now or never

3

"Elena!" my brother ran to me and pulled me into his arms. "Damn it! I saw you almost fall. You scared the shit out of me." I laughed into his shoulder and grimaced. I almost fell, how stupid am I? "Oh come on, let me have my fun. Besides, I didn't want you to feel bad with a unique sister like me," I said, breaking away from him. 

I looked around and only now realized that Violet was standing next to me, smiling at me. "Elena Graycastle," I said for what felt like the hundredth time. "Sure," she said in a tone that told me she'd already talked to Cam about it. I looked at the young man next to Violet and scrutinized him closely. 

He was tall, slim, had a light complexion and lots of freckles, which also ran along his jaw. His brown hair hung a little in his eyes. Oh my God, what's wrong with the guys in the Rider quadrant these days? Why do they all look so good? 

He held out his hand to me. "I'm Sawyer Henrick and I'm the senior officer of the Iron Squad. Don't worry about me giving anything away, because I won't." I was skeptical and looked at Violet questioningly. "He's a good friend of mine. So you can trust him as well as me," she said. "As much as I'd like to talk to you, we'll have to put it off until another time. You don't have an hour and a half before you'll be sharing."

Cam and I walked through the crowd, looking at the other contenders. Of course, there were plenty who could put up a good fight, but it was unlikely that anyone here would pose much of a challenge to me.

One guy ran into me and turned to me angrily. "Watch what you're doing, sweetheart! You don't want to die, do you?" he said to me.

I huffed and looked deep into his eyes. "Don't worry, sweetheart, because if one of us has to die, it'll be you and I'll be the one to slit your throat, so fuck off!"

The guy flinched slightly at my words and made a quick getaway, so don't make any enemies.

My brother tried to suppress a smile, which he managed to do, but I was always the one of my siblings who didn't like to be told what to do and was often up for a fight. Which was rarely a good trait, but in this case it could both make my life easier and harder. Who cares? Not me.

My eyes wandered through the crowd and caught a pair of brown eyes that belonged to what must have been one of the most exhausting people on earth, who now came running towards me and my twin.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" grumbled the man in front of me. "As if we're both staying at home and doing nothing. Who do you think we are?" I replied angrily.

Dain Aetos was a pain in the ass. Whenever I did something as a child that was clearly against the rules, Dain would scold me. What he didn't know was that my father was an even bigger ass than Dain's father.

Dain was about to say something back when Cam beat him to it. "Watch it, Aetos. We're welcome to meet old friends, but if you tell anyone. Well, you know my sister."

Dain swallowed. There have often been moments when I've broken a bone here and there. And that was during my warm-up training. Pathetic.

"Aalic and Elena Graycastle," I said, holding my hand out to him. He grabbed it and seemed to regret it within seconds, because I squeezed it and pulled him closer to me. "If you tell even one soul who we are or that we're here, I will kill you. Slowly and painfully. I'd enjoy watching you suffer." I smirked before I letted him go.

A bell rang, meaning it was starting. Dain left us standing and went to the podium. I knew that Dain Aetos was already squadron leader of the fourth squadron, as his father and my father had proudly talked about it.

According to the list, one hundred and seventy candidates fell from the parapet. In front of us, the quadrant has gathered in its typical formation - three columns per squadron.A woman was now standing at the front of the podium and holding a list in her hand. "I'm going to give your names now, and you're going to format yourselves into the squadron assigned to you.

I hoped that Cam and I would be in the same squadron, otherwise I could have stopped coming here.We had already reached the third season and neither Cam's nor my name was mentioned. And then finally: "Elena Graycastle, second squad, flame section, fourth wing." Dain's wing.

 I make my way over and stand behind a tall man standing next to Violet. She turns slightly to me and smiles at me. "Hey Graycastle, good to see you again." I felt the corners of my mouth lift as I recognized Sawyer. "Hey Sawyer." I was so busy looking at Sawyer's freckles that I hadn't even realized Cam had moved next to me. Thanks to Malek. 

 Dain suddenly steps forward and whispers something to the woman with the list before stepping back again. "Correction!" the woman shouts over the crowd. "Sloane Mairi to the second squad, flame section, fourth wing." Sloane appears in front of us, but stops abruptly. "No. I refuse. Any squadron but this one." Violet flinched at these words. Did they know each other? A woman broke away from the formation and approached Sloane. "Does it look to you like I give a damn what you want, Mairi?"

 Mairi? As in Liam Mairi? I wonder if he bound a dragon last year. Surely, he was always very attentive and friendly. His blue eyes always seemed to sparkle and he was always ready to tease Xaden with me. I hope I get to see him before I die.