Page 63 of Horns of Wicked Ebony (Deathcaller Duet #2)

Uzadaan and Darrx approached, saluting the Halálhívó and their Hadvezér. “Sir, it was an honor to compete with your mate.”

“Your teamwork is commendable, soldiers. Continue to have this attitude, and you’ll move up the ranks,” Rokath told them.

“Any way we can assist, we will, sir,” Uzadaan swore.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to him before the two departed, joining the others who had finished off to one side of the raised dais.

To my relief, Kiira’s group was next, followed by Izzenna, Vokkia, and Maariya. More and more poured in, and I glanced at the clock. Nearly an hour had passed and still, hundreds had not appeared.

“They can’t actually die in the dark, can they?” I clarified, glancing at Rapp and Rokath.

“Nah,” Rapp drawled, his mischievous grin making the rings in his lip glint in the firelight. “Olet is supposed to let up on his magic so they can find their way out.”

“What is that place?” I asked.

“An old storm shelter. It’s only used when there’s a nasty hurricane coming off the coast, which we haven’t had in decades. Olet simply used his magic to disorient everyone approaching the doors to it,” Rapp explained.

Clever.

“So you want everyone to succeed?” I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

Rokath nodded. “And those ropes wouldn’t have broken. Rapp infused a bit of his Binding power into each of them. It’s also why you couldn’t use your magic.”

That made perfect sense.

“So it was all mind games then?”

“Pretty much,” Rapp replied, wincing as he shrugged. “It always is.”

If I’d learned anything living among the most powerful Demons in Keleti, it was that Rapp’s statement was true. Those tricks were ones I was bringing into my repertoire, consciously or not. My last interactions with Xannirin were proof of that.

The last groups spilled from the tunnel in a rush, all making mad dashes toward the finish line.

Cheers rang out from all sides, encouraging them to arrive under their time limit.

The hands on the clock ticked as I glanced between it and the teams. As the number spun, signaling the change in hour, the very last set of three threw themselves forward, landing in a muddy heap at the base of the stage.

But every single soldier made it.

When Rokath declared it, the whole army erupted. I couldn’t help the smile that made my cheeks ache. To see the males and females interacting like this, trusting one another like this, celebrating together—it was everything.

All our hard work, all our sacrifices, all the blood and tears shed, it culminated in this moment.

“And you made it happen, Assyria.”

I threw my arms around Rokath’s waist, not caring that we had an audience.

“Halálhívó! Szélhámos!” they screamed our honorifics.

From the front row of soldiers, Kiira cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled, “Kiss!”

Heat swept across my cheeks, but Rokath wasted no time in threading his fingers through the sweat-soaked hair at the nape of my neck and curling down to press his lips to mine.

A roar, even louder than when he announced that everyone had completed the trial on time, assaulted my ears.

Love surged down our bond, fierce and unrelenting, and I willingly surrendered to its pull.

When he broke away, he rested his forehead against mine. “Like Kiira said, the myth of us will fuel them. They’ll fight harder. Encourage others to do the same,” he murmured, only loud enough for me to hear.

“Then let’s really give them something to talk about,” I grinned back, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck.

With a growl, he kissed me again, our tongues twining in a battle for dominance.

He gripped my waist, and his hardness dug into my stomach.

Pleasure curled in my core at the thought of him inside me.

All aches forgotten, I wanted nothing more than to escape into that storm shelter so he could fuck me senseless.

Growing dizzy from lack of air, we broke apart, our eyes still locked on one another. “Unfortunately, there is still one trial to complete.”

I let out a groan. Fuck, I’d almost forgotten, swept up in excitement and desire. “Ugh. If we must.”

“If you want me to take that sweet, sweet cunt later, though, I won’t refuse.”

My low belly heated at his words. He released me, leaving me bereft, and faced the crowd. “Now onto the final challenge. A daring leap from the front tower of the academy. You will jump in the order in which you arrived here.”

Which meant Darrx, Uzadaan, and I were the first to go. My limbs ached as we marched toward the keep, only tempered by the excitement in my veins.

Once we reached it, I called on my wings, groaning as the muscles in my back protested.

With a few beats, I was airborne and sailing toward the high wall.

Toes touching down, I tucked the black membranes close to my body.

Below us, Rokath, Rapp, Olet, and the Százados wove a net of onyx, undulating beneath the glow of the moon.

“You should go first, Szélhámos,” Darrx said, sweeping a hand out.

I swallowed around the thick lump in my throat. He was right, of course, but that didn’t halt my trepidation. The drop was long, and I wanted to execute it perfectly. I also didn’t want to open my wings too soon and give the dissenters reason to speculate that I was scared to fall.

Dragging in a serrated breath, I hoisted myself up between two sets of stone. Perched precariously in the air, I peered down again, stomach flipping.

I was the first to leap. To stand. To demand change. The first female to claim a position of power in the army.

I was a symbol of possibility. Of change. Of hope.

This moment was transcendent of my fears.

You can do this, Assyria.

Steeling my spine, I leaped off the tower. The ground rushed toward me, and adrenaline shattered through me.

What the fuck were you thinking?!

Wind screamed in my ears as my body begged me to use my power to slow my descent. But I gritted my teeth and held firm. The shadowy net tensed beneath me.

“Open your wings, Assyria,” Rokath growled into my mind.

“Not yet,” I shot back, gauging the remaining distance. I still had time.

“You’re falling too fast. Fucking open them,” he demanded.

I ignored him, focused on my task.

“Assyria!” he shouted, real concern lacing his tone.

Finally, I snapped my black, membranous wings wide, and the wind smacked into them, jerking me up mere feet from the blanket of obsidian.

I glided over them and straight past my mate, easing myself onto the ground at a light run.

Banishing my magic, I slowed, coming to a stop in front of a group of females at the front of the army.

“That was amazing!” one squealed, clapping her hands. Others followed suit, and even a few males came forward, offering me salutes and praise.

I thanked them, then went to join the officers and contributed my magic to the net. I shouted encouragement at those who needed it, helping one by one pass the final trial.

Everyone did.

By the time we finished, the middle of the night was well upon us.

Rokath, Rapp, Kiira, and I all stood together in front of the soldiers, now decidedly mixed male and female.

The only real distinguishing factor among them was the differing heights.

A few even ribbed each other, drawing peals of laughter.

Tears burned the backs of my eyes as I beheld the scene.

Exhaustion weighed down my limbs, the shadows in my chest were nothing more than wisps, but I was enthralled with what we had accomplished.

What we were building. How much this one event had changed hearts and minds and allowed us to show them why we were deserving of marching under the army’s banner.

The Halálhívó stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest like he was weighing each of our worth. “Congratulations to you all for successfully passing the initiation ritual. For that, tomorrow shall be a free day. No training, no chores. Sleep in if you want.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

“The day after will be twice as brutal,” he warned. Groans sounded in response. I couldn’t smother the smile that spread across my face .

“You are dismissed. Return to your bunks. Rest. You have earned it.”

A round of applause rippled through the crowd, and then, streams of soldiers passed us, heading to their respective parts of the fortress.

“I for one am exhausted,” Kiira sighed, nearly leaning on Rapp for assistance as we ventured inside. Quite the change from before. And the way he looked down at her…

Rokath slipped his arm over my shoulders, drawing my attention away from the two of them.

He planted a kiss on my temple, and I leaned into it, seeking his comfort.

Each step forward was a challenge, and my arms ached from merely swinging as we walked.

“I never, ever thought I would willingly ask this but…will you carry me up the stairs?”

I batted my long lashes up at him, hoping the gesture would melt his hard exterior. A laugh rumbled in his chest. “And here I thought you hated me again.”

“Oh, that still stands. You’ll have to win me over again,” I quipped.

Without warning, he swooped me into his arms, stealing a gasp from my throat. “I will spend every day for the rest of our lives winning you over, Assyria. It is what I should have done initially.”

Warmth bloomed around my heart, and I reached for his beard, giving it a stroke before rubbing his jaw. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you two like this,” Kiira sighed, popping our bubble of peace.

We’d reached the split that led to our tower and the adjacent one where Kiira’s rooms waited.

Double the number of sentries waited, to my shock.

Everyone had been dismissed for the night after participating, and yet these males still chose to protect us .

“Goodnight, Kiira,” Rokath huffed, annoyance threading his tone.

Rapp chuckled, leading Kiira in the opposite direction and greeting the guards and thanking them for being at their posts. Rokath carried me up the winding stairs toward our chamber at the top. Even the jostling against his chest made me hurt.

By the time we reached our rooms, my eyelids were heavier than bronze, almost impossible to keep open.

Yet Rokath didn’t take me to bed. Instead, he carried me into the bathing chamber, turned the taps to the tub, and stripped me.

I let him treat me like a pet, bathing me, washing my hair, and drying me off.

By the time we finally sank between the sheets, all it took for me to fall into a deep slumber was my mate pulling me onto his broad chest and laying my ear against the heart that beat only for me.