Page 59

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

TATE

Today, Picking started, and I’m miles away on patrol duty, scanning the forest beneath me for signs of movement.

I lingered endlessly in the dining hall the night of Blackstone’s visit, hoping Ara would show, but she never did.

We left for patrol early the following morning, and despite hovering in the hallway like a creep, I didn’t see her then either.

Our flight isn’t on watch duty for Picking until the very last day of it, and the thought of Ara going through that right now makes it hard to think straight. I’m not sure I could have stayed away if we hadn’t been on patrol, so maybe there is something positive to this.

“She is strong and fierce,” Daeva reassures me. But we both know that isn’t a guarantee that Ara will survive it.

They drugged the runners at dinner the evening before, blocking known gifts if present to level the chances, and then placed them up on Mount Albión at one of three drop-off areas.

The runners have to show their skill by surviving in the rough environment of the mountain and finding their way to the collection point.

That gives the birds up there time to evaluate them and choose a rider if worthy.

I couldn’t even tell her good luck.

We will arrive back the night before Picking ends, which is still three nights away, and since the area we patrol is too sparsely populated and too rough in terrain to justify outposts, we’ll camp out in the open.

“She’ll do fine,” Jared offers, together with a bowl of stew. He’s the one cooking tonight.

“Who?” Zaza asks behind me.

“Uh…Daeva did feel a little off earlier today,” I lie.

“You make me sound weak,” Daeva complains instantly.

“She is not happy about me saying that,” I relay to the others, which makes them chuckle.

“Yes, I’m not happy because you tell lies about me to cover up Jared’s mistakes.

Tell him to keep his mouth shut, or I will come for him.

” Since Zaza is still next to me, laughing about something Jared said, I spare him the threat.

The way Zaza looks at my best friend while he serves the next rider makes me pause.

Is that longing in her eyes? I remember Zaza’s comment to Ara about the men in our division.

Maybe I should make my best friend talk about things for a change.

I walk over to the trunk of a big fallen tree and sit down, my thoughts wandering about a day’s ride northeast to Picking and Ara.

I hope you play it safe, sunshine!

Exhaustion helps me to fall asleep despite my worries.

I start awake after a much too familiar nightmare, only it had been Ara bleeding out in front of me this time.

I scrub a hand over my face, trying to reassure myself that it was only a dream, but since she isn’t safe within the walls of the academy, but out in the open just like me, it’s not that easy.

I sit up. The night sky is bright with stars above me since we skipped erecting tents to save time in the morning. The next part of our route is always the worst. The winds in this part of the mountains are tricky and exhausting for our companions.

The night is quiet, and the sleeping forms around me should be reassuring with the birds huddled close by. But instead, there is a tension I can’t shake. Like someone is watching.

Daeva blinks at me when I get up, so either it’s her turn to keep watch or I woke her with my nightmare.

A rustle between the trees has me snap to high alert. Maybe it hadn’t been just the nightmare that woke me. The mist crept up to our camping area during the night. It’s not even three steps away from me now.

I shudder and peer into the misty veil, trying to make out anything out of the ordinary. Despite my attention, I don’t see the shadowy figure until it steps out of the mist right in front of me.

I step back, reaching for the dagger at my leg and letting my magic flow to the surface.

“Don’t,” the figure threatens, leveling his taut bow right at my heart. “And tell your bird to stay put, too.”

“You heard him,” I tell Daeva, and her ire washes down our bond, heightening my own. I grasp for the air around him. As soon as I have a hold on the arrow, I can move.

“Don’t,” the low voice warns again even though I haven’t moved a muscle.

Can he feel my magic?

I can’t get hold of the arrow. It’s like something is shoving me back, like the air within the mist doesn’t listen to me.

“You won’t get away with killing me,” I tell him, switching to Daeva’s view to try to make out his face. The long dark cloak he wears seems to melt into the mist around him, hiding his features completely. If it hadn’t been for his voice and size, I wouldn’t even have been sure he’s male.

“Oh, I’m well aware that killing you could start a war we are not ready for.” The stranger chuckles. “And I’m sure she would never forgive me. So you are safe for now.”

“Yes, Daeva would hunt you down,” I say, switching back to my own view. He looks at my bird.

“Yeah, she doesn’t look too happy either.

” His head turns back to me. “Listen, I’m only approaching you because you are asking the right questions.

There is a lot more going on than you know, and this isn’t the time to get into it.

But I need to warn her. You need to warn her.

There are people after her and after you.

She has to stay vigilant and can always count on us for help. We’ll always take her in.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

“Tynan of the mist court, or the titans, depending on how fancy you prefer it.” He takes a little bow, all of it without moving his arrow even one finger away from its mark.

“I tried to warn her, but she ran… to you—and since I know what you did for her…” He pauses, his gaze turning to the mist, but his bow stays on target.

I have to give it to him. He has control.

“Tell her to leave a message in the book she dropped or to whisper my name into the mist, and we will contact her. Don’t let her walk into the mist alone. ”

A rustle to my far left draws my attention. Boko turns but settles again.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, turning back, but the space next to me is empty. He vanished as quickly and silently as he came, the mist licking at my feet but slowly drawing back. What the fuck was that about?

“You heard that, too, right?” I ask Daeva.

Thankfully, she confirms. Otherwise, I would have thought I dreamed all of it.

“Do you think he was talking about Ara?” I ask Daeva.

“ Unless you faced a dragon for someone else, I’m pretty sure he was. Did she ever run to you?” she asks in return. I’m about to negate that when I remember our encounter in the library.

I never asked her why she ran through the library in total darkness.

Fuck. Had someone chased her, scared her? Nearly reached her within the academy walls? And how had she known where to find me? How did the stranger know she ran to me?

It’s safe to say I don’t find sleep that night, and my worry about Ara shoots up to astronomical levels.

I can’t wait to get back because if he was talking about Ara, he warned me that someone is after her, and she’s currently unarmed and up on a mountain that is challenging all on its own.

Ara

I wake up on a cool stone floor. Alone.

“I guess dropping us off in flights would have been too much to ask,” I grumble while I get up, dusting myself off and taking in my surroundings.

I know where I am even though I don’t know the room I’m currently in. If you can call it a room at all since it has no ceiling, the four tall walls opening to a barely lit sky above me.

Picking has begun.

There had been moments in my argument with Dar that I hadn’t been sure I would even get here. So there is a little satisfaction mixed in the trepidation when I look around. I have to be in the old ruins, and I’m suddenly glad Professor Riku made us memorize all those maps in geography.

The ruins are on the southern side of Mount Albión.The room around me is empty, a few weeds and moss growing in the cracks along the walls. There is only one doorway, so I don’t have much choice but to start walking.

Whenever they told us we would be tested, I hadn’t thought getting out of a labyrinth would be part of it, but this is exactly what it feels like. I huff out a breath while I eye the two doorways in front of me.

I use the sunlight for orientation, but since I don’t know the structure of the building or where the exit is located, that isn’t much help.

Somehow, I envisioned Picking being more about flying and finding my way through the wilderness instead of being abandoned in a strange building.

At least the rules are easy: survive and don’t leave the mountain unless you are ordered to. Well, I can do that, I hope.

My body aches from the night on the hard stone floor, which makes me think of the last night I spent on a hard floor… in Tate’s arms.

Concentrate.

I have been stripped of all my weapons, leaving me with only the helmet on my head and the shield placed next to me, which makes me a little anxious.

At least nothing has attacked me yet.

I meander through one room after another, and my thoughts start wandering again, this time back to my conversation with Dar. We got into a bit of a disagreement after he declared he would take me home.

But he couldn’t take away the marking on my arm, which is now a wriggly line longer than the span of my hand.

Dar had to agree that it wouldn’t go unnoticed forever.

He freaked out about the promise to the dragon, though.

I wince, just thinking back to that. He was also not amused that I slipped past the guards so easily, so there’ll be changes.

The building is eerily quiet around me, and the fact that I haven’t met any runners yet freaks me out a bit. I should have run into someone by now, shouldn’t I?