Page 24 of Daring the Drakarn Warrior Lord
I didn't know.
I turned away from the courtyard before my friends could spot me. Walked back through the market, through the corridors, letting my feet carry me without conscious direction.
Vega said the Skalanth wasn’t the answer, but I couldn’t make myself agree. Failing a trial designed for Drakarn strengths would bruise my pride.
But what if I didn’t fail?
What if I showed them …
Something.
Darrokar might actually kill me if I tried it. He’d wanted me to promise to stay away. And I hadn’t, not exactly.
Though that was almost a lie. I’d deflected when I should have been honest, hidden when I should have told the truth. And I still didn’t know what to do.
I only had a day to decide. Excited whispers whipped through the city as everyone prepared for the festivities.
No one expected me to do it.
No one would judge me for sitting out any more than they judged me for existing.
I kept walking through town and hoped an answer would come to me.
7
DARROKAR
The blood-flame pulsedin its cradle. I stood with my back to the chamber's entrance, wings folded tight, every muscle locked in the stillness that came from hours of guard duty. Rath flanked my left. Nyx held the right, gray as stone and just as immovable.
One hour until the Skalanth officially began.
One hour until novice warriors would attempt to breach the sanctum, navigate the traps and obstacles we'd designed, and claim the blood-flame for themselves. Most would fail. Some would get injured. A few might actually make it this far, only to face the three of us blocking their path.
It was tradition. Sacred. The kind of duty that demanded full attention and unwavering focus.
So why couldn't I stop thinking about Terra?
I hadn't seen her since dawn. She'd been gone when I woke, her side of the sleeping platform already cold. Not unusual. She often rose early to train or meet with the other humans. But something about her absence this morning felt different. Secretive.
My claws flexed against my palms.
"You're thinking too loud," Rath said without turning his head.
"I'm not thinking anything."
"This will be fine." He shifted his weight, tail swaying slightly. "We stand here awhile, hold off the younglings, and then return triumphant to our mates," he glanced at Nyx, "or an empty cot."
Nyx made a rude gesture.
Rath was right. We simply had to wait it out, and then I could find Terra and figure out what was going on.
I forced my attention back to the sanctum. The blood-flame sat in its cradle on the sacred podium. The chamber remained empty except for us. Everything was exactly as it should be.
Except for the growing unease crawling up my spine.
Our conversation played through my mind on repeat. Terra asking about the Skalanth. Suggesting she participate. Me refusing. Her kissing me instead of arguing, which should have been my first warning that she hadn't actually agreed to anything.
"I told her not to come," I said, half to myself.
