I had a feeling I knewwhyhe moved away so fast, though. My gaze moved to my father, who watched me with undisguiseddisappointment and annoyance clear on his face. Ronan probably didn’t want to be associated with me. I didn’t blame him either—after all, that was how everyone else in Alfemir treated me.
My body felt completely burnt out from the level of exertion I was straining to achieve in every trial. No one could tell me I wasn’t putting my all into this now that I was here. But I had so far only failed two of the top three placements—there was still one major placement and three minor placements to be tested.
I had a feeling the worst was still to come.
KIERAN
“If you think this may be too much, Kieran, you can always wait—” Ronan’s voice was tinged with hesitation as my gaze moved toward him, surprised at the soft, understanding words he offered me. He hadalwaysbeen the one to push me in training, expecting the best out of me even when I didn’t want to give it. The thoughtfulness was unexpected.
I could’ve been offended by his analysis, taking it to mean that he didn’t think I was capable or strong enough to make it through the trials today. It would have stung to consider he felt that way, but I didn’t think that was the case. There was something in his gaze that told me his suggestion was more than that. My head jerked back. Was he…concernedabout me? It felt that way, and the concept of him worrying about me made me want to offer him some reassurance.
“I’m fine—seriously,” I promised him, brushing off my outfit in an attempt to gather myself. I briefly noticed the way Ronan’s jaw clenched at my words. His eyes heated as he followed the line of my body before he met my gaze once again. I could feel tension radiating from him, as if he was holding his tongue, and I found myself curious to know what he truly wanted to say.
“You’re not fine,” he argued, voice rougher than before. “This is bullshit, Kieran.”
The anger that tinged his voice almost sounded like defensiveness—maybe like it was in my honor—and it made my skin prickle with awareness. He was being protective over me, and that was something I liked. Probably way more than I should have.
The small wyvern offered a rumble of his own, as if in agreement with Ronan’s words, and my brow furrowed in confusion, looking between the two of them. I didn’t understand where this was coming from or what was going on between Ronan and me. Our relationship had always been clear cut—he pushed me hard in training and I always told him he was being a dick.
Something felt notably different with him now, and it was clear his little wyvern was picking up on the change in energy too.
After a long moment of examining my face, Ronan nodded sharply to himself. Despite looking like he wanted to argue with my words, he retreated back toward the outskirts of the field. His body was still rigid with tension.
Shaking my head, I looked away from the confusing bastard and back to the Angelic Army specialist. He motioned toward the training field in its entirety with an obnoxious wave of his arm, clearly annoyed with my distraction.
“For the final major placement challenge, we will be testing your potential to place within the ranks of the Angelic Army. This placement requires a level of strength and agility that angels don’t normally possess, as well as a myriad of other skill sets ranging from archery to combat. We will test for several potential positions today.”
His words didn’t surprise me—the Angelic Army seemed to do everything to the extreme, pushing individuals as far as theycould go, even with their testing. Honestly, it explained why my father thrived within its ranks. His intensity, demanding nature, and critical eye was exactly what they wanted.
Looking over the testing field, I examined the obstacle course that covered it. There was a series of platforms that were nearly two stories in the air, making up one of the hardest parts of the trial since flying wasn’t an option while completing them. The raised platforms weren’t the only parts of the trial, though—there was an entire section for archery, featuring a range for target practice and space for hand-to-hand and weapon combat underneath that.
In some ways, one might assume the Angelic Army would be the easiest to test into. After all, angels already had naturally increased strength and agility, and there were so many options in the Angelic Army. There was everything from the Sentry, Archer, Cavalry—who used the creatures Beast Tamers tamed—to even the Infantry. However, testing into their ranks was extremely difficult, and those who did receive a placement weren’t people you wanted to mess with. They were absolute assholes with massive egos, bent on imposing their power on those around them just because of the damn uniform they wore.
“First, we will test archery abilities,” the specialist explained. “Please approach the range.”
Archery.Okay, I had practiced that more often than other elements of the placement testing…Maybe I could find a place in this. Or at least perform well enough that it didn’t feel like an extraordinary waste of time.
Except as I approached the bow and arrows that were placed out for me and set my gaze ahead on the target, I knew that was a completely unfounded hope. This was by far the most daunting exercise I’d ever seen for Archery placement.
The training field was larger than one might expect, and the far end of the building was nearly one-hundred yards away. Thetarget that I specifically had to hit was placed on a ledge at the very back of the field, nearly a story off the ground. And of course it was one that moved through the use of magic, so fast that once it started, it would be hard to keep track of let alone to aim an arrow at. This wasn’t my first time dealing with this type of target, and I couldn’t control the exhale of frustration that left my lips.
Positioning the bow, my gaze narrowed on the distance between myself and the target. Slowly, I pulled the bowstring back, my body only holding the exact amount of tension needed for the moment, poised to land what should have been a fantastic shot.Ifthe goal wasn’t so unattainable.
The target in the distance began to zoom back and forth, a blur on the horizon. I murmured a curse, waiting for a long moment before releasing the bowstring, allowing the arrow to sail through the air in an impressive feat of speed and height. I knew it wasn’t going to hit the target, but I couldn’t help but appreciate the skill I had worked on throughout the years to get the arrow as far as I did. Unfortunately, it only hit half of the distance that it needed to, not even coming close to the target.
My cheeks flushed hot as my gaze darted to my father at the sound of his unamused chuckle, and my stomach churned uncomfortably. He seemed to be growing angrier as the trials continued, rather than simply being disappointed. His jaw clenched so tightly it appeared to be on the verge of shattering and a red flush took over his face. My skin pebbled at the chilling sound that left his lips.
I placed down the bow, moving backward and away from the failed trial.
“Right,” the specialist drew out, looking unimpressed with his raised eyebrows. “Next, let’s attempt combat.”
That was an objectively horrible idea.No matter how hard Ronan pushed me, no matter how many times he’d thrown myass to the ground, I would never be up to par for this placement. I could hold my own against other angels with different placements, but this was out of the question.
“I have no experience in combat,” I admitted immediately, wanting to save myself from the pain that would come with this. “I don’t think it would be worth?—”
“Try for once, Kieran,” my father’s voice rang out loudly, dripping with condescension.
My gaze moved toward the obvious disdain painted across his features, his expression twisted into a sneer, and frustration surged through me.Try?He wanted me to fuckingtry? What the hell did he think I was doing in the previous tests?
