Chapter 51
Elara's POV
Warren blew his whistle. "Free time. One hour. Stay within camp boundaries."
The group scattered immediately.
Sophia linked arms with two girls from the club. Headed toward the supply tent.
Blythe lingered near the archery targets. Pretending to inspect his bow.
Chloe grabbed my arm. "I'm getting water. Want some?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
She jogged toward the supply area.
I walked to the cliff edge. Stood where the plateau dropped off into forest.
Three meters down. Rocky slope. Dense trees beyond.
I studied the terrain. Mentally mapped escape routes.
Old habit.
Footsteps behind me.
I didn't turn around.
"That was incredible." Blythe's voice. Too close. "Three perfect shots. You have to teach me."
I kept my eyes on the forest. "I don't teach."
"Come on." He moved closer. I could smell his cologne. "Just a few tips. We could practice together sometime."
His gaze dropped. Traveled down my body.
My skin crawled.
"I'm busy."
"Doing what?" He laughed. Light. Casual. "You don't exactly have a packed social calendar."
I turned to face him. Met his eyes.
He blinked. Took a half step back.
Whatever he saw in my expression made his smile falter.
"Elara!" Chloe's voice cut through the tension. She bounded over with two water bottles. "Got you the cold one."
Blythe's smile snapped back into place. "Well. I'll let you two catch up."
He walked away.
Chloe handed me the bottle. "Was he bothering you?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
I unscrewed the cap. Took a long drink.
The water was cold. Clean.
Tasted normal.
---
Ten minutes later, the dizziness hit.
Subtle at first. Like the ground tilted slightly under my feet.
I was still standing at the cliff edge. Chloe had wandered off to talk to Ryan.
I blinked. Pressed my palm against my temple.
The world swayed.
Not much. Just enough to notice.
I looked down at the water bottle in my hand.
Chloe got it from the supply area. The communal stack.
Someone drugged the water supply?
Or just my bottle?
I replayed the last fifteen minutes in my head.
Chloe went to get water. Came back. Handed me the bottle.
She wasn't acting strange. Her bottle looked identical to mine.
So either the drug was in my specific bottle. Or Chloe was in on it.
No.
Not Chloe.
I glanced across the camp. Found her laughing with Ryan near the supply tent.
She didn't know.
Someone else planted the bottle. Knew Chloe would grab it for me.
The dizziness intensified. My vision blurred at the edges.
I forced myself to breathe slowly.
Analyzed the symptoms.
Light-headed. Mild loss of balance. But my thoughts were still clear.
This wasn't meant to knock me out.
It was meant to slow my reactions.
Which meant something else was coming.
---
Warren's whistle shrieked across the camp.
"Listen up! Pop quiz."
Everyone groaned.
I turned carefully. Kept my movements controlled.
The dizziness made everything feel like I was moving through water.
Warren pointed to a marker flag planted fifty meters down the trail. "Sprint to that flag and back. With your gear."
More groans.
"This is basic conditioning. If you can't handle a hundred-meter sprint with fifteen kilos, you're not ready for real wilderness survival."
He checked his stopwatch. "Line up. Go when I say."
People shuffled into position.
I stayed near the back. Used the time to assess my condition.
The drug was getting worse. My legs felt loose. Unstable.
I clenched my jaw.
Lynette's voice in my head. Cold. Furious.
This is a trap. You know it's a trap.
So don't fall for it.
Warren blew the whistle.
The first group took off.
Ryan led the pack. His long legs eating up the distance.
Sophia went in the second wave. She ran gracefully despite her earlier complaints about her shoes.
My turn came.
I bent my knees slightly. Tested my balance.
Dizzy. But manageable.
The whistle blew.
I pushed off.
The world tilted violently.
I stumbled. Caught myself.
Forced my legs to move.
One foot in front of the other.
My vision blurred. The trail doubled. Tripled.
I blinked hard. Focused on the flag ahead.
Halfway there.
My lungs burned. The weight of my pack dragged at my shoulders.
The dizziness was getting worse.
I reached the flag. Grabbed it.
Turned.
Sophia was running toward me.
Too fast.
Her trajectory was wrong. Angled directly at me instead of the flag.
Time slowed.
I saw her eyes. Wide. Focused.
Saw her shoulder drop. Preparing for impact.
She was going to hit me.
I was standing three feet from the cliff edge.
If she hit me at that speed—
I tried to move.
My legs wouldn't cooperate.
The drug had stolen my reaction time.
Sophia slammed into me.
The impact drove the air from my lungs.
I flew backward.
My feet left the ground.
The cliff edge disappeared beneath me.
I was falling.
---
Instinct took over.
My hand shot out. Grabbed.
Found something.
A tree root. Jutting from the cliff face.
My fingers locked around it.
The jolt nearly ripped my arm from its socket.
Pain exploded through my shoulder.
But I held on.
My body swung. Slammed against the rock wall.
More pain.
I dangled there. Three meters above the rocky slope.
Above me, Sophia's voice. High. Panicked.
"Oh my god! Elara!"
Footsteps. Running.
People shouting.
I looked up.
Sophia stood at the cliff edge. Hands over her mouth.
Perfect picture of horror.
But her eyes.
Her eyes were disappointed.
She'd wanted me to fall.
Wanted me to hit the rocks.
Wanted me dead.
The dizziness was fading fast.
Too fast.
The drug had a timer. Carefully calculated.
Just long enough to make me vulnerable during the sprint.
Water to dull my reflexes. Sprint to create chaos. Sophia's "accident" to finish the job.
If I'd fallen, it would've been ruled a training mishap.
Tragic. But no one's fault.
---
Blythe appeared at the edge. Reached down. "Grab my hand!"
I looked at his outstretched arm.
Looked at Sophia standing behind him.
"Don't," I said. My voice came out steady. "You'll fall too."
Warren shoved through the crowd. "Everyone back! Give her space!"
He dropped to his stomach. Extended his arm.
I ignored it.
Took a slow breath.
Assessed the situation.
The root was solid. My grip was secure.
The cliff face had handholds. Small ledges where the rock had eroded.
I could climb this.
I'd climbed worse in the Northern Territories. Ice walls with no equipment.
This was nothing.
I swung my free hand up. Found a crack in the rock.
Jammed my fingers in.
Pulled.
My feet found purchase on a narrow ledge.
I released the root. Grabbed higher.
Moved.
Muscle memory took over.
Lynette's training. Years of scaling frozen cliffs in blizzards.
Three moves. Precise. Efficient.
I hauled myself over the edge.
Landed on solid ground.
The plateau was silent.
Everyone stared.
Warren stood slowly. His face was unreadable.
"That was..." He paused. "Military-level self-rescue technique."
Shit.
I'd done it again.
I straightened. Brushed dirt from my hands.
"I rock climb," I said. "As a hobby."
The lie sounded weak even to me.
Warren's eyes narrowed. But he didn't push.
"Everyone back to camp," he ordered. "Training's over for today."
The crowd dispersed slowly. Still whispering.
I felt their stares like knives.
---
I found a spot away from the others. Sat on a flat rock.
My hands were shaking now. Adrenaline crash.
I replayed the last hour in my head.
The water. The dizziness. The sprint.
Sophia's perfectly timed collision.
The disappointed look in her eyes when I didn't fall.
It was elegant. I had to give her that.
If I'd hit those rocks, broken my neck, no one would've questioned it.
Just a tragic accident during a routine training exercise.
But she'd miscalculated.
She didn't know about Lynette.
Didn't know I'd survived worse than a three-meter fall.
I looked across the camp.
Sophia stood with her friends. Her face was pale. Hands trembling.
The perfect image of someone traumatized by almost witnessing a death.
But her fists were clenched.
White-knuckled.
And when her eyes met mine, I saw it.
Pure hatred.
Footsteps approached.
Chloe dropped down beside me. "Are you okay? That was insane. I thought you were going to—"
"I'm fine."
"Fine? You almost died!"
I turned to look at her. "It was an accident."
"An accident? Sophia ran straight into you!"
"She lost control during the sprint. It happens."
Chloe's mouth opened. Closed. "You're defending her?"
"I'm stating facts."
"Elara—"
"It was an accident," I repeated. Louder this time.
Chloe stared at me. Then slowly nodded.
She didn't believe me.
But she let it go.
---
Sophia approached as the sun started to set.
Her friends hung back. Watching.
She stopped three feet away. Wrung her hands.
"Elara, I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked. "I don't know what happened. I just—I lost my footing and—"
"It's okay," I said.
She blinked. "What?"
"It was an accident. These things happen."
Confusion flashed across her face. Then something darker.
Anger.
She'd expected me to accuse her. To make a scene.
Wanted me to look paranoid. Hysterical.
Instead, I'd forgiven her.
Publicly.
Which made her look guilty for even worrying about it.
"I..." She fumbled for words. "I'm glad you're not hurt."
"Me too."
I smiled.
She flinched.
Turned and walked away.