The Exemption Trials (The Dinas Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter Three

   Xyra shuffled along behind the other five, keeping her head down and trying not to draw any attention to herself. She had no idea where they were going or why they were going there, and would rather not accidentally upset the guard in any way, just in case there was a chance that it would somehow lead to her getting a punishment of sorts.

Cyprian, who was walking in front of her, twisted his head around and looked at her, his pale blue eyes shining with barely suppressed fear. "I don't want to die..." He whispered, his voice so soft she barely understood what he had said.

Xyra smiled softly, trying to reassure him. "Hey." She said, keeping her voice low. She would've placed a hand on his shoulder, but the handcuffs securing her hands behind her back prevented her from doing so, and she opted for nudging him with her shoulder instead. "No one's going to die, alright?" Anyone with a brain could tell it was a lie. They were going into The Exemption Trials. They were all going to die.

Cyprian nodded, looking unconvinced, and offered her a small smile before turning back around.

How did my life come to this? Xyra thought, her handcuffs clanking behind her back. How did I go from being an Affluent to comforting fourteen year old boys in Zatvor prison as I headed towards my death?

Xyra sighed inwardly. She knew exactly how she'd gotten to this point. It had played over and over in her head every night since she'd came to the prison three months ago. She remembered how all she'd ever wanted was to be free to choose what she did with her life. She remembered how her parents had ignored her when she'd tried to tell them. She remembered how she'd ran away so she might actually have a say in how her life went. She remembered how the marshals had found her and her parents had let them take her away, since she'd apparently 'rejected' the life of an Affluent, and had therefore committed treason. Somehow by running away she'd committed treason. Somehow by wanting to be free she'd committed treason. Somehow by wanting to choose her own life she'd committed treason. Somehow.

She shook herself from her thoughts as they reached a door with Medical stamped across it in big, blocky letters. A thousand possibilities for what was about to happen zipped around inside my head like race cars going around and around on a track, making my heart race and my pulse thunder in my ears. They could be killing us right now instead of going through the trouble of setting up The Exemption Trials. They could be branding us with some sort of insignia so everyone would know we were going into The Exemption Trials. They could -

"Oren Boukalis." The guard said in his deep voice, silencing my absurd speculations and pointing to the third person in line.

The boy stepped out of the line after a moment's hesitation and the guard opened the door for him to go in. After a couple of minutes, the boy came out of the room once more, this time with a small bandage on one side of his neck. Xyra frowned, about to ask the guard what was going on, but he was already calling for the next person to go into the room.

    "Cassian Isaievych." The guard boomed, motioning the person in front of Cyprian forward after the third person had come out of the room.

   Cassian, a boy with medium length dirty blonde hair, walked forward slowly with his head down. Xyra watched as he approached the room, assuming he would just go in and not really paying attention. However, when he reached the door, Cassian stopped, the sudden cease of movement drawing her attention. Like a bolt of lightning, he lunged at the guard, but before he could even come in contact with him, Xyra heard a loud band and saw a flash, followed by the sound of Cassian screaming in agony.

   It all happened so fast that Xyra was momentarily dazed, but as soon as the fog in her mind cleared she saw Cassian lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding his shoulder where a bullet was lodged. Her horror filled gaze turned to the guard, whose heavy breathing filled the corridor as his chest rose and fell quickly, his gun still aimed at Cassian.