Chapter Twenty-Four
TWENTY-FOUR
They fan out below me like a wave of black shadows.
Six of them, dressed head to toe in tactical gear, dispersing in different directions with slow, cautious steps.
They don’t make a sound now. No chatter among them.
They are one unit. Focused. Moving like predators beneath my feet, hunting their prey. Warriors, trained to seek and kill.
My heart races spotting Sebastian’s dark head of hair pass below, Lillian and Jed not too far from him. My nails dig into the trunk of the tree as I stand stock still against it, my feet balancing on the branch. How long can I stay here? How long will they search?
From my vantage point, I can make out a decent section of the forest floor, so I’m hoping as long as I can see who’s coming, I’ll be all right.
Minutes tick by. Painstakingly long minutes that turn into a half hour.
My feet hurt and my back aches from standing so stiffly against the tree.
The urge to sit down against the branch is devastating.
But I keep telling myself that if I’m standing, it’ll be easier to manoeuvre from one branch to the other if I need to skirt around the tree trunk and hide.
A sudden cry of pain echoes through the quiet, making me jump. Up until now I’d been enjoying the soft rustle of leaves and branches swaying in the wind. The song of the birds arcing through the air from tree to tree.
My eyes squint to peer in the direction the yelp of pain came from. But I can’t see a thing. Whoever it was, they’ve lost. One down, eleven to go.
The next student is found only minutes later. This time it’s not the shouted battle cry that alerts me to his demise. It’s the thick smog of black smoke that rises in the distance. My breath gets stuck in my throat.
They’re using their elements!
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that. If an air wielder were to spot me up here, they’d only need a strong enough gust of wind to knock me off my branch and send me careening to the ground.
The thought has my stomach dropping. Students in the Malachite Unit who align with an element that isn’t fire are rare, but not unheard of.
From memory there are at least two third -years who possess air magic.
I also think there is a water wielder and an air wielder in my year.
I pray to the Stars that none of them find me.
Playing it safe, I decide to unravel some of the rope from my body. Using one hand to peel it off and the other to keep me balanced, I reach up and loop it around the branch overhead. I make a secure knot and hope, if it came to that situation, I can hold onto the rope for dear life and not fall.
With that thought in mind, I suddenly hear voices. Grabbing hold of the rope, I lean forward, trying to pinpoint who is approaching.
‘She must have gone this way,’ I hear one of them say. Finally, I spot three first -years. Moira, Marcus and Isla. Moira and Marcus walk side by side, while Isla travels a bit behind them. Her blonde head whips back and forth as she scans the area.
It’s Moira’s voice I hear next; I don’t make out much of what she says because she’s whispering but I do recognise one word.
Nocthare.
I grimace. They’re searching for me. Why the hell aren’t they focusing on hiding? Is finding me more important to them than passing this class? Or are they so arrogant they think they won’t get caught?
‘Are you sure she went this way?’ Isla pipes up, her voice loud enough to cause concern. The other two whip around, hissing at her to be quiet.
‘Yes,’ Marcus replies in a lower voice. ‘I saw her turn back at one point.’
Because I’m curious, I slowly release more of the rope to give myself some slack and climb around the other side of the tree. I lower myself by one branch and crouch to hear better as they stop, only a dozen feet from the base of my tree.
‘Smart bitch must have thought coming this way would trick the combat leaders.’ Moira sneers.
I’ll take that compliment, thank you.
‘Well, I don’t see her.’ Isla places her hands on her hips. ‘For all we know, she could be at the cliffs by now.’ Again, her voice is louder than the others. I frown. It’s almost as if … she’s trying to alert someone of their presence.
I don’t let it get to my head that maybe she’s trying to alert me. Possibly to give me some time to get away. Not that I can. I’m stuck up a damn tree and, unlike the other forest creatures, I can’t jump nor fly to the next one.
‘Will you tone it down, Peters!’ Marcus snaps. ‘Are you trying to get us caught? Fuck! I’m not letting Nocthare get away with saying that shit to me back in the Training Centre. She needs to know her place—’
Marcus suddenly yelps and he drops to the ground. Isla and Moira leap away from him as a second burst of flame careens toward them. The first one hit Marcus right in the chest.
‘Shit! Run!’ Moira yelps, springing into action and turning on her heel to speed off.
My head snaps to the right, where I spot Jed strolling casually through two trees. Twin flames glowing like beacons in his hands. He walks toward Isla and Marcus, who is groaning on the ground, holding his chest.
Isla suddenly takes off as well, in the same direction as Moira.
‘Marcus, you’re out!’ Jed calls. ‘Get your lousy ass off the ground and head back to the Training Centre.’
When he doesn’t move, and continues to groan, Jed huffs out a sigh, extinguishes his flames and hauls Marcus to his feet. ‘Make me repeat myself, acolyte, and I’ll burn your fucking feet until you’re running to put them out.’
Marcus takes off, holding his chest with one arm as he barrels toward the academy.
I hold in my laughter by biting my cheeks, until I notice that Jed isn’t chasing after Isla or Moira.
No, instead I watch, appalled, as he starts to whistle like he’s going on a pleasant scenic stroll through the woods.
My mouth practically drops open when he pulls an apple from his pocket and plonks himself down, right beneath my tree, and has himself a little snack.
What the fuck?
My legs start to burn the longer I’m crouched here. The second I attempt to stand though, the branch creaks and I freeze. It’s deadly silent now. Silent enough that if it were any louder, Jed could simply look up and see me perched above him like a giant, muddy and sweaty bird.
So, I do the only thing I can. I wait and breathe through the burning in my thighs.
Time seems to slow, every minute feels like it takes five. Until, finally, the sound of a horn blasting through the forest pierces my eardrums. My eyes snap open. I had to close them to focus on staying still and maintaining my meditative breathing. I sigh, relieved.
I made it. Holy crap. I made it.
A cheer erupts somewhere in the distance, along with another holler. I picture Cillian Foy and Aiden, possibly the strongest in our year, walking out of here triumphantly.
‘You can come down now, Silver!’ Jed’s voice singsongs, making its way up to me.
My chin drops. He stands there, hands on his hips with his head craned back. A smile plastered on his face.
How in the—
‘Bastard,’ I curse, using the rope to keep me steady as I pull myself into a standing position.
My legs practically scream at me in protest as I climb around to my first branch and start to untie the rope.
Did he know I was up here all along? Stars.
I exhale, hoping I don’t fall down the tree due to my own legs giving out on me. That would be a shit way to die.
Dredging up the last of my energy and will to live, I slowly begin the descent toward the forest floor, climbing down branch by branch until I make it to the bottom one and start the process of unravelling my rope and tying it again so I can hoist myself down.
‘Just jump down, I’ll catch you,’ Jed calls up.
I shoot him a withering glare. ‘Hilarious.’
His brows furrow. ‘I’m serious. Don’t bother with all that, you look like you’re about to collapse.’ He gestures to the rope that my tender fingers are struggling to unravel.
I’m sure he would just love that.
I ignore him, focusing on pulling the rope off my body and looping it around the branch, but my hand cramps up just as I’m about to start the knot. The water canteen sends it careening down.
‘No!’ I shout, grasping for the rope but it’s too fast and my arms are too tired. It collects in a pile beneath me. Right at Jed’s feet, who lifts his arms to make grabby hands.
I scowl down at him, which only makes him chuckle.
‘Come on,’ he calls. ‘I didn’t sit down here this whole time to make sure those idiots didn’t come back, just so I could drop you.’
That piques my interest. ‘So, you did know I was up here?’ I ask.
He nods, proudly. ‘They don’t call me the best tracker at ValAc for no reason.’
Huh. I didn’t know that about him. I curse beneath my breath.
‘I’ve got eyes like a hawk, baby,’ he jokes. ‘Now hurry up, I don’t have all day.’
My thighs squeeze around the branch, wondering how long I could hold myself up here. But ultimately, I decide, not long at all. My muscles are aching, and my skin is itchy from the rope and tree bark and my hair feels disgusting.
I shouldn’t trust him. But he’s the only option I have to get down. There’s no way I’d make a jump from this height without breaking an ankle, or both. And while I could be stubborn enough to try and say fuck it, I’m just proud to say that I passed this stupid test.
With a heavy sigh, I climb like a monkey until my bottom half is dangling in the open air. The dry bark digs into the skin of my palms and I hang. ‘I’m letting go!’ I yell out, then drop.
I’m airborne for just a second before I thud, unceremoniously onto a hard body. Jed’s strong arms wrap around my body, catching me with impressive ease. Slowly, he lowers me to the ground.
‘Told you I’d catch you,’ he says with a crooked smirk.
I nod, inhaling deeply as my heart tries to catch up with the fall. ‘Th-thanks,’ I breathe.
‘What’s going on here?’ Sebastian steps out behind a cluster of trees that have large chunks of bark peeling off their trunks.
I freeze.
‘Silver was stuck in the tree,’ Jed replies casually, still not having let me go. Sebastian’s eyes drop to the hands settled on my waist and remain there as I explain.
‘I had to jump,’ I add, pointing to the limp pile of rope behind me. ‘Dropped my rope.’
It isn’t until I finally put some distance between Jed and myself that Sebastian’s gaze lifts to his friend. ‘Did you know she was up there?’
Jed shrugs, noncommittal.
‘Why didn’t you tag her out?’
‘I’m not her combat leader; therefore, she’s not my target,’ he answers as if it’s simple. ‘And now you owe me two gold coins!’
Sebastian scowls.
‘Wait. You bet on us?’ I ask, exasperated. I watched Jed burn Marcus! Not to mention the other cries of pain that sounded in the distance. Who else was hurt? ‘What is wrong with you?’
Two sets of eyes flick my way.
‘Why are you still here, acolyte?’ Sebastian asks coldly. ‘Get back to the Training Centre with the rest of the first -years.’