Page 101 of Shadow Kissed

“It does. It weakens their night magic and their ability to read people’s fears,” he confirms, cementing what Raegal had told me last night.

My hand reaches for my necklace, which isn’t there. My mother’s face flashes through my mind.“Promise me you’ll wear it all the time and never take it off? It’s important, Reya”

Amethyst mountains surrounded our town. Gods, the crystal covered our house. Why would anyone who had night blood surround themselves with a crystal that weakens them?

To hide their natural self.

The words whisper through my mind.

Ifind it impossible to concentrate throughout the day. Saveya and the girls do their best to draw me into their conversations about the upcoming ball and our dress fittings, but all I can think about is that I may have night blood running through my veins. There are too many unanswered questions for me to confirm my fears once and for all, but the more I learn, the more my crazy idea takes solid form.

I’m usually excited about combat class, but today I’m too lost in my thoughts. I enter the arena behind Saveya and Tyria, wishing I could disappear back to the library and do more research. I feel his presence before I see him, but when I do sense him, it’s completely different from when I could sense him before. It isn’t the subtle tingle of awareness. It’s like lightning, and I have to fight the urge to go to him. Swallowing, I take my seat, confused by these sensations. I dare to lift my head up and as soon as I do; I find his eyes on me. An image of us naked andfucking enters my head and his eyes flare wide. I dart my eyes away from him. I don’t trust myself not to jump these seats and climb him like a tree. Mother Crystal, what is happening to me? I squeeze my hands into fists, attempting to control these racing thoughts and feelings.

“Welcome ladies,” Captain Loring greets us from where he stands beside Raegal. “We have a little surprise for you today, one which we will grade you on.” There is a wave of murmurs around the seating area as everyone digests this news.

“Today, you’ll each choose a champion to represent your district. Your chosen champion will complete the gauntlet—a physical obstacle course we have all our army recruits complete as part of their training. You get five points for each member of your house if you cross the finish line and a further five if you finish with the fastest time. I’m giving you two minutes to decide on your champion.”

There’s a flurry of chatter as each group of girls from each district gather to choose their champion. I pity the east district, as they only have three to choose from with the two girls missing. I gather into the circle of our girls.

“I think we all agree Reya is our champion,” Saveya says straightaway, and all the other girls turn their attention towards me and nod their heads.

“You’re the strongest out of all of us,” Alora insists. They all look at me expectantly. I’m taken aback at their blind faith in me.

“But what if I fail?”

Tyria shrugs her shoulders. “If you fail, then we’ll know you did your best and be there to commiserate with you at the end.”

I stare at her for a second. I’ve never had a team behind me before. Never had peers who believe in me and support me, now that I do it renders me speechless.

“We trust you Reya,” Saveya adds. “West team!” she says, putting her hand out in the centre of our little circle. Tyria grinsand places her arm out and her hand on top of Saveya’s, followed by Alora and Imrie, and then they all wait for me. Nodding my head and smiling, I place my hand in the centre. “On three. One, two, three. Go west team! Reya, you’ve got this!” Tyria chants, and we all cheer and pull apart. Saveya envelopes me in a hug when I stand to make my way down into the ring. “Go smash it, girl.”

I make my way down to where Captain Loring and Raegal stand waiting and I can feel his eyes on me with every step I take down the steps towards them.

“Miss Lockwood. Are you the confirmed champion for the west?” Captain Loring asks me, and I nod my head. “Excellent. If you’d just turn left at the end of the tunnel and get changed.”

Raegal doesn’t speak, but as I walk past him towards the tunnel, his hand brushes against mine and we make eye contact at the same time. As I walk away, I lift my hand and rub it where he touched me. I change into the form fitting navy trousers and fitted long sleeved navy top and put on the sturdy boots. I sweep my hair up into a secure bun on my head. I need my hair out of my face.

I follow the girls from north and central back out into the sparring ring and I grin and flush red when Saveya and girls stand to their feet and shout for team west.

“Ready to face the gauntlet, Miss Lockwood?”

“I was born ready for this, Lord Commander,” I assure him with a confident grin.

His lip quirks at the corner. “I don’t doubt it.” He looks beyond me at the other girls gathering behind me. “Okay, ladies. Shall we?” he asks us as he holds out a hand to Shalia. Of course, her dorm mates have chosen her. We each hold on to each other as Raegal’s shadows enclose us in their power and transport us to the gauntlet.

“Oh, wow we have an audience,” Eilana, a girl from central, exclaims when we arrive at the gauntlet, and we all follow her line of sight to the lines of seated soldiers.

“We thought we would give our men the afternoon off to watch you ladies. Now you just need to show them you can do it as well as they all can,” Raegal tells us. “We’ll wait for your house mates to arrive and then we’ll begin the challenge. There is to be no foul play or cheating ladies. We want a fair competition.”

I scan the lines of soldiers, looking for the Asen troops, and my eyes land on Arkynn, third from the end of the second row. He sees me spot him and stands to his feet and waves at me. I grin over at him.

We line up at the start of the gauntlet and my heart’s pumping with excitement. This is what I am meant for, not crocheting and dance classes and making babies.

Shalia goes first and when the cannon goes off, she springs into action, climbing the steep wall to reach the main part of the course. She struggles as she gets near to the top, but she pulls herself up over the ledge at the top. She doesn’t have time to catch her breath as she moves onto the next part. Large wooden cylinder plinths stand between her and the next platform. Each of them climbing twenty feet into the air and spaced apart, but that’s not the only challenge. In the middle of the steps, there are large wooden boulders that move back and forth, designed to dislodge you and send you tumbling into the cushioned hay bed below. I watch as she takes a breath and sets off. Shalia leaps and makes it on to the first step, wavering slightly as she tries to get her balance. She waits for the boulder to pass and then she leaps. Shalia misjudges the distance and her foot slips off the other side, and she almost topples off, her eyes bulging in her head. She makes it safely across the next two and has one more to leap before she reaches the safety of the wooden platform. She jumps and as soon as her feet leave the ground; I know she willnot make it. I wince when her foot hits the edge of the step and her body falls and smacks against the side of the column and she plunges to the floor. Shalia lands on the cushion of the soft hay and lies there for a second, catching her breath before a soldier helps her to her feet.

“Next is Eilana of the east district!” Captain Loring announces and there is a cheer from the audience behind us as those from her district cheer their support and encouragement.

Eilana is fitter than Shalia. Her father is a farmer, and she spent her childhood helping around the farm. If anyone was going to beat me, I would put my money on her. She gazes across the gauntlet with an expression of unwavering determination on her face, and the moment the cannon sounds; she’s off. As soon as she reaches the first platform, she takes a running jump and leaps across the air safely onto the first column. Eilana makes it all the way across the first obstacle with hardly a step wrong. The next part is to cross the gap using the wooden monkey bars. This requires good upper body strength which Eilana should have if she’s used to lugging sacks of vegetables around. I study her every move, looking to learn from her technique and any potential mistakes she makes. Eilana makes it to the next stage of the course, which is a large wooden balance board resting on top of a wooden pyramid. She steps on cautiously and holds out her hands as she tries to steady herself as it rocks and tips violently. Eilana steps forward and takes another step to her right to even out the rocking board. She’s taking it too slow. The trick with this one is to move fast and get across it as quickly as possible. Somehow, she makes it, but that last one cost her valuable time. The next challenge is a steep rope climb to the next higher platform. Eilana makes simple work of it, using her upper body strength to pull herself up and she reaches the top with sweat dripping off her forehead but a confident smile on her face. So far, so good. Next, she must face a spinning carouselwith wooden daggers sticking out at different levels all the way around. One wrong move and she would get a nasty hit and plunge to the ground below. I watch as she studies the carousel, mapping in her mind her way around it. She jumps, ducking and diving. Eilana gets across to the other side to a riot of cheers from her supporters. Three more to go and she’s on the home stretch. This one was again about balance. Two giant planks pivot on wooden beams. She’ll have to jump down and land on the beam and then run up it to get it to balance out in the middle. The challenge then will be to cross from one plank to the other. We all watch with bated breath as she gets to the middle of the first plank, and it tilts vicariously up and down. Timing. It is all about timing; I think to myself. She makes a break for it, running the far length of the plank and leaping into the air. Eilana lands hard on the other plank, smacking her chest into the plank and holding on with her arms to stop her falling to the ground. And then she’s up and running the remaining distance and lands securely onto the last platform. Eilana struggles with the last hurdle, which is a steep wooden ramp with ropes slick with oil to climb it. She looks exhausted as she grasps the rope and attempts to complete it. She slips and falls three times, but she doesn’t give up, and finally she throws herself over the top of the ledge and lies there for a beat as she catches her breath before she stumbles to her feet and races up the tower steps and rings the bell at the top. The spectators roar in celebration and applause. Eilana laughs in disbelief that she made it before she greedily accepts the jug of water from a soldier.

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