Chapter 120: Test

Chapter 120: Test


Cara pov

“Cara, be strong.” The words kept repeating in my head. I could not believe that this was happening.

Have I been tricked only to be dumped into the lion's den?. This horrifying ran through my mind as I tried to take cover. Within a moment, the metal warrior was beside me swinging his sword.

I dodged it by a hair breath. I gasped as Strands of my own hair fell to the ground. I had narrowingly escaped death.

“Get me out of here!!” I screamed,running up and down the grand hall, but there was no response. I wondered what I was supposed to do. I was not strong enough to even best a child warrior, not to talk of this. At that moment, I felt like crying. My emotions are getting the best out of me.

Is this how it will end?. I will die in this forgotten and unknown place. I thought of Debby, Garreth, and Brian. Garreth won't even know we're looking, as I was thousands of kilometers away.

The sound of a metallic voice broke me out of my thoughts.

“one minute down, the second warrior activated” 

I nervously waited to see what the announcement was for. But my heart sank as another warrior came to life, with his fiery red orbs in place of eyes. It pointed at me with his sword.

“Prove thy worth, stinking deserter," and together with the first, they came charging .

I was helpless and didn't know what to do. My heart pounded in my chest like a talking drum. There was no way to escape. And they were approaching where I was very fast.

“Use your abilities” a tiny voice said in my mind. 

But I know that was a useless suggestion. I was as good as not having an ability if it wouldn't even allow me to use it. But out of desperation, I tried this time. It was not empty.

The metallic warrior swung this time, but it came very slow. I could make out the intricate patterns on the sword, as it came towards me like in slow motion. I shifted my body, and it swept past me like a bomb, the pressure destroying a nearby stone chair that was in the way.

My eyes widened at what just happened. My ability…, they have returned.

The familiar buzz of electricity ran through me as I drew strength inside me. It rushed through my muscles, empowering and reinforcing it. I almost moaned from the invigorating feeling, but now was not the time for enjoyments. As if feeling my abilities, the other three metallic warriors weird to life dumpfounding me.

Was this supposed to happen?.

“Abilities detected in the host. Host blood initiating overdrive process.” 

I almost cursed out aloud in desperation, when it seemed like I would succeed, the useless voice sounded, following which all the warriors came at me. But surprisingly, in the face of pressure, I was calm like a predator measuring its prey.

My blood roared inside me as the battle spirit was unleashed, and the joy to engage in a fight came over me. I motioned to the charging warriors. 

“Come”. If this was a stupid test, I would make sure I pass it before giving my piece of mind to their so-called leader. Lydia.

I don't know how long, but the warriors lay on the ground, never to stand up again. I almost cringed at the way I sliced them up like cabbage. Surprisingly, after I defeated one, I removed its helmet, and it was human. It was a training dummy.

I waited patiently for any sign of activity. 

“The deserter has passed the test. Pureblood detected.” The long awaited voice finally announced my victory.

The familiar ripples spread out , and the hall started disappearing. The loud cheers of people reached my ears immediately, threatening to block my sensitive ears. I couldn’t help but be confused

I was in an arena, which I recognised to be the arena just informed of the grand structure I had entered. I saw a grinning Martin who came over to me. “Congratulations, from passing the test. Your status as a deserter has been removed.”

I was in a state of shock. So this was what it was all this while. The happy people, their excited gazes, that Martin had overlooked. I had thought that it was nothing, but I didn't know that I was about to be thrown into a colosseum to entertain people.

“What if I had died?” 

I asked Martin, who was still grinning sheepishly.

“We would have stepped the training if something like that was to happen.” 

I rolled my eyes like they would have. But his grinning turned into a frown. 

“What's the problem?” I asked him.

“The results…, it had not come out”

“Which results are you talking about?” I asked him, confused. “Haven't my results been announced?.”

The sound of marching tropes reached my ears. It was a group of royally dressed warriors. I could feel a faint pressure from them, but it was nothing I wouldn't handle.

“Young cupbearer, you are summoned by the leader” the warriors leader announced.

“Elijah, what's the meaning of this?” Martin asked him. From his look, this was not supposed to be happening.

“That is the order from the leader” was the simple reply.

I followed the royal trope o to the grand hall. This time, there was no ripple of energy. The huge doors opened. Entering in a hall that was familiar to the one I had seen in training. It was so big and spacious that it could contain thousands of people.

But what truly drew my attention was the figure seated on the ornate throne at the far end of the hall.

At first, I couldn’t make out her features clearly. She sat tall and poised, her head held high, exuding an air of authority that was impossible to ignore. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her piercing eyes seemed to scan the room with practiced precision.

And then, as I stepped closer, recognition hit me like a thunderclap.

“that mask.?” The words slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

Her gaze snapped to me, and for a moment, I saw a flash of smile, but it was gone immediately.

“Welcome young cupbearer,”

My mind was spinning. I tried to understand what was going on. The so-called leader was the masked figure that had given me the vial in the forest. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was the vial that unlocked my abilities.

“How could this be, you…”

“You have passed your test, and your results are out, which you already know.”

“Yes…yes, the result says I am a pureblood…”

I could hear a collective gasp in the background. I turned to look around, and I could see everybody had a shocked expression. Especially Martin, whose mouth was hanging open.

“Did I say anything wrong?” I asked, but no one answered me.

“Young cupbearer, you are a pureblood. The first ever to appear in centuries. Not after the last…”

Her words struck a chord. These were the exact words Debby had said. 

I could feel the stares of people. It was filled with tension, fear, hope, and shock, and was that reverence. 

“Soo, what is the big deal about being a pureblood?” I asked impatiently.

But the leader, Lydia, didn't answer me straight away. 

“Cara?” she said, her voice soft and a mixture of something else. something I couldn’t quite place.

I froze in place, my mind racing. My name, how did she know my name?.

“How did you know my name?”

“Because of this…” she removed her mask in front. My breath hitched. For a moment, there was a pin drop silence, but it didn't last.

“Emelda!!” 

I screamed out in shock.