Page 35 of Trivium

“They kill every time, ruthlessly shredding their opponent in seconds.” The whole room went silent, listening to his words.

“Well, if that’s ever going to be part of an assessment, I doubt it will be the first one,” Kumani said as the voice of reason.

“So, what’s our first test then?” Artie questioned.

“I'm not telling you what it is; that would take away the fun in watching you all scramble.” Lennox leaned back in his chair, a glint in his eye.

“This isn’t a game, Lennox; we could die,” Ahmina said, scowling.

“You could but you probably won’t.”

“How do you know?” Ahmina crossed her arms.

“You won’t.” He looked her in the eye as he said it, and Loveleena shifted in her seat at the tension. She couldn’t place it, but she felt as though some unspoken conversation was happening between them.

“Why is everyone so somber? You didn’t kill someone already, did you?” Ren strode into the room like he owned the place. Arrogant jerk, she thought. He was sweaty and fatigued, wearing his usual stick-straight northerner posture—it made him look more like a glowering statue than a real person.

“About time you showed up,” Lennox said.

“Missed me that much, Lenny?” Not waiting for a response, Ren turned his attention to the others. “We ran into a challenge while out doing field work. Professor Barrow instructed me to tell you to meet back here later this evening at sunset.”

A few students groaned, and everyone packed up their things. Loveleena waited for her peers to shuffle out before approaching Ren.

“I need to talk to you,” she said, trying to keep up with his speed as they walked down the hall. She was dying to tell him about her interaction with Serena in the mess hall and ask him about Park.

“Not now, Alva.”

“It’s important.”

He didn’t even look at her. “Later.”

She slowed as he walked off, contempt brewing in her veins.

24

LOVELEENA

Just as they were ordered, they collected back in Trivium at sunset. Loveleena went over her plan to corner Ren while waiting for her squad to arrive.

“My apologies about earlier,” Barrow said confidently, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the desk. “I’m sure you’re all eager to know what you can expect for your first assessment.”

Most of them nodded, while Loveleena searched for Ren. He was notably missing. Damn him.

“You will complete your first assessment tonight. You will need to use your skills from Strategy and potentially Alchemy as you venture beyond the wall.” His voice was serious, and the anxiety in the room was palpable. “And you will be doing it alone.”

Loveleena froze. She was absolutely, without a doubt, completely unprepared for this. She had partnered with Kumani in Alchemy and never really needed to pay that much attention. She couldn't create a potion if she tried. Her entire focus the last few weeks had been on improving her combat skills and getting in with the Slayers. She wanted to go beyond the wall, needed to go beyond the wall. But she wasn’t ready to be assessed on it. Assessed on Alchemy, specifically. Weren’t they supposed to have some practice runs first?

“Without our squadmates? In the dark?” Ahmina said, her voice unusually high.

“Yes. Now suit up, each of you.” Barrow pulled out a crate full of weapons and advised them to grab extra. They had each been given a simple dagger and had also chosen a personal weapon the first week of Combat. Daggers weren’t the most practical weapon when dealing with creatures. You had to be in close quarters to get any sort of hit, unless you were a skilled thrower. Loveleena had chosen a sword, mainly because it looked the coolest. But it was a pain in the ass to wear around school all day, so she mostly kept it in her room, and only brought it to Combat. Since she didn’t have it with her now, she picked a sword from the crate and strapped it to her back with a leather scabbard before following her squad through the hallways out into the evening darkness.

“Are the other squads doing this too?” Kumani asked Barrow.

“Each Trivium squad will be tested at their professor's discretion.”

“That seems very subjective, though. How can we be properly assessed?” Ahmina challenged. Rory put a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to drop it.

“It is, Ori. Because when you graduate as a Defender, you have to be adaptable and ready for anything. The forest and especially the creatures aren’t objective. Beyond the wall, there are no rules.”