Quiet's Rider- a Fourth Wing fanfic

Chapter 8

The women's hall is quiet as I dress for the morning, the sun barely peeking above the horizon in the far windows. I take the dragon-scale corset and wrist and ankle guards from where I left them to dry on the hanger at the end of my bed and slip them on over my long-sleeve black leathers. I've got pretty fast at subtly pulling it over my head and strapping the guards on quietly so no one notices them. Sorrengail is just opening the door to leave, and Rhiannon isn't in the dorm room, she presumably slept with Tara again. Pretty sure there's a person or two scattered with their partners among the full bunks in here, too. The squad leaders talk a good game about enforcing curfew, but no one really cares. Well, except Aetos. He cares about every rule.

I smirk as I finish braiding my hair into my usual messy crown. I can tell Xaden is getting under his skin. Being constantly interrupted by your enemy tracking and surprising you would make you angry. And yet somehow I still haven't been caught, when following them, or when conveying their location to Xaden.

I grab my bag on the way out, passing by rows of empty beds that belonged to the dozen women who haven't survived to see August, and shove open the door a few seconds later.

There they are.

Aetos' eyes light up as he pushes off the wall of the hallway where he's obviously been waiting for her. "Morning."

I can't help the disgusted sneer tilting my lips. "You don't have to escort me to

duty every morning, you know." Sorrengail replies in a sweet, quiet voice.

She seems so innocent and timid, but I've seen the other side of her. The tough independent girl who doesn't give up and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. The riders quadrant peels away all falsities and reveals a person's true self. Most of the time. Unless you are marked and have become very good at impersonating. The riders quadrant gives us even more reason to fake and create masks to survive. If we're too soft, or too kind, or too forgiving, they will suspect us of being like our parents, rebels hiding in secret waiting to exploit others and take control of all the continent. We have to be tough, mean, and vengeful. We have to hate Sorrengail and want her dead, whether we fake that or not depends on the person honestly. Some of us don't have to pretend.

"It's the only time I get to see you when I'm not your squad leader," Aetos counters as they walk down the empty hallway, past the halls that will lead to our future rooms if we survive Threshing. "Trust me, it's worth getting up an hour early, though I still can't figure out why you'd choose breakfast duty over every other assignment."

Sorrengail shrugs. "I have my reasons." Really, really, really good reasons. I hope she's smart enough to know that SOMEONE would notice the fonilee berries she collected, but it's to my advantage that she doesn't know I've caught her. I'm still not sure how she plans to poison the right opponents for the fights, since we're only paired on the mats. And by paired, I mean randomly picked out.

A door on the right flies opens, and Aetos darts in front of Sorrengail, dragging her behind him with his arm and I have to hold back a laugh as she face-plants into his back. I duck around a pillar and slip into the shadows.

"Rhiannon?" he snaps.

"Sorry!" Rhiannon's eyes widen.

I hear Sorrengail speak "I wondered where you were this morning. Hey, Tara." A grin spreads across my face as I realise I guessed correctly.

"Hey, Violet." I sink further into the darkness as Tara passes by me, tucking her shirt back into her pants, her short black hair slightly ruffled.

"We have curfew for a reason, cadet," Aetos lectures, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "And you know that no one is supposed to be in the private dorms until after Threshing." I peer out from behind the pillar, careful not to give away my hiding place.