Page 24 of Draekora

“Just in case,” Alex said, and he nodded in agreement.

“You won’t see us, but we’ll check your progress at frequent intervals over the next two days to make sure you’re safe,” Roka said. He placed a steady hand on her shoulder and bent down to look her in the eyes. “To make it through thevarrungardin the allocated time, you have to think like a Meyarin, Alex. Open your senses,listento what is around you. Move like one of us. If you do all that, you will easily reach Meya by sundown tomorrow.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then we’ll simply collect you on theValispathand bring you home,” Zain said, reaching over to tussle her hair in that big brother-like way of his. “And you’ll have enjoyed a nice, quiet holiday in the woods.”

“In other words, I’ll have failed,” Alex deduced.

“Thevarrungardis nothing more than an aptitude test for you,” Kyia reminded. “It’s not an attempt for you to join theZeltora. Your mission is to try to allow your Meyarin characteristics to flow through you. And who knows? Perhaps you will even enjoy yourself.”

“Have I mentioned I don’t like camping?” Alex mumbled under her breath, before she inhaled deeply and tried to muster some enthusiasm. “Right. Someone point me in the right direction.”

Kyia swivelled Alex until she was facing what could have been north, south, east or west, for all she knew. Having never been a Girl Scout, she had no idea how to find her bearings. And even if she could, she was in a whole new world, so it would likely have done her little good, regardless.

In other words, she wassoscrewed.

“Any last advice?” she asked, trying to delay their leaving.

Zain smirked at her. “Don’t let your toes fall off.”

Instead of being concerned by his comment, Alex grinned and lifted one of her fur-lined, knee-high boots. “Have you seen these babies? It’s like I’m wearing hot water bottles on my feet.”

It was true. The clothes Kyia had forced the drowsy Alex into were fully insulating her from the cold. Her pants were made of a windproof, leathery material that was impossibly supple, and her thick, wrap-around tunic dropped to mid-thigh, keeping her nice and toasty. Her outfit was white and laced with thinly threaded Myrox, which—according to Kyia—was why Alex felt so comfortable despite the winter chill. It also meant Alex blended in effortlessly with the snow-and-silver woodland.

“I’m pretty sure my toes will be okay,” Alex continued to Zain. “It’s the rest of me that’s up for debate.”

“Then we’d better get you started,” the burly Meyarin said, clapping her on the shoulder so hard that her knees buckled. “Travel swift, little human. You’ll be back with us before you know it.”

He stepped away and Kyia followed suit, sending Alex an encouraging smile. Roka, however, moved closer.

“If you lose your way, follow the path of the sun,” he said. “It will lead you directly to Meya. The endurance stage of yourvarrungardtrial will end the moment you reach the Golden Cliffs.” He leaned in and whispered, “You’re not technically allowed a weapon, but since A’enara isn’t here in physical form right now, we won’t consider it cheating. But don’t forget your blade, should trouble find you.”

Alex’s eyes were wide when he pulled back. “Exactly what kind of trouble might ‘find me’, Roka?”

“You would be extremely unlucky,” he said, answering but also not answering. “I’m sure it won’t be a concern, I merely wanted to… remind you. Now go, Alex. And remember: think like a Meyarin.”

“Think like a Meyarin,” Alex muttered grumpily to herself later that afternoon, her tone deeper in imitation of the prince. “Think like a Meyarin, Alex.” She relaxed her voice to its natural pitch, “Well,sure, Roka. Because I know how to do thatsowell.”

On the whole, hervarrungardexperience wasn’t going wonderfully. She was tired, thirsty, and despite her Myrox-lined clothes, beginning to feel the sting of the cold as the sun began its retreat beyond the horizon. She likely would have had blisters all over her feet too, if not for the healing properties of thelaendrathat she snacked on whenever she came across the glowing flower. But while it pumped her body with renewed heat and invigorated her energy levels, the sweet plant did little to actually fill her stomach.

“This sucks,” she whined, panting heavily as she waded her way through a blanket of particularly deep snow. She’d mostly been able to travel through the forest unhindered, but wherever she was right now was laden with the thick powder, making it nearly impossible for her to get anywhere fast.

In fact, speed was becoming a very real problem for Alex. No matter how hard she tried, for some reason she just wasn’t able to tap into her Meyarin abilities. She’d done it before—back when she’d been with Aven and Jordan just before Kaldoras. With her life threatened, she’d somehow managed to run through the forest with super speed before escaping through a Shadow Essence portal.

Looking down at her bare fingers, Alex mentally cursed Zain for confiscating her Shadow Ring. Had she still been wearing it, she would have been sorely tempted to instantly transport herself back to Meya, aptitude test be damned.

It took another hour before Alex stumbled across her first source of water for the day, and considering she’d been hiking for hours, she was about ready to throw herself bodily into the slowly trickling stream if it meant soothing her parched throat. She’d been tempted to suck the snow as she trailed, but with the dying sun, she hadn’t wanted to risk lowering her core temperature further. Not that the icy water was going to be much warmer.

Drinking until she was satisfied, Alex sat back on her heels, glancing up at the silvery-charcoaled canopy above her. Very little light was filtering through the trees now and she knew the sun had almost completely set.

The human part of Alex told her that the wisest thing she could do was find shelter and bunker down for the night. Unfortunately, even if she was struggling to utilise her Meyarin blood, she could still hear Roka’s ‘think like a Meyarin’ encouragement in her mind. A Meyarin, Alex knew, wouldn’t stop for the night. A Meyarin had super senses and super speed and would likely already have made it back to Meya by now. But in the event that they were still out in the forest, there was no way they would pause theirvarrungardtrek to take a rest. They would keep going, all night if they had to. So that was what Alex would do.

As much as she dreaded being out in the cold, darkening forest, Alex was determined to pass her trial. Part of that was because she felt like she owed it to Roka, Zain and Kyia, who all believed in her; part of that was because of the snotty council members, whodidn’tbelieve in her; and part of that was because she, more than anyone, knew what was at stake. She had to get a handle on her Meyarin instincts if she wanted even the smallest chance of surviving another encounter with Aven. And if thisvarrungardtest could help unlock her newfound senses in any way, then she needed to give it her all.

Inhaling deeply, Alex pushed up from the stream to her feet and closed her eyes.

“Listen, Alex,” she whispered to herself. “Just listen.”

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