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I nod in agreement. There isn’t much else that I can do.

If I’m right and the Choosing has kept my team here because the Draconian team is actually trying to kill me, like we have discussed before, then that means that an entity that is stronger and more powerful than all of us, is in agreement and possibly knows more than we do.

That’s concerning, to say the least.

I am very grateful that I have the guys with me, and that because of that, Kylen is hopefully smart enough not to try anything.

Although whatever he was trying to do last night when the voices woke me may beg to differ with that theory.

He did get pretty badly beaten by Doc, which I would hope would have put him off from trying anything else.

I hope he realizes that the only reason why he isn’t dead is because we all have to finish this trial alive, and I managed to get through to Doc.

The rest of the team quickly join us, and we talk quietly as we wait for Ransom to get enough sleep.

My thoughts earlier about the heat have proven to be correct, as it starts to get cooler as the sun rises higher in the sky.

Relief fills me. I have no idea how far we have to travel to make it to the portal that will take us home, but I am very glad that we won’t have to do it in the heat.

∞∞∞

We manage to allow Ransom to get around three hours of sleep before Van reluctantly decides that we really can’t let him sleep for much longer, and we need to get going.

He looks at the Draconian team as he gets up to wake Ransom, “You need to wake Kylen, or we’ll leave him here. His leg will be healed by now, there’s no reason for him to be still sleeping.”

Rupert glares but moves over to Kylen to wake him up, while Van moves over to Ransom. As soon as Evander says his name, Ransom wakes and sits up to stretch, running his hand through his hair and gathering himself.

Kylen, on the other hand, has to be repeatedly shouted at and then kicked by Rupert, which I find way too amusing.

“I’m tired,” Kylen grumbles as he turns over, ready to go back to sleep.

“Get the fuck up, you lazy asshole,” River snaps. “You’ve slept all night, not helping to keep watch, and Ransom, who is responsible for making sure that we were safe, has only had three hours' sleep and is up and ready to leave.”

“We’re more than happy to leave you here,” Evander adds. “Trial be fucking damned, you’re lucky you’re fucking alive as it is.”

Kylen turns around, his eyes filling with fire as the handprint on his face looks even worse than it did yesterday.

It looks really painful, and if it were on anyone else I would be feeling sorry for them, but it’s on Kylen and after last night, I really couldn’t give a shit, not that I really did in the first place come to think of it.

Everyone, even his own team, ignore him as he starts bitching and whining, at least he’s getting up.

“Alright, let’s head out,” Van says, taking charge. “The instructions said north, and that’s up.”

I’m surprised when no one argues with him, not that there is anything to really argue with.

It’s a fact. It really is as simple as that.

Hey, that rhymed, I’m a poet and I didn’t know it.

I chuckle quietly and earn weird looks from everyone close enough to hear me in the process, which I decide to ignore because explaining what I’m laughing about will just make them give me even more weird looks.

We all start to climb out of the cliff entrance, and I grin as a breeze helps to cool what was left of the balmy night. Only River, Doc, and one of the Draconian team are out there when Griff grunts.

“I think I’ve figured out what I’ve lost,” Griff announces, loudly enough that everyone can hear him.

“What?” Reed asks.

“Wings,” Griff replies. “I just tried to shift, and I can, but my wings don’t appear.”

“Let me try,” Reed says, and I watch curiously. He shakes his head, “Nope, I don’t have access to my wings either.”

“What about you guys?” Doc asks, looking at Rupert and Kylen. They’re the only dragons on the team apart from Coen, and we all know that he can’t shift.

I’m assuming that since Doc didn’t ask the other one, Jamie, I think he’s called, and that the last member is already out on the cliffside, that neither of them has wings.

“We don’t have to tell you fuck all,” Kylen starts.

Rupert rolls his eyes, and then looks like he’s concentrating before he shakes his head, “No, I can’t. Obviously, I can’t fully shift into my dragon in here, but when I called on my magic, I could feel that my wings wouldn’t transform.”

“So those of us who can fly have lost the ability to do so,” Griff says, with a slight frown.

“Well, that can’t be good,” I mutter.

After discussing the implications for a moment longer, it’s decided that there isn’t anything that we can do, and we were warned that we would lose parts of our gifts, so we’re going to have to work around it.

We decide to carry on with the initial plan and get to the top of the cliff.

We have no idea what’s waiting up there for us, and we need to get up there as quickly as we can so that we can assess the situation.

It shouldn’t be a big deal that some of them don’t have access to their wings anymore, since the rest of us do pretty well without wings.

As I climb, I can’t help but think that the Choosing has taken away their wings for a reason.

I mean, obviously it has, but I’m going to assume that it’s taking them away because we’re going to need them.

I also wonder if anyone else has lost any of their magic or gifts, or if it’s just those that have wings. I guess we’re going to find out.

When Reed pulls me up and over the top of the cliff, I have to say I’m surprised at what I see.

I thought there might be more forest, or even more of the rocky terrain from below up here, but instead, there’s just a huge expanse of pasture—mostly flat, all grass, except for a couple of trees dotted here and there.

It’s pretty.

Most surprisingly though is that I can see the portal in the distance.

I have a feeling that it’s actually a lot further away than it looks, and I also have a feeling that it’s not as easy to get to as it looks either.

It wouldn’t be much of a task if all we had to do were climb up the cliff and walk leisurely toward the portal.

The others are all quickly over the edge, and looking around just like I am, with the same amount of caution as well.