watched her jaw tense, that unforgiving fire still simmering behind her eyes. She hated hearing this, I could tell.
Good. She needed to hate it.
“You want to prove Ariadne wrong? Prove me wrong?” I leaned a fraction closer. Her scent wrapped around me—firelight and books. Sweet. Unexpected. Dangerous. My voice dropped to a whisper. “Then stop playing the part of a librarian trying to survive. Start being a Dragon Rider.”
I released her chin abruptly, the absence of my touch drawing a shiver she couldn’t hide. I swallowed hard, tethering my resolve. She wasn’t Cassian. She wasn’t my redemption, nor my punishment. I wouldn't let history repeat itself. I took a step back, my voice snapping back to its usual bitterness.
“You’re going to need a miracle to pass at this rate, Tess. Because right now? Everything you’ve got... it’s not enough .”