now or never

2

The Conscription Day was in the second week of July and there was a cool breeze. Will it turn into a strong wind like last year, I wondered?"Name?" the scribe  asked me. "Elena Graycastle," I replied. He gave me a scrutinizing look before sending me to the stairs that led to the rider quadrant. 

I took a deep breath before making my way up, my brother a few meters ahead of me. Anyone who thinks climbing stairs is easy has never climbed one. Just when I thought the stairs would never end, I finally reached the top. It took a few minutes before it was my turn to cross the parapet  and when it was finally my turn, my breath caught in my throat.

 Standing in front of me was probably the most attractive man in the world, and I should know because I've seen a lot of attractive men and even had a few relationships with some of them (if you can call them that), but the man in front of me was a whole different class. He was handsome, he had light brown skin, and a cloud of black curls that fell into his brown eyes. Those eyes. I could have sworn I'd seen those eyes before. 

"Ready for the next Durran?" the man next to him asked him. Durran? Fuck. He was one of the rebellion kids my father wanted executed. I made a deal with my father back then to spare the kids since they had nothing to do with their parents' actions. He agreed, but on the condition that the children had to watch their parents being executed and I had to watch too... 

Durran looked up from the list and looked me straight in the eye. My heart stopped. First because it realized that he was looking directly into my eyes and then when it realized that he was looking into my eyes. I quickly looked away because I had the feeling that he might betray me. However, he would have to remember me for that but I very much doubt that he would.

 "Elena Graycastle," I said my name without looking him in the eye. "Graycastle? Didn't we already have one of those?" the other man asked, taking the list from Durran. I nodded. "My brother has already passed the parapet." The man looked back and forth between the parapet and me as a girl tumbled off the parapet to her death. 

"Are you sure about that?" he asked with a mocking laugh. "Yes, I'm pretty sure, but I'm not sure if you'll make it back to the other side," I said with a cold tone, looking deep into his eyes. His laughter faded when he noticed my gaze. He was about to say something back when Durran sent me to the parapet, but before I could set off I felt him holding me back by the arm.

 " Two things. Firstly, you can't kill a rider if you're not even a cadet or anything else. Secondly, don't make enemies that you can't defeat." he whispered to me. I thought he was done when he gripped me even tighter. "I expect you to take care of the Parapet with ease the way you make threats." "That's three things" I replied before I broke away from him and started moving around the parapet. 

I felt his gaze on my back as I stretched my arms out and put one foot in front of the other. When I reached the marker that told me I was halfway there, I was still thinking about Durran. What was his name again? Brohdi? Bardy? Bodhi? Yes, Bodhi Durran the nephew of Fen Riorson and the cousin of Xaden Riorson.

 I felt a twinge in my heart when I thought of the Riorsons. Not because Xaden had killed my brother Alic, but because... I slipped with my left foot, and I began to sway before I could regain my balance. What the hell? It started to storm. But I already saw the end, the parapet, and hurried into the tunnel just in time before a gust of wind could throw me to my death.