6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Kya
I arrived at the training grounds just moments before Malina walked in.
Dark circles were already outlining my eyes from my lack of sleep last night.
The grounds were originally a part of the gardens on the south side of Morah, but were modified for the Roav to use for training.
Stone walls, nearly two stories high, were erected into an oval-shaped arena, lined with exercise equipment, weapons, and smaller confined sparring areas.
Malina was chipper as usual, waking in a good mood—unlike myself most mornings. She skipped over and sat with her legs crossed on the thin mat beside me with a bright smile on her face. She reveled in how her perky mood annoyed me in the early hours of the day.
“Morning!” I winced at the high pitch of her voice. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all. Cade keep you up all night?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“No. Not that it’s any of your business anyway.”
She raised her eyebrows in challenge.
I rolled my eyes and moved the topic to her. “What about you? I would have thought you’d still be in bed with a hulky Oryn soldier.” I batted my eyelashes mockingly, our usual banter lifting my Spirits.
“Oh I had my fair share, don’t you worry,” she said with a grin.
I shook my head and chuckled. “You ready?”
Malina stood and extended a hand to me. “Let’s do it!”
I took her hand and stood, then walked over to one of the weapon racks and picked out four daggers. I turned and handed two of them to Malina. She held out a blindfold but I shook my head, refusing it.
“No wielding today?”
I avoided her eyes as I began to take off my jacket that concealed my mark.
“Not today.” After tossing my jacket onto a bench, I turned back to her and squared my shoulders, bracing for her reaction.
“What the fuck happened to your arm?!” Her voice was nearly screeching.
Yeah, that’s how I thought she would react.
“The Trial has been called. I am to report to the Temple of the Fallen God in ten days,” I stated, my voice firm and devoid of emotion.
Malina’s face fell and her spine straightened. My heart sank seeing her big brown eyes filled with dread.
“Kya… I…” Her voice was soft and quiet, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It is what it is. I’ve known this was coming for a long time now. We all did.” The side of my mouth tilted up.
“So… you’re not scared of the Trial?” She said each word slowly, her eyebrows raised.
“Not anymore.” The truth—mostly. Of course I was scared, but I wasn’t about to admit that to Malina.
It would only make her worry more and there was nothing that I could do about it anyway.
I had to compete in the Trial. I didn’t have a choice and I refused to cower in fear over a fate I couldn’t control.
“Did you have another one of your internal temper tantrums with yourself?” she deadpanned, tossing the blindfold aside .
“I do not have temper tantrums . It’s called thinking. You should try it sometime,” I scoffed.
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say.” Her mouth turned into an amused smile. She always had a way of lightening the mood.
We stepped into the sparring ring and took our stances, when she continued, “So why the daggers? Shouldn’t we be working on your manipulation with the Trial coming up?” She lunged without warning.
I grunted and blocked. “No. Our magic is nullified during the Trial.” I brought up my other dagger in a sideswipe.
Malina dodged the blade and spun around. “How many contestants are there?” She kicked a leg out, aiming for my ribs. I leaned back just enough for her to miss.
I knew what she was doing. She was having me work through it mentally while I was distracted physically. Not giving me the chance to mull over anything other than the facts.
“I don’t know. The number of Marked varies from century to century—” I spun, my braid whipping around my neck, and lunged. “And not all survive from birth so there’s no way to tell. Especially given that the Marked are generally hidden from society as much as possible.”
We sparred for several more minutes until we came to a draw and went to the water station for a break. Malina was silent, her eyes distant in thought. I stayed quiet, giving her the time to take everything in.
Even knowing this was coming, it felt different now that it was actually here.
“How do you get to the Woltawa Forest?” she asked.
“That’s the first task. The Sages will give us an elixir, blessed by the Spirits, and then we’re…transferred. No one really knows how it works exactly.”
“Then the second task.”
“Yep,” I said with a pop of my lips .
“Get back in the ring and work it out with me. Brains and brawn at the same time.” She smiled, walking over to the mat and discarding her weapons.
Hand to hand it is.
“You’ve lived with me for twenty years. I’ve told you everything I know.”
“It’s not like I have the mark.” She paused, “You’ve got it all wrapped up in your head. Now get over here and try to hit me. If you can.”
My lips thinned and I nodded. I stepped into the ring.
“The Trial consists of three tests,” I said as we circled each other. “The task of each test is unknown until the Sages call upon the Spirits in a ritual at the Temple. The first test—”
Malina suddenly dropped to a crouch and kicked her leg out, nearly knocking me on my ass. I stumbled back, recovering.
“The Test of Loyalty,” she grunted, flipping back as I swung at her and narrowly avoiding my jab.
“The second is a Test of Strength.” I blocked her punch to my throat with my forearm, and thrust my knee up to hit her in the ribs. “The third, a Test of Fate. That much has always remained the same, but the details of each test varies.”
We continued to hit, jab, and kick, blocking each other’s attempts at contact. We were equally matched, having trained with each other for years, but each of us would land a blow now and then.
“And in the second test, you’ll be given your task in the form of a riddle. The same as everyone else, right?”
I inhaled sharply when she managed to square me in the jaw.
“Right. And it’s different every century and varies with the required task.” I stretched out my jaw, feeling it pop.
“This is the one where everyone dies?” Malina didn’t give me the chance to recover, lunging at me once again with her other hand .
“Not all die. But yes, most of the deaths in the Trial occur during the second test.” I caught her fist and pushed her forward to my side, throwing off her form.
“If a contestant completes the first two tests, one of two things can happen,” I continued as our sparring resumed.
“They will either be deemed Worthy by one of the Gods, gifted with great magic and allowed to proceed to the third test, or they will be sent back to the temple with nothing to show for their victory other than their life.”
“And how many are chosen? Can the Gods choose more than one?”
“No. They can only choose one, but they also don’t have to choose at all. At most, only six can be chosen during each Trial since there are only six Gods left.”
Odes, the Fallen God, was destroyed during the war.
When he fell, it caused the world to become unbalanced and the land tore itself apart.
The Rip —a literal tear in the world—rested within the Dusan Nation and was known as Odes’s Grave.
A temple was built in honor of the Fallen God, and it was there that the initiation of the Trial was held.
“Tell me about the third test,” she said, spinning and kicking near my face as I ducked.
“The third test is a mystery. All we know is that when the Worthy return from the third test, they are accompanied by a Spirit animal.”
“And those that don’t make it through the second test?”
“Those who fail are considered dishonorable and are sent back with the others. However, as a punishment, the Gods will strip them of their life’s memories, leaving only their worst nightmares and greatest fears for the rest of their lives. I’d rather die in the Trial. ”
She paused and stared wide-eyed at me with a look of disbelief and ferocity. She unleashed herself upon me, attacking me relentlessly.
Apparently, I had pissed her off.
“Why would the Gods do that?”
“Because of the pact with the Spirits, they can’t kill a fae. So they found a way around that.” She landed a blow directly to my chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me.
Malina’s eyes narrowed. “How is that a way around it? They’re still killing them.” She didn’t let up.
“The dishonorable are driven mad with horror and eventually take their own lives. Either way, they die. So let’s hope I don’t fail.
” Tears threatened to fall down my face but I willed them away.
I would not cry. And I would not fail. Malina’s own eyes mirrored mine, and I could see the muscle in her jaw clench.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said, exasperated.
She tackled me then, slamming me to the ground and pinning my throat under her forearm.
“What are you going to do!” She screamed in my face with a fury few saw and lived to tell.
I reversed our positions and pulled a knife from my boot, putting the tip of the blade under her chin. She smiled, regardless of me ‘cheating’ during the spar. This was what she wanted. She wanted me to break the rules and do whatever was necessary.
“I am going to survive.”