Chapter 32
Terra
Istare dully out the arched stone windows as snow falls in clumps from the tall pines. The weather has finally been warming. It’s beautiful, yet feels out of place in this castle of death—of rot. Birds have begun to chirp again, and the scent of wet moss and pine is heavy in the air.
Classes have slowly become more and more quiet. The students’ eyes have mostly grayed. Only a few people, including myself, have held on to our hearts.
Raine slumps over his desk, napping. I watch him take long, slow breaths and pray to all the gods that he is dreaming of better things than Alkrose. He deserves so much more than this world has provided him. I wish I never met him. He’d live a long life if it weren’t for me.
Kallos wraps up the afternoon lecture and draws my attention back to the present.
“There will be no class for the remainder of the week in preparation for the exam. The headmaster will address the agenda in the mess hall tonight, so be sure you don’t skip dinner.” Kallos’s eyes linger over me and then flick to Raine.
Kai stands up and stretches as the other students leave. Finn turns in his seat, looking glum.
“I wonder what the Blood Crowns exam will entail,” Kai says halfheartedly. His white hair is mussed this morning, evidence of his carelessness.
Though we don’t necessarily know the nature of the exam, I know that it will be brutal. The Blood Crowns… I’m certain it will be as sinister as the name suggests.
Finn shrugs. “My guess is something with crowns.” He shoots me a sarcastic grin and I shove his shoulder. Finn sobers and says more seriously, “As long as we stick together, though, we’ll pull through.”
Raine lifts his head and looks at me. I can hardly stand the sight of his diminished appearance. The blight is working its way into his soul. His pale skin and sunken eyes are enough to shatter a heart. He’s still as beautiful as the day I met him though.
“I can handle the gory stuff since you guys are pussies. I’ve got nothing to lose,” Raine says with a lift of his lips.
We share a dark silence and try to ignore the truth of his morbid humor.
The hallways are devoid of chatter. There’s only the sound of feet shuffling across the tiles, making quick work to get to their next classes.
The four of us share Shadow riding, my favorite class. I’m glad the air is crisp and warm today. We exit the front doors and meet the fresh spring air. Kai nods at the Darkfly soldiers standing on either side of the doors while the rest of us ignore them as usual.
Kai eagerly meets Corvus at the edge of the half-melted lake. The dark waters lap at the ice shore in soft drawls like the sound of the sea in a shell. Finn sticks by my side, Raine on my other.
“He’s always so happy,” Raine complains and Finn barks out a laugh.
“That’s exactly what I think constantly, but you know what I realized?” Finn looks from me to Raine. I raise a brow. “He’s not happy at all. He just wants to cheer up everyone else. Does his contagious smile not reach into you and make you less sad?”
I watch Kai as he smiles brightly and hugs his comrade. Corvus’s annoyed face softens considerably and the warmth Kai shows him reaches inside me too.
“Yeah, it does,” I mumble.
Raine chuckles and adds: “Maybe that’s why I can’t stand the motherfucker.”
Arthur starts the class by informing us that we’ll be racing around the mountain range today. The teams that place first will have an advantage in the upcoming second exam.
I listen, but focus more on the bridge leading to the Nova House.
Edgar stands at its center; his lone figure looks bleak. It’s much too far to see his facial features, but his white cloak waves in the northern wind. He hasn’t come to class since the fight we had weeks ago. Arthur’s been privately tutoring him. No amount of requests have brought Edgar from his room.
“Is he going to join us today?” I ask half-mindedly.
Finn follows my gaze and looks away abruptly as if merely looking at my brother makes him sick. “Gods, I fucking hope not.”
Raine doesn’t bother saying anything but the firm of his lips tells me he hopes not as well.
“Anyone who still can’t produce a Shadow, I highly recommend learning to do so. You will die in the second exam without it,” Arthur says loudly. The air is thick with fear. So many students have already been pulled from Alkrose, mainly Dvars and Tauri, for not being sufficient. Gods know where they were sent—to the frontlines, Fernestia, or to Dr. Cein.
I shudder at the thought of the unknown leader of the Shadows.
As we listen to Arthur drawl on about Shadows, another group of students come in through the valley, trudging wearily to the front doors. They’ve been coming in smaller groups each time, a bleak reminder of what the world outside of Alkrose holds for us. The five of us watch in silence, then flinch in unison as the destruction instructor opens the magnificent doors.
Elias stalks out past the tired new recruits. My stomach instantly flutters at the sight of him. His cold eyes flick to me only for a second before he turns his attention back to Arthur. He takes his position next to him and nods.
Finn glances at me like I have any clue why he’s here. I shrug.
“Elias will be observing today. Anyone he deems unfit for the second exam will proceed directly to the battlefront. Anyone who tries to escape will be exterminated.” Arthur’s brows pull together with disgust. I hate that he has to be a part of all this, that any of them do, but Arthur feels it so much more. It shows in every crevice of his face.
Elias remains emotionless and keeps his gaze on the Dvars students. Only a handful of them have managed to summon their Shadows at all, let alone ride them.
My jaw clenches tightly and I feel sick.
Raine threads his fingers through mine and looks down at me. “Fate has already decided for them. Don’t hold onto it.”
I bite into my lower lip, hating how everyone accepts this like sheep.
Our Shadows, all out of our bodies, make the front of Alkrose look like a black hole. Mist and threads of ebony smoke twirl around us as we prepare for the race.
Well, besides Finn’s phoenix. Its flames are bright and burn red, orange, and magenta through the sky. I look up at him with so much awe, wishing for a moment that I could be as beautiful and different as he is.
Raine rolls his shoulders back and I watch intently. I’ve yet to see his Shadow’s physical form, but from what Elias has been hinting, it’s pretty damn impressive. A pool of black smoke sheds from Raine’s back and shapes into wings as if they’re his own. I let a gasp out and watch as he takes to the sky and ascends higher and higher. His Shadow engulfs him, shifting and solidifying in areas. White bones poke from the smoke mass, and in one hard beat of its wings, his Shadow lifts its head and reveals its huge skull.
“Fucking show-off,” Kai complains beside me.
It looks like a dragon. The ribs shape its center and the knobby spine is similar to Amser’s. Raine sits at the crook of the Shadow’s neck, looking like a mere speck from down here. The Shadow has four long, crooked horns that shine with ivory points. He’s a sight to behold.
Amser’s form may be small in comparison to Raine’s dragon and Finn’s phoenix, but it is fast and nimble. I swallow hard as I look into the air. A few others can fly—Corvus with his monstrous raven and other winged beasts beside him.
This isn’t a race, not really. It’s a screening.
My eyes feel dry as I focus and level my breathing. Edgar steps out from behind us and startles me. Amser growls at him but he hardly pays me or my Shadow any mind. His emerald-green eyes flick up to me and send chills down my spine.
Arthur raises his hand and lowers it in one fell swoop. Everyone takes off with wicked speed, mud flinging into the air behind them and wind puffing from above as the wings of the Shadows beat.
But I remain where I am, staring at Edgar. Kai’s ebony Shadow horse stops a few leagues ahead of me and he looks back at me. “Terra, let’s go!” he shouts and his stallion resumes running.
Amser takes off, gripping the ground brutally and thrusting us forward. We easily catch up to Kai, and once we do, I dare glance back at my brother.
He stands alone, the air turning black around him and whipping furiously. A long curl of spinal bones forms above him as the skull of a snake arches back like it’s screaming. It pieces together in a matter of seconds.
My eyes burn. I watch unblinking as the monster inside Edgar’s veins comes to life.
His Shadow is the image of true evil. Malice radiates from it. Sharp teeth arrow inwards—the sort of teeth made to trap things, never to escape.
Edgar sits atop its head. The coils of the snake’s body curl to the left and right. I’ve never liked snakes. The way they move so fast without legs is disturbing, and Edgar’s Shadow is the god of such wicked things.
“Move!” I scream at Kai and his jaw drops at Edgar’s Shadow. It’s comparable in size to Raine’s airborne dragon, toppling trees as it slithers towards us.
“What the fuck!” Kai shouts as our Shadows bank right, throwing us into the thick of the forest. Branches snap and berate us as we keep up our speed.
Through gaps of broken trees, I catch sight of the snake veering just enough to avoid crushing a group of students. I have to stop and take a breath. I really thought he was going to smear them across the ground like insects.