The head Eagleminder whistled, high and loud.
Somewhere behind them, a whip snapped. And then theRealmist Master was invocating, and the glass roof of the Eagle’s Nest began to open, so the snow danced in, kissing the tops of the trees.
“Do me a favor?” Soraya asked, as she gripped her reins, and leaned forward on her eagle’s neck, readying herself for the climb. He glanced at her just once, because Cyrra was alreadybuzzingbeneath him...her wings itching to soar.
“What?” Arawn asked.
His heart skipped a beat in his chest.
“Don’t die,” Soraya said. “But also...you should know that if youdoget first place, I’ll kill you myself.”
“You’d have to catch me first,” Arawn said, taking the bait.
Her laughter was the last thing he heard before the whip cracked.
And he dug in his heels.
And Cyrra shot, like a runed arrow, into the grey Augaurdian sky.
He saw nothing but snow, nothing but white as Cyrra climbed and climbed...and climbed.
The wind screamed in his ears. Cyrra’s wingbeats thrummed in his chest, his arms, his legs. Snow poured into his vision, bitter and biting, until he had tears in his eyes. But he wouldn’t dare close them, because he wanted to remember this moment.
When he would become First Rider and claim a War Eagle Aerie as his own.
You must not fail.
To fail is to fall, and there is nothing but darkness below.
The mantra had shifted over time, but the voice was never his. It was always his father’s.
Arawn’s magic thrashed inside of him, as the ground faded beneath his feet. He risked a glance behind him, as the world grew smaller...until the trees were only a smudge of green in the snow.
Heground his teeth and leaned closer to Cyrra, ignoring the fear in his gut.
Don’t fall, don’t fall...
Cyrra screeched, sensing his urgency. From the corner of his eye, he could see another eagle fighting to climb past him, to get to the top first.
To be the highest in the sky, before they took the dive.
And that was the point of the Descent.
First, to survive.
But second...for the Riders to establish a rank before they ever landed. To climb to the heavens, even beyond the wards, until both War Eagle and Riderfinallygave in. Until everyone fell into line, accepting their place if they were to survive the second half of the test.
Not the climb.
No, the worst part was thefall.
Arawn would not give in.
He wouldnevergive in, because if he earned anything other than First Rider...he didn’t want to imagine the penance he would pay for bringing shame upon his bloodline and his gods.
So, he climbed.
He climbed until he felt the wards closing in. Cyrra’s wings stuttered as thethrumof the gods’ power grew closer, closer, and her golden beak turned to the left. As if she would turn away from them.
