Aithne Melgren has been in the shadows too long. She has been forgotten, she has been ignored. But she goes for the Riders Quadrant in hopes to escape, to have freedom. To soar through the skies with her very own dragon.
But she has something speci...
It is a grave offense against Malek to keep the belongings of a dead loved one. They belong in the beyond with the god of death and the departed. In the absence of a proper temple, any fire will do. He who does not burn for Malek will be burned by Malek.
—Major Rorilee's Guide to Appeasing The Gods, Second Edition
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The next practice sessions of the Gauntlet are no more successful than my first, but at least we don't lose another squadmate. Tynan has quit running his mouth, since he can't seem to make it up fully, either.
I can clear the whole course easily, and my prior training coming in handy. However, the others—except Sawyer—look like they're about to set every obstacle on fire. I glance to the side, catching a glimpse of Violet and Rhiannon talking.
Violet's supposed downfall lies in the chimney. The section that is meant to simulate the strength and agility to mount a dragon. I walk over to the pair.
"Hey, can I steal Violet for a bit?" I ask. Rhiannon tiredly smiles, "Sure!" I pull her best friend to the corner, where our words are shielded from others' ears.
"I have some advice for you." Violet casts a questioning glance at me. "What is it?"
"Instead of you trying to clear the chimney the normal way, you can use something else. I know this is vague, but," I quote something that my brother used to say, "The right way isn't the only way."
🐉 ~🌷
"Doria Merrill," Captain Fitzgibbons says from the dais. Every one of his features is crystal clear, not only because the sun is behind the shade of the clouds but because I'm closer.
Our formation gets tighter with every cadet that falls. Not that I'm opposed to it. It just means that we get closer to our goal, only at the expense of others. According to Zarrin's statistics, today will be one of the deadliest for the first-years.
It's Presentation Day, and to reach the flight field, we have to climb and clear the Gauntlet first. Everything about this Quadrant is designed to weed out the weak. And I will not fall into that category.
I will be the fastest today. And nothing can get between me and the top.
"Kamryn Dyre." Captain Fitzgibbons continues to read from the roll. I keep my expressions neutral, it was their fault that they lost their lives. They were too weak to survive. Why should I care for something so trivial?
Next to me, I see Violet flinch slightly. Now that I recall, Kamryn's seat was next to hers in Dragonkind.
"Arvel Pelipa." Imogen and Quin suck in a breath ahead of me. I raise my eyebrows. 'You would have thought that being in this hell-hole for more than a year would make you used to the deaths. I guess not.'
"Michel Iverem," Captain Fitzgibbons closes the roll. "We commend their souls to Malek." And with that final word, formation breaks.
"Second- and third-years, unless you're on Gauntlet duty, head to class. First-years, it's time to show us what you've got." Dain forces a smile and skips right over to Violet as he looks at the squad. I try my hardest from rolling my eyes.
