They’d once performed tests on Talon too, curious about what he could take, what he could do, what would break him. I wasn’t feeling inclined to become familiar with any of that.
So, I had to have a ‘keep going’ mindset. Had to persevere, not forget my objectives, remain mentally switched on, find my way past obstacles, and adapt to whatever environment I was tossed in—which were mostly areas of Reaper’s Pines. Thanks to the ever-present smoky haze there, visibility was always poor as shit, which wasn’t helpful. As such,my eyes would water and itch from the constant strain of simply trying tosee.
Exposing us to the environments wasn’t merely about putting us through hell. It was about giving us a taste of what it was like to patrol and be stationed in such harsh terrain. It was apparently also to prepare us for the ‘final stage’ of Xalbia—something nobody would elaborate on.
No matter where in the Pines we were, there was a lot of walking, marching, running, climbing, descending.
Falling.
I’d had a few little accidents. Once, I’d fallen into a river and almost gotten swept away by the current. There had been nothing graceful about how I’d clung to a branch and awkwardly climbed onto the bank.
Talon had stared at me as I’d stood there soaked to the bone, my wrist broken. And I’d known he was waiting for me to announce that I was ‘done.’ Instead, I’d quipped, “I look pretty right now. Admit it.”
He’d grunted and walked away.
Another accident had happened when I’d tried dragging a fellow candidate out of a ditch. They’d ended up pulling me down there with them. We’d eventually clambered out—none of the officiates had helped; we were expected to help ourselves, just as we would do if on patrol.
When I’d reached the surface—covered in dirt, scratches, and wrestling with the pain that came from a twisted ankle—Talon had arched aNow are you done?brow.
I’d smiled and said, “I really love our stare-outs. They bring spice to my day.”
He’d sighed and stalked off.
Another time, I’d slipped down a mudslide. His jaw hard, Talon had watched me awkwardly make my way back up, glaringat me like I’d done it on purpose to inconvenience him or something.
When I’d gotten to the top caked in mud, Seneca had laughed her ass off.
So I’d hugged her.
She’d squealed like a little girl. It must have been a trick of the light, but I’dthoughtTalon’s lips might have quirked for the merest moment. He had then given me his usual,Have you reached your limit yet?look.
I’d said, “That was my favorite accident so far, because I haven’t broken or sprained anything.”
He’d gifted me a dry look and, as usual, walked away.
There were days I hated him, the Marshalls, and whatever officiates accompanied us around the Pines. Why? Because they traversed the entire territory with complete ease, no matter the conditions. No one could claim that they weren’t incredibly tough.
There were many days where I returned to the garrison with injuries. Slashes from whipping branches. Blisters from walking. Strains from twisting my ankle. Bruises and grazes from falling.
Interestingly, my wounds healed a little faster than usual—and it wasn’t merely due to the ointments available at the apothecary. But the injuries never healed before I made it back to the garrison. Because, yeah, we’d be required to keep going, no matter how bad our wounds were or how many we had.
A few candidates passed out while on treks. They had been woken quickly by a Marshall and urged to either keep moving or stay out there and let the beasts roaming the terrain have them.
Ah, the beasts. Yes. They were problematic.
They never attacked, always careful to avoid officiates. But they stalked us, which wasn’t fun. As if dealing with insects,poisonous reptiles, and damn snakes—which, yeah, I had an annoying fear of—weren’t bad enough.
I felt sorry for the beasts, though. The sight of these experimental creations plucked at my heart. They were so unnatural, so crazed, so unsuited to deal with the ‘extras’ they’d been given by the gods. Bears with snake scales. Eagles with rhino horns. Tigers with porcupine quills. The list went on and on. They most likely suffered from much pain, not to mention the trauma of any experiments they had endured. It seemed cruel.
I’d expected candidates to be pitted against each other during combat, but we never were. There was no point system either. No, we were all forced to endure the same nightmare together—or to quit. It was simple as that.
When we first began, there were sixty-seven candidates—myself included. But some had died—two were unable to digest theichor, one had tumbled off a cliff, and another had drowned in a river. Others had quite simply reached their breaking point and dropped out. Two had actually tried coming back after a few days’ rest, but they were sent away.
As such, at this point, fifty-nine candidates remained.
It probably surprised the Sovereigns—who I hadn’t seen since my first day here—that I wasn’t among those who had either died or quit. I was a little shocked myself.
Another thing took me off-guard. It turned out that Ididhave some level of dormant power. Ever since I’d ingested theichor, it was a constant presence under my flesh that seemed to purr slightly. At the same time, there was this budding feeling inside me. A sense of urgency. A restless anticipation. Like I was being called to do …something. Probably just to fully open to what was awakening within me.
