I wanted to reply, but Professor McKinnax had started leading Daron away from the group and I switched my focus to sending him a supportive hug along our bond instead. Once he’d disappeared into the treeline I switched my focus to Aeron who was following them.

  “I’m happy for you,” I finally admitted, once the shock had worn off. “When did you apply?”

  “I didn’t,” he confessed. “My mother put me forward for the post, on the condition that I pass the exam with perfect marks.”

  Part of me ached to ask him how on earth anyone was supposed to score perfect marks on this horrifying exam, but I wanted to pass this for myself, so instead I asked the question burning in the back of my mind.

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Probably because she thought I’d never manage it.” Aeron’s voice turned bitter as I lost sight of him. “I can’t imagine she’s happy to have me around for longer than necessary.” There was a pause, made heavy by the feeling of hesitation coming from him. “Do you think I’ll make a good professor? I know I’ll only just have graduated myself, and I can’t see Sharax or Zenunim giving me half the respect they give Professor McKinnax, but it doesn’t seem like a bad job.”

  I smiled softly at the uncommon display of uncertainty from Aeron. “I think you’ll do a great job,” I reassured him, thinking of him commanding the gym like Hadrian did. “In fact, I can think of several things we could do in your new office… Professor.”

  A surge of lust hit me down our bond, and I grinned a little, only for the expression to dry up on my face as a scowling member of security noticed my expression.

  Chapter 35

  Five minutes passed, then ten. At fifteen, the line of us began to get restless, sharing looks of worry. When Hadrian stepped back into the clearing alone, I wondered what had happened to my other mate, but I had no chance to ask him as he beckoned me to follow.

  It didn’t take long to reach the obstacle course. It dominated the forest around it like some strange rope and wood sculpture, easily the length of three Olympic swimming pools and broken up in places by strange empty areas of sand. Hadrian quickly walked me down the length of it, explaining each obstacle as he went, making my head spin as I tried to take it all in. There were monkey bars over pits of stagnant, green water, hurdles as high as my hips, rope nets as tall as some of the trees and even a section of old tyres that must have come from monster trucks.

  And I was supposed to do all of that while being under attack from Ruelle’s replicas? My heart sank like a lead balloon.

  When we got to the start, I was surprised to see Professor Saxon there, her golden hair gleaming as she stood between her son and Ruelle. Her mere presence there was perplexing, her corporate sharpness a disarming contrast to the rugged surroundings and clothes of the people around her.

  “I think it needs more replicas, elder,” she insisted, without bothering to keep her voice down. “This is ten times easier than the Rite of Privilege was during my student days! The last student barely struggled, and surely you have enough power for another dozen or so.”

  “It would be unfair to change the exam mid-way,” Rezinax retorted, her eyes fixed on me. “Besides, Headmistress, the course is lethal enough as it is. My healers will be hard pressed to deal with all of the injuries.”

  Saxon shook her head and gestured to her son. “If he can do it without getting a scratch, it’s too simple. Increase the number of replicas.”

  “Mother, it would be completely unfair,” Aeron growled.

  “Miss Carazor is a capable student with two gifts, I’m certain she’s perfectly capable of completing the challenge.”

  Her tone brokered no argument, but it seemed like Ruelle, Rezinax and Aeron were still ready to keep fighting on my behalf. I opened my pathokinesis and peered at her emotions, biting my lip when I discovered the hard layer of cold anger beneath the surface of Saxon’s outward calm. It wouldn’t take much for that volcano to blow, and I worried what would happen if it did, so I took a deep breath and spoke up.

  “I’m glad you have such confidence in me, Professor. I’ll try not to let you down.”

  She whirled to face me. “Good. It’s settled then. I hope you don’t mind if I watch?”

  I grit my teeth and shook my head because I knew that saying otherwise would get me nowhere. Aeron met my eyes and I saw the anger and disbelief burning there. He didn’t think I could do it, or perhaps his protective nature just meant he didn’t want me to.

  “Are you ready?” Hadrian asked, leading me over to the start line and away from the viper that was my mother-by-mating. He dropped his voice as soon as his back was to the rest of them, “Ruelle and I shall do our best, but she’s likely to intervene if we look like we’re taking it easy on you.”

  “Then don’t,” I said, with a confidence that I didn’t really feel. “I can do this, I’ve worked hard for months and I know what Ruelle’s replicas are like.” My lessons with her had seen to it that I knew exactly how much power it took to take one of them down.

  Hadrian examined me for a long moment. “Yes, my lady, I believe you can.” He paused, looking at the piece of my hair that Ivory was braiding. “Don’t be afraid to let your imps out to play either.” He left me at the starting line, muttering something under his breath about how his mate was going to kill him.

  I smiled grimly at the thought of Lulu having so much sway over the cantankerous giant who was walking away from me but pushed the thought from my head as the Headmistress caught my eye.

  “Begin!” she yelled.

  Ruelle’s replicas manifested on the pieces of the obstacle course closest to me. I felt Onyx and Ivory shift on my horns, taking to the air as they sensed the threat that was building against us. I tried my best to communicate along the bond that they could only hurt the replicas and not Ruelle herself, but I had no time to ponder if I was successful as I ran straight towards the climbing wall in front of me.

  I made it over the top before the first replicas were fully formed, but the moment I touched the ground they picked up weapons from the sand and began to advance. I used a shield of PK to block the arrows from the archers and aimed blasts of pain towards the ones moving closer to me, almost tripping on the tyres as I tried to focus on so many different tasks at once. My baby wings flapped behind me in an attempt to right my balance that only made things worse, forcing me to pause and make them stay still before I could continue.

  The distraction cost me, making my shield flicker for a moment and one of the replicas nearly took my legs out from under me with a sweep of its large staff. Onyx zoomed at it like an arrow, sinking his oversized teeth into its neck and flying out of the way when it collapsed from his venom. Ivory flew further, heading towards the archers with a tiny snarl.

  The next obstacle was a low net covered with barbed wire and I sank into the sand as I tried to army-crawl my way through the claustrophobic space whilst keeping my horns and wings down. Eventually I shrank my shield using it to pin my wings flat against my back but leaving my legs and arms exposed for easier motion. Arms grabbed at my legs, dragging me backwards as my fingers clawed the sand. I blindly aimed a PK missile behind me, sending sand and replicas flying as I struggled my way toward the end.

  Only a quick roll out of the other side saved me from losing my head and I quickly pulled my shield back around me fully, lashing out with a wave of pyrokinesis that sent them stumbling back. It was just enough to give me the room to make it to the rope net that was the next obstacle. My heart sank halfway up, as I realised I was only three obstacles in, barely a quarter of the way to the finish and already using too much power to make it to the end.

  I rolled over the top of the net and swiftly descended, grabbing my spear as I did so. A replica ran straight at me the moment my feet touched the ground, but I kept calm and did what Enzo had taught me, planting one end in the ground and letting the replica run straight onto the blade. I kicked the corpse off the spear and spun the weapon in a low arc, clearing the way to the balance beam over the murky water.

  The moment I stepped onto the slippery log, replicas lunged out of the water, grabbing at my ankles. I overbalanced, cursed, and dug my spear into the wood to keep myself upright. The motion was enough that I felt my ankle give way even as I froze the water beneath me to stop my attackers.

  I knew from the first step on my leg that I’d pulled something, but all I could do was ignore it and rush to the end of the beam and toward the hurdles. The sudden absence of the replicas made me suspicious, and I wasn’t stupid enough to believe they were gone as I cleared the obstacle and eyed the huge, vertical wall with a single rope hanging in front of it.

  I tucked my spear into its holster with a last check for more replicas and grabbed the rope. My arms screamed with the effort of holding my full bodyweight and my hands burned with every pull. I made it, then swung the distance to the top of the wall, slipping down the other side to land in a patch of sand.

  Whatever grace period I’d been granted by the replicas ended, five of them springing up around me as soon as I was halfway to the next set of tyres.

  I didn’t have time to grab my spear as another staff succeeded in sweeping me off my feet, somehow striking in the exact place I’d hurt my ankle earlier. I landed flat on my back, my breath punched out of my lungs as soon as my body hit the earth.

  I couldn’t even indulge the need to breathe before I had to roll away and back to my feet, releasing another wave of pyrokinesis to put space between us as I raced to the tyres. My imps reappeared on my shoulders as I ran, then zoomed off again as more archers manifested around the next obstacle. I hobbled to the other side of the tyres, the misty rain mixing with sweat on my face to form rivulets of sandy water that dripped into my eyes. With the replicas out of the way I dropped my shield for a second, trying to conserve power for the last three obstacles.

  I gripped the monkey bars with both hands and swung to the second rung only for a line of fire to slice across my back. I screeched, blindly aiming backward with odynokinesis as I clutched the slippery metal in a death grip to keep from falling. I kept swinging, each motion making spikes of fire tear along my spine, and only sheer determination got me to the end.

  I dropped down, my ankle viciously protesting as my weight once again rested on it. Once more replicas sprung up around me, but I didn’t waste power on them, instead sweeping out with my spear and then using the weapon as a makeshift crutch to hobble towards the last two obstacles.

  Before me, a sea of eight-foot-tall round, wooden posts had been driven into the earth, each about three feet away from its nearest neighbour. Thanks to Hadrian’s earlier explanations I knew I was expected to hop across the tops of them and I grabbed for the first rung of the ladder nailed into the closest post.

  Getting to the top was the easy part, even with my ankle repeatedly refusing to support me. Once I was there, staring over the round, even tops, more replicas started to manifest, and I couldn’t help the groan as I counted them. There were at least twenty, all clutching knives or staves, and all standing between me and the rope swing that would get me to the finish line.

  I took a deep breath, raised a shield and jumped to the first post. The first replicas leapt straight for me, with no regard for their own safety. They grabbed at my legs, trying to pull me down with them as they fell. My shield ensured that their hands bounced off, but the mass of them made moving forward almost impossible.

  I tried sending a PK missile to dislodge them, but the fallen were quickly swarmed over by new replicas. I couldn’t keep the shield up forever, already the paper-thin barrier was flickering as the pain of my injuries started to affect my concentration. PK hadn’t worked, so instead I went for a blast of pyrokinesis, burning my way through the masses whilst I swiped at the remainder with my spear. It worked. The end was almost within reach when I landed on my bad ankle and it buckled, sending me sprawling and my spear flying from my grasp to the sand below.

  My shield flickered, and the horde surged forward at the weakness. I felt the punch of a staff against my ribs, then the fire of a knife as it stabbed into my shoulder, pinning one wing to my back. The rush of pain from the wound stunned me for an instant before I gathered the wits to rear my head back, using my horns to stab the attacker in the eye.

  When I noticed the shadows around my feet solidifying, trying to help me, I growled. Why didn’t anyone think I could do this by myself?

  “No. I am doing this on my own,” I insisted down my bond to Enzo, knowing that it was his doing.

  “Don’t be stupid. You’ve got a dagger in your back, a broken rib and a fractured ankle,” he retorted.

  “No!” I roared in my mind, staggering to my feet as my rage burned bright inside me.

  With a surge of anger-fuelled strength, I grabbed my power and aimed my odynokinesis at my own pain, forcing it to burn away. I didn’t expect it to work, but it did, and the relief was enough to get me back on my feet. I didn’t have the time to create a block on the pain and anchor it, so I wasted precious power continually burning away the agony as it appeared. The side effect was a curious numbness across my whole body as I blasted the last few replicas between me and the rope.

  I leapt for the swing with all my remaining strength, and for a second, I didn’t think I would make it. At the last possible moment, my one tiny, undamaged wing flared behind me for the briefest second and giving me just enough lift to reach it.

  I swung forward, my hands slackening on the rope without my conscious command. I fell into the sand, inches from the line.

  Just a few more moments of strength, I begged my body, crawling forward.

  I rolled over the line and collapsed on the other side, the move sending the knife in my back deeper and overwhelming the hold I had on my odynokinesis. The moment my pain returned, my vision dulled, and I passed out.

  Chapter 36

  I woke to the familiar smell of the infirmary and the sound of whispered arguing. I tried to open my eyes, but they seemed so heavy that they’d sealed shut.

  “She’s been out for two days even with Rezinax’s help.” Bane’s voice was troubled but soft, and I got the impression that none of them wanted to be caught.

  “She feels stable down the bond,” Jin murmured, and I felt a gentle hand stroke my arm.

  “She’ll wake up and demand to get out of here any moment,” Kain agreed, and I felt his cool lips kiss my forehead.

  “We had a plan!” Aeron growled under his breath. “You were supposed to help her if she looked like she was struggling, Assassin! She shouldn’t be here in the first place!”

  “And she rejected my help!” Enzo’s cool, calm collected voice was the antithesis of Aeron’s furious whisper. “I healed her, she won’t even have a scar… More tea, Daron?”

  “No, I’m good for tea thanks—”

  “You should have stuck to the plan, regardless of what she said,” Blaze argued. “She was wounded and surrounded by danger. It’s a miracle she survived.”

  “I did it by myself,” I croaked, the memory of rolling over the line washing over me with no small amount of satisfaction as I finally managed to lift a heavy arm and wipe the sleep from my eyes, fluttering them open to a moonlit ward with seven worried faces. “I just wanted to prove I could do it.”

  “Praise the Strange God,” Blaze whispered, abandoning his face-off with Enzo as he rushed to my side. “You and Rina are going to be the death of me,” he informed me, grimly.

  “Is she okay?”

  “She made it to the end with a broken arm and a concussion. Saxon left after you had been seen to so Hadrian and Ruelle removed the extra replicas for the rest of the students…” His green eyes met mine and held them, I could feel his fear down the bond. “What were you thinking!?”

  I shrugged guiltily, and the motion sent a deep ache through my back and my wing. “It seemed likely that I might have to face worse than a couple of replicas and an oversized playground in the future. You all focus on protecting me, but I want to be useful too.” I snuggled deeper into the covers and wished I could just go back to sleep.

  “Perhaps the discussion could wait until after she’s taken a top up from all of us,” Jin suggested, but his words didn’t really sink in because I was too busy blinking up above us in disbelief.

  “Guys… are there… stars inside?” I asked, feeling insane just speaking the words.

  Kain grinned, and the tiny stars began to flash like Christmas lights on the fastest setting. “Do you like it? My secondary gift is asterokinesis – cosmic manipulation – and we needed some low-key lighting to sneak in and check on you.”

  “I don’t think anyone in their right mind would call that low-key,” Enzo grumbled at the flashing stars, before disappearing into shadow and reappearing, hovering over the top of me with only his head sticking out of the shadow realm.