"For you," Fyr grunted on his way by.
Elena made a face. What was with all the throwing? Couldn't anybody just hand things to her nicely?
Picking up the staff, Elena grimaced at its feel. How very shoddy. It wasn't balanced properly and felt like it would break with the first good strike.
Auntie would not have been impressed.
Elena didn't have time to argue for something better as the children assembled in formation at the front of the room. Left with no choice, Elena slipped the dagger into the harness that had come with it before securing it to her thigh. She yanked the jacket on before snatching the staff off the ground.
The children were silent as Elena hurried into position at the back. Just in time for the wall to disintegrate and Kai to step into the room.
"Children, I hope you're prepared for ranking day."
The mood in the room felt tense as the faces of those around Elena went blank with trepidation.
"Failure won't be tolerated." Kai's pointed glance at Elena let her know who they meant that warning for. "Fall behind and you will be discarded."
There was a snicker from the rest of the children.
Elena played dumb, blinking innocently up at the Sye. Go ahead, laugh it up. They'd see who was laughing later.
Ajix appeared in the opening. "Are they ready?"
Kai nodded, striding toward him. The children marched in formation after the Sye, Elena bringing up the rear. Ajix waited for her to pass, falling into step beside her.
"Be careful, young one," he murmured in a voice only meant for her ears. "Today promises to be a very difficult one for you."
What else was new?
Every day since her arrival had brought new challenges she had to overcome. It was really no surprise that this wasn't any different.
"Whatever happened to the woman who arrived with me? I think her name was Elise?" Elena asked, pretending to forget.
Ajix's look of warning was stern. "Focus on your own survival. Fail this ranking battle, and I promise you, you will not like what comes next."
Why was it that every time she turned around in this place, someone was threatening her? Sheesh. No wonder Auntie hated the Tsavitee. They were so dramatic all the time.
Fourteen
Kira - Above Rothchild
The ruins of Rothchild's moon drifted into focus, giving those on the bridge of Pallas's ship their first glimpse of what happened when you blasted just under ten percent of a moon's mass into space.
A huge chunk had been taken out of its upper half. The crater that had been left behind was so big that it permanently altered the moon's shape, leaving it malformed.
The explosion that saved the planet from invasion had contained enough force to knock the moon off its former orbit, pushing it closer to the planet itself. A consequence of this was a shift in Rothchild's magnetic field which had yet to fully stabilize.
It made navigating on the surface difficult. Instruments were notoriously unreliable post moon blast.
The planet's inhabitants had adapted but those visiting were often caught unawares. It was why only experienced pilots now tried to land on the surface. Without the help of their ship’s navigation, they'd be flying blind.
Lathan moved closer to the window. "How did you survive that?"
Wonder tinged with disbelief was in his expression as he looked at Kira. Like he thought her survival was a miracle so unexpected it should have been impossible.
Kira agreed.
No one should have walked away from that. Particularly her.
