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More of the upperclassmen let out noticeable sighs of relief, which told me that past battles had been waged in the turbulent sea, and that they hadn’t been fun.
“What do we have to do, Fyn?” A gravelly voice asked from the back of our cluster of cadets. “Put us out of our misery.”
The cadet holding the envelope, who must have been called Fyn, glanced up and grinned. “We have to find one of four ebony stones from the Black Mountains that have been placed within the Gilded Peaks. Each stone has one of the school emblems carved on it. We must return with our stone to win the battle.”
I felt all the air rush from me. We had to find a rock among an entire mountain range of rocks? That made the prospect of a needle in a haystack seem like fair odds. Dark muttering around me told me that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
Morgan pursed her lips and scrunched them to one side. “Now we know why they said the battle would take more than a day. It could take years to search those mountains.”
Fyn cleared his throat pointedly. “The rocks are sizable and have not been hidden underneath any other objects, although they might be inside caves or crevices.”
That was somewhat better, although I imagined that the high range of peaks had plenty of both. I rubbed my arms briskly, as if imagining the cold air at the top of the ice-capped mountains. I’d always despised cold weather. It had been one of the many reasons why I’d gladly left the Midwest behind. I would have been happy to never have to don a winter coat again, but now it looked like I’d be going to a place colder than any I’d been before.
“How are you at high altitude?” Morgan asked.
“I try not to be.” I made a face. “I prefer plenty of oxygen, thank you very much.”
“Then let’s hope we find this stone somewhere near the bottom of the mountains.”
Somehow I suspected that would be too easy for the Drexian Academy.
“There are more clues to lead us to our stone,” Fyn continued. “I will pass the paper around so everyone can memorize the information, then we will divide up into teams. It doesn’t make sense to stay as one large group when there is so much terrain to cover.”
I took a step closer to Morgan. I did not want to be separated from the only other human cadet in our school, especially since Fiona wasn’t allowed to be part of the competition. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the Drexian Assassins. I did. I just didn’t know them well, and I got the feeling they still weren’t sure about us. We were still first-years, and we were new to their planet. I didn’t blame them for having doubts about us.
“Do we divide up by class?” a Drexian I recognized from our initiation asked.
Fyn considered this but then shook his head. “I do not want first-years getting lost in the Gilded Peaks. Each team should have one from each class.”
I bit my lip to keep from groaning out loud. That meant that Morgan and I would not be on the same team.
“Grek,” my friend said under her breath. “They’re splitting us up.”
“It’s probably the best strategy to balance experience,” I had to admit. “Even if I hate it.”
Fyn handed the paper to the Drexian closest to him as he moved through our group and started assigning cadets to groups. It seemed he knew what class every cadet was in because he didn’t ask when he reached me and Morgan. He pointed her to one group of three and me to another.
“See you soon.” She winked at me and reached for my hand, giving it a quick, tight squeeze before moving off to join her new team.
I gave her a final look before turning and joining the three Drexian males who were clustered together with their heads down. For a moment, I wondered if this was a team huddle but then I realized they’d been handed the paper with the additional clues. I pushed myself between the two smaller guys, although smaller was a relative term since they were both well over six feet tall.
The tallest Drexian grunted when he noticed me. “You were part of the group that got through the trials with Lieutenant Volten.”
“And Lieutenant Bowman,” I added, making sure the human instructor got credit for her bravery.
He eyed me for a beat as the other two cadets watched him, as if waiting for him to approve my presence on their team. Then he nodded and handed me the paper. “Welcome to your first battle of the schools, Cadet. I hope you came prepared to win.”
There was challenge in his gaze, but I took the paper and met his gaze. “I always do.”
Then I peered at the scrolling words on the page and tried not to reveal my relief.
The Assassin’s dagger and mask reside
On ebony stone both long and wide.
Tucked within the heart of the Peaks
Away from the ice but also the heat.
