The Midnight Watch

Chapter 7

I was not happy about this. Not happy at all. The fortress was freaking massive, not even taking into consideration the river that we would somehow have to cross twice. My best guess was that we would have to swim it, which would take long enough on its own.

Half an hour. I was in so much trouble.

The pack of candidates was stretched across a hundred feet of grass, and we had barely been running thirty seconds. With Ethan absent, Kai was the undisputed leader, running well ahead of everyone else. To my disappointment, I was already near the back. Running long distances had never been a strong suit for me.

I heard a splash from ahead. Kai had reached the river and come to the same conclusion as me. A minute later, I was in the icy water myself. It wasn't too wide, but we were going against the current. I emerged on the opposite bank freezing cold and numb all over.

Were we really supposed to do this five times? Or was there a loophole like the assault course? It seemed that every single one of their tests had a catch. If there was one to running laps, I couldn't find it.

By the time I finished my first lap, my lungs were screaming for air and my muscles were burning. Even Alex was beating me! Patrick was in last place, but beating Patrick wasn't all that much of an achievement.

The next three laps went in a blur. I was shaking with exhaustion when I climbed out of the stream for the last time. My head felt fuzzy, and I struggled to breathe. But as I reached the last corner, I noticed a group of four people waiting outside the entrance to the fortress. They could have finished by now, but for some reason, they had chosen to wait.

Kai, Becky, Alex and Ben ran over to me just as I began to feel lightheaded. I was breathing too fast, not letting enough oxygen get into my bloodstream. "What are you doing?" I murmured through blurry vision. The time must be nearly up — they weren't getting more laps because of me.

"I had a lot of time to think about it," Kai explained as he slipped an arm around my back, supporting my weight. He was the only one who wasn't struggling for breath. "And I realised we can't hunt later if you're doing the extra running. Now, where's Patrick?"

I was too whacked out to realise that they could definitely still hunt without me and that was a very piss-poor excuse. I gestured to the heap of clothes a long way behind me. "He collapsed."

"You pushed yourself too hard," Kai complained at me. I was surprised to hear worry in his voice. "Now just focus on walking. The others are going to bring Patrick."

A glance over my shoulder showed the other three carrying the oblivious boy between them. They were jogging at an impressive speed considering their burden. The prince was taking more and more of my weight every second, and it didn't seem to faze him at all. All I was focused on was putting one foot in front of the other.

"Slow down your breathing," he advised. "Breathe with your stomach instead of your shoulders."

"The hell?" I managed to ask. How did someone breathe with their stomach? Then I tried it. It was an awful lot easier.

"Better," he muttered, glancing at my midriff. We turned into the courtyard to see a crowd gathered in front of the instructor, all yelling their encouragement.

Kai sped up into a jog, dragging me with them. The pair of us and Patrick arrived at the same time. The instructor stopped the clock, narrowing his eyes at me slumped on Kai's shoulder and the unconscious kid who was actually being carried.

"Twenty-nine minutes, fifty-six seconds," he announced. "What on earth do you think you are doing, Mr Davengard?"

Of course he would blame Kai. He was so obviously the handsome, enigmatic ringleader. Or maybe that was just my oxygen-deprived brain talking. He eased me down into a sitting position where I could focus on my breathing without worrying about passing out.