Page 26 of Tempest Rising

"Your next assessment," I replied, crossing my arms. "Mental acuity and decision-making under pressure."

Tess's eyes flickered with confusion and then narrowed in determination as she took in the figures before her. They weren’t just faceless dummies or generic enemies. No, I’d designed this scenario to challenge her in a way that went far beyond brute strength or reflexes.

Each figure wore a familiar face: Pippa, Mason, and Wesley, their features eerily perfect, down to the subtle flicker of emotion in their eyes. But something was horribly wrong. Above their heads, massive stone slabs, suspended by only the thinnest of magical threads, trembled ominously, ready to crash down at any moment. Beneath their feet, the ground cracked, revealing a swirling abyss of dark magic threatening to consume them ifthey so much as moved an inch. The air itself crackled with danger, thick with the promise of death.

This test wasn’t just about physical prowess—it was about judgment, about loyalty. About understanding what it meant to be a protector while faced with impossible choices.

I stepped back, my gaze locked on her, waiting for any sign of hesitation.

"Choose," I said, my voice steady, though my insides twisted. "One of them lives. The others fall."

I knew it was brutal. Unfair, even. But the world she was trying to fight for didn’t care about fairness. And if she was going to survive the path of a Dragon Rider, she needed to understand that.

Tess froze, her golden-brown eyes wide and horrified as she took in the scene. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her breath shallow as she processed my words. Above her friends, the stone slabs creaked ominously, sending chunks of debris raining down, and the abyss at their feet hissed with hungry energy. I could see the tremble in her hands. For a moment, I thought maybe she wouldn’t be able to handle it—that this would break her.

"I... I can't just..." she started, then stopped, shaking her head.

"Time's ticking, Tess," I reminded her, even as a part of me wanted to reach out and steady her. "What's your decision?"

Just then, a voice cut through the tension. "Having trouble with the basics, librarian?"

A fae woman strode into the arena, her violet eyes gleaming with barely concealed disdain. Behind her, a familiar indigo-scaled dragon, followed silently.

Bella. Just seeing her made my chest ache.

"This isn't the time, Ariadne," I growled, but she ignored me, her focus entirely on Tess.

Ariadne's lips curled into a mocking smile as she stepped closer, her booted feet crunching softly in the sand. "Oh, but it seems like the perfect time, Theron. After all, isn't this what trials are for? To weed out the weak from the strong? Why should this human have a dragon bond while my sister doesn't?"

"Your sister?" Tess asked.

Ariadne's smirk widened. "Yes, my sister. Selena." She let the name hang in the air for a moment, watching Tess's eyes widen in recognition. "I'm sure she’s made herself… memorable," she added with a saccharine edge. "She’s been wondering why someone like you deserves a dragon over her."

Tess’s expression faltered, the weight of the revelation clear on her face. She was already second-guessing herself. Now, with Ariadne here—a current student who had bonded with her dragon just last year—it only made everything worse. And knowing that Selena, Ariadne’s younger sister, had it out for Tess didn’t ease the tension.

"Leave," I ordered, keeping my tone low and controlled, though the anger simmered just beneath the surface. "This isn't your test."

Ariadne arched an eyebrow, unfazed by my tone. "No, it's not. But it seems to me that she could use some... assistance." Her voice dripped with condescension. "Or maybe you're going too easy on her, Theron. We wouldn’t want her to think that bonding with a dragon means she’s already earned her place. Some of us had to work hard for our bonds, after all."

Tess’s gaze snapped to Ariadne, her golden-brown eyes narrowing. "I don’t need your help," she said, her voice firm despite the tremble that threatened to betray her confidence.

Ariadne’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Bella shifted behind her, the dragon’s massive frame casting a longer shadow over the arena. The indigo scales shimmered under the high sun, and Bella’s violet eyes gleamed with the same quiet intensity that Ariadne held.

I glanced at Tess, watching the way her fingers curled into fists, the way her shoulders squared again as if preparing for another fight, this time a different kind of battle—one of wills, one of pride.

Ariadne tilted her head slightly, her raven-black hair cascading over one shoulder. "Of course you don’t," she said, her voice deceptively sweet. "But you’ll need more than stubbornness to survive out here, human. You’ll need skill. Strategy. And..." Her eyes flicked to me, and something dark crossed her features. "Judgment."

My chest tightened. Her words were a knife twisted in the wound that had never fully healed. The words she didn’t say hung in the air between us, a silent accusation that cut deeper than any blade ever could.

Judgment.

I hadn’t just lost a comrade that day—I’d lost him because of a failure in judgment. Mine. And now, Ariadne was standing there, her dragon at her back, throwing that word at me as if it were a simple reminder of the past. As if it hadn’t haunted me every single day since.

Bella’s presence only made it worse. She wasn’t just Ariadne’s dragon—she had once belonged to him. To Cassian, my fallencomrade. I could still see the day Bella roared as Cassian fell in battle, the bond between them severed in an instant, the agonizing scream that echoed through her mind and mine. I remember the metallic scent of blood, the torn sky, and the fire that rained down from the heavens as she went mad with grief.

I had failed him. Failed her.

And now Bella, once the proud companion of my closest friend, stood bonded to Ariadne. The reminder of my mistakes, my past, and the weight I could never shake.

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