It can’t be broken now.
I’ve never broken a pinky promise to him, and I don’t intend to start today.
I reluctantly watch him turn and walk off to his comrades, his stride confident and full of authority. The brown fighting leathers accent every hard ridge his body has been honed into. A longbow hangs loosely over his back, a favored option for the Veils who don’t particularly prefer hand-to-hand combat. That’s one characteristic he didn’t inherit, however. I’ve seen him takeon three to four men at once and not only come out victorious but laughing.
It’s all a game to him… or it was.
He looks pretty serious at the moment, though, speaking with his fellow captains. All business. His brows are pulled down in a tight line, with an unforgiving glare being directed at the captain across from him. If their body language is any indication, they’re arguing about something. She looks just as pissed as he does. If I’m being honest, possibly more so.
Her finger jabs him in the chest, and her face is scrunched in fury.
Not wanting to get caught staring, I grab Finnley’s elbow, and we make our way over to the first set of doors. Trepidation is heavy in every step we take. We both know it. We’re just trying to do each other a solid and not let it show.
“Wow, they’re even bigger up close.”
I turn toward Finnley, who’s staring at the steel doors, his eyes looking them up and down. “Yeah,” I breathe. “They are.”
The doors are huge.
I originally thought they were steel, but it looks to be something more malleable. Something more viable, as if it has a life and heartbeat of its own.
These aren’t normal doors.
Two dark upperclassmen motion us forward. We’re the last to enter maze one, and only a few are in line for the other two mazes. Finnley and I don’t speak as they write something down on the clipboards in their hands. They opted for their fighting leathers today, just like the Veils did. There are slight differences, though, besides one being black and the other brown. The Noctryns have multiple sheaths for their daggers and various weapons strapped to their bodies. The Veil’s brown leathers tend to have less weaponry in mind. Most don’t need it since they manifest an ability and prefer it over steel.
It’s as if the gods gifted the Veils these destructive powers for staying light and true, and they took back the powers gifted to the Noctryns, replacing them with nebulous shadows and dark magic for their cores being impure.
It’s always a give-and-take, isn’t it?
Also, I won’t admit this out loud, but the latter really does look badass.
“You two know the rules. Finish together or repeat the trial. Stay alive, or both of you end up dead,” the male Noctryn relays in a tone that lacks absolutely any empathy. He’s just following orders to be here. It matters not who lives or dies to them, when, at this point, they don’t even know which side we’ll end up placing on if we survive.
Heavy emphasis on the if.
And to be perfectly honest, most Noctryn tend to think we’d be better off dead than placing Veil. Vice versa for the Veils.
The female at his side moves her head from side to side, cracking her neck. I take an involuntary step back when she makes a move toward me.
“Relax, I’m just issuing your malediction. No need to be so jumpy.”
I watch her pull a metallic-looking pen out of her pocket, the end sharp and jagged. I make absolutely no move to step forward. If she wants to curse me, she’s going to have to come to me.
Captain or not.
I’ve never had a curse placed on me, and I’m not exactly eager to check that off my bucket list. Especially when it comes at the end of a lethal-looking quill pen.
Her lips pull into an annoyed frown as she looks from me to Finnley.
I don’t care. And from Finnley’s expression, he doesn’t appear to either.
“I’m going to ask you once and only once. Step forward for your malediction.”
My fingers dig into my palms. It’s like asking someone to jump off a cliff instead of just pushing them. She could at least offer a small mercy and come to me instead of asking my body to cooperate when it vehemently doesn’t want to.
The male Noctryn has clearly reached his limit in the patience department and starts toward Finnley.
“Ok, ok, we’re coming,” I cry out before he can reach him.
