Wisteria Colland has prepared her entire life for the Rider's Quadrant. Why would you go into infantry or the scribes when you could have the chance to bond a dragon? But things aren't as simple as Wisteria had hoped when she gets herself tangled up...
Please don't be a dead viewer! Comment your thoughts and vote on each chapter. Constructive criticism is welcome, and feel free to point out any mistakes so I can fix them!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The weeks pass in a blur. Xaden is an infuriating pain in my ass whenever I spar, always giving useless comments with that annoying as hell smirk on his face. I try to ignore it—I really do—but he makes it so tempting to punch that pretty nose in.
Maybe then he wouldn't be so frustratingly beautiful then. Seriously, I think I'd be doing everyone a favor.
Violet somehow wins every one of her fights—although I'm fairly certain she's doing something to her opponents beforehand. They always get all wobbly and weird halfway through the round.
At least, until her opponent doesn't show up one day and Xaden steps up. I don't even want to recall that. I can't imagine the lecture Violet got from Dain afterwards, as if it's her fault that Xaden's a dick.
But finally, a week and a half from Presentation, I stand at the base of the giant cliff that supplies the Gauntlet.
I stare up at it, all of its deadly glory. "Well, that's..." Rhiannon says, her voice wavering slightly.
"Amazing," Aurelie finishes with a sigh. I have to grin at that.
"You think that hellscape looks amazing?" Rhiannon asks incredulously, her gaze not leaving the Gauntlet.
"I've been waiting years for this!" Aurelie bounces on the balls of her feet, as if she can't think to contain her excitement. "My dad—he was a rider until he retired last year—used to set up obstacle courses like this all the time so we could practice, and Chase, my brother, says it's the best part of being here before Threshing. It's a real adrenaline rush."
"Rylan used to do the same for me," I say. "He's a retired rider my parents hired to train me."
"Chase said to watch out for those giant posts jutting from the side of the cliff," Aurelie says, pointing. I follow her gaze to the multiple wide logs around two-thirds of the way up.
"Oh good, I was wondering when it might get difficult," Rhiannon mutters. I snort.
"Thanks Aurelie," Violet murmurs, and I can see her gaze fix on those logs.
"Still not sure why they call it the Gauntlet," Ridoc says. I can see him shivering, and I try to keep my body from doing the same. Malek, it's cold. Why do we have to do this so early?
"To ensure dragons keep coming to Threshing by weeding out the weaklings," Tynan sneers. He has his arms folded over his chest, his chin raised arrogantly. If there wasn't a rule about not killing your squad mates, Tynan would be next on my list right after Maize, who, matter of fact, stands right next to the egotistical asshole.
"We'll see how long you last, Sorrengail," Maize says mockingly, and I tense. Does this bitch really want to go again? But Ridoc steps in for me.
