“I mean, I’m not usually late,” I retorted with a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips, unable to stop myself. “I just normally don’t show up.”
His eyes narrowed on me, all semblance of his forced jovial attitude falling from his features. Apparently he was done with his charade for the morning. I felt a small burst of cortisol and adrenaline rush through me as my heart rate increased. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and not for the first time, I felt like prey trapped between his hands without him even moving a muscle.
One day I’d pay for challenging him—–I was sure of it.
The tick of his jaw made me wary of what would come out of his mouth once he managed to get it open. “Go to the entrance—now,” he spat, the vein in his forehead sticking out as he seemingly struggled to remember we were in public and that he couldn’t afford to lose control of his emotions. His words were hard and unyielding as he motioned to the closed doors of the marble building, the stone seeming to glint in the mid-morning sunlight.
I took a moment to ground myself and find the sense of calmness I needed before these tests.
Despite the anxiety building in my chest, I couldn’t help but appreciate how beautiful Alfemir was. My gaze moved upward, and I looked over the gorgeous skyscape that surrounded our kingdom. It was encompassed by white walls that were far overone hundred feet tall on all sides, but the actual castle rested high in the sky above all of its inhabitants.
No one could deny that Alfemir was beautiful, despite the ugly and corrupt leadership controlling it. The appeal of the kingdom could be seen by all from the south and west tower, where beasts roamed within the expansive forest and mountain range, to the tiers of housing that led up to the castle near the north tower.
My soul felt torn over the thought of possibly leaving it all behind. Each failed test only brought me closer to that inevitable outcome, and suddenly any sense of serene calmness I’d managed to bring myself fled, my anxiety coming back full force.
“Maybe we should ask if any of them would prefer to go first, seeing astheyhave spent time waiting, unlike us,” I argued, motioning toward the long line of angels waiting for their placement tests, desperate to delay the moment. As if on cue, I groaned at the sound of the doors being opened to welcome us.Shit.He wouldn't hesitate to force our way in now.
My father turned away from me, greeting the two guards who stood at the entrance of the training center that led to a field out back. They were dressed in the standard white and gold of our military’s attire and seemed pleased to see him, completely unconcerned by his presence. I felt a nervous pull in my stomach as I let out a slow breath and followed after my father.
Was anyone going to stop him from walking all over the rules?
It was one thing for the guards to not say anything, especially because he was directly above them in rank within the Angelic Army, but what about the placement specialists? Surely they wouldn’t be okay with it, right?
Of course, that hope was squashed almost immediately upon walking into the training space. All of the specialists’ eyes wenttoward my father. Some of them looked downright pleased to see him, if the smiles on their faces were any indication. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at their reactions as I quickly scanned the facility for any changes. I never knew what they’d throw at us.
The front of the room was nearly three stories in height with a domed ceiling and white marble walls and floors. The only lights that highlighted the space were from the windows in the side walls as well as the golden candles that ran along the walls between the windows.
Couches and lounge chairs sat near the back of the room on either side of a staircase that trailed upward into the secondary part of the building. From here, I could see the training field, a space with a glass ceiling that could easily be opened to allow for fresh air. It was where all of the larger equipment for testing was usually housed and utilized. The space was empty today outside of the six trial specialists, myself, and my father.
He didn’t bother explaining his presence to the specialist beaming at him before walking with an arrogance toward them. The others, who didn’t seem as pleased, offered curt nods of respect. It was hard to decipher their thoughts on the situation, and unfortunately, the unknown didn’t lend to any sense of solidarity with them.
When my eyes fell to the specialist at the end of the line, my jaw dropped. It was very clear thathehad feelings about my father being here, and he wasn’t trying to hide it if the shade of red smattering his cheeks was any indication. My only question? What the hell was Ronan doing at placement testing?
The last time I saw the muscular blond Beast Tamer was right before he graduated from our core curriculum and went on to placement testing for higher education when he turned eighteen. That was after a full year of driving me absolutely insane at school. When he was a fourth year and I was a first year, he was involved in advising and helping with our trainingas part of his curriculum completion. So, seeing him here in a position of authority over me felt likedéjà vu.Why was he back?More specifically, why was he back atmyplacement?
Before I could ask the brooding bastard that exact question, feeling unnerved by him being here at the training center to begin with, one of the placement specialists stepped forward. The angel was clearly the specialist testing for the Angelic Army, dressed similarly to the guards outside, though he had more medals on his chest. I couldn’t remember his name, but his face was familiar, and if the friendly greeting he’d offered my father at our entrance was any indicator, they knew each other well.Fucking wonderful.
“Despite being late for your appointment, we will move forward with your placement testing, Kieran. Please prepare for the first trial for the major placement of Elementalist.” His voice was a low baritone, and despite trying to hide it, I could sense the clear disapproval in it as he turned and walked toward the stairs to the training field. The other specialists followed, my father walking amongst them.
I stood frozen for a moment, wishing that the Elementalist placement wasn’t the first trial. My failure in it hurt me a bit more than the others, considering how powerful my mom was within the field. Inhaling sharply, I pulled myself from that thought as a large body appeared in front of me, causing my gaze to snap upward.Ronan.
His gaze flicked from my father to me. His honey-colored eyes, flecked with green, darkened in a way that I never fully got used to. The man was always so...intense. Ronan made me feel a bit on edge but not necessarily because ofwhathe did. Instead, it was because of my very undecided feelings about him. How could I somehow be so drawn to the unspoken challenge that lingered in his gaze every time our eyes clashed but simultaneously want to punch him in the mouth each timehe opened it to be an overbearing jerk, questioning everything I did?
“Kieran,” Ronan greeted, his deep voice causing my skin to prickle with awareness. The Beast Tamer seemed to devour me with his gaze, eyes sweeping over me from his towering height.
His golden skin was on display thanks to his dark, sleeveless shirt that seemed to mold to his chest like a second skin. I bit my lip as my eyes devoured his bulging shoulders and arms, each covered in different colorful traditional tattoos. Those were new, each flowing into the next in a seamless work of art. His blond hair seemed a bit shorter than the last time I saw him, the top just slightly longer than the sides. It highlighted his hazel eyes, which were a stunning mixture of browns, greens, and golds.
Batting my eyes at him before giving him a doe-like look, I murmured with mock sweetness, “What are you doing here, Ronan? Couldn’t find something better to do today? You must have missed me or something.” I couldn’t help myself. Every time I opened my mouth around him, it led to witty banter.
“Yes, that’s it,” he drew out, lips pressing into the faintest hint of a smile as his voice dripped with sarcasm. “My day would be downright miserable if I wasn’t forced to be here to babysit peoplestilltrying to find their affinity.”
My eyes narrowed, and I struggled to not feel defensive at his words. Of course Ronan wouldn’t understand my current predicament. He was the strongest Beast Tamer we’d had in centuries, quickly rising to the top of the ranks. In fact, he was theonlyBeast Tamer to have tamed a wyvern that I was aware of.
The adorable creature in question sat on his shoulder, currently watching me with large, dark eyes. I suppose adorable wasn’t the right word for a creature that could shift into a massive acid-spitting, winged menace that could destroy ourkingdom…But while he remained in his smaller form, I’d always want to baby-talk him and kiss his snout.
One of his eyes quickly shut and then opened again as his tongue snaked out.
Did he…Did he just wink at me?
