Page 182 of Blood Day

Where are the others?I wondered. There were over a thousand in my year. However, Cedric had once mentioned that not everyone would attend Blood Day.

“There are ten Blood University locations throughout the globe,” he’d said a few weeks ago.“And the Blood Day field only holds about a thousand of you. Thus, only a percentage of your class will actually qualify. The rest go directly to their fates.”

“And me?” I’d wondered aloud. “Will I go to Blood Day?”

“Most likely, yes,” he’d told me. “Your scores are among the highest in your prospect year. At a minimum, they’ll add you for dramatic purposes.”

I hadn’t understood what that’d meant, but his mind had alluded to the truth.

He’d worried I would be made an example of, someone hoping for more only to be given a dark fate meant to provoke tears and screams.

A few memories of previous Blood Day ceremonies had filtered through his thoughts, of candidates losing theirheads and being destroyed on the stage for their inappropriate reactions. All of it meant as some sort of sick and twisted enjoyment for the superior beings observing the show.

I refused to be one of their amusements.

The engine roared to life around us, making my stomach knot.

Will Cedric even be able to sense me over a long distance?I wondered.

Then I frowned.

Wait, is that why I can’t hear him?Maybe he’d blocked me originally, then left, and now he couldn’t reach me.Is he already there? Waiting for me to arrive?

My heart fluttered at the prospect.

Yes, maybe that’s it.

“No talking,” one of the lycans snarled, his focus on another cage. “No sound whatsoever.”

Six leaned a little more into me.

I responded by accepting his weight and the comfort of his familiar presence.

Where is he heading?I wondered.What path have they chosen for him?

The engine grew louder as the plane began to move. I closed my eyes, the rumble twisting my insides into knots.

Knots that only pulled tighter as we picked up speed.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

Oh, Goddess…My eyes flew open as the air shifted around us, the sensation of being underwater clouding my ears and stealing my breath.

The lycan growled, the sound of a cage sliding open echoing through the plane.

A scream followed, causing my stomach to churn. Six grabbed my hand, squeezing it before releasing me, the movement quick and easily passed off as an accident.

Fortunately, the guards were too busy watching the events unfold in the other cage, their laughs echoing through the air as the lycan dragged one of the prospects forward.

I recognized the blonde female as a lower number but didn’t know her exact designation.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, her breaths coming in pants as the air continued to change around us.

Flying,I realized.We’re flying.

And she’d freaked out in response to the sensations.

Now the lycan was going to teach her a lesson.