Page 60 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)

R ows of torches blazed in the field just beyond the academy’s walls.

Kiira and I stood at the head of the priestess-turned-warriors, anxiously awaiting instruction from Rokath and Rapp.

The moment Kiira had learned of the new initiation ritual, she wanted to join too.

Despite the chilly air, all of us had our sleeves rolled up, revealing the shared ink on our skin.

The males, lingering all around, eyed tattoo after tattoo. Honestly, I was awed by how many had it. How many of us were united in our pain, united in our desire to carve a new path for ourselves.

That, coupled with whatever we were about to do, would cast us in an entirely new light to the soldiers who still believed we were unworthy of a place in the army.

I hoped.

Excited whispers abounded at my back. I glanced over my shoulder, surveying the gathered units.

The creeping twilight made it difficult to distinguish individual figures.

Olet and a few of the other officers had disappeared into the hills beyond a short time before, and with the fading light, they were impossible to see now.

Rokath finally banged on a metal shield, drawing everyone’s attention.

He and Rapp entered into the firelight, the red glow highlighting his hard-set jaw.

“We have decided everyone will participate in this initiation, given this will be what everyone does for years to come. After all, we are all equals now.”

“So what are we doing then?” I called out, a sense of giddiness overtaking me.

“It will consist of three trials,” Rapp announced, leaning on a wooden post for support. “First, a blood offering to the Fates. The competition rests in how far you are willing to go. There are limits of course.”

“Second,” Rokath growled, drawing everyone’s attention. “You’ll be tied in groups of three and you will face a series of obstacles. You must not break your thread.”

“And third,” Rapp jumped back in, “You’ll leap from the front tower without your wings. A pool of shadows will wait for you. If you require someone to assist your fall because you don’t call on your magic in time, you’ll have to do it again.”

They seemed like fair, balanced trials with a hint of danger. I elbowed Kiira in the side, and she shot me an excited smile. I glanced behind me at the other females, who all seemed just as ready to prove themselves.

“The trials will also take place in the dark to further prove yourselves. You’ll have to rely less on your senses and more on your instincts. That is what will save you during battle,” Rokath said, adding a sobering reminder of why we were all really here.

Some of the excitement died down, but energy still thrummed among the gathered units.

“Should your bloodletting be insufficient, should your thread break, or should you hesitate to leap, you will be deemed unworthy,” Rokath warned, the gravel in his tone grating the air.

My stomach knotted. We had to do this. All of us. I glanced behind me, grateful when the sentiment was etched into the female’s faces.

Rokath set the shield to the side and drew a dagger from his belt.

“The time has come for you to make your offering to the Fates. The challenge is this: you must cut yourself in such a way that you can fill a chalice to the brim without severing any essential veins or muscles. Additionally, you only have one attempt to make a cut. Should you heal before you can produce enough blood, you will be deemed unworthy. With our limited time to organize the activity, your non-dominant hand will suffice. Fail to fill it completely, and you will also be deemed unworthy.”

Turning my arms over, I tried to gauge how exactly I was supposed to make that work. I could cut with my left hand, but I didn’t trust myself not to err in my path doing so. That was meant to be part of the challenge, knowing Rokath.

He and Rapp split up, each taking a faction of the army to review. Rokath approached Kiira and me, hands flattening behind his lower back as he settled into a commanding stance. “You may begin.”

“Oh this will be easy,” Kiira said, drawing a dagger for herself.

Shadows gripped the hilt as she held out her arm.

The sharp tip pressed into the skin of her forearm, and then the tendrils dragged the blade backward, toward her elbow.

When a deep gash appeared, she cupped her hand beneath the flow.

In seconds, she had plenty to fill her palm.

“For the Reaper, whose eye will pass over us,” she prayed, loud enough that all could hear.

“You may pass on to the second trial,” Rokath pronounced, and behind us, Maariya and Izzenna squealed. Kiira dumped her blood onto the ground and advanced past him.

“Next!” He turned his attention to me, and I drew my blade.

“You can do this,” he encouraged down our mental connection.

“I know I can,” I quipped back, calling on my own shadow power. “Again, I don’t know why you doubt me.”

“I never have, little imposter.” Amusement glittered in his burgundy eyes as he watched me repeat Kiira’s process, albeit a bit more clumsily.

My dagger ended up in the grass as I clasped my arm, filling my palm with crimson.

Ten seconds passed, and then, my hand was full.

I turned it over, displaying the blood pooled there.

“For the Giver, who blessed me with rare magic and an even rarer bond.”

The response to my declaration was nothing short of thunderous.

I grinned widely up at my mate as he passed me along to the next trial.

Bending down to grab my blade, I swept by Rokath, joining Kiira on the other side.

We cheered on every female, and not a single one failed the task.

We even finished before the males reached a similar number in their ranks.

Then, we joined Rapp’s group and encouraged the rest. By the time darkness engulfed Fured, everyone had completed the task and the Fates had been thoroughly fed.

More torches ignited, and many carried them as they moved about, guiding the path for others so they didn’t tumble over a rock hidden among the yellowed grass.

Yet Olet and the other officers still hadn’t returned.

We received an explanation moments later when Rokath yelled out his next instructions.

“Each female will select two male partners for the course. Once you have your group, grab a rope from the cart and tie it around your waists. Parancsok Olet and the Százados are waiting for you in the hills beyond to ensure there is no cheating. ”

My heart stuttered as I looked around, trying to decide who would be best to pair with. I’d been hoping Kiira, Maariya, and I could join forces, maybe even with Izzenna or Vokkia, but if we had to connect ourselves to the males…

I understood Rokath’s reasoning, but damn him, he put me in a tough spot. No one would want to join with the mate of the Halálhívó, not when they would risk his wrath for touching me, or worse, injuring me.

Groups began to form, mostly from within already existing units. Kiira too seemed to be as lost as me, with wandering males looking everywhere but at us.

I let out an annoyed huff. “Well if they won’t come to us, let’s go to them.”

“Agreed,” Kiira said, and together we strode into the throng. Dipping and dodging, we put ourselves directly in the center, and I sought out strong-looking ones who didn’t immediately reverse course when they noticed our position.

“You!” Kiira shouted, grabbing the arm of a passerby I was about to claim.

“Ugh,” I replied as he begrudgingly came to her side.

But when I turned my attention outward, my gaze collided with a familiar set of ruby orbs.

“Uzadaan?” I took a tentative step forward toward the male who had come to Stryi to conscript new soldiers so long ago.

Whose arrival, along with the rest of the Lovak Squad, had irrevocably changed the course of my life.

He grinned, flashing his set of extra sharp teeth. “I apologize for avoiding you until now, Szélhámos. I thought it best if we didn’t meet, for your mate’s sake. But it appears you need a partner.”

My heart warmed, my expression mirroring his. At least he didn’t reject me, like Dromak had, when I’d run into him again. “I am. Do you have a third that can join us?”

Uzadaan let out a sharp whistle and called out to another. From the crowd, a lanky male approached, boasting eyes in a deep shade of maroon. While he wasn’t as tall as Uzadaan, he held strong power, which would be to our advantage. “This is Darrx.”

“Szélhámos,” he greeted me with a respectful salute. “It will be an honor to complete the course alongside you.”

I glanced back at Kiira, who had grabbed a second male. She winked, then grasped both males by the arms and hauled them toward the cart filled with ropes. I snickered and turned back to Uzadaan and Darrx. “Let’s go then so we have an advantageous position.”

“Aye,” Uzadaan agreed, using his height to weave through the throng. Once we got close, he said, “Wait here.”

Darrx and I moved off to the side, while Uzadaan fetched a tether for us.

When he returned, I realized it wasn’t a single piece in which we’d all be in the middle.

No, it was actually three individual rings, tied to a greater loop.

But the thickness? It was minimal at best. One wrong jerk in opposite directions would send the threads snapping.

“How are we supposed to get in this?” I asked, examining it.

“I think that’s part of the challenge,” Darrx chuckled.

“I should probably go first, since I’m the smallest.” Carefully, I stepped through the hole, then shimmied it over my hips until the noose tightened over my waist. Attention seared my skin, and I looked up. Rokath’s possessive stare pinned me in place.

“Like the view?” I shot down our bond, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

“Tremendously. I hope both of those males know the consequences of something happening to you out there,” he threatened.