Page 29 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

He backs away before nodding at Helene.

She nocks an arrow in her bowstring. “Better not move. I’d hate for things to get messy.”

Dread nooses my neck. Helene isn’t aiming at the apple. No, her arrow points straight at my heart.

All trussed up like a solstice turkey, there’s literally nothing I can do to escape this. And the worst part is, I walked right into their trap.

Helene steps closer, her grin widening. “Let’s hope I’m as good with a bow as I am with a throwing star.” Pressure grows behind my eyes, and despite my furious attempts to prevent it, a tear trickles down my cheek. Helene hisses and points. “See? That’s exactly why we don’t want you here. You’re too soft. You should go to Bigley and ask to transfer to Forthaven instead. If you agree to do it now, we’ll let you go. Blink once for yes, twice for no.”

The mortifying truth is that a part of me wants to acquiesce. To transfer to Forthaven, where the foot soldiers train and supposedly grow as close as siblings, or better yet, beg an exemption from the king and return home.

I won’t, though. I may be soft, but I still possess some pride. And I refuse to let the assholes win.

An impatient Helene huffs. “What’s it going to be, Axton? We don’t have all day.”

Lifting my chin, I blink twice.

Take that, you dragon fuckers.

Her mouth flattens. “Fine. Have it your way.”

She pulls back her arm and releases the arrow with awhoosh. My eyes squeeze shut. I brace for impact, but the only thing I feel is a tiny jerk above my head. I open my eyes again and double-check my torso, just to be sure. No blood. No arrow.

Elijah growls. “You missed.”

Helene regards him like he’s an idiot. “Are you blind? I hit the apple right in the middle.”

“Screw the apple. You didn’t hither. You could have at least drawn some blood.”

I do my best to glare a hole through Elijah’s awful head, because what the fucking fuck?

Mark saunters up and plucks the arrow from the tree, the apple still attached. After taking a bite, he slides the apple off the end and places it back on my head. “There’s always time for blood in round two.”

By the heavens. If Leesadidrun away from Flighthaven, I’m starting to understand why. Who could blame her? These people are flat-out nuts.

Nearby rustling draws Mark’s attention to one of the biggest trees. His face pales. “Shit.”

“Mortimer. Levine.” Vice Commander Torno pops out from beneath the leafy canopy and strides toward us at a brisk pace. “What’s happening here? Is this an approved training exercise?”

Helene’s pale face deepens to a crimson shade. She lowers her bow. “I…we were just messing around.”

Mark jumps in. “Yeah. Lark dared us to do this.”

I jerk my head, sending the apple toppling to the ground.

“Fledgling Axton isn’t your instructor.” Torno spears Helene with icy eyes before turning her attention to Mark and Elijah. “Untie her. Now.”

Mark spins to face me. A moment later, the roots binding me loosen and dive back into the earth. I yank the disgusting cloth from my mouth just as Elijah walks up and whispers in my ear. “You’re safe this time, Axton. But you’d better watch your back.”

He saunters off with the others. Torno watches me, her brow furrowed. “Everything okay?”

I fake a smile, praying that she can’t read the lie on my face. “Yup. Everything’s great. Just messing around. Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Torno studies me before nodding. “Okay. Remember, though, if you’re experiencing any difficulties with the other fledglings that compromise your safety, you should report to me right away.”

I murmur another “yup” and take my leave, scurrying across the field to escape Torno’s scrutiny. Her support should make me feel better, but that concerned expression reminds me too much of my mother’s. It tells me that on some level, she agrees with the other fledglings and believes I’m too soft for this place. Too weak. Just because there’s a good chance she’s right doesn’t mean I want to read my failure in her eyes.

For the remainder of class, I stick close to Olive, and then I walk with her to History. I’m relieved when she plops into a seat on the other side of the auditorium from where Elijah, Helene, and Mark sit. Our instructor launches into lecture on the reign of Queen Aero, who ruled Tirene almost a millennia ago and kicked off the war between our kingdoms that started us down this long-standing pathway of animosity. Despite my own fascination with the subject, I struggle to focus on anything beyond the arrowhead aimed at my heart earlier. I can’t believe I’m thinking this, but if not for Helene, I might be dead. She partook in the hazing with a clear goal to scare me, not hurt me. Mark and Elijah? If someone told me they murdered people and drank their victims’ blood for fun, I wouldn’t bat an eye.

---