Minutes passed as the man’s pen scratched against the parchment within the thick leather journal, and I did my best to stop my hands and feet from fidgeting. Despite the soft murmuring of the men to my right, and the draw to look at the beds once again, I kept my eyes trained on the elderly man in front of me.
“Lex d’Talionis. Male. Eighteen years old. Six feet three inches tall. Approximately two hundred pounds. Mother was a Pleasure Mage. Father’s affinity and affiliation unknown. Serving in Lord d’Refan’s army in the unAwakened division. Hand-picked by General d’Alvey.” His voice was as rough as the constant scratching of his pen against the paper in his book.
Rohak said nothing, so I stayed quiet as well, taking some comfort in the way his fingers pressed into my arm.
“Well?” The man finally stopped writing with a flourish, setting his pen back in its inkwell before lifting his balding head to meet my gaze. His eyes were a watery blue, but clear, belaying a keen intelligence there even as something else darker lurked beneath. I shivered under his scrutiny.
“Y-yes.” I cleared my throat to eke out the word. “That’s me.”
A terrifying smile spread across the man’s face, only serving to further highlight the hollowness of his cheeks and darkness beneath his eyes.
“Wonderful. We’ve been waiting for you.” The man rose gracefully from his chair before crossing the small space to the only unoccupied bed furthest from his desk.
Rohak and I stood frozen to the spot; me unwilling to follow the man into this uncertainty, and Rohak seemingly unable to release me.
The man fiddled with a few items on the tray and leather straps I hadn’t seen in my first perusal of the space before liftinghis head once more. He cocked his head to the side, almost like a bird of prey, before raising one bushy eyebrow.
“General?” he rasped expectantly.
The man’s call shook Rohak from his stupor, and he gently pulled me toward the man and the bed.
My legs and feet felt like lead. The closer we got to the bed, the heavier my body became, and the louder my instincts begged me to stop.
My breaths quickened until I was practically panting through my nose. Rohak, ever perceptual, stopped. I willingly followed.
For the first time, he released my arm. A patch of warmth was left from where his palm grasped me, only made more noticeable from the air that quickly rushed into its place.
Rohak placed both of his hands on my shoulders and forced my eyes to meet his with a finger beneath my chin.
“Breathe, Lex. Breathe. No harm will come to you in this room. It is simply a . . . test. Each of our unAwakened soldiers undergoes the same procedure.” His voice was low and smooth, almost as if he were cajoling a toddler or a scared animal.
“A test?” I whispered, my eyes frantically searching his for a lie.
“Yes,” he emphasized. “A test. To see what your affinity is.”
I jerked a nod. I’d never heard of such a thing, but that wasn’t difficult considering my upbringing and stint on the streets of Vespera.
“Okay,” I blew out a heavy breath.
I trusted the General.
If he said it was a test, I’d take it.
Rohak searched my eyes once more before nodding and stepping away.
Moving without Rohak’s touch was odd, but I took confident strides to the open bed before swinging my body up and onto the platform.
“Excellent,” the man said absentmindedly as he secured the various leather straps. One around my chest and upper arms, another on top of my thighs, a third across my forehead. They were wide and worn, and he tightened them almost to the point of pain.
I hissed inadvertently as the strap pinched the skin on my thighs, but tried to bite my lip quickly. The man heard, however.
“Need to make sure you won’t move. Some of you don’t like needles, it seems. And we don’t have the same . . . control as some of the other rooms,” he muttered as he gathered a few instruments from the tray that was now far above my head.
The last statement was odd, but I had little time to think about it as a needle was plunged unceremoniously into my exposed neck.
“Fuck!” I yelped, reflexively trying to turn my head away from the sharp pain.
“Relax,” the man said drolly as I felt something exit the needle into my neck.
