Chapter 8 Terra
TERRA
The gathering square at the river's edge was packed with Drakarn bodies. Massive and scaled and radiating heat like living furnaces. I stood among them, human-small and feeling every inch of the difference. My palms were slick with sweat despite the heat.
This was possibly the stupidest thing I'd ever done.
And I willingly slept with a seven-foot-tall alien warrior, claws and wings every night, so the bar was high.
The underground river rushed past the square's eastern edge, its surface glowing faintly from the algae that clung to the rocks below. The sound of it filled the space, a constant roar that should have been soothing but instead it was amplifying every anxious thought in my skull.
I smoothed my palm over the blade at my hip. The leather wrapping on the hilt was worn smooth from use, familiar under my fingers. It helped. A little.
Around me, Drakarn warriors stretched and tested their weapons. Wings flared and folded. Tails lashed. Claws flexed. They moved with the kind of casual confidence that came from a lifetime of knowing exactly what their bodies could do. Knowing they belonged here.
I didn't belong here.
Not like I had a choice.
The decision had felt clearer last night.
Lying awake while Darrokar slept, running through every conversation, every slight, every moment of being dismissed or challenged or treated like I was only relevant because of who I'd mated.
The Skalanth had seemed like the answer.
A way to prove I could compete on their terms, in their world, by their rules.
Now, standing in a crowd of warriors who could break me in half without trying, the clarity had given way to something closer to panic.
What the hell was I thinking?
A purple-scaled warrior to my left glanced down at me.
His yellow eyes narrowed, and his lip curled just enough to show fang.
Recognition flickered across his features.
One of the novices who'd cornered me in the corridor.
He opened his mouth, probably to say something he thought was clever, but a larger warrior shouldered past him, and the moment broke.
I exhaled slowly through my nose.
Focus. I was here. I'd made the choice. Second-guessing it now wouldn't help.
The crowd shifted, bodies pressing closer as more warriors arrived. I got jostled by a wing, nearly knocked sideways by a tail. No one apologized. Most didn't even notice. To them, I was just another obstacle to navigate around.
Or maybe they noticed and didn't care. Now was the perfect opportunity to get a hit in on the Warrior Lord’s mate without any consequences.
Darrokar was going to lose his mind when he realized what I was doing.
I'd left before dawn, slipping out of our quarters while he still slept.
Cowardly, maybe. But I couldn't face the argument I knew would come.
Couldn't risk him talking me out of this or, worse, trying to forbid it outright. He was still figuring out how to deal with a headstrong human, one who didn’t follow his every order like it was his right to issue it.
"Finally, there you are."
I turned at the familiar voice and found Lexa pushing through the crowd toward me.
Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight braid, and she wore the kind of practical fighting leathers we'd scrounged from the Scalvaris markets.
A knife hung at each hip, and her expression was caught somewhere between exasperation and resignation.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Helping to keep you alive." She stopped beside me, close enough that her shoulder brushed mine. The contact was reassuring.
Guilt twisted in my chest. "Lexa—"
"Save it." She cut me off with a sharp gesture. "We can argue about your choices later. We’re here now."
"We?"
"You think I'm letting you do this alone?" Lexa's mouth twitched. "You’ve been champing at the bit to do something idiotic since those two assholes gave you trouble. You need someone to back you up."
Before I could respond, another voice joined us.
"Make that two someones."
Vega appeared on my other side. She looked calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that meant she was furious but had decided to channel it into something productive.
"I thought you said this was a bad idea," I said.
"It’s a very bad idea." Vega's gray eyes met mine, hard and uncompromising. "But you were always going to do it anyway, so here we are."
"I didn't ask you to come."
"Good thing I don't need your permission." She shifted her weight, settling into a ready stance. "I've done enough stupid things in my life. Figured I owe you backup for at least one of yours."
The tightness in my chest eased slightly. I hadn't asked for help. Hadn't wanted to drag anyone else into this mess. But having Lexa and Vega flanking me, solid and present and ready to fight, it made the impossible feel slightly less insane.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
"Don't thank us yet." Lexa's gaze swept the assembled warriors. "We might all regret this in about ten minutes."
"Optimistic," Vega muttered. "I'm giving it five."
A hush fell over the square.
The crowd parted, bodies shifting to create a path.
Karyseth emerged from the corridor beyond, her golden scales gleaming like coins in firelight.
She wore ceremonial robes, deep red fabric that pooled around her feet and trailed behind her as she walked.
Other priests followed in her wake, their own yellow robes marking them as temple initiates.
The air grew thick with incense. Sweet and cloying, it caught in my throat and made my eyes water. The priests carried censers that swung on chains, smoke pouring from the perforated metal in gray-white clouds.
Karyseth's gaze swept the assembled warriors. Assessing. Judging. Her expression was serene, almost peaceful, which somehow made her more terrifying than if she'd been openly hostile.
Then her eyes found me.
Everything in me went still.
She looked at me for a long moment. Long enough that the warriors nearby noticed. Long enough that whispers started rippling through the crowd. Her expression didn't change. No surprise. No anger. Just that same terrible calm.
I waited for her to object. To declare that humans had no place in the Skalanth. To use this moment to humiliate me in front of half of Scalvaris.
She didn't.
Instead, she held my gaze for another heartbeat, then continued her scan of the crowd as if I was no more noteworthy than any other participant.
"We can still leave," Lexa said quietly. "No shame in changing your mind."
I could. The thought was tempting. Turn around, walk out of this square, go back to Darrokar and admit I'd been an idiot. Face his anger and his relief and his overprotective fury.
But then what?
The harassment would continue. The challenges. The constant pressure of being seen as weakness incarnate. Nothing would change except I'd have confirmed that I couldn't handle their world.
"I'm staying," I said.
Vega sighed. "Yeah, that tracks."
Karyseth raised her hands, and the crowd fell silent. Even the river seemed to quiet, though I knew that was just my imagination. She began to speak, her voice carrying across the square with the kind of projection that came from years of public ritual.
"Warriors of Scalvaris." The words rolled out, formal and weighted. "You stand at the threshold of the Skalanth. A trial as old as this city. A test of strength, cunning, and honor."
The assembled warriors straightened. Pride radiated from them.
"The blood-flame awaits in the Temple's inner sanctum.
" Karyseth's hands moved in patterns I didn't understand, probably some kind of blessing.
"Your task is simple. Retrieve the sacred gem.
Carry it through the city. Deliver it to the waiting priest at Scalvaris's edge before the suns reach their zenith. "
Simple. Right. If you ignored the obstacles, the traps, and the senior warriors who'd be actively trying to stop us.
"The warrior who succeeds will lead the victory procession. Will be honored before the Blade Council. Will prove themselves worthy of Scalvaris's highest regard."
More than a few warriors puffed up at that. Glory. Recognition. The kind of status that could define a career.
I just wanted to survive.
"The rules are thus," Karyseth continued.
"Killing is forbidden. Any warrior who takes a life will be punished.
Captured participants will be marked with ash and are honor-bound to withdraw.
Once you leave this square, the senior warriors will hunt you.
They will test you. They will push you to your limits. "
She paused, letting that sink in.
"But they will not break you. Not if you are truly worthy."
The incense smoke swirled thicker. The priests began chanting, low and rhythmic. The sound vibrated through the stone beneath my feet, through my bones.
Karyseth's gaze found me again. Just for a moment. Just long enough for me to see the cold calculation in her eyes.
She wanted me to fail. Wanted everyone to see. Wanted proof that humans couldn't compete.
Fine.
I'd give her a show.
The chanting reached a crescendo, then cut off abruptly. Silence crashed down, heavy and expectant.
"When the horn sounds," Karyseth said, "the Skalanth begins. May the strongest prevail. May the worthy triumph. May Scalvaris be honored by your efforts."
She stepped back. One of the priests raised a horn to his lips, the instrument carved from some kind of bone and polished until it gleamed.
This was it.
No going back now.
I checked my blade one more time. Made sure my boots were laced tight. Rolled my shoulders to loosen the tension that had locked my muscles.
Beside me, Lexa shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet. Ready to sprint. Vega's breathing had steadied into the slow, controlled rhythm of someone preparing for violence.
Around us, wings spread. Claws extended. Tails coiled.
The Drakarn were built for this. Speed, strength, natural weapons. They could fly over obstacles I'd have to climb. Could smash through barriers I'd need to navigate around. Could cover ground in minutes that would take me an hour.
I couldn't compete with that.
So I wouldn't try.
The horn's blast split the air.
Chaos erupted.
Warriors launched in every direction. Wings beat, creating wind that nearly knocked me sideways. Claws scraped stone. Bodies collided as everyone fought for position, for the best routes, for any advantage they could seize.
I grabbed Lexa's arm and pulled her toward a smaller corridor at the square's edge. Not the main route. Not where the bulk of warriors were heading. Somewhere less obvious.
We hit the corridor at a dead run.
Behind us, the sounds of pursuit began. Roars. Wing beats. The thunder of dozens of warriors all trying to reach the same goal.
The Skalanth had started.
And I was either going to prove I belonged here or die trying.