Page 78 of Blood Day

Maybe this was an exercise for the Vigils, a way to keep them sharp and test our merits against them. That was what I’d been training for all these months.

However, that didn’t explain Six and the others joining us now.

Nor did it explain the weapons scattered all over the ground beside a pair of large wooden doors ahead of us. They weren’t the same ones I’d ventured through with Master Cedric all those months ago. They were pedestrian-sized instead and etched into the side of a nearby guard tower.

The Vigils on top all watched us with vacant looks, their body language exuding boredom more than anticipation.

So this isn’t for them,I translated, swallowing.

Of course, I’d already suspected that.

A Vigil exercise would have included more of the men from my previous courses.

This was something else.

Something bad.

Master Khalid stopped before reaching the mess of weapons, his gaze flicking over us as he turned and waited for everyone to catch up.

We’d formed a natural line along the concrete walkway that bordered the massive university walls.

A long, sandy courtyard decorated the other half of the path. The university buildings were beyond it, the structures all boxy and cream-colored, just like the wall surrounding the campus.

Six shivered beside me, his knuckles brushing mine in that need for comfort.

I returned the gesture.

But once this game started, we would be on our own. For better or for worse.

The crescent moon cast ominous shadows across Master Khalid’s chiseled features, accentuating the eerie promise hanging in the air.

This is going to hurt.

His expression gave nothing away. And neither did his voice as he said, “Pick a tool.”

A tool, not a weapon.

An interesting distinction, considering the items on the ground.

Prospect One Hundred and Thirty-Nine was the first to move. Her choice of a set of throwing stars didn’t surprise me. She often nailed her target with those during our weapons training course.

Others moved to make their own selections, followed by me and Six. It became more of an orderly ordeal since we’d all fallen automatically into this line.

Fortunately, Six and I were near the front.

He chose a hammer.

I picked up a pair of daggers.

The bow and quiver of arrows beside it would have been my first choice if it were daytime. But I wanted a close-range “tool” for this course assignment—something I could use to protect myself when “caught.”

Master Khalid observed as the rest of the prospects filed through to claim their items.

I stood off to the side between my usual sparring partner and Six. Tension radiated off of them, blanketing me in a static energy that hummed through my very being.

I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the climate. I couldn’t even feel the air around me. Master Khalid claimed my focus, his pending command—whatever it would be—becoming my entire world.

The doors behind him opened to reveal the sandy plains beyond the walls.