Chapter 42 Shovia
SHOVIA
“On the Day of Volition, hope and terror are two sides of destiny's coin toss. The bond between rider and dragon can be forged in a single moment or not at all.”
—Instructor Mira Kellson, On the Day of Volition
We'd returned from the examination hall hours ago, but no one had been able to relax.
Morek cooked food no one wanted to eat just to keep himself busy.
Codric sat on one of the couches, pretending to read a book when he hadn't turned a page in twenty minutes, and Kailin had fallen asleep on the other couch, her head resting in Alar's lap.
She was either super tired or very confident about passing the tests.
Probably both.
In the five years I had known Kailin, she'd never failed a written test, getting nearly perfect scores.
She'd looked tired and upset this morning, and Alar had looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, so I assumed they'd had a spat, but whatever they'd fought about appeared to be settled, and they were back to being disgustingly cute together.
I stood up and walked to the big window, watching the auroras paint colors across the darkening sky.
I believed that I had done okay on the written portion, and I was pretty confident that I would pass the endurance and flight tests tomorrow.
What I was most worried about was the interview with Saphir and Nyxath and the actual bonding ceremony.
In roughly thirty-six hours, I would either bond with a dragon or face the greatest humiliation of my life, getting rejected by all the dragons who made themselves available for this Day of Volition.
"I've most likely failed," Morek announced as he carried a platter of a strange assortment of dishes.
"I know I failed. I completely blanked on the magnetic variance calculations.
I couldn't remember the formula. And the one about the Second Extinction War treaties?
I couldn't remember if it was the Treaty of Valderin or the Valderin Accords. "
"It's the same thing," I said without turning from the window. "The Treaty of Valderin is sometimes called the Valderin Accords."
"That's one." He put the platter on the dining table. "But there were so many others I wasn't sure about. I should have studied more."
"Morek." Kailin lifted her head off Alar's lap and sat up. "You're going to pass."
"You don't know that."
"Actually, I do." She leaned on Alar's shoulder. "We're the chosen seven, or five of the seven, anyway. We have to become riders. The universe, and by that I mean Saphir, isn't going to let a written exam stand in the way of your destiny to save the world."
Morek shook his head. "That's not what Saphir actually said. He said that we would be tested by him and Ravel, but he must have meant the tests we will face tomorrow, not the written exams that we have taken with everyone else."
"He implied that we wouldn't fail," Kailin said. "And we won't. Have a little faith."
Easy for her to say.
Kailin had always excelled at academics. Her mind was sharp, her memory excellent, and her understanding of complex concepts seemingly effortless. She'd probably finished the exam with time to spare and gone over her answers twice.
I'd done well enough, I thought. The tactical sections had been straightforward, and I'd memorized enough dates and treaties to muddle through the history portion.
But there had been a few questions, particularly in the dragon physiology section, where I'd been less certain.
Still, if I answered four out of five questions correctly, I would pass, and I was pretty confident that I had done at least that well.
Codric finally gave up on his book and tossed it aside. "When are they going to post the results?"
"Tomorrow morning, probably," Alar said. "Before the flight tests. Those who fail the written portion don't move to the second day of testing."
I found it curious.
In my opinion, the endurance and flight tests and then the interview were by far more important than the written tests.
It wasn't as though we would use much of that information in real life.
I wouldn't be calculating air currents in my head while flying on the back of a dragon, and my dragon wouldn't need calculation to know precisely how to perfectly glide through them.
I could envision using attack strategies, formations, and lessons learned from the history of battles, but why did we need to know about dragon physiology?
Well, it was important to know the physical limits of what our bonded partners could do, so perhaps this information wasn't useless either.
Still, I suspected that these exams had been designed to weed out those who didn't sufficiently apply themselves, or they were meant as mental endurance tests, which I had to admit was important too.
As a knock sounded at the door, we all froze. After three assassination attempts, unexpected knocks still triggered a visceral response in all of us, and my hand moved toward the knife I kept in my boot.
"Who is it?" Morek called, positioning himself between the door and the rest of us, his hand on the gun he had holstered under his jacket.
"Ravel."
Recognizing his voice, I let out a breath.
Morek unlocked the door, and Commander Ravel stepped inside, his dark eyes sweeping the room with that assessing gaze that seemed to miss nothing.
"Good evening," he said. "How is everyone doing?"
"Nervous," Codric said. "When will we know if we passed?"
Ravel smiled, which transformed his face from handsome to devastating. If I weren't involved with Codric, and if Ravel weren't a commanding officer, I might have allowed myself to get a little excited. Or a lot.
The man was pure hotness.
"I have good news," Ravel said. "You've all passed the written examination."
For a moment, the words didn't fully register, and then Morek let out a whoop that probably echoed through the entire officers' wing.
"I passed!" He grabbed Codric by the shoulders and shook him. "I passed the written exam!"
"We all passed," Codric said, but he was grinning. "Congratulations."
Morek grabbed Kailin next, pulling her into a hug that lifted her off her feet, then moved to Alar, who accepted the embrace with bemused tolerance. When he reached for me, I stepped back.
"I'm happy for you," I said. "But if you try to pick me up, I will hurt you."
He settled for clapping me on the shoulder instead, his grin so wide it looked like it might split his face.
"Some of the other first-years weren't as fortunate," Ravel continued once Morek's excitement had dimmed slightly. "Seven cadets failed the written portion."
Seven out of thirty-six meant that twenty percent of our cohort wouldn't be proceeding to the flight tests tomorrow.
The reality of that was sobering.
Those seven cadets had worked just as hard as we had. They'd survived the same grueling training and faced the same challenges. And now their dreams were ruined.
"Will they get another chance?" Kailin asked. "I mean the seven who failed."
Ravel nodded. "They can request to repeat the course with the next year's pilgrimage crop and get tested again. If they choose that, they will be assigned support duties until the next class arrives. If they don't want to wait, they will be absorbed by different branches of the Elucian military."
I wondered how many would choose to stay. If it were me, I wouldn't want to stay on. The humiliation would be too great. I would request a transfer to the Spy Corps.
Codric lifted his hand as if he were in a classroom. "What about those who passed the written portion but won't pass the tests or the evaluation? Do they get another chance at bonding?"
"If they fail the endurance or flight tests, then yes," Ravel said. "They can repeat the course. But if they fail the evaluation or if they pass it but fail to bond with a dragon, they are out for good. It just wasn't meant to be for them."
No pressure. No pressure at all.
"That's harsh." Morek reached for one of the mystery foods on the platter he'd prepared. "But I get why it needs to be like that."
Ravel nodded. "Our first priority is the strength and integrity of the Dragon Force. Cadets' feelings are secondary. Flight evaluations begin at dawn, so make sure to get a good night's sleep." He turned to look at Kailin. "No tea tonight."
She lifted her hands in the air. "No tea. I had some last night."
"Good." He swept his gaze over the platter of mystery food. "My advice is to eat a light meal tonight so you can sleep well."
Morek shrugged. "I can eat whatever and sleep like the dead. Doesn't affect me."
"The advantages of youth that even immortality cannot grant." Ravel turned toward the door. "Good luck to you all tomorrow."
I lifted a hand to stop him. "Any advice for the interview? Should we prepare in any way?"
Ravel shook his head. "Just be yourself and open your mind and heart to Saphir and Nyxath and answer as honestly as you can. Don't try to be humble when you don't feel humility or brave when you are scared. Naked truth only."
I nodded. "Thank you, Commander. That's good advice."
After he left, Morek dropped onto the couch. "I can't believe it. I actually passed. The written portion was what I was most afraid of. The flying, the dragons, all that stuff is easy. But sitting in front of the thick questionnaire was one of the scariest things I've ever done."
Lucky him.
What I was scared of the most was the actual Day of Volition.
What if all the dragons rejected me?
The thought had been lurking at the edges of my mind for weeks, growing stronger as the Day of Volition approached.
My friends assumed the quintet would bond successfully because we were part of the prophecy, but prophecies could be misinterpreted.
What if one of us wasn't actually meant to be a rider?
What if the prophecy required only four of us to bond, and the fifth was destined for something else?
What if that fifth person was me?