Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Oynx Flame

Page 7

The next practice sessions of the Gauntlet are no more successful than my first, but at least we don't lose another squadmate. Lee has quit running his mouth, since he can't seem to make it up fully, either.The buoy balls are his downfall.The chimney is mine.By the ninth... and next-to-last... session, I'm ready to set the entire obstacle course on fire. The section of the course that's my downfall is meant to simulate the strength and agility it takes to mount a dragon, and it's becoming clear that my size is going to fuck me."Maybe you can climb up onto my shoulders and then..." Ino shakes her head as we study the crevice that's become my nemesis."Then I'm still stuck halfway up," I answer, wiping the sweat from my forehead."Doesn't matter. You can't touch another cadet on the route."Natsu folds his arms beside me, the tip of his nose now bright red from the high sun."Are you here to squash hopes and dreams, or do you have a suggestion?" Mira retorts. "Because Presentation is tomorrow, so if you've got any bright ideas, now is the time."If I'm going to run to the Scribe Quadrant, then tonight is the night. My heart clenches against the thought. It's the logical choice. The safe choice.There are only two thoughts stopping me.One, there's no guarantee my mother won't find out. Just because Shimura would keep quiet doesn't mean the instructors there will.But most importantly, if I go, if I hide...I'll never know if I'm good enough to make it here. And while I might not survive if I stay, I'm not sure I can live with myself if I leave.

ZzzzZzzzZ

"Doria Merrill," Captain Fitzgibbons says from the dais.Every one of his features is crystal clear, not only because the sun is behind the shade of the clouds but because I'm closer. Our formation gets tighter with every cadet who falls.According to Sting and statistics, today will be one of the deadliest for first-years.It's Presentation Day, and in order to get to the flight field, we'll have to climb the Gauntlet first. Everything about the Riders Quadrant is designed to weed out the weak, and today is no exception."Kamryn Dyre." Captain Fitzgibbons continues to read from the roll.I flinch. His seat was across from mine in Dragonkind."Arvel Pelipa."Minerva and Quinn... both second-years... suck in a breath ahead of me. First-years aren't the only ones at risk; we're just the most likely to die."Michel Iverem." Captain Fitzgibbons closes the roll. "We commend their souls to Malek." And with that final word, formation breaks."Second- and third-years, unless you're on Gauntlet duty, head to class. First-years, it's time to show us what you've got." Luke forces a smile and skips right over me as he looks at our squad."Good luck today." Minerva tucks an errant strand of pink hair behind her ear and aims a sickly-sweet smile right at me. "Hopefully you won't fall...short."
"See you later," I reply, lifting my chin.She stares at me with complete loathing for a second, then walks off with Quinn and Cianna, our executive officer, her shoulder-length blond curls bouncing."Best of luck."Harry... the thickest third-year in our squad, with red flames cut and dyed into their hair... taps their heart, right over two of their patches, and offers us all a genuine but flat-lipped smile before heading to class.As I stare at their retreating back, I wonder what the circular patch on their upper right arm with water and floating spheres means. I know the triangular patch to the left of that one, with the longsword, means they're not to be messed with on the mat. Since Luke told me about the patch denoting his top secret signet, I've been paying close attention to the patches other cadets have sewn into their uniforms. Most wear them like badges of honor, but I recognize them for what they really are... intelligence that I might one day need to defeat them."I didn't realize Harry actually knew how to speak." Two lines appear between Gray brows."Maybe they figure they should at least say hi before we're potentially roasted today," Mira says."Back into formation," Luke orders.
"Are you going with us?" I ask.He nods, still not looking at me. The eight of us fall into two lines of four, the same as the other squads around us."Awkward," Mira whispers from my side. "He seems kind of pissed at you."I glance up over Trina's slim shoulders as the breeze whips at the braid I've woven like a crown. It's working a few of Trina's ringlet curls loose, too."He wants something I can't give him."Her eyebrows rise. I roll my eyes."Not like...that."
"I wouldn't care if it was like that," she replies under her breath. "He's hot. He has that wholeboy-next-door-who-can-still-kick-your-ass vibe going for him."I fight a smile because she's right. He so does."We're the biggest squad," Gray notes behind us as the squads farthest left... from First Wing... file out through the western gate in the courtyard."What are we down to?" Timothy asks. "Hundred and eighty?"
"Hundred and seventy-one," Luke answers.Squads from Second Wing begin to move, led by their wingleader, which means Rogue is somewhere ahead of us. My nerves are reserved for the obstacle course, but I can't help but wonder which way his scales will tip today.
"For a hundred dragons? But what will we..." Lucinda asks, nerves cutting off her words."Stop letting fear leach into your voice," Trisha snaps from behind Mira. "If the dragons think you're a coward, you'll be nothing but a name tomorrow.""She says," Gray narrates, "inducing more fear."
"Shut up," Trisha fires back. "You know it's true."
"Just portray confidence, and I'm sure you'll be fine." I lean forward so our squadmates behind us can't hear me as Third Wing begins to march for the gate."Thanks," Lucinda whispers in reply.Luke narrowed gaze finally locks on mine, but at least he doesn't call me a liar. There's enough accusation in his eyes that I might as well be tried and convicted of it, though."Nervous, Mira?" I ask, knowing we're about to be called next."For you?" she asks. "Not at all. We've got this.""Oh, I meant about the history test tomorrow," I tease. "There's nothing going on today to panic about.""Now that you mention it, the whole Treaty of Arif might just be the death of me." She grins."Ahh, the agreement between Navarre and Krovla for mutually shared airspace for both dragons and gryphons over a narrow strip of the Esben Mountains, between Sumerton and Draithus," I recall, nodding."Your memory is terrifying." She shoots me a smile.But my memory isn't going to get me up the Gauntlet."Fourth Wing!" Rogue calls out from somewhere in the distance. I don't even need to see to know that it's him who gave the order and not his executive officer. "Move out!"We file off, Flame Section, then Claw, and finally Tail.There's a bit of a bottleneck at the gate, but then we're through, walking into the mage-lit dimness of the tunnel that we take every morning to reach the Gauntlet. Shadows blanket the edges of the rocky floor along our path.What are the limits of Rogue power anyway? Could he use shadows to choke out every squad in here? Would he need to rest or recharge after? Does such a vast power come with any sort of checks or balances?
Luke falls back so he walks between Mira and me."Change your mind."It's barely a whisper."No."I sound way more confident than I feel."Change. Your. Mind." His hand finds mine, concealed by our tight formation as we descend through the passage. "Please."
"I can't." I shake my head. "Any more than you would leave Callan and run to the scribes yourself.""That's different." His hand squeezes mine, and I can feel the tension in his fingers, his arm. "I'm a rider.""Well, maybe I am, too," I whisper as light appears ahead.I didn't believe it before, not when I couldn't leave because my mother wouldn't let me, but now I have a choice. And I choose to stay."Don't be... " He cuts himself off and drops my hand. "I don't want to bury you, Lu.""It's inevitable that one of us will have to bury the other." It's not macabre, just fact."You know what I mean."The light grows into an archway that's ten feet high, leading us to the base of the Gauntlet."Please don't do this," Luke begs, not bothering to lower his voice this time as we emerge into the mottled sunlight.The view is spectacular as always. We're still high on the mountain, thousands of feet above the valley, and the greenery seems to stretch endlessly to the south, with random clusters of squat trees among colorful slopes of wildflowers. My gaze turns to the Gauntlet carved into the face of the cliff, and I can't help but follow each obstacle higher and higher until I'm staring at the top of the ridgeline that the maps I've studied show leads into a box canyon... the flight field. I bite my lip as I stare at the break in the tree line.Normally, only riders are allowed on the flight field... except for Presentation."I don't know if I can watch," Luke says, drawing my attention back to his strong face. His perfectly trimmed beard brackets full lips drawn tight into a frown."Then close your eyes."I have a plan... a shitty one, but it's worth a try."What changed between Parapet and now?" Luke asks again, a wealth of emotions in his eyes that I can't begin to interpret. Well, except the fear. That doesn't need any interpretation."Me."