Chapter 49
Finn
Idon’t sleep at all the night before the Blood Crowns exam. I haven’t slept well since we retrieved Edgar. Fuck. I rub my eyes and sit up in the top bunk as sunlight peeks through the drapes.
Kai mumbles, “Couldn’t sleep either?”
He swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands, stretching and groaning as I hop down from my bunk. Kai has dark rings beneath his eyes but smiles at me anyway.
“Yeah, I’m too anxious for today,” I admit and start stretching too. Gods know what the day will bring. I really don’t want to kill other students, but my hands may very well be red by the end of this.
“Me too, but hey, we’ll be okay,” he says with uncertainty, but there’s hope in his eyes.
I pat him on the shoulder and bring him in for a tight hug. “We’ll keep each other safe. No matter what.”
The homeroom is quiet. Even Frederick doesn’t bother stirring up the others; worry pulls on his frown. His gray eyes shift and he stares at me with a silent, lethal promise. Kallos doesn’t bother pepping us up with a speech or explaining. His shoulders are heavy as he leads us down to the courtyard where the other Houses are waiting.
The sorting begins.
I had a feeling they’d be grouping us into teams, but as students move to different sides of the courtyard and intermix with other Shadow Houses, I’m not sure there is much reason behind it. Fifteen groups in total, each with around fifty students.
Kai gets put in a group with Terra and Corvus and a mix of other House students. Knowing they’re together helps calm my nerves a little, but after seeing what happened to Edgar’s friends, I haven’t been able to shake the fear of what this exam will bring.
How strong the world really is compared to us.
Raine gets sorted over to my group and I let out an audible breath of relief. He walks over to me and crosses his arms like he’s bored and has better things to be doing with his dwindling time. A strong facade that I see right through. Last night he was on the brink of breaking along with Terra.
Don’t get me wrong, I want the guy to live, but Terra would destroy herself if she killed someone else for it.
I doubt I’m Raine’s favorite person, based on how he looks at me when I talk to Terra, but as long as he’s going to watch my back, I’ll watch his.
“Any idea what the Blood Crownswill entail?” I ask as I watch the sorting continue.
Raine looks at me silently for a moment, as if considering whether I’m worth speaking to. I don’t bother meeting his gaze; I’d rather see where Frederick is going. Somehow I’m not surprised when Kallos points him in our direction.
Revenge is a dark and resentful thing. Everyone says it’s never worth it, but I disagree. My scowl deepens as I watch Frederick shove a few Dvars students to the side. I fucking hate him.
“I don’t think we’re allowed to kill our own teammates, so keep it together,” Raine mumbles dully at me.
I take a long breath and finally look at him. He’s a good inch taller than me but our features are oddly similar. His dark hair and broody demeanor always make me believe he saw dark days long before Fernestia came into the picture.
“We don’t know that until the headmaster gives us our tasks,” I reply sharply.
Raine quirks a brow. “You’re right. Killing the people in our groups might be the task.” There’s no sign of doubt in his eyes and that’s quite unsettling. I’m not sure Raine would spare my life should it come down to it.
The sorting finishes quickly and Headmaster Emerai finally stands before us on the hillside. His power is so immense that just his mere presence is enough to prickle your skin. He wears a different, thicker cloak today: black fabric with golden antlers that protrude from the top of his hood. It’s difficult to believe that he’s the headmaster since he’s so young. All the professors are.
Headmaster Emerai smiles broadly and lets his eyes flick over our heads like we’re no more than lowly sheep. His eyes only falter when he stares at the Nova House students.
“Welcome to the Blood Crowns exam. I hope you have all prepared for today and are ready to get your hands dirty.” Emerai raises his hand and lets his golden Shadow dust spill into the air. The dust weaves through the students in slow vines, like ribbons being led beneath water. I’m mystified each time he does this without fail, especially because his magic is so similar to Kallos’s. “Each team will have a king or queen that they must protect from the other groups. Your goal as a group is to take out a rival monarch in order to pass. Once your team has slaughtered a royal, your team’s exam will end and all of you will pass.”
There’s not a single gasp or uncomfortable shuffle of feet, but everyone’s breaths have grown heavy and loud around me. The golden dust ribbons pass me before jerking oddly and returning to circle my legs.
The students in my group take a few generous steps away from me and even Raine’s eyes glisten with concern.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Emerai’s gaze finds me, and his smile grows more intriguing. “If your group executes another royal before your own dies, then your monarch is safe and will pass along with your team. This exam extends over a period of twenty-four hours. If your team fails to slay a royal or protect your own, then your group will proceed to the front lines in Whales of Tauh.”
I trust Raine to remember all the rules because the headmaster’s words are in one ear and out the other as the dust forms a gilded crown above my head. It’s bright as fuck and is like a beacon in this cold, gray forest. My eyes shift to the others. Several other crowns are glowing brightly. The faces of each of the students beneath them are as pale as mine feels.
“You will bring me the head of a royal and place it in the bowl at the center of the arena. Once you’ve deposited the head, a Darkfly will come to collect you.” The remainder of Emerai’s power forms a sizable golden bowl at his feet. My stomach sinks and every single face on my team looks at me slowly, expressing dread for me and relief that they weren’t selected.
My eyes naturally linger over Terra and I let out a long sigh of gratitude that she doesn’t have a crown. But that relief is short-lived.
Kai stares at me with a long frown. The golden crown sits above his head like that of a king, but horror written all over his wide blue eyes.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, gritting my teeth.
There’s no way everyone on our team is going to work together. My eyes shift to Frederick and I recoil at the way he stares at Kai with malice. Like fucking hell I’m letting you cut my friend’s head off.
Raine nudges me and brings me out of my stupor. “We’ll figure it out.”
I groan, nodding and listening the best I can as Emerai continues: “You are not permitted to decapitate your own monarch and you will receive no assistance of any sort until your team has a head. Understood?”
No one speaks—we only look around anxiously at each other.
“Good. You will proceed to your portals now. May your Shadows be ferocious and guide you to victory.”
Frederick wades through the moving students as we follow the Dvars House professor, Flik, back toward Alkrose’s main tower. Raine stiffens beside me but says nothing as Frederick approaches us.
“Well, look who I’m stuck protecting today. You’d better pray to your dead mother tonight to thank her for this outcome. I was going to kill you just for shits and giggles, but now I can’t. So I guess your other friend will have to do, yeah? How many of those do you have left anyway? I can’t even remember what the first one looked like,” Frederick says cruelly.
Neither can I. And that’s his fault.
I swing at his face, my knuckles crashing into his jaw like a sledgehammer. Frederick loses his footing for a moment but jerks his head back toward me as if I merely slapped him.
He’s a freak of nature. My palms become clammy as the edges of Frederick’s lips start to fissure and split and his jaw lengthens like a snake.
“Hey, knock it off. Settle your drama after the exam. I actually want to win this,” Raine says sternly, like a captain giving orders. My eyes widen at the sharpness in his voice but Frederick’s mouth sews back together slowly as he huffs, giving me one final resentful look before turning to follow our group.
“So it’s true,” I mutter as we trail out of earshot of Frederick.
“What’s true?”
“That you were the Captain of Barkovah after everyone left.”
Raine shoves his hands into his pant pockets and sighs. “You’re just now finding out?”
I shake my head. “No, but it’s the first time I’ve believed it. There are others from Barkovah who arrived after you, and they talk about you like you’re an idol. You were a hero to them and your leadership shows.” One question has been bothering me for a while now, needling at my brain. “Did you ever see the previous captain?”
He tilts his head back in thought before shaking his head. “Can’t say I ever saw the man. The people hated him though.” My eyes widen and I look over at him. “He was hardly ever around and he was violent with anyone who crossed his path. There were rumors he’d even beat his own son.”
I stare coldly at the tiles as we walk through the main floor of Alkrose. How did those rumors start? I thought we were perfectly hidden away in Navasik where that awful man could break his family one bruise at a time.
Thoughts of my father only make my throat dry.
The conversation dwindles as we come to a halt. Professor Flik smiles ominously at a large door, arched at the top and made of a fine wood. His light brown hair is curly and freckles are sprinkled across his nose. “Best of luck,” the instructor says lightly. He doesn’t care one bit if we’ll return or not.
Flik opens the door and we step through single file. When the blinding lights fade, we’re standing in the shade beneath a canopy of trees. They aren’t pines and the air is considerably warmer here. Leaves flutter on the branches and the scent of pollen on a spring wind tickles my nose.
We’ve been sent to another faraway location.
Before I can even fully survey our surroundings, a serpent the size of a building tunnels around us and creates a black wall of smoke. Its head rests above the coils and looks around our team for predators.
“While I keep us safe, someone with high marks make a plan,” Frederick says with a smug grin, ordering us around already. That didn’t take long.
I swallow at the sheer size of Frederick’s Shadow. I thought he was dangerous before, but it’s much worse than I could have imagined.
Kai better stay hidden. I pray that Terra and Corvus can keep him safe.