Fire Breather

10.

   BY the time the ninth—and next-to-last—practice session of the Gauntlet was done, my confidence was at its peak. I already had the course carved into my mind by the third practice, and from then on, I was just doing it as a workout.

And yes, I knew I sounded cocky, but Xaden said I had to be the one to survive this place, implying that he meant out of the two of us. But I could not agree to that. I was only going to survive here if he was alive, otherwise I had nothing. So, I made it my mission to push myself past my limits, studying three hours before curfew every night, sparring on the mats with Imogen four hours in the afternoon, and strengthening my weapon skills every morning before breakfast with Bodhi.

During this, I had accidentally pushed Garrick away, keeping our, whatever we were, on hold so I could be at my best performance by the time Threshing came around.

"Maybe you can climb up onto my shoulders and then..." Rhiannon shook her head, standing beside me as a group of us studied the crevice ten minutes after our lesson finished.

"Then I'm still stuck halfway up," Violet answered from her other side.

"Doesn't matter. You can't touch another cadet on the route," Sawyer informed us.

"Are you here to squash hopes and dreams, or do you have a suggestion?" Rhiannon retorted, rolling her eyes as I snorted. "Because Presentation is tomorrow, so if you've got any bright ideas, now is the time."

Then an idea hit me. It was reckless and dangerous, but it was something.

"Blade!"

My heart instantly started to race when I heard his voice and whirled around, a smile appearing on my face at the sight of Garrick watching me with a small smile. Then my eyes darted to the purple ribbon tied around a dagger in his hand and I knew my face was turning red.

"You're blushing!" Ridoc gasped, pointing out the damn obvious by pointing a finger at my face.

The smile dropped from my face, replaced by annoyance as I slapped his hand away, looking at him. "We may be friends, but I will throttle you," I promised him.

"No way," he whispered, dropping his hand as he goofily smiled. "You just admitted I'm your friend." He threw a closed fist into the air with a small cheer while I rolled my eyes. "You can never take it back, Blade! I have witnesses!"

"I regret all my life choices," I sighed, turning away from him as I unsheathed my largest knife from my thigh. Swiftly, I shoved the hilt of it into Violet's hand, walking past her and toward Garrick. "Use it tomorrow, Sorrengail. You're smart."

"But what—"

I turned around, watching Violet while walking backward. "You have to figure the rest out on your own," I stated before turning back around, smiling up at Garrick. "What are you doing here?"

Garrick threw an arm over my shoulders, leading us back toward the courtyard. "I thought I would see you before Xaden steals you tonight," he admitted and then held the dagger sheathed in a black scabbard to me. "I got you something."

"Why'd you get me this?" I asked, taking the dagger from him. "Normally you get me an apple pie."

"See, this is what I mean." He playfully rolled his eyes, removing his arm from my shoulders when we walked into the courtyard full of other cadets. "Anytime I try to do something nice for you, you second guess it."

"Can you blame me?" I deadpanned, coming to a stop while slipping the scabbard into the waistline of my trousers. "Look where we are, Tavis."

Slowly, his eyes roamed around before he chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Okay, fine, you got me there, Little Riorson." He chuckled, the sound soon dying down before a look of conflict set across his face. "Tomorrow is Presentation Day, Blade."