Two men arrived with a stretcher in under thirty seconds. Two more lifted Slade onto it with practiced efficiency, and the four of them double-timed it toward the exit.
Drakken wheeled on me. If a look could kill, his would’ve dropped me where I stood.
“Tell me exactly what happened. No detail too small.” He swept his hard gaze across the room. “Any of you lie or omit anything, I’ll know. And you’ll be more than sorry.”
He hadn’t asked me to speak. I kept my mouth shut. I’d had three days of his interrogation already. My jaw still ached from clenching through it all.
The accusations poured out like a river breaking its banks.
A cadet with a bloody lip stepped forward first, pointing at me. “The warlock used his dark magic to attack Sergeant Slade, sir. He threw a dozen of us across the room. We didn’t stand a chance against his sorcery!”
Another one chimed in, voice cracking withadrenaline. “He’s a witch spy, sir. Everyone knows it. Sergeant Slade was trying to protect the barracks, and that freak put him down with sorcery.” He swallowed hard. “I hope Slade lives. The warlock must pay.”
“I didn’t see it, but I felt the shockwave.” A third cadet’s face was pale. “Came right out of his hands and blasted everyone back.”
Drakken listened without expression, arms crossed, gray eyes tracking each speaker with the cold patience of a predator watching prey circle a trap. Caspian stood beside him, his furious gaze cutting between the accusers and me.
“If you hadn’t arrived, sir—” The cadet with two raised scars on his cheek came forward. “The warlock would’ve finished the job and knifed Sergeant Slade while he was out cold.”
Not one of them mentioned the bucket of dirty water. Not one mentioned Slade declaring my execution to the room. Not one mentioned him drawing the knife first, or the dozen men pinning me to the wall while their sergeant savored his moment.
I let them talk. This lot had less honor than miners.
Then Cadet Corporal Thane stepped forward.
The wheat-haired corporal planted himself before Drakken and Caspian, saluted, and began.
“Sir, Cadet Max was asleep on his cot when Sergeant Slade entered with his men. Sergeant Slade doesn’t bunk here. He’s a second-year senior. He came specifically to target the new recruit.” Thane paused, making each word land. “One of Slade’s men dumped dirty water on Cadet Max. Cadet Max was quick. He jumped up. ThenSergeant Slade ordered his men to take him down. When I intervened, Sergeant Slade overruled me, declared an unsanctioned execution.”
The silence that followed could’ve choked a man. Slade’s group glared at Thane, promising retaliation. I silently vowed to fight alongside the corporal when the time came. He’d put himself on the line by speaking for me.
“Cadet Max defended himself, sir,” Thane pressed on. “Against over a dozen armed men. He used whatever means he had to survive. In my judgment, sir, it was self-defense. Everything that happened tonight falls on Sergeant Slade.”
Drakken’s face darkened with every word. Gold bled into the gray of his eyes. Beside him, Caspian snarled, barely leashing his rage.
“Attention!” Drakken barked.
Every cadet in the barracks snapped to attention. I straightened too, mimicking their posture—feet together, arms rigid at my sides.
“Unprovoked assault is unacceptable!” Drakken’s voice carried the force of a commander who’d led soldiers through sieges and fire. “Sergeant Slade is relieved of his rank. He will not return to Greycrown Academy. He’ll face a disciplinary tribunal when he wakes. Anyone who participated in the initiation of this assault—step to the wall near the exit.”
A dozen of them shuffled to the wall, heads bowed, shoulders slumped under the sudden weight of consequence.
“What is the motto of Greycrown Academy?” Drakken asked.
“Honor, discipline, and the shield of the sworn!” the cadets shouted in unison. “We serve the Covenant. We hold the line!”
“Again!”
“Honor, discipline, and the shield of the sworn! We serve the Covenant. We hold the line!”
“And you fucking fell short!” Drakken snapped. He paced in front of Slade’s group, boots striking the floor. “This is a military base, not some lawless settlement where mob justice passes for order. You dishonored this academy and the Covenant tonight!” His voice hardened further. “You will be disciplined. You’ll answer for your actions at a tribunal.”
I couldn’t believe he’d actually been fair. This was the man who’d tried to throw me in a dungeon, who looked at me like I was a stain on his fortress. Yet he stood before his own men and held the line because Drakken was a soldier first.
Interesting,the demon commented.The dragon has a code.
Drakken turned to Thane. “Corporal Thane, you’re promoted to Cadet Sergeant, effective immediately. The first-year barracks are your charge now. You’re responsible for every man in this room.”
