I looked exactly how I felt, like I'd been trampled by a herd of mountain goats. No wonder Alar hadn't been overcome by passion last night.
I wouldn't be either.
Thankfully, the screeching alarm stopped the assault on our eardrums, and I let out a relieved breath. It would resume in a few minutes, but I was thankful for the reprieve.
Shovia groaned as she dragged herself out of bed. "I survived the Shedun bombing of the square and two acts of sabotage on the pilgrimage, but I think this place might actually kill me."
I snorted, twisting my hair into a quick braid. "You are supposed to be the tough one out of us. If anyone has a chance of finishing this course and becoming a rider, it's you."
She shot me a baleful look. "I never said I wanted to be a rider. That was Morek. I was supposed to be in the Spy Corps, remember? Going on adventures, seducing foreign dignitaries—not running up mountains at the crack of dawn."
I didn't bother reminding her that she had been chosen by Elu, and to grumble about it bordered on blasphemy. She was too grumpy to hear that right now.
The alarm resumed its ear-splitting screech for another minute and then cut off again, leaving an almost painful silence in its wake.
"Twenty minutes!" someone barked in the hallway.
To Shovia's credit, she dressed fast, and a minute later we joined the stampede of other bleary-eyed cadets toward the bathrooms.
I caught sight of Alar and Codric a few doors down, both looking far more composed than I felt, probably because they had woken up before the damn alarm and had already finished their morning routine.
Alar's eyes met mine, and a small smile touched his lips. Even this early in the morning, it affected me in the same familiar way.
I quickly looked away.
"Not now, Kailin." Shovia elbowed me in the ribs. "Your face is turning red."
"Shut up." I rubbed my bruised ribs.
Thankfully, there was no line, and we were out of the bathroom less than five minutes later.
We joined the stream of cadets rushing toward the assembly grounds that were conveniently located outside the Citadel's second level on its east side. As we spilled out of the building, thecold morning air hit me like a slap in the face, and I had to squint against the wind as I took in the large flat area that had been carved out of the mountain. The trail snaking up and away from the structure was much steeper than anything we had climbed during the pilgrimage, but it was wider, allowing for several people abreast.
Instructors stood at the front, watching with feigned stern expressions as we formed ragged lines.
They were probably trying hard not to laugh at the ragtag group of fumbling cadets who were tripping over their own feet.
"Elucia's finest don't look so fine right now," Shovia murmured under her breath. "Not much of a deterrent for the Shedun. If they saw us now, they would not hesitate to attack."
Captain Odinah seemed to share Shovia's opinion as she paced before us. Her expression was harsh, her uniform was immaculate, and she looked like she'd been awake for hours, waiting for the opportunity to whoop fresh cadets' asses.
"Form a semi-circle around me," she commanded.
With only twenty-four of us, there was no point in standing in formation like the infantry forces would do.
There were thousands of them.
"Welcome to your first day of training, cadets," she called, her voice carrying easily across the grounds. "Some of you might have been thinking that the hard part was over—that having been chosen by Elu was the defining moment of your lives and the rest would be easy." Her lips curved in what might have been a smile on someone else's face. On hers, it looked more like a predator baring its teeth. "You were wrong."
A collective shiver ran through the group of cadets.
"Being chosen is merely the beginning," she continued. "Now you must prove that you deserve the honor of bonding with dragons and that you have what it takes to become defenders ofElucia." She gestured to the mountains rising behind her. "We start with a simple run to assess your fitness level."
Simple. Right. There was nothing simple about running in this thin mountain air, especially after three days without food and barely any sleep.
"The route is marked," Captain Odinah said. "Follow the red flags to the summit and back. Instructors will be stationed along the way to monitor you." Her gaze swept over us. "This isn't a race, and tripping up your fellow cadets will get you automatically disqualified. Now, go!"
Had it ever happened that cadets had tried to sabotage each other?
