It is unlawful for a rider to cause another harm, while in a quadrant formation or in the supervisory presence of a superior-ranking cadet as it will diminish the efficacy of the wing.
Article Three, Section—
The Dragon Rider's Codex
"Your father murdered my dad!" Xaden growls at me as soon as he comprehends my last name, looking like he is about to shove me out of the opening before I even touch the parapet.
"Yeah? Well he killed my mother too. Doesn't make you all that special Riorson." I step closer and whisper to him, "You saved my life back then, are you really just gonna take it now?"
He backs up a step and looks at me with shock in his eyes. Eyebrows pulled together, trying to puzzle out what I was saying without actually telling him. Soon he realizes he is showing emotions and burys everything under the surface. "I won't need to kill you, the parapet will do it for me. Better get moving."
I nod at him and step out onto the parapet. Violet has already made it to the halfway point, when I have to watch her slip and fall onto her knee before getting back up. Rhiannon is at the 3/4ths marker. Thank goodness. I have a feeling I'm gonna need Rhiannon's help protecting Violet. Especially with the boy behind me, who just gave the name Jack Barlowe. The arrogant little asshole seems to think that he will become wingleader. As if.
I keep my center of gravity, all my strength within my core, abs flexing as I keep my balance and walk quickly. I am right behind Violet before long, listening to her yell facts in the air. I stall and let her get to the 3/4ths marker, so she doesn't feel the need to walk faster and fall.
I look over my shoulder when I hear a yell, watching Jack grab another smaller boy by his backpack and casually toss him off the parapet. Jack looks up, smirks, and points at me, "You're next Melgren! After that, Sorrengail will die."
I roll my eyes and turn forward, walking again. Noticing Violet stop as she reaches the safety of the enclosed area before the end of the parapet I yell, "Violet, get off the parapet. Now!"
She runs the last few steps before jumping off and giving her name to the redhead with the crossbow.
"Just because she got off, doesn't mean you will Melgren, you bitch!" Jack screams at me, much closer than he was before.
I keep up my quick walk and can see the fear in Violets and Rhiannon's eyes as I get closer. I sneakily pull out two knives from my ribs and jump the last few feet to the ground, spinning on Jack once again. My first knife is slashed across the hand he used to try and grab me, before coming to rest at his throat. The second is pressed hard against his balls.
Seething, I tell him, "I don't need to let you off of this parapet. I am a cadet, you haven't crossed yet. Do you want to make it long enough to see a dragon in person or die without that honor asshole?"
The redhead looks at me bored. "Name?"
"Aelin Melgren." I smile at her sweetly while not moving my blades.
She chuckles, "With that move, I'm not surprised. And what's your name?" She asks again, pretty sure that one was aimed at Jack.
"Jack. Barlowe." Pure malice in his features, promising retribution.
Violet starts to recite the codex, Article 3, and finishes with, "We are technically at formation."
"Well, Jack," the male rider on my right says slowly, scratching the trim lines of his dark goatee. He's not wearing a cloak, and the rain soaks into the bevy of patches stitched into a worn leather jacket. "Cadet Melgren has you by the actual balls here, in more ways than one. She's right. Technically, you're not on the grounds yet, so you are not a cadet. She is. And Cadet Sorrengail is also right. We do consider this to be at formation. Which means as soon as you step down, you have to wait until challenges or your own time to kill them."
"And if I decide to snap her neck the second I step down?" Jack growls, and the look in his eyes says he'll do it.
"Then you get to meet the dragons early," the redhead answers, her tone bland. "We don't wait for trails around here when the codex is broken. We just execute. What's it gonna be Melgren?"
The male rider takes over, "You gonna have Jack here start as a eunuch? Slit his throat? What's it gonna be?"
Shit. What is it gonna be? Slicing off his balls is only going to make him hate me more, if possible. And I have never killed anyone before. "Are you going to follow the rules?" My head is buzzing, but I keep my knife on target.
"Guess I don't have a choice." He sneers, but his posture relaxes as he raises his hands, palms out, blood running down his wrist and into his sleeve.
I lower the blades, putting them back at my ribs, and step to the side, allowing him down. As Jack steps into the courtyard, his shoulder knocks into mine and he pauses. "You are a dead man walking bitch."
"We shall see, Barlowe. But if you want to kill me, you are gonna have to get in line. I have a feeling Xaden Riorson might have called dibs on that honor." I smirk at him, daring him to attack. "You will want to get that cut cleaned up though. Don't want anyone thinking you're the weak link here, do we?"
The redhead and male riders laugh. "You might want to keep an eye out for that one cadet. He will be coming for blood."
"That's what makes this death college fun though," I smirk back and walk away.
"We made it Vi!" I smile as she limps into my arms. "Now let's go get your knee taken care of. Rhi, wanna join?"
"Yeah, there is a bench over that way. We can switch boots back too. I can't thank you enough, there were about four times I would have fallen if not for your help." Rhi smiles and helps take some of Vi's weight.
As we are helping Violet, without making it obvious, we run into Dain. Well, Violet literally smacks into him. "Violet? What the fuck are you doing here?"
I roll my eyes. Dain and I are not friends. He hates me. I think he knows about my mother, I know he knows about my 'punishments'. When we were training together, he would purposefully do everything he could to beat me, knowing that would lead to me getting burned. He once asked to watch it happen. I think it might be because of his little crush on her, or maybe as payback for her brother's death, but I'm not sure.
Dain turns on me and yells, "what did you do?! She isn't supposed to be here! She would only come here if you told her to Melgren!"
Slowly moving until he is in my face, before spitting at my feet in anger and disgust. Rhi and Vi push him away from me before Violet impersonates her mother, spitting back, "Sorrengails are riders."
Dain yanks Violet out of my grip and drags her to the bench we were headed for, "Switch your boots back. You look ridiculous. And who the hell are you?"
"Dain!" Violet admonished him while Rhi and I switch boots quickly, "She is a friend!"
"Do you trust her, Violet?" Dain asks her soothingly.
"With my life." Violet replies honestly.
"Who the hell are you?" Rhiannon asks with anger, checking to see if Violet is okay that close to him.
"Dain Aetos." I answer for him, since he is ignoring everyone but Violet. "Him and Violet are best friends, we all grew up together. He is also a second-year rider and squad leader."
"Go find the rider with the red hair, usually carries a crossbow and has the scroll, that I am putting you and Violet in my squad. If she tries to argue, remind her that I saved her life last year during the Threshing." Dain dismisses Rhiannon. "Get out of here Melgren. I will take care of Violet. She doesn't need someone like you around." He practically spits at me again.
Violet punches him in the arm, but she is used to this, we both are. Dain has said much worse to me over the years and Violet shouldn't have to defend me from him. Especially since she doesn't know the reason he hates me so much. Not to mention her tiny crush she has had for the boy since we were 15. You would think in five years she would have gotten over it already, but noooo.
I look at Violet and wait for her to nod her consent to staying alone with him before I walk away. Liam is waiting right outside the wall for me. "And I thought I got it bad as a rebels child," he jokes.
I give him a sad smile, "I'm glad you made it across Liam."
He smirks at me, "Yee of little faith, Aelin!"
"Not everyone did..." I remind him.
"And not everyone should have." Liam replies glaring at Barlowe, who can't seem to take his eyes off me. "He's gonna be a problem for you at some point. Though, the picture of you having him pinned in place with a blade at his dick will probably never leave his mind."
I give Liam a genuine laugh while teasing, "And here I thought you weren't paying attention to me, only Violet."
Liam blushes and shoves me away a little, "Shut up. Relationships aren't for riders, and she seems like girlfriend material, not just a hookup. Not to mention she is a Sorrengail, her mom and sister would kill me just because I bare a relic."
"They didn't kill me..." I murmur quietly enough that he doesn't hear me.
Rhiannon finds us still on the outskirts talking, "Hey, Liam, right? Glad you made it." She grins and offers a hand.
Hesitantly Liam reaches out, his relic showing once again, to shake her hand. "Nice to see you again Rhiannon."
Rhi doesn't acknowledge the relic at all and just keeps talking about the people she has seen around. "I swear I saw a girl with pink hair! And another guy with dragon scales tattooed up his entire bicep! It's awesome here!"
"Conformity is for the infantry," Violet jokes as she walks to join us, limp noticeably gone.
"Are you-?" Rhi and I ask at the same time.
"All good. Ready for this first test to be over." She jokes. "Hey, you were outside the tower with Aelin earlier and knew how many steps were in the tower! Ummm... it was Liam, right? Congratulations on making it across." Violet blushes, barely noticeably.
Liam is speechless and just nods with a quiet smile. Rhiannon and I are waggling our eyebrows at each other, before she says just loud enough for me to hear, "we need a ship name for them!"
I laugh and nod enthusiastically, "fingers crossed they are in the same squad and get to spend more one-on-one time together."
Just then the last cadet crosses, with the three riders from the tower walking behind. Xaden finds me in the crowd, and we make eye contact, which isn't broken until he looks to see who I have decided to align myself with. When he notices Liam, his anger visibly rises.
I subtly step in front of Liam, taking the brunt of Xaden's glare as he storms up the steps of the dais. Liam is too busy staring at Violet, as she talks with Rhiannon and a new girl, to notice Xaden's glare either way. I think her name was Tara, but I'm not really listening.
"You guys, I think it's starting." Violet tells us as we all turn to face the dais.
"Three hundred and two of you have survived the parapet to become cadets today." Commandant Panchek starts, gesturing to us. "Good job. Sixty-eight did not."
I look at Liam and we both grimace. "How is that a good job? That was almost 20%... Way more than the average amount..." I question Liam rhetorically.
Liam just shrugs.
"I've heard this position is just a stepping stone for him," Tara, I think, whispers. "He wants Sorrengail's job, then General Melgren's."
Everybody turns to look at Violet and me. I laugh quietly, "He'll never get it."
Violet goes on to explain, "Melgren's dragon gives him the signet ability to see a battle's outcome before it happens. There's no beating that."
"And you can't be assassinated if you know it's coming." I finish knowingly, exchanging a look with Violet.
When we were little, before the rebellion, someone tried to kill General Melgren in his sleep. Violet and I were having our first slumber party when we heard the screaming. The general had set a trap for the assassin but didn't tell my mother. So, she woke up to the assassin standing over her with a sword. Violet and I caught the end, when General Melgren ran the man through with his own sword. It was the first time Violet and I saw a man die. As it turned out, that was not the first time someone tried to kill my father, and it wasn't the last time either. He just stopped hiding it from me after that.