Chapter 9 Rune
rune
. . .
Zuko was trouble.
He was also the only fucking thing that kept me sane through the rounds of torture. His eye contact and the way he looked at me was enough to ruin me. I wanted to withstand the torture for myself, but a small part of me also wanted to prove to him that I could.
Phantom aches battered my body even after Drecken’s miraculous healing spell.
But my heart ached after watching Zuko, Slater, Koa, and Dimitri go through the torture trial. All four of them had passed, but it was hard to watch. Though, Zuko’s eye contact throughout his trial did something to me I didn’t have words for.
“There are one-hundred-five of you that have passed the entrance exam,” Dad announced, “However, the five lowest-performing applicants will be dropped to keep our one-hundred student quota. I will begin calling the names of the highest-performing students first. Yes, you have been ranked. You will be placed in your classes now. Every group of ten will be a class. You will stand together until your class is complete, then you will be dismissed to the left of the auditorium.”
Nerves battered my gut.
“Aw, venom baby, you’ll pass. I’m sure of it,” Slater whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “You have the skills to lead the agents. No doubt in my mind that you’re qualified to be one.”
“Thanks, Slater,” I murmured, feeling my cheeks heat as I glanced at him. “You’ll pass, too. You’re very capable.”
“I know.” He grinned, his red eyes twinkling with pure excitement. “I have to pass so I can spend time with my mate, after all.”
I let out a small huff with a smile pulling at my lips as I turned my attention back to my dad.
He was delusional, but he was cute.
“For the first time in academy history, we have a tie for our highest score.” Dad chuckled as he looked at the tablet in his hand. “Dimitri Nocturnus and my daughter, Rune Bloodwyne.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I had not expected that.
“Go.” Slater’s warm hand settled on my lower back as he pushed me gently forward. “Wait for me, venom baby.”
I found my footing and strode up the stairs, making sure my spine remained straight and my chin was lifted.
Dimitri was already standing tall at the center of the stage in front of my dad, arms folded behind his back in formality. Somehow, even after the hell that was our exam, not even a hair was out of place in his curls.
His sharp red eyes flicked to me as I approached, and he smirked.
I gave him a smile, stopping right next to him. I was close enough for our elbows to almost graze.
Dad’s voice echoed through the auditorium. “Congratulations to our two highest scorers of the entrance exam this year.”
The crowd mixed with applicants, staff, and agents applauded.
Dad stepped forward with two velvet-lined boxes already opened in his hands.
Inside were small metal pins that were shaped into the AEA crest, black and green.
The enamel shimmered faintly with embedded enchantments, and the center pulsed once as if it sensed us.
“This emblem is enchanted,” Dad explained.
“It is your identification and your access to your grades, house, and privileges. You must wear it at all times. It will fuse to any wearable item.”
He gave Dimitri his box before pinning him. There was a subtle glow of green light as it sealed to the fabric of Dimitri’s shirt, right over his left pec.
When Dad turned to me, his eyes softened. He stepped close, handing me my box and pinned mine just below my collarbone. The weight of it surprisingly wasn’t noticeable. The moment the pin fused to my shirt, a subtle shiver ran across my skin.
I met Dimitri’s eyes again, smirking now. “I can’t believe we tied.”
“We’ll break the tie in class,” he said and turned away.
“Good luck, then. I’m hard to beat,” I teased him.
The tips of his ears had reddened. “So am I.”
The pin still glowed faintly on my chest as I stepped aside to join Dimitri near the edge of the stage. From here, I had the perfect view as the rest of our ten-person class was called one by one.
Dad grabbed from the stacks of organized velvet boxes on top of the podium as the next name echoed through the auditorium.
“Koa Ashbourne.”
I couldn’t hide the smile slipping over my expression as Koa stepped onto the stage with quiet confidence. His long brown hair was half-tied back. His gaze met mine, and he offered me a warm smile that tugged at my chest.
Dad pinned the emblem carefully onto his chest, and as it fused, Koa exhaled in relief. He bowed his head slightly in thanks and joined us on the side.
“Slater Havoc.”
A cheer erupted from where Slater was. He sauntered onto the stage with one hand casually in his pocket while his other was giving Snakey a pat as the chaos manifestation slithered around him. His red hair was a beautiful mess from him obsessively running his hands through it while waiting.
Dad didn’t say anything as he pinned him, but Slater grinned wildly at him.
“Thanks, soon to be Dad-by-mating.”
Dad’s eye twitched, but he turned back to the crowd, effectively ignoring Slater as he strode over and stood by Koa.
“Zuko Vyre.”
Zuko bounded up the steps with a wickedly attractive grin on his face. His untamed sunset-colored hair flopped over one of his eyes. He offered a dramatic bow toward me before turning to face Dad.
The pin sizzled on contact as Dad attached it.
“Eleanor Fawnmere.”
Eleanor moved with poise to the front and bowed slightly as she reached Dad. Her light brown hair with the white spots throughout it was pulled up in a bun. Despite the tension still on her face from the torture we withstood, she stood proud.
I was honestly surprised she’d withstood it, but she had done well.
When the emblem was pinned, she nodded once in acknowledgment and stood beside Zuko.
“Aura Whimzle.”
The imp skipped up the stairs, her blonde pixie cut shimmering under the light. She gave a little wave to someone in the crowd and smiled brightly as the pin was added to her shirt.
“Raze Mournfall.”
Zuko’s friend made his way up with a slower, more calculated kind of swagger. His spiked white hair didn’t look out of place, and his pink eyes—unblinking and eerie—swept over the crowd. He stood still as Dad pinned him then walked into our line.
“Lorian Stonepaw.”
A bear shifter, whom I didn’t recognize, walked up with heavy, controlled steps, shoulders broad enough to block the stage light. His red curly hair was tousled. Despite his intimidating build, his dark brown eyes were soft as he bowed to my dad.
When the pin was placed, Lorian smiled.
“Hawk Moonfang.”
The last to be called for our class was another man, a werewolf I was pretty sure, I didn’t recognize. His features were sharp beneath a fall of messy brown hair that brushed his jaw. He smiled as Dad pinned him then stepped beside Lorian easily.
When we were all in line, ten of us now, freshly pinned with the emblem of AEA, Dad stepped forward again. His expression was probably unreadable to most, but I knew he was proud.
“This,” he said slowly, “is the first class in over a decade to break every entrance record in place. Squad One.”
Murmurs rose in the crowd, and we walked over to the other side of the auditorium in awed silence.
As we stood there, trying to comprehend that not only had we passed, we had excelled and broke a fucking record, the rest of the ninety students were called one by one.
My dad remained stoic and methodical, pinning each new emblem with a flick of his hand.
No more speeches. No more praise. The squads of ten students grew, and we stood aside, watching as the new agents of the future were forged, one pin at a time, until the five applicants with the lowest scores were shown out.
At the end, there were ten squads.
“You passed the written exam, combat, arcane exposure, a simulated mission, enduring torture, psychological interrogations, and ethical testing,” Dad spoke loudly.
“And all of you still stand. You will represent this year’s elite.
These pins bind you to the academy. They will track you and remind you that excellence is expected at all times. ”
My heart soared.
I told you so, Dad.
“You are first years, meaning you are not specialized yet. That will be determined later.” He lifted his chin.
“Two hundred students began the entrance trials. Historically, by the time year one ends, there are no more than eighty. Many will fail or worse. After year one, only ten students are chosen for each house in their second year at the academy.”
He paused, running a hand over his jaw.
“You will be challenged again. You will lose friends. You will lose pieces of yourselves. But if you endure, if you grow, this academy will forge you into something that only the Fates could predict.”
The room fell completely silent.
“Dismissed. Year one begins tomorrow. Go home and pack. Come back and get situated in the first-year house tonight. Sleep. Eat. Train. Study. Take it seriously, and if you don’t…someone else will.”
Slater slung his arm around my shoulders as everyone started heading out of the auditorium. “I know you’re venomous, but I promise, I come with an anti-venom heart.”
“Actually,” Zuko drawled, wrapping an arm around my waist on the other side. “Clearly, I’m the one immune to her venom. She stabbed me with it, and I had no reaction. Remember?”
“How is that?” I huffed, irritation spreading through me. “That has never happened before.”
“Don’t worry, pretty little poison. I’m sure you’ll get the reaction you want from me soon enough.” His grip slid to my hip and squeezed gently before he let me go and started walking away. “We’re going to have so much fun this year.”
I swallowed hard. Heat pooled in my lower abdomen, and Slater stiffened.
“Zuko’s right,” he groaned. “This year is going to be so fun.”