Page 54 of The Scars Within (Twisted Thorn #1)

The first light of dawn filtered through our window, casting soft rays across the room just as a sharp knock echoed at the door, followed by the faint whoosh of something slipping beneath it.

I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I pushed myself up in bed.

Laney swung down from the top bunk with effortless grace, landing silently as she stooped to pick up the envelope.

She stretched lazily, stifling a yawn, then tore it open.

“What is it?” Cleo mumbled, her voice half-drowned by her pillow.

Laney’s eyes widened, and she held up the letter for us to see. “Campaigns.”

I knew this day was coming, but the bold heading still made my stomach flip.

Starting this week, first and second-year cadets will be randomly selected to participate in War Campaigns that run through the weekend.

These campaigns combine Arcane Battle Simulations and Survival Training elements, testing cadets on their ability to survive outside of base while working together to protect their dragon egg and capture the opposing teams.

Laney folded the letter into a sleek triangle and flicked it across the room. It glided through the air and landed neatly in my lap. I unfolded it, scanning the contents .

“Looks like we’re up first, Thorny-Pie.”

After hurriedly dressing in our leathers and packing a few essentials, we snagged apples from the cafeteria and set off for Dragon Valley.

The crisp autumn air bit at our skin and the damp dew still clung to the grass.

Laney and I were grateful for our leather jackets, though we regretted not bringing our cloaks.

We haven’t even started the campaign, and we’re already failing.

“ You’ll be fine, ” Lakota muttered groggily. He clearly isn’t a morning dragon.

We showed our letters to Professor Lamport, who waved us toward the left with a simple flick of his wrist. Aunt Cora walked over to us, handing me a map of the mountains.

The teams were made up of three first-years and two second-years.

Laney cupped her hands and blew into them, trying to fight off the chill.

As dragons started to descend on the valley entrance, I spotted Lakota circling above before landing gracefully nearby. A flash of movement caught my eye—Spear, Davis’s dragon, arriving not far behind.

“Good morning, ladies!” Davis greeted with a wide grin, his arms spread in dramatic flair. Thank the elements he is one of our second-years. Now, who is the other…

The crowd parted slightly, and a cloaked figure strode towards us.

Shayde.

We locked eyes for a brief second before he cleared his throat and looked away. I quickly busied myself with braiding my hair.

“ Well, this is awkward, ” Lakota chimed in unhelpfully.

I shot him a glare.

“Hi,” Laney said, breaking the tension and offering a greeting to both boys .

Davis clapped his hands. “Shayde and I will be your team leaders this weekend,” he declared, glancing between Laney and Shayde, who was still avoiding me. “Ready?”

“Ah, ah, ah. Now we’re ready, team leader,” a voice called behind me.

You have got to be kidding.

Pehper sauntered up, tightening her cloak with a smug smile. I exchanged a glance with Laney, who was now twisting her lips.

“ This just got interesting, ” Lakota huffed.

“Can you walk a little faster?” Pehper snapped from behind.

“Can you bitch a little less?” I shot back over my shoulder.

She huffed but didn’t reply.

Professor Lamport had given each group a map of the stony mountains that covered the entire eastern side of Kalymdor.

We were free to choose our destination so long as we stayed within the mountains and below the Barrens.

Every team received a fragile, ceramic dragon egg to guard—not just from the opposing team but also from our own blunders.

Shayde carried our purple egg and carefully tucked it into his bag.

Dragons were allowed to join us, but fire elementals had to travel on foot—no flying permitted.

“ This is ridiculous. You and I could scope out the perfect spot in no time, ” Lakota grumbled from above, his wings slicing through the chilly mountain air.

“ I think that’s the point. They’re leveling the playing field, ” I replied.

As a team, we’d agreed to head south. The map showed uneven terrain but plenty of arches that we hoped signaled the presence of caverns. A cave would offer shelter from the biting mountain winds and give us a decent place to plan our next move: stealing the other team’s egg.

We had been climbing the narrow, winding paths of the peaks for three hours without stopping.

Laney and I had filled our canteens to the brim, rationing out small sips to keep our thirst in check.

Pehper, on the other hand, had been guzzling water like she was running a marathon.

She’d already bragged several times about her ability to conjure fresh drinking water for the team, but honestly, I’d rather eat dragon shit.

The only sounds were the rhythmic flap of our dragons’ wings and the steady crunch of our footsteps. The morning chill had faded, replaced by the heat of our uphill trek. Sweat dripped down my back as I tugged off my jacket, tying it around my waist.

“Hm. Never noticed that hideous mark on your arm,” Pehper cooed from behind. “It really adds to your... features.”

I bit back the urge to respond, but Laney wasn’t as restrained. She spun around, eyes blazing.

“What is your fucking problem, Jelli?” she shouted, stepping past me and getting right up in Pehper’s face.

Jelli? Pehper Jelli? I had to stifle a laugh, but Laney looked ready to toss Pehper off the cliff, which would, well… probably disqualify us.

As the argument escalated, Shayde stepped between them.

“Stand down, cadets!” he commanded, his voice firm.

“We’re here for one reason: to win the campaign.

And we can’t do that if we’re too busy fighting each other.

” He held out his hands, pushing the two apart.

Laney’s anger simmered, but Shayde turned to Pehper.

“Pehp, take point. Salvitto, fall back.”

I gave Laney a quick pat on the shoulder and mouthed, “Thanks.”

“ I spy level ground to your right if you can squeeze through those cracks in the stone, ” Lakota said from above.

I repeated the suggestion to the group.

“We aren’t supposed to be utilizing our dragons, cadet,” Shayde called out, not even turning around .

Lakota sent a thin stream of fire ahead of him, just enough to make Shayde pause. He glanced up at Lakota soaring away before continuing down the path.

We trekked through the maze of peaks, the gravel crunching beneath our boots, the lifeless landscape stretching on for hours. We only stopped for a quick lunch, pulling snacks from our personal bags. Laney and I had each packed bread, cheese, jerky—and potato crisps?

I pulled out the crisps and glanced at Laney, who smirked and whispered, “Cleo.”

By the time we packed up, the sun was dipping low. I couldn’t shake this weird feeling of unease in my gut. My instincts kept telling me we were going in the wrong direction. Maybe it’s just the altitude.

We only had an hour or so of daylight left when we finally rounded a stony peak and found a narrow cave entrance just off a cliff’s edge. After scouting the cave, we agreed it was deep enough for the five of us, with enough space for a fire.

We spread out our bedrolls, claiming our spots for the night.

“ Is there a place for you three to camp? ” I asked Lakota.

“ We’ll be right over the cliff, ” he replied, his voice gruff. “ Whistle if you need help. ”

“ Oh, you’re funny. ”

I slid my bag off my shoulders and stretched, feeling the subtle tightness in my muscles.

The soreness hadn’t hit yet, but I knew it would come by morning.

The cavern we’d found was eerie but peaceful.

Darkness swallowed the deeper parts, making it impossible to tell how far it stretched.

Maybe we could explore once we had a fire going and a game plan set.

Davis and Shayde had spread the map on the ground, already discussing strategies and pointing at different spots.

Pehper, now out of water, tossed her empty canteen aside and wandered over to interrupt their conversation.

Meanwhile, Laney and I gathered stones to form a border for the fire.

The sun was dipping behind the peak, and the faint sound of our dragons’ wings flapping overhead filled the air.

“You know, I think this will be fun,” Laney said, her voice light.

I caught Shayde glancing over his shoulder at us. I turned my body away from him as I laid another stone in place. “I don’t think anything about this will be fun,” I muttered to her.

My thoughts drifted to Rhodes. I hadn’t seen him in the valley before we left, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t out there—maybe even on the opposing team. Then again, perhaps he was back at Mageia, lounging on the rooftop with a book in hand.

Shayde’s voice snapped me back to the present. “Alright, everyone, gather around.”

We huddled around the map as Shayde pointed to a spot on it.

The breeze kept blowing up the corners, so we all sat with our knees on the edges of the map to keep it secure.

“Drithan said he saw the other team heading northeast.” He traced a finger across the map’s more level terrain.

“Their camp should be easy to infiltrate, given the open space for landing. Davis and I will fly over before they wake up first thing in the morning. We’ll do a moving dismount, sneak around, and locate the egg.

I’m guessing they’re camping out here,” he circled a mark on the map, “probably in a cavern, like us.”

I couldn’t help myself. “I thought we weren’t supposed to utilize our dragons during the campaign?”

Shayde cut his eyes at me, then looked down at the map.

I frowned, thinking it over. “Wait. We have three dragons. Why only you and Davis? What about me?”