The Immortal / Fourth Wing

Chapter Four

POV: Xandor

I could slowly see the vast crowd of twenty-year-olds and their loved ones from here.

There were so many people, children in my eyes, and so much noise that I had to take one steadying breath.

It took me a moment until I could decide where the line for the Riders Quadrant was, but I slowly moved toward it.

Even with so many eyes present, I had not been seen yet and I let myself observe my surroundings. Parents and siblings hugging their children or siblings for the maybe last time. So many tears and so much pain.

But there was a lot of happiness as well and all these feelings created a tense atmosphere.

The winds had taken up their speed and my cloak started to flutter slightly. The air was moisture, and I could feel that it was going to start storming in a few minutes.

I had joined the line but stayed in the shadows so nobody could see me.

So far, so good.

A few cadets in front of me, I could see a familiar blonde mop of hair. I had been right when I told Mira that we would see each other again. Or at least I would see her.

Leaning against the cold stone wall, I observed her and the younger woman she was speaking to. I knew that eaves-dropping wasn't the most gentleman thing to do, but curiosity killed the cat.

"Don't let the wind sway your steps," she advised the girl next to her.

The girl looked like she was barely twenty and her body language told me, that she wanted to be anywhere but here. She was forced to be here, I figured. And the love and worry in Miras gaze told me that that was her little sister.

She had long brown hair that faded into silver at the ends. It was braided nicely into a crown, and she wore black clothes. Looks like she too had someone who got her riding clothes, I thought.

The sound of a sob diverted my attention from the pair and to a young man a few candidates in the front. It looked like the husband had forced his wife to let her son finally go and walked them back down the path.

There were no longer parents in the front, only candidates, anxiously waiting for their signing.

"Keep your eyes on the stones ahead of you and don't look down." I heard Mira's voice. "Arms out for balance. If the pack slips, drop it. Better it falls than you." My attention was back on her.

"Maybe I should let them go first," her sister whispered and looked behind her. I followed her gaze and saw that the line had lengthened drastically by a few hundred more.

"No." Mira's voice was strict. "The longer you wait on those steps, the greater your fear has a chance to grow. Cross the parapet before the terror owns you." She spoke with experience and confidence, she was an admirable woman. The bell rang for the last time and the crowd had fully separated into their specific queues.

"Focus," I saw Mira snap at her sister. She was as tense as the string of a bow.

"This might sound harsh, but don"t seek friendships here, Violet. Forge alliances."

Violet was her name. I had the feeling that that would be important later.

The line had shortened and there were only two more candidates in front of Mira and Violet.

When I heard Violet's whispered question, my attention shifts back to them. "Is he-?"

Mira turned and looked in the direction Violet looked. I did too. Their gazes had focused on a young man sitting at the roll-keeping desk.