CHAPTER NINETEEN
T HIS MORNING IS DIFFERENT FROM every other because all lessons have been canceled for the next couple days for our second trial. All I can do is just hope I’ve trained enough, because none of us know what to expect—other than Evera, who claims that Craven told her everything she will need to know about the trials, and then refuses to tell us until it’s already underway. So she’s either selfish or doesn’t know, which with her previous actions could point in either direction.
“Come on, we need to finish breakfast and be in formation in the training yard before the hour is up,” Evera snaps at us as we rush to eat breakfast. Meanwhile, she’s still nibbling on her toast and fruit, casually sniffing her clothing to see if the gryphon shit smell still lingers—it does. I smother a grin that wants to escape and focus back on my own meal.
“No one is going to be late,” Melissandre says smoothly as she carves up her breakfast sausage. “Just take a breath. If we eat too fast the chances of someone getting sick are higher. You know this.”
Evera narrows her gaze on her but opts to ignore what she says, turning to speak to Cresida next to her.
The twins have taken to hanging out with our group lately, especially since the gryphon stall debacle. In fact, most of our squad has been more relaxed. No more harsh glares of whispers—well other than from Cresida and Evera when they’re together.
So every meal and lesson.
But outside of that, I’ve enjoyed being a part of this squad and making friends. It’s given me a confidence in myself I didn’t know I needed. I’ll never forget what these fae have done for me when I leave at the end of the year.
Breakfast goes by quickly, and the dining hall begins to slowly empty, other years heading out to their lessons, wishing us luck, while us first years make our way out into the frigid morning air. The sun is just peaking over the mountain tops, giving just enough light to not need the torches that line the pathways.
We swiftly fall into formation, other squads from our year surrounding us as we wait for Major General Rune and Captain Reiner to inform us of what’s happening for our trial today.
There’s not a noise to be heard but soft breaths that follow with puffs of foggy air. No one shuffles their feet as we stand with our boots firmly next to each other and our fists straightened at our sides. Nothing but the perfection that has been drilled into us these past six months.
The sweet and sour tang of nerves and excitement laces the air as the two officers we were waiting on join us in the yard, followed by a bunch of fourth years—the same groups that trained us these past months—holding vials of some kind.
Major General Rune clears his throat before projecting his voice. “Good morning, cadets. Today is the day of your second trial. If you survive these next couple days, the training will only get more rigorous in preparation for the final trial: the Choosing. The Damorleia Military deserves the best of the best, especially since the war with the Skuggi is at its peak. Things may be changing soon, and we need to make sure you all are prepared for the upcoming challenges.” He gestures with his fingers for the fourth years to step forward. “To keep things fair, you will all be given a sleeping tonic that will last until you’re dropped off at the undisclosed location. Your objective is to make it back to Phixmery within three days. Supplies will be there when you awaken. Good luck.”
I blink in shock. They didn’t tell us anymore than what we were already told. The urge to break my stance to fiddle with my necklace is strong, but since it’s not part of the dress code and stays firmly under my tunic, I don’t dare in fear that it will be confiscated.
Wing One strides over to us, each of them holding a few light blue vials—eleven of them to be exact.
Sergeant Verlice grins knowingly at me in a way that twists my stomach, like he’s trying to get inside my head to pry out all my secrets. He hands me two of the vials and nods to Nero who’s perched on my shoulder as usual. “Little birdie gets one too. Can’t have him spilling secrets , now can we?”
The cool glass bottles clink together in my hand, one much smaller than the other. “Is this even safe for him?” I can’t help but snark, raising my brow at him.
A brightness enters his gaze, glinting with mischievous authority. “I’m sure they won’t kill off the only known familiar in all of Damorleia. It doesn’t matter anyway. You and your little bird are going to take a long nap while we take you to your possible doom.” He leans in and whispers. “Don’t worry though, I won’t let you die without prying those pretty secrets out of your head, Cadet Solace. ”
Panic tries to claw its way up my throat, so I don’t respond. Instead, I take a page from the Banshees and just narrow my eyes at him. There’s no way he knows anything. But he is a Szellemi—maybe my mental barriers aren’t strong enough… maybe he’s seen something. Fucking fates. Do I need to run now? Maybe I can ditch my squad and head somewhere they won’t find me… No, there’s too many risks. I won’t even know where we are in regards to anything else. I won’t have enough supplies.
“Bottoms up, Little Mouse.” He winks before moving down the line, handing out more vials.
“ Breathe Rav, ” Nero chants softly until I expel the air in my lungs and suck in some crisp winter breeze. “ He’s probably just trying to get in your head. You know how unhinged that one can be. Don’t let him derail your plan. ” I think back to Jesper licking the flat part of his blade during our last lesson with wild eyes that scream to something inside of me. He’s just a bit crazy, that’s all. I ignore the other feeling that threatens to push through.
I nod, letting his words bring me a bit of comfort as I rub my stomach. Jesper Verlice is the most unstable of Wing One, with the amount of times I’d catch him watching me out of lessons, in the dining hall, library, corridors. I swear I’ve even seen him lingering near the South Tower. But he hasn’t said a word to me since before Craven took over training me—until now.
Something in my gut tells me that I’m going to need to be more careful around him, but that also excites me. Maybe I’m more messed up than I thought.
Around me, cadets slowly settle down on the ground, passing out as they down the contents of the vial, slumping together in piles with their squads. Nerves begin to crawl back up my throat. The idea of being forced to sleep and not knowing what’s happening with your body is terrifying. What if they do something to Nero?
“Come on Cadet Solace, we don’t have all day. If you don’t take that vial, I will pry your mouth open and make sure you take every last drop,” Craven snaps, his narrowed gaze bouncing between the vials and my mouth.
My belly warms and my breath catches in my throat. No, he’s an asshole. We are not having those types of depraved thoughts about him.
I pull my gaze away from him to the rest of my squad, half of whom are unconscious. Roz clinks his vial against mine, before doing the same with Ember and the twins. “Bottoms up! See you on the flip side!” He tips it back and downs the contents.
Ember rolls her eyes at him before doing the same with her vial, giving me an encouraging nod before lying on the ground as the tonic kicks in.
I uncork Nero’s first and pouring the miniature version of our vials into his beak. He hops down into my arms. “ It will be okay, Rav. We’ll see each other when we wake up and it will be fine, ” he murmurs softly before he too is asleep.
Wing One is watching me closely as I uncork my vial. My eyes meet Cravens and I don’t look away as I sit on the ground and down the entire thing. His eyes darken, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, because my vision fades around the edges and then the realm fades to black.
“JUST LEAVE HER be, she’ll be up soon enough,” a female’s voice snaps.
Brightness shines behind my eyelids, making me groan as I struggle to open them. My mouth is dry and my throat is tight as I try to remember what happened.
“Ravina? Are you awake?” A voice asks… no, not just any voice. Melissandre.
Finally, I manage to pry my lids open, and all I see is green. And dirt. No snow. In fact, I’m overheating in my winter tunic, cloak and gear. “Where are we?” I cough as the words scratch my throat and Ember hands me a flask. “Thank you.” I sip on the warm liquid which relieves the uncomfortable scratch in my throat.
Nero hops onto my lap. “ You’re the last one up. Everyone else woke up about ten minutes ago and no, no one knows where we are, ” he answers me.
Evera pats her freshly braided hair as she addresses our squad. “Great, now that the wanna-be null is up, we need to get moving. The sun is already high in the sky, and until we come across some sort of landmark, we aren’t going to know which way we’re going with the trees blocking our way of the sky.”
That doesn’t seem like a wise decision. “I could just—”
“No one wants to hear what you have to say,” she screeches.
Lennox laughs mockingly. “Actually, I do want to hear what she has to say, because if we end up walking half a day in the wrong direction, I’m going to be thoroughly pissed off.” He turns to me, along with the rest of our squad.
Even Evera Gannon, whose face is pinched with disdain.
I smile at Lennox gratefully who winks in return. He’s almost a completely different male than the one who was listening to the rumors. In fact, he and Rozen get along like two peas in a pod. “I was going to suggest sending Nero up to scout for us. He’ll be able to tell us what he sees and which direction we should be heading in.”
Bracken speaks up. “That’s actually a really smart idea,” he says in awe, smiling proudly at me.
My eye twitches at his shock. I can have good ideas, for crying out loud. Do I really come across as a useless wallflower?
“Why do you sound so surprised, Cadet Levine?” Melissandre asks. “Maybe if you weren’t up Cresida’s ass you would know that Rav actually excels in all her lessons.” She turns to me with a nod. “I say we send Nero up. No other squad will have the advantage of someone with a Familiar. We should use that.”
Bracken mutters, “I’m not up Cresida’s ass, I know Ravina’s smart, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Murmurs of agreement for sending Nero up makes up the decision, despite Evera’s protests saying that she can find the way without cheating, but she’s ignored.
Nero nips my ear before he spreads his wings and takes off out of the tree-bank and into the sky. His giddiness of flying in warmer temperatures seeps down to me as he does his thing for us. I turn towards the others, taking stock of where we were dropped off. Two rucksacks are lying around the trunk of a massive tree. If we are going to survive and make it back to Phixmery, we’re going to need to sort through and ration for the longest amount of time possible. Maybe even hunt depending on what they gave us.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Evera seethes as she steps in front of me, stopping me from approaching the bags.
My brow furrows. “I’m taking stock of the inventory we have and making a plan for rationing supplies until Nero gets back. Unless you’ve already done that?”
Ember links her arm through mine. “I’ll help. My father used to take me on camping trips, so I’m familiar with this. Plus wilderness lessons,” she states as she pulls me around a fuming Evera and we get to work.
The twins, Roz and even Hayes and Bracken ask to help. With that many hands it doesn’t take long to sort through and repack the bags. They provided us with three swords, two bows with two full quivers, and various hunting knives. We were given two loaves of bread and a package of smoked meat. We will definitely have to do some hunting. There’s also a small canteen for everyone, and last but not least, they gave us basic medical supplies, but nothing to help with something life-threatening.
We work on separating the bread and meat into ten portions, which is enough for three small snacks each. Nero can manage his own foraging since we’re in the woods.
Lennox takes it upon himself to hand out the rations and explain that this is all we have until we set up camp and do some hunting or foraging tonight. I expect Evera to throw a hissy fit about her portion not being enough, but she doesn’t, which makes me believe that maybe, just maybe, she has a shred of decency. This trial won’t nearly be as bad if she can be a team player.
It’s not long after we’ve taken stock and repacked everything when Nero comes soaring back, landing promptly on my shoulder. I feel everyone’s gaze on me as they wait for me to relay his findings.
“ So, we’re north of Phixmery. Somewhere along the southern part of the Nairiden Woods. I would say Phixmery is a three-day trek, if we travel from sunrise to sunset. ”
I rack over what he tells me, picturing the map of Damorleia in my head. We must be somewhere along the narrow part of the forest, which is still a dangerous place, even though it’s not the heart of the forest. The warnings my parents gave me about these woods still lurk in my mind as I relay the information Nero has given to me.
“So we need to head south. We’ll break for a quick lunch and try to hunt along the way for dinner tonight. Sound like a plan?” I ask the others, making sure they’re all okay with it.
My hopes of our squad getting along slightly diminish as Evera opens her mouth. “I’m sure we can break more often than that.” She rolls her eyes.
“No, I agree with the female,” Gregor chimes in for the first time. The imposing Vopn Fo male nods his agreement with me. “I’ve heard stories about this place and the monsters that lurk in it. I would even suggest setting up a rotating nightly lookout to wake the others in case of an attack for creatures or other cadets.”
It’s the most I’ve ever heard him say, and the other males nod their agreements which just makes Evera exasperated—even her friend Cadet Spade seems to be agreeing with our decisions. But with a group vote at the end of it, leaves their wants just as that—wants.
With everything figured out, Nero takes back to the sky as we begin our treacherous journey back to Phixmery.