Page 10

Chapter

Six

TATE

The obstacle course is deserted, and only a few stragglers are left sparring in the low afternoon sun and shooting at the targets. Most candidates are now waiting for questioning. It’s the same every year. Everyone wants to get the most life-threatening parts out of the way first.

I turn back to Jared.

“Have you heard anything about how many died this year?” I ask.

“I heard Sanders say we had thirty-two unlucky ones.”

“Not too bad.” According to the numbers Jared handed out, there had been close to four hundred applicants to start with.

Hopefully, that means we have fewer people of the I-walk-over-bodies type among the recruits.

This year is my first as centurion of the southern division, and I’m not sure I have the patience to deal with that in a way leadership would approve of.

While killing each other on purpose is frowned upon and severely punished, there are always some who try to frame getting rid of their opponents as an accident.

“I could accidentally drop them,” Daeva offers, and I grin.

“Not sure they would believe you about the accident part ,” I tell her. “Are you on your way?”

“There in three.” She lets me know, and I leave Jared, who is talking to a few members of our squadron, and head out the gate to meet up with Daeva.

The whooshing and rustling of wings behind me tells me the patrol is back. Perfect timing. Now the air is clear for at least an hour. Plenty of time for a meeting without drawing too much attention.

Daeva is harnessed and ready to go in record time, and she launches as soon as I’m seated. Her mighty wings come down on the next heartbeat, causing a cloud of dust below us.

Daeva quickly wins on height, and I watch the landscape pass under her wings. Flying is always freeing, even with body armor and a helmet.

I enjoy the wind on my face. That’s why I disabled the protective charm on my helmet as soon as I had enough control over my gift. It is needed during rain, snow, or heavy wind. Otherwise, flying in such weather becomes even more miserable, but I can always shield my eyes with air if needed.

The sun is low, casting the valleys into darkness.

Telos is a small town, and the academy, with its light buildings and sprawling grounds, stands out even from up here.

Then there is the round form of the arena and the group of temples on the temple hill.

The rest of the buildings are much smaller, often family homes adjoining one another, only visible as brown-red shingled squares from up here.

Some of the mountains are forested, but the area around Telos is dry, and there are always bald areas between where wildfires have raged. Water, fire, and air gifts help to contain them quickly, but they still leave their marks on the landscape.

Now, during winter, the highest peaks of the mountains are capped with snow, looking like giant versions of the waves crashing against the shore in the south of Telos.

Telos is the most southern and remote of the four academies that take in candidates for training. It is also the farthest away from Avina, our capital. Not much danger of running into any acquaintances from my former life.

Daeva’s shadow slips over the ground below, rising and growing on the mountain slopes and plunging down the other side.

Daeva circles a few times before starting elaborate maneuvers. The straps of my saddle dig into my legs on a sharp turn. She pulls out of a dive, and gravity pushes me hard into the leather under my ass.

“ You are such a show-off. And you aren’t even sure anyone is watching ,” I tease.

“ Someone is always watching. Who wouldn’t with how dazzling my feathers look in sunlight?” She sounds smug.

“ Now I can’t decide if you’re paranoid or arrogant.”

“ Confident is the word you are looking for, human.”

I snort, and Daeva clicks her beak in warning before plunging us into another dive.

If anyone is watching, it will look like we’re practicing. An hour of practice can go a long way to keep anyone from getting suspicious.

Once I am satisfied it’s safe, Daeva drifts toward the mountains, taking it a little farther with every turn until we dive out of sight behind the first peak.

My contact is already waiting for me, close to the bridge point to Muntos, the neighboring kingdom.

Bridge points look like normal bridges but are magically forged connections between two physical locations spanning the magical mist beneath. The mist separates all five kingdoms on Sortu from one another, making bridge points, portals, and sea routes the only connections.

Walking through the mist until you reach the other border may be a way to get there, too, but people who ventured into the mist rarely return, so no one is keen to try that.

I loosen the straps around my legs before Daeva even touches the ground and jump off as soon as she does. She takes off immediately. Daeva is still a daunting opponent while on the ground but at a severe disadvantage compared to her abilities in the air.

She will circle above and keep an eye out for trouble while I do the talking.

I eye the man I came here for while I take off my gloves and tuck them into my belt.

He is pale and has white hair, which stands out against the forest behind him.

His gaze flits over our surroundings before it comes back to me.

I don’t know him well enough to trust him, and he seems nervous, even more so than last time.

“ Anything suspicious?” I ask Daeva.

“ Nothing so far, but anyone could use the trees as cover,” she answers. She’s right. I stay where I am, wide out in the open, where Daeva can swoop down and grab me.

My contact hesitates, his eyes flicking up to Daeva, but he finally comes to me when I don’t move.

“I’m not doing this anymore,” he blurts out as soon as he reaches me. “They know someone is asking questions.” He looks over his shoulder like he expects someone to jump out and catch him talking to me.

“We have an agreement,” I reply. My voice is cool and composed, but I want to yell in frustration. He’s the third one to back out in the past two years.

“Find someone else to do it. You found me, didn’t ya?” He squirms under my scrutiny. “Alright, alright.” He searches the pouch on his belt and slaps three gold coins into my palm. “Here is half of what you gave me. I did half of the time we agreed on, so we’re even.”

At least he didn’t just vanish like the first two men.

One is dead, and the second may be, too. I pocket the money. I don’t blame him for wanting out after six months, even if it is inconvenient for me. At least he has the decency to tell me.

I nod, and he sags in relief.

“There have been six more raids on travelers and hunting parties. Same course of action as the rest,” he says.

“Only high-ranking members of society and good connections were spared and released against money or maybe information, but the families are very tight-lipped about it.” He shrugs.

“Not one of the victims breathed a word of recognizing crests or colors.”

Disappointment and frustration simmer inside me. The icy blue of the Mras Family should be easy to identify.

Why can no one remember something important like that?

“ You can’t expect prey to remember the fur markings of its attacker. They may do many things, but thinking or being observant is rarely one of them.” Daeva tries to appease me.

“ How come I can remember then?” I grumble .

“ You are no prey and never have been.” That’s her simple answer.

I turn my attention back to the man in front of me, gesturing for him to go on. I know it makes him uneasy to witness my conversations with Daeva, if he even realizes this is what I am doing. His gaze catches on the lines of my markings, visible beneath my sleeve.

His eyes come back to mine, and he swallows. “In one case, the attackers were forced to retreat in haste, and they left the body of one of theirs behind.” I perk up at that. “He was stripped down, so I don’t know what crest or colors he wore.”

“What happened to the body?” I ask, holding my breath. Maybe I finally have the breakthrough I’m waiting for.

“He supposedly was handed off to one of the healing houses,” the man answers, pushing his hair out of his face. “But when I asked for him, no one knew who I was talking about.” He shrugs. “My guess is, his people found a way to get the body back.”

I curse. A part of that man in the right hands could have gotten me some answers. Three and a half years since the attack that turned my life around, and still no progress.

They’ll pay for what they have done.

“But a guard of the armed party that broke up said attack close to the Barrier Mountains found this at the site.” He pulls a crystal out of his pocket, about the size of my thumb.

It’s a smoky gray, the hexagonal form pointed at both ends and tipped in gold.

I reach for it, but the man quickly closes his hand over it.

“I paid him five silver for it,” he says defensively. Nice try. I simply wait, and he fidgets under my stare. Daeva caws, amused.

The man flinches and hands over the crystal without another word. I turn it over in my hands.

“Any thoughts on what this is for?” I look at him, and he squirms, evading my gaze.

“You’re the one with a gift, not me. It’s not the stopper of a decanter and looks too fancy for a tent peg.” He shrugs.

“Anything else?” I ask.

The man shakes his head.

“All of the raids still happen close to the border, and still nothing outside Belarra, right?” I double-check.

“Like I said, nothing changed.” He looks longingly at the bridge point behind him.

I continue to ask my questions, but it soon becomes apparent he has nothing new to tell me. We go our separate ways. The crystal is the only reason I don’t feel this meeting wasted my time and money.