Fire Breather

11.

   BY the time morning was done, only 196 of us remained, and even with Violet's penalty for the rope, we placed eleventh out of thirty-six for Presentation.

The fastest up the Gauntlet was Liam, to no surprise, earning him the Gauntlet patch. Somehow, I was third, and believe me, I was shocked after my brother informed me while Garrick and Bodhi high-fived behind him.

With my squad, I stood at the entrance to the valley—the narrowest part—and drifted my eyes around, captivated by the box canyon that made up the training field, miles of meadows and peaks rising on three sides of us. And at the end, a waterfall glowed against the afternoon sun.

And then there were the enormous, spectacular dragons.

Averaging twenty-five feet tall, they lined up several feet back from the path but close enough to judge us as we walked past. It seemed that I could barely contain my eagerness as I tapped my foot against the ground, hoping to spot that purple dragon I had barely stopped thinking about.

"Let's go, Second Squad, you're up next," Garrick beckoned us with a wave, his rebellion relic gleaming on his forearm. Even my own relic was on display today for the first time since I'd entered this hell.

Dain and the other squad leader stayed behind, and I still didn't know if that made me worried or more excited.

"Into formation," Garrick commanded, his tone all business which was different from how he used to talk when we were younger before this place—when we could be carefree with our parents protecting us.

We complied and I stood behind Ridoc, my eyes meeting Garrick's when he gave me a curt nod, a hint of worry in his eyes. If something was to go wrong in the next few minutes, then this could be the last time we saw each other again.

For a moment, there was a sound in the distance that stopped as quickly as it started and I whistled lowly, knowing someone had just turned into ash.

Garrick's hazel eyes skimmed over us. "Hopefully Aetos has done his job, so you know that it's a straight walk down the meadow. I'd recommend staying at least seven feet apart—"

"In case one of us gets torched," Ridoc muttered from in front of me.

"Correct, Ridoc. Cluster if you want, just know if a dragon finds disfavor with one of you, it's likely to burn the whole lot to weed one out," Garrick warned, holding our gazes for a beat. "Also, remember you're not here to approach them, and if you do, you won't be making it back to the dormitory tonight."

"Can I ask a question?" Luca asked from the front row.

Garrick nodded but his jaw ticked, making me snort at his annoyance. Then again, I couldn't blame him. Luca constantly annoyed the shit out of me.

"Third Squad, Tail Section of Fourth Wing already went through, and I talked to some of the cadets..."

"That's not a question." Garrick raised a brow. Yep, I knew that look. He was annoyed.

"Right. It's just that they said there's a feathertail?"

"A f-feathertail?" Tynan sputtered. "Who the hell would ever want to bond a feathertail?"

"At least we know it won't pick you," I fired back.

"Professor Kaori never told us there would be a feathertail," Sawyer said. "I know because I memorized every single dragon he showed us. All hundred of them."

"Well, I guess there's a hundred and one now," Garrick said, looking over his shoulder at the entrance to the valley. "Relax. Feathertails don't bond. I can't even remember the last time one has been seen outside the Vale. It's probably just curious. You're up. Stay on the path. You walk up, you wait for the entire squad, you walk back down. It really doesn't get any easier than this from here on out, kids, so if you can't follow those simple instructions, then you deserve whatever happens in there." He sent me a glance, cocking his head to the side before heading over to a path before the canyon wall where the dragons were perched.