Gwen spent the next two days trying to recover from the shock of finally receiving a moon stone of her own. She couldn't help but think that it was all a dream and at any moment, she would wake up to the cracked wooden ceiling of the room she and Edric shared back at her Father's house. That she would open her eyes and she would return to the gloomy days when she was bound to live in the solitary of Edward Evegheden's decaying cottage in the woods. With no friends and no companions except the occasional visits of Yaga the Banshee with its fellow night lurkers.
However, as she marched in line with Rose at her back along with the hundreds of surviving cadets before and behind them, she didn't feel that lonely anymore.
Earlier, Rose confronted Gwen for lying about the fake courage stone she kept as a bracelet. Not knowing how to explain the situation to the redhead, Gwen covered it up with another lie that she was insecure and possessive of the unusual colour of her stone so she didn't feel like trusting the girl before. After a series of apologies and confrontations, they finally hugged with the promise of staying by each other's side no matter what.
Overwhelmed by the guilt of lying to the only friend she ever had, Gwen covered the stone below her collarbone when she changed into a skin-coloured tunic she was provided by the infirmary staff as soon as she heard the call for departure to the Academy. It was the night of the Pledging, the night when they had to pledge to their fire-breather and mark their position as cadets in the Academy.
After the occurrence of what she deemed impossible when she managed to manifest a stone, she couldn't help but hope that she had some chance to bond with one of the firebreathers. She couldn't help but hope that she may be able to survive after all.
"Oh my God, this is so exciting!" Rose practically buzzed with energy behind her as the first group of Drakes came into view. They were the first in line of all the legendary creatures that were spread out between the trees stretched out on an endless platform. Three times larger than an elephant with ten times the strength, the dark hues of blues, browns and greens of the Drakes were unmistakable even from this much of a distance.
The line stopped, making her halt in her tracks as a loud voice erupted in the atmosphere.
"We welcome our surviving candidates to the Pledging. We are proud of all of you who managed to overcome the gruelling challenges of the one month of trials. Now, is the time for the trials of the Legendary Fire Breathers. Prove yourself worthy to serve the Kingdom and do yourself proud."
Two men were standing in the far distance, their identical pale skin was wrinkled.
The one on the left had his mouth agape, and a dazzling violet stone rested on his throat. The one on the right had glowing eyes in a striking shade of blue that resembled the luminous stone embedded on his forehead. Sound and light manipulators, Gwen assumed. The violet stone could manipulate sound waves to travel a wider distance just as the blue stone could capture light and produce illusions.
The presence of the two wielders could only mean one thing; they all were being watched. The old twins were sent to record every move of the candidates– and probably every death. Nausea made her stomach churn as she recalled how many candidates were scorched and eaten alive by the fire breathers last year.
All her hopes vanished when the voice echoed, "Let the pledging begin."
Chaos initiated when some of the candidates pushed themselves out of their lines and began sprinting in various directions. She wanted to yell at them to stop running and stay calm. That the noise would trigger the fire breathers which would increase their chances of being scorched but all her words got stuck in her throat like a disturbing lump when a wave of heat and illuminating flames passed in the air.
Then another.
And another.
After some heated seconds of dread that seemed like hours, the whole platform silenced. A large number of curled shoulders and drooped heads gazed at the mass of land covered by dark ashes of the candidates that stood there seconds ago.
Gwen herself was stunned at the scene displayed in front of her, the contents of her lunch were rising in her stomach, threatening to reappear as she struggled to stay still. Glancing back at the twins, they were still and unflinching, never missing to record a single beat. She had forgotten how cruel this Academy could be. Had forgotten the bloodlust and dreadful cravings of the generals. They couldn't be any less than the cannibalistic Fae who took pleasure in tormenting every weak creature.
Gwen glimpsed a group of candidates that tried to run away from the fire breathers, only to be scorched to death– not by the Drakes. Startled, Gwen looked upward to see hoards of Wyvern encircling the grounds, slowly landing on the other side of the Drakes.
In contrast to the dark colours of the wing-less Drakes, these two-legged creatures had bright scales. Ranging from metallic blue to crystal red, they had strikingly glittering wings that went perfectly with their huge crystalline horns and scales. They were the living proof that nature was terrifyingly beautiful.
Suddenly, Gwen was pushed forward sent her staggering near an enormous red crystal Wyvern. She looked up into its terrifying golden eyes and immediately regretted it. She hurriedly bowed down her head and bent her knees, showing submission. She earned a loud huff from the two-legged creature when she began to slowly retreat backwards.
When she was sure that the Wyvern was distracted, she hurriedly pushed herself back before a hand clasped her elbow and pulled her. She looked up to see Rose's icy stare that was directed at something behind Gwen. Confused, Gwen turned just to see Atkins standing in all his unharmed muscular form while glaring at Gwen.
"You got lucky this time, Evegheden," he spit her last name like it tasted bitter on his tongue, "But you won't be lucky every time."
"Pound sand, fucker!" Rose snarled and turned around, dragging Gwen along with her.
"Hey, are you okay?" Gwen knitted her eyebrows at the anger that displayed on Rose's face.
"Like hell, I am. That meatball head literally threw you in front of that terrifying Wyvern. I stopped my breath for so long until you got back that I thought that I was going to expire due to lack of air!" the redhead screeched out in a single breath, then looked at Gwen, "That is the second time this week that my soul almost left my body. The first time was when I thought you were never going to wake up from that wound on your head."
Gwen choked out a laugh, even though she was terrified back there, "I didn't know that you cared about me so much." She joked but didn't get back the laugh she expected from Rose. Instead, the redhead frowned at her.
"Of course, I care about you. You're my friend," the redhead looked around at the fire breathers surrounding them, oblivious to all the emotions running around in Gwen's head. Rose considered her a friend. Someone worth saving, and someone worth caring for. She couldn't help but think of herself as a terrible friend for not trusting the redhead enough to tell her about her secret.
Gwen stifled the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes as she mentally detested her father for not educating her about friendship. As she walked on the platform with Rose by her side, she regretted not trying to befriend anyone before. She regretted not having any morals to live by and hoped to bring herself to treat her friend better.
She didn't realize where they were heading until she glimpsed another hill protruding from the centre of the one they were walking on. What surprised her the most was that the large piece of land was surrounded by at least twenty ginormous winged creatures.
Dragons, she realized when she took in their huge scaled forms. They were even larger than the Wyverns and Drakes– and ten times fierce.
All their attention shifted to the two female intruders who had freshly dared to invade their peace.