Chapter Text
W R E N L E Y
Conscription Day. The day every twenty-one-year-old in Navarre enters the quadrant of their choice. That is, if you aren’t a separatist’s kid, like me.
I’ve counted down the days to my conscription for the last four years. Not because I’m eager for the prospect of death, but because my parents went here–met here. My mom walked the very path I am about to take. I’m a legacy, and if anyone thinks the black relic curling up my arm is going to change that, they’re dead wrong.
Plus I finally get to see him again. That makes my heart skip a beat.
I trail behind my best friends, Bodhi Durran and Imogen Cardulo, as we move through the line to the Riders Quadrant. I watch the people around us. Many stand alone, some whose families have no clue where they are. Others, like us, who have no family left to say goodbye to, not after the executions.
“You ready?” Bodhi asks, glancing at me.
Besides my cousin, Bodhi and I were always the closest growing up.
I give him a weak smile. “Do I have a choice?”
“Not even a little bit.” Imogen snorts, throwing an arm over my shoulders, her pink hair looking especially vibrant in the sunlight.
The line shifts, five people ahead.
“What’s the plan once we’re across?” She asks.
“Find Garrick and Xaden. They’ll have already made a plan.” I sound more confident than I feel. None of us have seen Xaden Riorson and Garrick Tavis in the four years since all of our parents were executed. Well… Bodhi and Imogen haven’t seen them. I got fostered with Garrick and one hour with Xaden a year ago right before they entered the quadrant.
A year of secret letters kept me tethered to Xaden, but letters can’t replace a person. Not really.
Three people ahead.
After the executions, all the rebellion children were scattered—sent to be raised by families loyal to the crown. My cousin Garrick and I ended up together with a distant relative. Xaden… he was sent somewhere else. We were lucky our fosters were close enough to let us write, and visit a few times a year. I’ve got a whole box of his letters back home that I’ve read a hundred times.
“Name?” The scribe’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. She looks like she’d rather be anywhere else.
I glance ahead—Bodhi and Imogen are already on the stairs to the parapet. A death trap leading into another one.
“Name?”
“Wrenley Tavis,” I say, scribbling my name on the line and hurrying after them. We say nothing as we climb, sticking close to the wall like Xaden had warned us in his last letter.
“Oh man, she’s gonna lose it,” Bodhi laughs at the top. He gives his name and bolts onto the parapet like it’s nothing.
Imogen rolls her eyes. “Show-off.” She follows, just as fast after giving her name.
When I reach the platform, I spot exactly who he was talking to.
“Garrick!” My heart leaps as I breathe a sigh of relief, but I hold back from throwing myself at him. He’s the same as when we parted. Solid. Steady. Home.
“Hey, Princess.” He gives me that warm smile—uses the nickname the boys gave me years ago. “Eyes ahead. Don’t look down.” His voice drops low as another rider takes my name. He nods, suddenly all business. “Good luck, Candidate Tavis.”
Right. No time for reunion.
I step onto the parapet and recite the advice Xaden had written.
Arms out. Heel to toe. Pretend I’m balancing books on my head.
Don’t .
Look .
Down .
Move with purpose. Get across fast. The sooner I’m over, the sooner I can be in his arms.
Bodhi and Imogen cheer when I land, and the roll-keeper jots my name down.
“Cadet Tavis,” she says, handing me a missive. “I was told to give this to you upon arrival.”
Imogen immediately leans in as I unfold the paper, recognizing the handwriting instantly.
I’m proud of you Little Bird!
Let me show you just how much?
Head to the right of the parapet.
Up the stairs to the second floor, 5th room on the left.
-X
“Oh, we’ve definitely lost her.” Bodhi pokes at my flushed cheeks.
“I’ll see you at formation.” I tuck the note away and follow the directions.
Two flights of stairs. Fifth door on the left.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
My smile grows with every step. He’s right here. He’s really here.
Before I can knock, the door swings open. I’m yanked inside and pinned against it, face-to-face with deep onyx eyes, flecked with gold. Eyes I’ve memorized.
“Xaden,” I breathe.
He doesn’t answer. Just kisses me like the last year never existed.
“A year,” he murmurs, breaking the kiss only to steal another. “A year is too fucking long.” His voice is low, raw, sending a shiver down my spine as he trails kisses to my jaw and neck. “Watching you cross—gods, I was terrified. And so fucking turned on.”
“I missed you,” I gasp as he finds the spot that always makes my knees weak.
Clothes vanish between kisses and frantic hands. We stumble toward the bed, stripping down to almost nothing.
“You’re still the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.” He reaches for my hair as I stretch across the sheets, beckoning him closer.
“If you don’t have me seeing stars in the next five minutes—”
His mouth silences the threat. “We both know I’ll get you there in two.” He smirks—that private, wicked smile only I ever get. His fingers trail down, teasing me through my underwear. “What should I use first, my love? My fingers?” I moan. “My tongue?” He rips the last barrier between us, eyes roaming over me. “Or my cock?”
“Please,” I whisper. There’s no shame. Just need.
“We both know what you want.” He presses himself against me, thick and hot and maddening.
“Please, Xay…”
“Anything for you.” His voice is a promise as he pushes in, inch by perfect inch.
I cry out, my body arching to meet him. The world narrows to the rhythm of his hips, the way he groans into my neck, the way my name sounds on his lips.
Black smoke begins to swirl around us — faint at first, like wisps of shadow.
“Xay…” I gasp as the tendrils slither closer. One curls around my throat, tightening.
He doesn’t see it. Doesn’t notice as I claw at his arms.
“Xa–” His name catches in my throat, breath strangled by the smoke. I try to push him off. I can’t speak. The darkness creeps in. Just as my vision starts to fade, the pressure eases and I rasp, “Ven —”
In a blink, Xaden is across the room, wide-eyed, gasping for air.
“Xay?”
“You should get back.” His voice is strained, distant. The smoke retreats, coiling toward him before disappearing.
“Please talk to me.” I grab the blanket from the bed, covering myself as I approach. “I’m okay.”
“I lost control,” he says, backing toward the desk. “I lost complete control and you had to use...”
“But I’m fine.” I interrupt. “No marks, see?” Is it the truth? I have no idea, but I just know that I never, ever want to see that look of fear in his eyes again. “I’m okay.”
He doesn’t look convinced. Just haunted.
I catch his eyes flickering to my neck, then drop to the floor.
“I just need a minute,” Xaden says quietly. “I’ll see you out there.”
I nod, wordless, and begin to redress, my gaze lingering on him even as he remains motionless. “I know you’d never intentionally hurt me,” I murmur, stepping closer. I rise to my toes to press a kiss to his lips, but he turns his head. My kiss lands on his cheek instead. I sigh, lingering for half a second longer before moving to the door. “I love you, Xaden.”
No response. Just silence as I slip out of the room and blend back into the chaos of the courtyard.
My thoughts churn as I scan the rows of first-years, searching for familiar faces. I’m nearing the end of the last line when I collide with someone. “Shit, I’m so sorry —”
“It’s no prob — Wren?”
The voice stops me cold. It’s deeper than I remember, rougher at the edges, but still unmistakable.
Dain Aetos.
Time has only sharpened him. Gone is the lanky boy I used to sneak out with, replaced by someone taller, broader, more rigid. The kind of man who wouldn't be caught dead reenacting our reckless childhood antics.
“Dain.” I blink, forcing a breath. “You’ve grown up.”
He smiles—genuine, at first. But then his gaze drops to the relic gleaming on my left arm, and the warmth in his expression dies. Remorse floods in to take its place. “Shit, Wren. Did they punish you for your uncle?”
I stiffen. “What?”
“That’s a rebellion relic,” he says bluntly, like the words themselves leave a sour taste in his mouth.
For a second, I can’t speak. Can’t breathe. And then the numbness gives way to fury.
“Yeah, Dain,” I bite out, meeting his eyes with all the fire I’ve held back for years. “I watched my father die in Calldyr just like the rest.”
“Your dad… joined them?” His face twists, not with sympathy, but something that borders on disgust. It’s a slap I didn’t see coming.
“He defended our home and lost his life for it,” I hiss, clenching my fists to keep from shaking. “But I wouldn’t expect you to understand that, considering it was your father that dragged him to his execution.”
Dain pales, shifting like he suddenly remembers who he’s speaking to. “I didn’t know, Wren.” For a second, I almost believed him. Until he opens his mouth again. “I’m sure there was more to it than —”
“Right.” The word is sharp. Final.
He really is just like his father. My dad warned me. Aetos Jr. through and through.
“Thanks for confirming what I always suspected,” I say coldly. “Now I know exactly who you are.” I shove past him, barely restraining the tears threatening to spill.
Bodhi’s close by, his posture alert as he catches sight of me. I move toward him like he’s the only solid thing in a world that won’t stop shifting.
“He was an old friend,” I say quietly, brushing off the concern in his eyes. “But we both know what happens to old friends.” And what this place does to people.
The senior wingleader’s voice rings out, calling names and sorting cadets. Bodhi is placed in Tail Section while Imogen and I both end up in Flame Section — Fourth Wing.
Xaden is there, waiting.
As I pass him, his fingers graze mine—just the slightest touch, but it steadies me.
“Meet me after curfew,” he murmurs.
The knot in my chest loosens. I line up with my new squad, only to realize — of course — I’m standing right next to Dain.
Perfect.
This is going to be a long year.
Perched on the parapet, I watch as the stars spill across the night sky. Xaden settles beside me, and whether his gaze is fixed on the constellations or on me, I choose not to wonder — not in this quiet moment of peace.
Sneaking away with Xaden over the last three months has been nothing short of thrilling. I suspect many are starting to piece together our secret, especially after a few times his protective instincts surfaced. I can handle myself in a fight, but there was one moment that nearly pushed Xaden to the edge. Yesterday, during the Gauntlet — when I slipped on that final incline — it took both Bodhi and Garrick to hold him back from rushing to my side.
“Were you nervous for Threshing last year?” I whisper, my words barely carried on the breeze.
“For Threshing itself? Not really,” he replies, his voice calm and steady like a warm blanket. “What haunted me was the thought of never seeing you again. That fear lived in me every day. Still does.” He shifts, straddling the parapet and pulling me closer. “Are you scared for tomorrow?”
I hesitate. “Would you be disappointed if I said yes?”
His laughter is a breath of fresh air. He leans in, kissing me softly, trying to carry away my worries. Yet, they linger even as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“I saw Desa at Presentation,” I murmur, regretting the sight of those familiar sapphire scales. “When Kaori said this was the first year she agreed to bond, I was shocked she didn’t already have a new rider.” Desa — a blue swordtail — was my mother’s dragon. I still remember those late-night rides Mom would take me on, the early mornings when I’d watch them soar off on patrol, before everything changed — before tragedy took her from us both.
“Sgaeyl mentioned that,” Xaden nods thoughtfully. “Apparently they’re as close as sisters.” His chuckle carries a far-off edge — I know he’s talking to Sgaeyl now.
“I’m sure Mom would be overjoyed that Desa’s moving on,” I sigh, turning my eyes back to the stars. “Honestly, I’m just hoping to live through tomorrow.”
Xaden’s fingers intertwine with mine, sealing a silent promise. “If anyone’s going to survive — and bond — it’ll be my strong, insanely smart girlfriend.” His words are a lifeline, pulling me up from the dark sea of my mind. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
Another kiss lands on my cheek before he helps me up and guides me away from the parapet. His arm wraps around my shoulders as he leads me toward the dormitories, leaving me with one last kiss before slipping away to his room.
I think I’m lost. The woods have swallowed me whole for what feels like hours. Leaves rustle and distant dragon roars prick the hairs on my neck. Occasionally, I look up to see a newly bonded pair shooting into the sky — and just as often, a rider falls, tumbling earthward.
“If anyone’s going to survive — and bond — it’ll be my strong, insanely smart girlfriend.”
Xaden’s voice drifts through my mind. I steady myself. I can do this. I will survive today.
“ You surely will, Youngling. ” The voice is soft yet commands immediate attention, freezing me mid-step.
“Hello?” I call, voice trembling as I scan the trees.
“ I’ve waited six years for you, Wrenley Tavis. ”
The familiar sapphire scales glint in the sunlight beside me. My breath catches, and I instinctively step back, eyes lowered.
“ Back up any further and you risk another dragon scorching you. ” The golden eyes meet mine — sharp, piercing, as if searching my soul. “ I am. Now get on, ” she orders, no room for argument. So why do I argue?
“We’ll get… in trouble. You can’t just choose me.”
“ Let me worry about that. Now climb. ”
Heart pounding, I take a deep breath, sprint toward her leg, and scramble up. She launches into the air, and I fight to hold on as she loops and dives, the wind tugging my hair in wild strands. When she levels out above the citadel, I drink in the view of Navarre and smile wide.
“That was amazing!” I shout over the rushing wind.
“ I never doubted you for a second. She would be proud. ” Pride radiates from the dragon, and I don’t need to ask who she is. We land softly in the training fields, and I dismount. “ Tell the role-keeper Desathos. If anyone questions you, they answer to me. ”
Whispers prick the air as all eyes fall on me. I can hear murmurs growing louder as I approach the desk.
“There’s no way…”
“Kaori said even though she agreed, she probably wouldn’t bond…”
“ They’re whispering about you, ” I tell Desa, pushing my thoughts towards her.
“ You needn’t try so hard to speak with me and ignore them, Youngling. Focus ahead. ” Mom always said having Desa in her head was calming — experiencing it is something else entirely.
Each step feels heavy beneath the weight of so many gazes. The soft grass muffles my footsteps, but my racing heartbeat sounds like thunder in my ears.
“Impossible.” Professor Kaori’s voice is full of awe as I approach, his eyes flickering between me and Desa.
I meet the gaze of the dais — landing finally on General Lilith Sorrengail, my mother’s closest friend. A shadow of sadness flickers in her eyes.
“Wrenley Tavis. For the record, tell me the name of the dragon who chose you.” The role-keeper’s quill trembles in her hand as the others lean forward.
“Desathos.” My voice is steady, though my chest thrums wildly. Am I about to pass out?
“ Breathe, Youngling. ”
“Your mother’s dragon?” The role-keeper’s whisper is filled with disbelief.
“This cannot be allowed!”
“The generations are too close!”
“ The Empyrean has already approved the bond. ”
Shock freezes me as I glance between Desa and the dais — where Melgren stares off, probably communicating with Codagh, and General Sorrengail wears a proud smile.
“Enough!” Melgren’s voice booms, silencing the crowd. “The Empyrean decided long ago. Cadet Tavis will remain bonded to Desa. Should she falter, we will meet again.”
I nod and step back to Desa’s side. Warm air rushes past me as I look up — and spot Xaden and Sgaeyl landing a hundred feet away. His eyes lock on mine.
We’re alive.
All I want is to be in his arms — but General Sorrengail speaks before either of us can move.
I can’t hear her words through the noise of my pounding heart, but Xaden’s steady gaze grounds me. I bonded my first Threshing. I bonded my mother’s dragon. The thought settles over me, and when Desa nudges me forward, the joy in Xaden’s eyes lights my way.
“ Five steps forward, Youngling. ”
“Dragons, it is our honor, as always. Now, we celebrate!”
A scream tears through me as heat curls along my left shoulder, tracing the top of my relic. Screams ring all around, but I hear only one thing.
“ I think it pairs well with your existing one. ” Desa’s voice echoes inside me as I pull my shirt neckline down, revealing an intricate dragon curling across my collarbone — its tail blending into the swirls of my relic.
“ Wow… ”
“ A perfect blend of the two halves of your life. ”
Before I can think more, strong arms circle me from behind, spinning me around.
“You did it!” Xaden’s voice is music. “And they let you have Desa? Eden must be smiling down on you.”
Seeing General Sorrengail’s pride was like seeing my mother’s pride through someone else. But hearing it from Xaden — the boy my mom swore was the one — it’s like she’s saying it herself.
A bright smile spreads across my face before Xaden closes the space between us, pressing his lips to mine in a fierce kiss.
“Xaden! People can see us!” I whisper, breathless as I pull back.
“I don’t care what they say. Do you?” His confidence and affection drown out the world — the cheers of the bonded, the grief of those lost, the weight of the future. Life is short at Basgiath, but the light in his eyes — I hope it never fades.
“Let them talk. As long as I get you in the end.”
He pulls me close again, and the cheers around us fade into a warm, steady heartbeat. In his arms, I see a future: the two of us, side by side, unafraid of whatever tomorrow might bring.
“Always, my love. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
The crisp bite of approaching winter curled through the air as I walked alongside Bodhi and Imogen through the rotunda, our laughter echoing against the high stone arches.
The corridor buzzed with cadets coming and going, boots scuffing tile, but I barely noticed. My gaze caught on a figure leaning just outside the circular hall, the hood of his cloak down despite the chill.
Xaden.
I really needed to talk to him. Desa had started channeling a few weeks ago, and strange things had been happening since.
It’s like he read my mind when Xaden offered a small, reassuring smile and a barely-there nod, then mouthed, meet me after class .
I nodded once before turning back toward Bodhi and Imogen as we stepped into the Academic Wing. Their conversation continued, but I didn’t hear a word of it. My thoughts were still caught on Xaden’s expression — calm, controlled…concerned?
Had he sensed my anxiety? Or did he just want to check on me?
“I’m telling you, they didn’t stand a—” Imogen’s voice was cut off by a sudden, sharp scream that tore down the hallway as we opened the door to Battle Brief.
The room was chaos. Cadets pressed against the walls, some murmuring, others wide-eyed in shock. At the center, a first-year student thrashed against invisible forces, his hands clamped over his ears, his face distorted in panic.
“What’s going on?” I asked, heart hammering. The tension in the air had teeth.
“He’s an inntinnsic,” someone whispered. The word struck me like a slap.
The boy’s gaze snapped to mine — wild, desperate, knowing.
“Help me,” he gasped, voice warping into something not his own. “You understand.” My stomach dropped as he turned to me.
“I need to talk to Xaden. He’ll know what to do.” The cadence of his voice shifted again, jagged with a different presence. “Make it stop!”
What — how did he — A hand pressed gently against my back and I flinched.
“Change your thoughts,” Xaden whispered against my ear, his voice low and steady. “Think of anything else. Something useless.”
His presence grounded me, forced my mind to pivot. I clawed through memories and found a safe one—dusty outpost libraries during those years away from Aretia. Violet and Dain laughing as we translated ancient scrolls just for fun, pretending we were scholars instead of children. Picnic in the oak grove.
“Close your eyes,” Xaden said, pressing forward as someone shoved him closer. “You’re not gonna want to watch this.”
I hesitated, then obeyed.
Gasps filled the room, silencing the murmurs.
I opened my eyes just as the boy collapsed. A man loomed over him, face unreadable, power pulsing in the air around him. Who is that?
“That’s Professor Carr,” Garrick murmured beside me. “Wielding professor.”
I didn’t remember speaking aloud. Had I?
“Holy shit,” I breathed. I staggered back, instinct pulling me toward the door. But Xaden moved with me, blocking my exit.
“Wren?” he asked gently, his voice full of concern. It steadied me for a moment—but it wasn’t enough.
I was already spiraling. My chest tightened. Air wouldn’t come.
“ Trust the Shadow Wielder, ” Desa urged. Her voice was distant, underwater.
“ I’m an inntinnsic, aren’t I? ” The thought was sharp, brutal.
“ The Shadow Wielder can help. ”
“They’ll kill me.” I couldn’t tell if I’d spoken aloud.
Xaden grabbed my shoulders, forcing my attention on him. “Wrenley, what’s wrong?”
I couldn’t answer. Tears blurred my vision. His hand moved to my cheek, wiping them away.
“Love, talk to me—”
My body moved before I could stop it. I tore from his grasp and ran, crashing through the rotunda doors and out into the courtyard, lungs burning, panic chasing every breath.
I staggered to the wall and gripped the cold stone. The air hit my face like a slap, but it did nothing to slow my pulse.
“Wren?”
Dain. If he finds out, if he tells his father—
“I’m—” My voice cracked. “Just go to class, Dain.”
But he didn’t leave.
“Shit, who told you?” he asked, softly.
I turned to him, blinking through the tears. His expression wasn’t smug or suspicious. It was broken.
“I was coming to get you,” he said. “Violet’s been asking for you.”
The words hit like a blow to the chest.
“What happened to Vi?” I gasped.
He hesitated, and that hesitation told me everything. My heart thundered.
“She’s… physically fine,” Dain said.
“Spit it out, Aetos,” I snapped.
“It’s Asher,” he whispered. “He collapsed in the Archives two days ago.”
Everything inside me cracked.
I didn’t wait. I turned on my heel and ran toward the main college, feet pounding the stone. The buildings blurred as I passed them.
“She’s in her room!” Dain called after me.
I barely heard him.
I’d only been to this side of Basgiath once, after General Sorrengail accepted a position here. But my feet knew the path.
When I reached the door, I hesitated. My heart thrummed violently in my chest.
A voice spoke behind me.
“She hasn’t spoken to anyone except me.” I turned to the voice and see the older girl leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, but her gaze was soft, watchful. “Maybe you’ll get through.” I think she’san older sister I never met? Maybe she was close to Brennan? “She needs you. Just… be gentle.”
I nodded before I knocked once and pushed the door open. Inside, silence reigned, broken only by shuddering breaths.
“Vi?” I called softly.
She was curled into a tight ball beneath the blankets, so small, so unlike the girl I knew.
“Wrenley?” Her voice cracked.
I didn’t hesitate. I climbed onto the bed and gathered her into my arms. Her sob hit like thunder.
“He’s gone,” she whispered, and the pain in those two words hollowed me out. I held her tighter, wishing I could take it from her, bury it somewhere deep where it could never reach her again.
“When’s the last time you slept?” I asked gently.
No answer. Just the subtle tremble of a girl hanging by a thread.
“ How do I help her? ” I asked Desa, desperate.
“ You can barely keep your thoughts to yourself, ” she replied dryly.
“ Can I help her or not? ”
“ Mentally imagine a door, ” she instructed. “ Step through it. Just think soothing thoughts, ones that could help her fall asleep. It’s how she did it on you. ”
I don’t have a moment to think of what she means as I think of the door — aged wood, carved in old script — and stepped through.
I poured myself into memories: Asher and my father doing shadow plays while Violet and I howled with laughter; the fairy tales we made up by candlelight, stories that always put us to sleep.
I stroked her hair gently, imagining her mind relaxing into those same memories.
Her breathing slowed.
“ Good, Youngling ,” Desa murmured. “ Now back out and lock the door. This is how you can keep yourself from accidentally entering someone else’s. ”
I followed her guidance, pulling away gently.
Violet relaxed fully in my arms, her body heavy with sleep.
The door burst open.
“Vi? Wren?” Dain rushed in. I shushed him quickly, pointing to the girl in my lap.
“How’d you do that so fast?” he whispered.
“She likes me more than you,” I murmured with a soft smile.
He chuckled and sat on the floor beside the bed, his gaze searching my face.
“You okay?”
“I will be,” I whispered, glancing down at Violet, still asleep.
In the back of my mind, Desa’s voice echoed: “ We begin training tomorrow. ”
“Come on, Bodhi!”
The crowd roared, cadets cheering from the edge of the sparring mats. Challenges had just resumed this week, and watching them had been one of the few bright spots. Bodhi’s grin was infectious as he twisted, pinning his opponent to the mat in one clean, fluid movement.
“Kick his ass!”
“He yields!” Professor Emetterio’s voice cut through the noise, and Bodhi hopped up, offering a hand to his opponent. The cadet ignored it, limping toward his squad.
Bodhi sauntered back toward us, pride radiating from him like heat, and slapped my raised hand in a triumphant high-five before turning back toward the mat.
He was the best fighter in our year—by far. I wasn’t far behind, but I left every match as injured as my opponent. Bodhi and Garrick liked to tease that I fought like a storm: fast, precise, but too willing to take hits to land my own. Xaden had been drilling me on evasive maneuvers lately, but when everyone on the mat was twice my size, being quick only got me so far.
“Next, we have…” Professor Emetterio scanned his notes with agonizing slowness. “Sebastian Orbeck and Wrenley Tavis.”
Perfect.
“Isn’t that the guy who’s been threatening you all week?” Imogen asked, her expression wary.
“Yep.” I sighed. “I’m so dead.”
I was five-foot-six on a good day. Sebastian? He was easily Xaden’s height—maybe taller—and built like he’d been carved from stone. I will not die today.
“Begin,” Emetterio commanded.
We stepped onto the mat. I drew one blade, watching as Sebastian drew two, circling me like a predator.
“Finally,” he sneered. “My chance to take you out, Tavis. Been waiting all year for this.”
His smile sent ice crawling up my spine. I reached for my second blade.
“You’ll have to fight for it,” I shot back, my voice steadier than I felt.
“Oh, I will.” He growled and lunged.
The mat thudded beneath his weight. I tucked and rolled, narrowly dodging his swing. Landing lightly on my feet, I spun and leaned back just out of reach as his blade sliced air where I’d been.
“That’s the best you’ve got?” I taunted, a smirk playing on my lips even as adrenaline burned through my veins.
“Don’t piss him off, Wren,” a voice called—stern, worried.
Too late.
Sebastian charged again. I reached for the door in his mind—just a flicker, just enough to make his swing shift wide. But it wasn’t enough. I hissed as the blade nicked my arm, warm blood seeping into my sleeve.
“Your aim is shit,” I shot back, flipping one blade in my hand and taking a step back. Somewhere in the crowd, I could feel Xaden’s sigh of annoyance at my taunting. I didn’t care.
Sebastian swung again, heavier, faster. I darted back, trying to create space. “Can’t you try harder than—”
My foot snagged on something and I hit the floor hard, the breath knocked from my lungs. Before I could scramble upright, Sebastian was on me. His weight pinned me. His hand clamped around my throat, but he wasn’t squeezing, and yet I couldn’t breathe.
My wide eyes snapped to Xaden. He stood rigid at the edge of the mat, his face dark with fury, but he didn’t move.
Then it clicked.
Sebastian was an Air Wielder . He was suffocating me with his signet.
“Come on, Signetless,” he hissed, his breath cool against my cheek. “Die quickly so we can all be done.”
I clawed for air that didn’t come, vision darkening. I turned toward Xaden, using the last scrap of strength to push.
I threw open the door to his mind.
“ Stop him! ”
Xaden froze, eyes widening in alarm. “ Wren? ” His voice echoed in both our minds.
“ Now! ” I screamed through the connection, even as the pressure crushed my chest.
The world dimmed. My vision blurred.
“He’s using his signet!” I heard Xaden shout distantly, but the darkness closed in, pulling me under.
“ Youngling? ” Desa’s voice brushed the edge of my consciousness, faint, too far away.
“She fucking yields!” Xaden’s voice roared.
Professor Emetterio barked something, and then—suddenly—air rushed into my lungs. Sebastian’s weight vanished.
I gasped, coughing, sucking in as much oxygen as my battered lungs could hold.
Xaden was in front of me in an instant, hands hovering over my neck, eyes searching for bruises.
“Are you okay?” His voice was sharp but soft all at once.
I nodded weakly, still coughing, as Bodhi and Imogen reached me, pulling me gently to my feet.
Xaden turned, his entire presence shifting—deadly, cold, violent. “You’re going to fucking pay, Orbeck.”
Before anyone could stop him, Xaden had a blade to Sebastian’s throat.
“You know signets aren’t allowed in challenges!”
Garrick shouted, rushing forward to grab Xaden. “Xaden, enough!”
But Xaden didn’t flinch. His blade pressed harder. “You used your signet on her. Do you have any idea what I’ll do to you for that?”
“ Xaden .” I pushed into his mind again, weak but firm. “ It’s okay. ”
“It’s not okay,” he growled aloud. His focus didn’t waver.
“ If you keep answering me out loud, you’re going to get me caught, ” I hissed through the bond. “ Now let him go. ”
He hesitated. Then, with a sharp exhale, he backed away. But not before slamming Sebastian’s head into the mat with enough force to knock him out cold.
Later, in the quiet of my room, I curled into bed, exhaustion pulling at every limb. I closed my eyes and prayed to Zihnal Xaden wouldn’t bring it up.
“Your signet manifested.”
So much for praying.
I cracked one eye open. The door was shut tight, the wards he’d placed on my room shimmering faintly. No one else could hear us. Not unless he decided they could.
“It did,” I admitted softly, burying my face in the pillow. My head throbbed from the overuse of power, the telltale ache of burnout.
“How long?” His voice was calm but insistent.
I groaned. “Xaden—”
“How long, Wrenley?”
I sat up slowly, sliding to the edge of the bed. “Desa said it manifested back in October. I noticed weird things right before the incident with the inntinnsic in Battle Brief. I wanted to talk to you that day, but then he died, and I — I got scared.” I took a steadying breath, glancing up at him. His emotions were locked tight—stone cold and unreadable. “Speaking in people’s minds?” I whispered. “That’s new.” But the relief of finally telling someone eased the weight on my chest.
“ You’ve been doing it since the beginning, ” Desa said dryly. “H alf of them never noticed your mouth didn’t move. The other half probably thought it was their own thought. Honestly, it was impressive. ”
“ Excuse me? ”
“What kind of inntinnsic are you?” Xaden pressed, his gaze cutting straight through me. “And answer truthfully. No more lies.”
I swallowed hard. I should have told him from the start. Should’ve trusted him. But inntinnsics weren’t trusted. They were killed.
“At first… it was small things. I could slip ideas into someone’s mind. Make them move a certain way without realizing it wasn’t them. Desa and I have been practicing, but she’s over being my puppet.”
“Shit,” Xaden breathed.
“Yeah,” I said bitterly. “Shit. I’ve been pretending to be signetless for two months. Do you know how hard it is? Constantly worried I’m going to accidentally jump into someone’s head? That I’m going to slip up and they’ll kill me before I can explain?” My voice cracked. “I’m scared, Xaden. I’d never hurt anyone. But they’ll never see the good in it. They’ll just see a threat.”
“I know.”
He started pacing, shadows curling around his hands like smoke. He looked like he wanted to break something — someone — but instead, he forced himself still. He turned back to me, his eyes softer now.
He sat beside me on the bed, taking my hands gently. “I’ll help you,” he said quietly. “We’ll train. You’ll get control. And no one will ever know unless you want them to.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
The promise in his voice — the unshakable certainty — lit a flicker of hope in my chest.
I leaned into him, closing my eyes, holding onto that warmth. That tiny promise of tomorrow. “I know,” I whispered.
“ Stop sending your shadows to wrap around my ankles. It’s highly distracting, ” I said aloud, annoyance and amusement lacing my voice as I traced the thin tendrils curling around my boots.
Across the bond, I could practically feel the smirk stretching across Xaden’s face from where he sat behind me.
“ I could do a few other things with them instead, if you prefer, ” he murmured into my mind, his tone low, teasing. His mastery of his signet had long since moved beyond raw power—it was deliberate now, precise, almost artful.
I suppressed a smile, glancing at my notebook. “ Maybe if you’re good, I’ll let you tie me up with them later. ”
When I turned, he was already watching me, a glint of heat in his dark eyes. He chuckled quietly, shadows stirring faintly around his hands before retreating. I could have gotten lost in that moment, the rare ease in his expression, but Professor Devera’s sharp voice snapped me back to reality.
“Something you’d like to share with the class, Cadet Tavis?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “No, ma’am.”
“It would be wise to keep your attention forward,” she said pointedly. “Wouldn’t want to call you to the front unprepared.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, forcing my gaze back to the front.
Devera resumed her lecture. The room filled with the scratch of quills, but my mind stayed on the faint shadows still curling lazily around my knees. I traced one idly with my finger, trying not to let my thoughts drift —
But then the world blurred.
The desk, the quills, the lecture… all smeared together like wet paint. In a blink, I wasn’t in the classroom. I was standing in my room.
I blinked again — and I was back at my desk.
What was that? My pulse picked up. I shook it off, gripping the edge of my notebook. Focus. Just focus.
But the disorientation only grew stronger. Another blink—and the scene twisted, darker, sharper, wrong.
“What’s little Signetless gonna do? Take on five cadets at once?”
The voice was mocking, taunting. My breath hitched. I spun—surrounded. Five figures, faces I recognized but warped with cruelty, closed in on me like predators.
“We can’t let you keep going. Weak links have to be weeded out.”
Their words dripped venom. I backed up, hands searching for the comforting weight of my daggers—but my sheaths were empty.
“Don’t worry,” one sneered. “We’ll make it quick. After we have a little fun.”
They lunged.
The air thickened around me. I couldn’t breathe.
I flinched —
And was yanked back to the classroom by the harsh sound of a chair scraping. My heart pounded wildly.
“ What… what was that? ” I whispered. My gaze darted around the room—cadets staring at me now, curiosity and mild disdain flickering across their faces.
“ Your second signet, ” Desa’s voice purred through my mind, smug. “T wo rare signets. Perfect for you. ”
“ What. The. Fuck. ” Dread coiled like a snake in my stomach.
“Cadet Tavis? Is everything alright?” Professor Devera’s voice cut through the haze, sharp and too loud.
“I — can I be excused?” My voice was fragile, cracking under the weight of panic.
She barely glanced at me. “Very well.”
I shoved my things into my bag, hands trembling.
“Wren, what’s going on?” Garrick’s voice came from the row behind me. Bodhi and Imogen echoed his concern, their eyes locked on me as I moved toward the door.
Shadows brushed my calves—a faint reminder that Xaden was already alert, already paying attention.
“ Make up some bullshit about checking on me, ” I whispered to him through the bond. “ Something’s wrong. ”
I made it ten feet into the hallway before it hit again.
The pull.
The vision slammed into me like a wave. T hose same cadets. Their laughter echoing. Their blades gleaming as they circled me.
And then pain. Sharp, hot, and immediate as a blade drove into my chest—right over my heart.
I gasped, stumbling back —
“Wren! Wrenley, it’s me!”
The voice snapped me out of the nightmare. My vision cleared, revealing Xaden in front of me, his eyes wide, full of fear and urgency. His hands gripped my shoulders.
“What’s going on?” His voice was softer now but thrumming with controlled panic.
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t explain the horror that still clung to me like cobwebs.
“ Precognition, Wise One, ” Desa’s voice slipped through, calm and matter-of-fact.
Gods, does Desa just know everything?
“ I do. ”
“ Can I have five minutes where you’re not in my head?! ” I shout, pressing a shaking hand to my temple.
“Wren?” Xaden’s tone dropped, coaxing, grounding.
I exhaled shakily. “Something’s going to happen to me if we don’t stop it.”
By the time I finished telling him every horrifying detail, Xaden already had a plan. Garrick and Bodhi were looped in, assigned to subtly patrol the halls. They didn’t ask questions—not yet. The tension in the room spoke for itself.
As the night wore on, anxiety thickened the air like smoke. Xaden paced in silence, shadows curling around his boots, restless and sharp. It didn’t ease my mind.
Near dawn, the door handle turned.
I rolled to face away from the door, feigning sleep. My heart hammered against the mattress as the door creaked open and soft steps padded toward me.
Five figures.
A hand gripped my ankle, dragging me toward the edge of the bed—
“Did you really think you were clever?”Xaden’s voice cut through the dark like a blade.
Shadows exploded from the corners of the room, wrapping around the intruders’ throats in an instant.
“It’s unlawful to attack another cadet while they sleep,” Xaden said, his voice lethal, each word dripping with malice.
There was a sickening snap of silence as the five cadets dropped, lifeless, to the floor.
Garrick and Bodhi burst into the room seconds later. Their eyes widened as they took in the sight — the bodies, the shadows still writhing like living things, and Xaden standing in the center of it all, calm and unshaken.
“Remind me to stay on your good side,” Bodhi muttered, shaking his head as he and Garrick started dragging the bodies out.
“You okay?”
I looked up. Xaden’s entire demeanor shifted in an instant—gone was the lethal predator, and in his place was my Xaden. His eyes softened, scanning me for harm.
And the way he looked at me? Gods, it shouldn’t have made my pulse race like this.
“And if I said that was one of the hottest things you’ve ever done?” I asked, voice low, still breathless.
His lips quirked. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat to protect you.”