Page 46 of Daring the Drakarn Warrior Lord
The passage climbed, forcing me to use my hands as much as my feet. The stone was rough here, unpolished, meant for utility rather than beauty. My palms scraped against it, adding new injuries to the collection I'd accumulated.
I hauled myself up the final incline.
The finish line stood maybe a hundred meters away. A raised platform where priests in ceremonial robes waited. A crowd had gathered around it, spectators and eliminated warriors all pressing close to see the conclusion of the Skalanth.
And standing on that platform, holding the blood-flame high above his head, was a warrior I didn't recognize. His scales werea deep red, his wings spread in a victory display that made him look twice his actual size.
A priest sounded the horn.
The blast rolled across the city, deep and resonant, announcing the Skalanth's end. The winner had been declared. The trial was over.
I'd failed.
The knowledge settled in my chest, heavy and cold. I'd fought so hard. Survived so much. Made it farther than anyone expected a human to go. And it hadn't been enough.
Disappointment threatened to pull me under. I stood there in the fading light, covered in blood and dust and failure, and felt the weight of every choice that had brought me here.
Then I saw Vega.
She stood at the edge of the crowd, ash covering her face, and her expression was pure defiance. Zarvash loomed beside her, his face twisted in what looked like fury and relief in equal measure. But Vega wasn't looking at him. She was looking at me.
Our eyes met across the distance. She raised her chin slightly. A challenge. A question.
Are you going to slink away or stand tall?
I knew my answer.
I started walking toward the platform. My limp was worse now, my body finally acknowledging all the damage I'd done to it. But I kept my head up, my shoulders back. Let the crowd see me approaching as more warriors began to journey back from the Temple.
Whispers rippled through the assembled warriors. I felt their eyes tracking my progress. Some hostile. Some curious. A few that might have been impressed.
The red-scaled winner noticed me. His victory display faltered slightly as he watched me climb the steps to theplatform. The priests turned, their expressions ranging from surprise to disapproval.
I didn't care.
I reached the top and stood beside the winner and the other gathered warriors who hadn’t been eliminated, looking out at the crowd. At the warriors who'd competed and lost. At the spectators who'd come to watch. At the city that had tested me and found me wanting.
The red-scaled winner looked at me, his expression complicated. Then he did something I didn't expect.
He inclined his head slightly. Acknowledgment, warrior to warrior.
I returned the gesture.
A procession formed. The winner led, blood-flame held high. Behind him came the other warriors who'd reached the sanctum and survived. Maybe a dozen of us total, out of the hundreds who'd started.
I took my place near the back, falling in beside a warrior with dark green scales whose wing was hanging limply. He glanced at me, then forward again, but didn't protest my presence.
We marched through Scalvaris's streets. The route took us past the main thoroughfares, through market squares, along the river's edge. Spectators lined the path, cheering or silent depending on their opinions.
I saw humans in the crowd. Selene and Orla and Kaiya, their faces bright with something that looked like pride. Kinsley with tears streaming down her cheeks. Reika standing close to Omvar, her expression cautiously hopeful.
No Lexa.
The absence twisted in my gut. Where was she? Had she been injured? Worse? The questions circled in my head, feeding worry I couldn't afford right now. I’d find her later, find out what happened.
The procession continued. My legs threatened to give out with every step, but I locked my knees and kept moving. Let the pain fuel me instead of stopping me.
We reached the feast hall. The massive chamber was carved into the mountain's heart, its ceiling supported by pillars thick as ancient trees. Heat crystals embedded in the walls cast everything in warm light. Tables stretched the length of the space, already laden with food and drink.
