Page 47 of The Gods Veiling (The Valorian Veil #1)

Thayla

“Men on one side, females on the other.”

Every other group starts fumbling around like a fire’s been lit at their feet at Gladian’s sharp order. My Valtrue and I don’t move.

I flinch when a gentle hand is placed on my lower back. Both Kyzen and Creed lean in at the same time.

“Go stand over there with the females. He’s going to walk around and size everyone up,” Creed says.

“Don’t show him weakness but also don’t challenge him. He loves the thrill of that and will feed into it. His attention is going to be on you because of us. We’ll be right across from you,” Kyzen adds.

“Does he not like you all?”

“We get along as fine as we need to. It comes down to the fact that we’re strong, even though our strength isn’t physical like his.

It’s in his nature to demonstrate he’s the strongest. We pose a challenge for him that he hasn’t been able to conquer yet.

Now, him having a completed Valtrue as well as us, he views it as another thing to prove.

We don’t allow him to provoke us, and it drives him crazy.

We respect him because of his standing, but we don’t allow him to push us around. ”

Great. So the God of Strength has an ego problem and wants to show everyone he and his Valtrue are better than everyone. Not to mention, half his Valtrue are two men who can provoke me faster than lightning strikes .

All I can do is grunt back to Kyzen as I move toward the already forming line of females.

Wordlessly, two of them step apart and allow me to stand between them. None of us speak to one another, but we share quick nods, then face the line of men across from us.

Gladian doesn’t waste his breath on introductions as he starts making his way down the men. His version of sizing them up, it’d seem, is to look them over from head to toe, hold their gazes, then move to the next.

His face shows nothing as he turns from the last of the men and crosses the small space to the first female at the end. Luckily, I’m closer to the opposite side.

Irritation rises in my chest due to the lack of time he spends on the females compared to our counterparts. Our numbers are already half of theirs and it’s obvious he doesn’t see us as worthy enough to get any extended time of his attention.

The closer he moves toward me, I make sure to keep my gaze focused across from me on the guys. I seek their strength and reassurance simply because they’re the only people I know aside from Mellcom and Jeremiah.

Well, and the whole soul thing.

Call it wishful thinking, maybe na?ve hope, I don’t really care, but I tell myself repeatedly they’re not going to let the God of Strength crush me like a bug to prove some ridiculous point.

A chest of armor steals my sight of Riven’s mismatched, mischievous eyes, and I tilt my head back to get a good look at Gladian.

Damn, he looks even meaner up close. And fucking gigantic.

From the distance he stood from us, I thought his hair was shaved on the sides, with some length on the top.

It’s actually a full bun of brown hair and there’re small braids in his beard.

There’s a scar that runs down the side of his face, through his beard, and down his neck until it disappears into his armor.

I can’t imagine how in the hell someone got the upper hand on him enough to leave that mark.

He grunts as he takes me in, then moves along.

I take that as a very bad sign since he didn’t make a fucking peep to any of the other ladies who are close enough I could’ve heard it if he did. I can’t tell if his interest is solely on me because of my Valtrue, like they warned, or if his Valtrue has given him an earful about me.

“Females…if this is your first time in the Court or if Defender isn’t your dominant Designation, take a step forward. ”

Begrudgingly, I do as he commanded. As do both the females on either side of me. I don’t know how many others step forward or how many are left standing behind us. My eyes are locked on Creed’s and they ask him a million questions.

He, Amick, and Kyzen stand tensely. Although Riven’s much more relaxed in his stance, his fingers are tapping against his thighs.

“Men to the Holding.”

Creed balls his fists, then relaxes them once again. His stiff nod at me does nothing but make my anxiety rise. They stay locked in my sight as they march through a large arch in the stone wall, then the entire group of them lines it so they can see us.

What is the Holding? And why do they have to go there?

“You’ll be measured today ambush style. Those who stepped forward, you’ll stay in the center. Your choice of weapons can be found in this right corner. Choose wisely. Dominant Defenders, head to the chamber and prepare yourselves. You have five minutes. Go.”

I finally break my stare from the guys and focus on the pounding of feet moving to my left. I count out twelve females as they run in a perfect line toward another stone archway.

“Oh gods, not again,” the girl to my left murmurs as she turns on her heels and starts running to the right.

The girl who was on my other side gives me a gentle push as she starts running in that direction as well.

Out of the eight of us, I’m confident I’m the only one who has no clue what’s going on. They each are frantically picking up wooden swords, testing their weights, then exchanging them for something else or keeping them.

“Why does he do this? This is so unfair. I’m not going to be able to walk right for a week again.” The same girl who was standing beside me in line trembles.

“Calm down, Jay. It’s going to be worse if you get yourself upset.”

“Can someone explain what’s going on?”

The high pitch in my tone has all seven of them looking at me with shock and fear skittering across their faces.

“I knew it was your first time in the Court when you didn’t start moving.” The girl who gave me a little shove sighs.

“I’m so glad that’s what gave it away, but again, care to elaborate for me?”

Luckily, she smirks at my sarcastic remark, but the small smile comes and goes just as fast. She picks up a sword, twirls it a couple times, then passes it to me .

“Gladian has his ways of measuring where everyone is in terms of their training and fighting abilities. Usually, after a Veiling and the start of a new schedule rotation, he concocts some form of test that’s insanely difficult.

This one, ambush style, he’s separated out the female Defenders to pit them against us.

The ones who don’t hold a dominant Defender Designation.

They’re going to attack at random from all different directions.

It’s his way of seeing how far everyone has come. ”

“Okay, I understand that. So how often do you all train if this isn’t your dominant Designation?” I ask.

Her eyes take on a slight mist. “Two times a week.”

“What?” I shriek. “He expects to get a measure of your growth by putting you against females whose literal role is to train every day?”

“You say it like you’re not one of us now. Come on, we have to get to the center,” she says, gripping my arm and pulling me along. “Get a move on, Jay.”

“I don’t want to do this, Leah. Healers aren’t meant to fight.”

“If that were true, babe, your second wouldn’t be Defender.”

“Did anyone ever stop to think maybe my Defender designation being second was because I’m supposed to defend the body from taking damage, not causing it?” Her voice rises as her chest falls rapidly.

That’s a really good question actually…

I clearly see the panic setting in, and her friend, Leah, is right. If she comes into this upset, it’ll be worse for her.

“Hey, take a deep breath. Yeah, this is scary as fuck and you’ve got every right to freak out, but you got to keep it together for now or you’re going to get hurt.

Wait—what are you all doing?” I ask as they start spreading out all over the damn place and turning their heads in all kinds of directions.

“We have to get ready. There’s no sign or signal for when they attack.”

“Yeah, exactly, get ready. Get in formation.” The second I catch the confusion on all seven of their faces, reality slaps me in mine. “He’s never trained you on formations?”

The bravado that Leah had been keeping together so well slips and she shakes her head. Mine hangs and my eyes squeeze shut.

What kind of barbaric-ass training is this? I don’t have to know shit about this Designation to know that if these females don’t know what a formation is, the dominant Defenders are about to wipe the ground with us.

My head turns toward where all the men are standing, observing .

My Valtrue is front and center with their arms crossed, eyes locked on me. They may have got a little information about me being in the arena’s back home, but I guess we’re all about to see how well that actually paid off.

I swallow my bitterness and search inside myself for the stronger emotion that’s saved my ass more than once. Despite the complete rebellion going on in my stomach, I let my eyes drift until they lock onto the familiar green of my traitorous pseudo brothers.

The pleading in his eyes doesn’t do the trick, but his fucking nod, the one that says, ‘This is what I trained you for’ definitely does. My anger boils over like a pot of water left on the stove.

I sneer, then turn to face my group. “Get over here and listen up.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Leah frantically looks around.

“Getting you in formation so we don’t get our asses handed to us.”

“You’ve done this before?”

“Many times. Unfortunately.”

“And you came out unscathed?” poor Jay asks hopefully.

“No. That’s not a possibility, but I can make it to where it isn’t so easy.”

All seven of them look at each other, then they straighten their shoulders and run closer to me.

“In an ambush situation, you can’t be separated from one another. You never know where your opponent’s going to come in from. You have to have each other’s back. Literally. Get in a circle. Shoulder to shoulder.”