Page 46 of The Scars Within (Twisted Thorn #1)

For the past few hours, I’ve been staring at the wooden doors to the War Chief’s office, the muffled sounds of arguments drifting through. The War Chief summoned every first-year professor, including Aunt Cora. She didn’t want to leave me alone on this bench, but she had no choice.

I’m lost, confused, and feeling utterly alone. All cadets were ordered back to their dorms, leaving me to sit here, waiting in anxious silence.

I’ve been trying—and failing—to reach out through the dragon bond to the red dragon who claimed me. I heard his voice in my mind once, but he hasn’t spoken since. I’ve been fidgeting with my thumbs and bouncing my knee nervously, feeling increasingly restless.

Laney, Rhodes, and Cora had escorted me to the triage tent earlier. Medics checked my vitals and gave me a new set of clothes. My health was fine, except for one glaring issue—my eyes.

My scarlet eyes.

My dragon mark.

I flicked my finger towards a tapestry hanging from the ceiling and commanded the air element. The edges of the tapestry fluttered wildly in response.

Yep, I must be losing my mind. I’m an air wielder and a fire wielder. How is that even possible ?

Realization hit me. I’m a…

The wooden doors flew open, and War Chief Kalluri stood in the doorway, gesturing for me to enter. The room inside resembled an interrogation chamber, stark and intimidating. A single chair was positioned at the front, facing a semicircle of chairs where the jury would sit, their judgment looming.

Kalluri motioned for me to sit in the chair on display, but he didn’t join the others. Instead, he stood directly before me, arms crossed, his expression agitated.

“Scarlet Thorne,” Kalluri began, his voice cold and unyielding.

“Your position at Mageia is now under formal review. If it is proven that you intentionally channeled two elements from the Mareki Gem, your magic will be stripped, and you will spend the rest of your days in servitude under the Barren Watch.”

I opened my mouth, but uncertainty held my voice captive. Am I even allowed to defend myself? How can one’s magic be stripped? I glanced at Cora, her face flushed and streaked with tears, her eyes pleading silently on my behalf.

Kalluri paced slowly before me, his gaze fixed on the ground as if searching for answers. “There hasn’t been anyone capable of channeling two elements from the Gem since the Battle for Mareki. It is not possible–” He paused. “Tell us the truth. How did you reach it?”

“I—I’m sorry, Chief Kalluri. I don’t understand what you mean,” I stammered.

“You want me to believe,” Kalluri growled, his voice dripping with contempt, “that a brand-new cadet—freshly initiated into my war college—just accidentally managed to channel two elements from the Mareki Gem? Unintentionally? And this just so happened to occur the day before an entire village of my people were slaughtered and hung from the trees, and a professor was poisoned in his own chambers?” His words struck like thunder, each one hammering down with the force of his accusation .

I held my ground, keeping my voice steady. “I didn’t purposefully do anything .” A lump rose in my throat, but I forced it down. “I had nothing to do with Hogboom’s death. Or the villagers. You think I’d risk everything—for what?”

“Enough, girl! Stop lying!” he snapped, his voice laced with fury as he turned to face me, his features twisted with anything but kindness. “Where are you from? Who are your parents? Why are you really here?”

“Who do you think I am?” The question rolled off my tongue in a whisper.

Kalluri’s nostrils flared, and without warning, he seized the back of a wooden chair.

With a furious roar, he hurled it against the stone wall.

The impact was deafening. I flinched as the chair shattered into splinters, shards of wood scattering across the room.

The professors lining the walls remained frozen, their faces blank, their silence deafening.

None of them moved to intervene, none dared to speak.

My bottom lip quivered, panic clouding my thoughts. Words tumbled from my mouth, incoherent and desperate. “I—I have no idea what happened in the pit today. I’ve already channeled air; I wasn’t expecting to—”

Kalluri cut me off, waving a finger in my face with a threat that chilled me to the core. “It won’t take but a moment for me to damn you to the Barrens!”

The doors burst open, and Professor Maksimov stormed in, her hand raised defiantly. “Don’t you dare take it out on her, Kalluri! She’s just a young girl!”

The tension in the room escalated instantly. All the professors stood, each slowly aligning themselves behind the side they supported. Cora and Professor Yearwood joined Maksimov while the others stood firmly with the War Chief.

“Stand down, Maksimov,” Kalluri growled.

“Not until you see this for what it is, Chief Kalluri,” Maksimov shot back, holding her ground .

I remained seated, frozen, as the scene unfolded before me.

“You know what this means, Allionadda. The prophecy said so, the wraith—”

“With all due respect, you don’t know that this is what the prophecy refers to, Chief,” Maksimov countered. “There could be another explanation, but treating Cadet Thorne as if she’s already guilty isn’t the way to find out.”

“Did you notice who’s red that was?” Kalluri yelled.

Maksimov stepped up into Kalluri’s face then. She gritted through her teeth, “Of course I did. Of course, I know why you are so angry!”

Aunt Cora stepped forward, her voice trembling with emotion. “Sir, Scarlet is not the key that the prophecy speaks of. Please, let her prove it to you. She’s my niece, after all. Her mother died when she was just a child. The girl is innocent. She’s the daughter of Captain Thorne—”

The entire room gasped in unison. I am unsure why she lied about my father, but I remained quiet. At that moment, Captain Thorne stormed into the room, commanding attention.

“She is not mine, and you know it, Reyes!” he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Cora. “I have no idea who her father is, but it’s not me. Her lineage is not mine. She’s a bastard.”

His words cut deep, but it was the venom in his gaze that struck a nerve. I stood abruptly, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails bit into my palms. “Whatever I may be, I am nothing to you. So please, stay out of this, Thorne.”

He ignored my statement and went back to Cora. They argued back and forth, their voices rising and falling as if I weren’t even there, standing in the eye of the storm until Kalluri’s attention snapped to the door.

“Cadets were sent to their dorms, Wylder.”

I jumped in my chair, twisting to see Shayde —

No.

Rhodes.

Rhodes tucked his hands behind his back and bowed his head respectfully.

“I understand, Chief Kalluri. But as Cadet Thorne’s team leader, I find it unfair for her to fight this battle alone.

Perhaps it would be best if we all called it a night and resumed this discussion another time.

” He kept his eyes on the ground, careful not to challenge the Chief too directly.

Kalluri grunted, clearly reluctant to take advice from a second-year cadet, but he conceded.

“This meeting is dismissed. Classes are canceled for tomorrow, but no one is permitted to leave the castle grounds—especially you, Thorne.” He met my eyes briefly, then quickly looked away. “Now get out. All of you.”

I took a step toward Rhodes, my focus set on him, but Kalluri’s voice lashed out like a chain, yanking me back.

“And don’t even think about channeling either of your elements,” he barked. “Your magic is hereby suspended until further notice.”

I froze, whipping around to face him, my brows furrowed in shock. Suspended? He can’t just do that. Can he?

Before I could find the words to protest, Professor Maksimov stepped forward, planting herself firmly in Kalluri’s space. She carried none of the deference usually shown to the War Chief, and showed so inferiority to his tall frame.

“You cannot suspend a magical essence that chose her,” Maksimov seethed. “You are not a God, Kalluri. You are not the Gem.”

The room seemed to hold its breath as Maksimov took another step closer, her gaze boring into the War Chief.

“She needs to learn how to fly,” she continued. “She must be taught how to channel , Kalluri! Denying her that will only make her more dangerous to everyone around her—not less.”

Kalluri’s jaw tightened, the cords in his neck visibly straining.

For a moment, it looked like he might lash out again, but he didn’t.

Instead, he glared at Maksimov with barely-contained fury, his silence speaking volumes.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, growling under his breath and closing his eyes.

“Cadet Thorne will attend classes as usual,” Kalluri said, his voice clipped and commanding, “but she is only to channel while under supervision.”

“And flying? Or do you want to witness what he’ll do if you keep his bonded rider from him again?” Maksimov’s voice was lower now, aimed only at War Chief Kalluri.

Kalluri’s gaze snapped to mine, his eyes cold as ice. For a heartbeat, it felt as though the entire room was holding its breath, waiting for him to decide my fate.

“Flying lessons are permitted under supervision ,” Kalluri finally said, his voice rigid with restraint. “Now get out. All of you.”

There was no room for argument in his tone, no room for anything but compliance. As the words left his mouth, I felt the weight of his command settle over me, and I knew— knew —there would be no reprieve. Not now. Not unless I played his game.

Once again, I am playing with cards that have been hand-selected for me.

We all filed out of the office at once. Cora hugged me tightly, telling me she’d be in her chambers for the rest of the evening.

She made me promise to find her if I needed anything, and I assured her I would.

With a lingering look, she walked away with the other professors.

Chief Kalluri slammed his door shut behind us, the sound echoing down the hallway, jarring my nerves and making me flinch.

Then, most unexpectedly, I was wrapped in another embrace—this time from Rhodes. He pulled me close, tucking me against his chest and resting his chin on my head. It was, oddly enough, the most comforting hug I’d ever experienced, soothing me in a way that left no trace of unease.

I felt found .

I didn’t wrap my arms around him but instead tucked them in, letting him hold me in his secure embrace.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently, his voice vibrating through his chest.

I didn’t have to think twice about admitting the truth, “I don’t know.”

We stood there for a moment, the world quiet around us, until he broke the silence.

“Would you like to go meet your dragon? He never said you couldn’t enter the valley.”

I drew back slightly, meeting his gaze. “Hell yeah, I would.”