Chapter 77 The Trial that Decides pt1
Since the trial, my life has been a whirlwind of danger.
I’ve survived nature, beast, friend, and foe. But something about today tells me all of it will amount to nothing. Not if I can’t get past this last test, this final trial.
Today is the day that fate decides whether or not I’m a slayer.
I don’t know what foul designs await me.
Silas and Thorne have long worked together to challenge potential slayers and kill those who won’t make the cut. But with Silas in the wind, Malachi a ghost of danger, and Thorne alone and scrambling to prepare for any attacks that may present themselves, everything feels more dangerous and unsure than it ever has.
The golden light of dawn bathes Hellbane. I stand on the balcony with Warden, his huge head resting over my shoulder, and stare at this place that has become my home. Even my alicorn knows today's importance. He dances on his hooves, muscles twitching and wings quivering in anticipation.
The people I came here with slowly file into the courtyard with their mounts. They look so small from here, so insignificant. Seeing them down there without Alric, without Malachi as he’s still missing along with Silas, makes something in my chest ache. We’ve been whittled down, by death or treachery. The three champions left are the only way I’ll succeed today. The only way any of us will succeed.
Zaries.
Oberon.
Sylvain.
Carefully, I mount Warden. Feeling his saddle between my legs as his body radiates warmth and power is something I could get addicted to. He nods his head in excitement, silver mane swaying and catching the light. He seems to tell me he’s ready, to promise protection and safety on the ground or in the air.
He turns his head, his silver eyes taking me in from head to toe.
I adjust the daggers at my hips, the sword on my back, the pins in my braided hair. The alicorn horn I slayed so many with is strapped to my thigh, nearly as long as my leg, yet so light I can barely feel its weight. My obsidian armor shines, the dragon emblem of Hellbane now adorning my chest.
It is time.
“I know.” I take the reins, shifting slightly in the saddle as Warden spreads his massive wings.
You will succeed, my child. It is destined.
I can’t respond to him. I keep seeing my friends dying in my mind's eye. The three below me in the courtyard are all I have left. All that matters. I have to protect them, we must succeed. I can’t imagine my life without any of them, and I refuse to try.
“Are you ready, Warden?”
He rears, bellowing a war cry. Below us my friends all look up, shielding their eyes as they watch us take flight.
I’ve ridden Shivvers before and watched others ride their alicorns, but when Warden takes to the air it’s different. Something in my chest tightens like a vise. My mind seems to take flight along with the beast who claimed me as much as I claimed him. I can feel his intentions, feel the way his body moves as if I’m in his mind myself. The feeling strengthens, solidifies, and settles upon me like a heavy blanket.
We are one, rider and beast.
I can see through Warden’s eyes, feel the way his mind works as he makes choices faster than lightning. He banks right, soaring around the courtyard and flashing his wings with pride.
He’s powerful, a leader in his own right. He demands the attention of the other alicorns with his presence alone, and as he calls out to them. Even Sylvain’s wildling responds with reverence. Warden’s their leader, their protector, as he has become mine.
I allow the wind to caress me like an old friend as my eyes drift closed. The connection with Warden is otherworldly and so breathtakingly beautiful. He tucks his wings and dives, but I feel no fear. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he will keep me on his back, that he will spread those glorious wings and land us soft as a feather.
When my eyes flutter open, I see the alicorns belonging to my friends form a half circle in preparation for us to land. Warden’s hooves click on the cobblestones as he lands, and each of the alicorns waiting for us lowers their heads in reverence.
I slip out of the saddle and meet my friends between our alicorns, staring in silence at each person and the mount that chose them. Taking a deep breath, savoring this moment of heavy silence, I memorize the way we are now. Each of us wears the black armor with the dragon emblazoned on our chest.
Every moment, every second, has come to this.
“Are you ready?” Sylvain asks, reaching for my hand.
I take hers and squeeze, lifting my other hand to her dappled alicorn and stroking her cheek. “Ready as I’ll ever be. How’s Luna this morning?”
“A little better,” Sylvain says, laying her head against her alicorn as her face softens. Luna is much smaller than the three stallions, but compared to Warden, she looks like the filly she is.
“Anara.”
I turn to face Zaries. Letting go of Sylvain’s hand, I walk over to him, putting myself between him and Oberon. Zaries cups the back of my head and pulls me into a gentle hug.