She looked at me with those wise old eyes, and I felt tears prickle the back of mine. If I were found gifted, I wouldn't see her for a long time. Dylon's first visit home had been seven months after he'd started training.
"Got them!" Shovia burst into my room, waving her coveralls. "Can we go now? I want to get a good spot near the front."
"Near Codric, you mean," I teased, standing up and wiping my eyes discreetly.
She grinned. "That depends on whether he and Alar make it there early like Alar promised you."
I hugged my parents one last time, trying not to think about how this might have been the last night I'd spend at home. Even if I weren't chosen for the Dragon Force, I'd still be assigned somewhere to start my basic training.
"Be safe," my mother whispered.
"Always am." I kissed her cheek, then my father's. "See you at the square."
I stopped by Gran's rocking chair in the living room and gave her a fierce hug. "I'm going to miss you."
She patted my shoulder. "I will be there to watch the ceremony. Good luck out there. I know you are going to make it."
"Thanks, Gran." I kissed her soft, wrinkly cheek.
As Shovia and I headed out into the aurora-lit evening, I heard Chicha's worried whine behind us, and my heart ached. I was already missing her and the rest of my family, and that was before I even made it a few steps away from my home.
CHAPTER 16: ALAR
"When instinct drums its warning beat,
You'd better heed it and move your feet."
—Elurian Proverb
As Codric and I made our way toward the square, I adjusted the straps of my backpack. It wasn't heavy, but the items strapped to the bottom made walking uncomfortable. I should have tied them on top of the pack like I had done during training in the academy, but I was afraid it would give me and Codric away.
Was I being paranoid?
Probably.
No one here had ever been to the Vedona Elite Forces Training Academy or even visited an Elurian military installation, so no one should notice the different style of packing gear for a trek.That was another thing that I hoped to change. Eluria and Elucia were allies, and they should have participated in joint military exercises that would benefit both countries. We could start with a personnel exchange program, of which Codric and I were the unofficial spearheads.
The fatigues weren't all that different from Elurian military gear, except for the brown and white camouflage pattern, which was designed for these mountains, rather than the green that blended better in Eluria's landscape.
The boots, though, were terrible.
If I ever made it up in the ranks of the Elucian military, I would change the supplier and order proper boots for their soldiers. If it were a budget problem, I would use my connections in Eluria to secure a generous donation to the Elucian Forces, with the stipulation that the funds be used only toward purchasing better footwear.
"My stomach is killing me," Codric groaned beside me. "Why did I eat that third helping?"
"Because you're an idiot who can't control himself around food or women?" I kept my voice light, but my attention was on the armed guards positioned strategically around the perimeter of the square.
The space was surrounded by terraced seating and large planters, and it could easily accommodate several thousand people if packed tightly.
"Can we stop by the apothecary?" Codric clutched his middle. "Maybe Kailin's grandmother has something that can help my stomach."
I shook my head. "There's no time, and even if there were, the herbs need to be steeped in boiling water, and we can't go back to the lodge for that. Besides, I told Kailin that we would be there early and save spots for them near the front."
He nodded. "Shovia and I talked about standing next to each other during the ceremony."
He was acting as if Shovia was his lady friend, which was a change from his regular mode of operation of sleeping with a different girl each night. But even though I was happy to see him approach this relationship with more maturity, I had to discourage it for the same reason I couldn't allow myself to get entangled with Kailin.
Any relationship would be complicated by Codric's and my true identities, not to mention my secret mission.
