Page 5

Chapter

Three

ARA

“They’re going to kill me,” Sloan mutters for what feels like the hundredth time since we started for the academy. A small miracle, considering it’s not more than ten minutes on foot—and we are only halfway there.

Telos is a small town at the foot of the Malvada Mountains that borders the sea. Its biggest buildings are the academy, the arena, and the temples. Everything else is modest in comparison and ranges from sprawling villas and townhouses to the huts of the poor.

I arrived three weeks ago, so I thankfully had time to get used to the overwhelming number of people and noise. Despite Telos being a small town, it is big compared to what I’m used to.

Sloan pulls me aside when a cart loaded with vine barrels swerves to the side to let an oncoming cart pass.

“I’m as good as dead,” Sloan mutters. My uncle thinks she is accompanying me to the carriage station and that I’m heading home today, while my family assumes I’m staying for three months. So I’m on my way to the academy.

“My brothers are not that bad.” I roll my eyes at my cousin's dramatics.

“They kill for a living,” she counters, making me snort a laugh.

“They are in the king’s army, not assassins.” I shake my head at her.

“Same difference,” she mutters. “And now you want that too? Kill and be killed?” Sloan’s family consists of merchants and has nothing to do with weapons and fighting.

“It’s not half as bad as you make it sound,” I tell her, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. We’ve had similar arguments at least a hundred times.

“Is that why you slinked out instead of telling them?” She raises her eyebrows.

I don’t answer that. Since she doesn’t know I’m cursed, I can’t tell her about the marking. But she knows my brothers well enough to have a solid idea of how telling them would have worked out.

“Look, all I need is for you to post those letters for me. As long as they keep coming, no one will ask questions. You won't even have to lie for me.” Those letters are the only reason I told Sloan about my plan. She will cover my ass by forwarding them since I won’t be allowed to leave the premises until after Picking, which is three months away.

Sending my letters with the military postal service simply isn’t an option.

She stops and stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Ara Blackstone, stop acting like this is not a big deal.” She throws up her hands. “Applicants die in there!”

“Accidents happen everywhere.” I shrug. “It’s not like someone is trying to kill us off.”

“Oh no, they kindly wait with that until after you’re done and you get sent on patrol.”

“Relax, I won’t have any accidents, and I won’t be on patrols until at least next year.”

The hurried clatter of hooves on stone ricochets off the houses around us, and I tense.

“Right, that’s why they call them accidents, because people plan them.” Sloan’s words drip with sarcasm, and I laugh.

“You worry too much. I’ll be fine.” I wave off her objection while the riders pass us and continue down the street.

You only have to survive Assessment , I think. I’ll worry about the rest once I get there.

Sloan hurries to catch up with me. I see her eyeing me and know what’s coming next even before she plucks on the tunic that peeks out from under my sweater. Both are new and represent the local style.

“I still don't see why you are dressed like a boy. They do let girls join, right?” Sloan looks affronted on my behalf, which makes me smile.

“It’s less suspicious. I will be one of many instead of the one exception.

” Guilt swirls in my stomach. I hate lying, but Darren, as the commanding general of the king’s army, gets regular updates on all the military posts.

If he hears about a girl who climbs like a squirrel and just started training at the Aerie in Telos—the same place I happen to spend my ‘vacation’ at—he will be here to drag my ass back home before I even have the chance to try on the uniform.

“And what happens once they find out you lied?” Sloan voices the worries I’ve stubbornly ignored so far.

“I guess I have to hope that being bonded and my connections will be enough to keep them from doing something drastic.”

Like executing me.

My smile falters for a second. Well, it’s not like that outcome would be different from what I’d face now if anyone finds out I’m cursed.

“You hope?” Sloan’s wide eyes are locked on me.

I shrug. I’d rather have her think I’m crazy than endanger her by telling her too much.

My plan is easy: get into the academy, bond a bird at Picking, and become a skyrider. Boom, all problems fixed, and no one has to protect me anymore.

At least I can fight. Growing up in a fortress that’s an active outpost with four older brothers as companions has its perks in that regard.

Sloan is quiet next to me, and I hope she doesn’t regret helping me.

A shadow slips over me, and I look up, multiple dark shapes circle above us. Some are so far up they can be mistaken for ordinary birds, some so close, their shadows blot out the sun while they pass overhead. The riders on their back are not always visible from down here, but I know they’re there.

That is what I’m going to become—a skyrider.

Seeing their dark shapes outlined against the blue sky above me transports me back to the day three months ago that sparked the plan to come here.

“They are so going to kill me,” Sloan says, drawing me out of my memory.

I grimace. If my brothers find out what I’m up to, they will lose their shit for sure. Not that they would harm her, but I can easily see them dragging me back like a glorified prisoner.

A tall sand-colored building peeks out from behind the townhouses surrounding us, and I perk up—the academy. Suddenly, I can’t wait to get this over with.

I like Sloan, I do. We are as close as you can be if you see your cousin only a few weeks every summer, but she’s too good at worrying, and I don’t see the point. It’s not like it changes anything.

Big iron gates loom beside us, marking the beginning of the academy grounds. The gates are part of an equally imposing iron fence held up by intermittent stone pillars of the same sand-colored stone as the buildings behind them.

On my left, the fence gives way to a tall building. The buildings all have a similar structure to our fortress at home, but their walls are as light as the fortress is dark.

The compound is in excellent shape, not a blade of grass or a tree branch out of place, and the building's big windows sparkle in the light of the sun rising above the mountains in the east. They have the distinctive bluish glint of magically enforced glass, making them as durable as the walls around them.

Ian would approve.

The two guards operating the gates give us a cursory glance before ignoring us. More guards patrol the perimeter farther down, and there is a slight shimmer in the air around the gate too, hinting at magic.

The whole academy is a lot bigger and more impressive than I thought. The buildings are all at least four stories high, their pitched roofs and towers surrounded by a parapet walk.

I swallow, suddenly not so sure going in there pretending to be someone else is a good idea.

I hug Sloan, pull my shoulders back, and step through the gates before I change my mind.

The square in front of me is orderly. Not even a single weed dares to peek out between the nearly white gravel at my feet.

My eyes fly to the buildings again. Decorating stones on their facade, drain spouts, and windowsills create climbable paths up and down. Maybe I can use that to my advantage when I meet Sloan next month.

You have to get in first, I remind myself, heading to the long line of candidates snaking across the area in front of me. It starts at the massive gate of one of the buildings, which is its only visible entrance, the building acting as a massive wall for whatever lies behind it.

At least I can’t get lost.

Nerves swamp my body, and I regret eating the breakfast Sloan heaped on my plate this morning.

Great timing for developing nerves, Ara. I grimace.

With my sweater and dark pants, I fit right in with the crowd. Nearly half the applicants are dressed like me, and I’m not the only one with a hat, either.

My clothes are loose, and my fortunately rather average breasts are bound tightly to hide my form. Touching my wool hat to make sure my hair is still covered, I step behind the last in line, settling in for a long wait.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let Sloan talk me out of cutting my hair. The long golden strands are braided in a tight crown above my head. Thankfully, it’s already cool enough to justify the hat, and the uniform comes with a cap as well.

I size up the others in line, and many of them look very ... built. They have broad shoulders and strong arms, and most are taller than me. I release a nervous breath. There is a real chance I will have to fight some of them during the sparring part of the Assessment.

The applicant in front of me looks as nervous as I feel and regrets breakfast too, if the slightly greenish tinge of his face is any indicator.

Gods, I hope he doesn’t throw up, or I’ll probably join in.

I turn. The candidate behind me looks more red than green while his mother bids him a tearful goodbye. Our gazes collide, and he rolls his blue eyes. Dark brown curls stick out in every direction on his head as if his mom just ruffled through them. I grin.

As soon as his parents leave, he steps closer. He’s broad and tall and easily dwarfs me even though I’m not small for a woman.

“I thought I would have to do Assessment with her hanging on my neck,” he says and clasps my hand in his. “I’m Calix, by the way.”

I chuckle at the image of his petite, perfectly coiffed mother dangling from his shoulders while facing an opponent in a sword fight.

“You’d think she’s used to her kids moving out by now, with me being the last one to leave the house and all.” He still looks slightly embarrassed.