I wondered why they hadn't told us to bring canteens. Perhaps they were going easy on us the first day.
Easy. Funny. That almost wrested a chuckle out of my parched throat.
I took a careful sip, the cool liquid tasting wonderful. Around me, other cadets were in similar states of exhaustion, some sprawled on the ground, others bent double with hands on knees, heaving. Alar stood nearby, his breathing heavy but controlled. He caught my eye and gave me a nod that somehow conveyed both approval and concern.
How was he doing so well with his altitude intolerance? He should have been worse than me, not better. Did he still have the medicine Lysara had given him?
He must have.
The descent was easier on my lungs but harder on my already-aching legs. Each step jarred my knees, and I had to focus to keep from stumbling on the loose rocks. By the time we reached the assembly ground, my entire body was one big ache.
Captain Odinah stood waiting, her expression revealing nothing as she watched us stagger in. "Well done, cadets. Clean up and report to the mess hall for breakfast," she announced. "You have thirty minutes."
Thirty minutes to shower, change, and get to the mess hall. It might as well have been thirty seconds for how impossible it felt in my current state.
"I think I'm dying," Shovia groaned as we dragged ourselves toward the dormitories. "Actually, no. Death would be a relief at this point."
I had a feeling she was exaggerating for my benefit, so I wouldn't feel bad for being among the last to make it to the top. I hadn't been the absolute last one, but that wasn't much to be proud of.
"Stop being so dramatic," I said. "You did so much better than I."
"That's not a relevant rebuttal. Both of us feeling like we are dying doesn't make it any better."
She had a point.
As we hit the showers again, I no longer cared about parading naked in front of other girls. All I cared about was for my turn to arrive. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. There were only ten girls among the twenty-four new cadets, and there were five shower stalls.
The hot water was a blessing on my aching muscles, and since no one was waiting for me to be done, I stood under the spray for as long as I dared, letting it wash away the sweat of our morning exertion.
Would they do this to us every morning?
If so, taking showers twice a day would become the norm for me because I was sure I would need to shower again by the end of the day.
I wondered who was supposed to take care of the laundry. Would we be doing it ourselves, or was there dedicated staff for that? For some reason, I had a feeling that we would be doing our own laundry. This was Elucia after all, and we were not pampered people.
As we made it to the mess hall, the smell of food hit me hard and my stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I owed it for the three days of fasting.
The place was buzzing with activity, with cadets from our group and the two before it filling the long tables, the clatter of utensils and murmur of conversation creating a backdrop of white noise.
I spotted Alar sitting at a table near the windows, a place saved beside him, and my heart did that stupid flutter again.
"Go on," Shovia nudged me with her elbow. "Your breakfast date is waiting. I'll sit with Morek and Codric."
52
KAILIN
"A secret to guard is a shackle worse than any chain."
—Shaman Saphir Fatewever
As I neared Alar's table, he looked up, and a smile brightened his face. "Good morning, Kailin," he said as I slid onto the bench beside him. "You look refreshed."
It was his polite way of saying that I no longer looked on the verge of death, which was how I'd felt when we'd finished our morning endurance training.
"I am." I reached for the pitcher of water at the center of the table and poured myself a glass. "Is this how it's going to be every day?"
Alar didn't look nearly as exhausted as I felt, and I had a feeling that it wasn't just his good genes or natural strength thathad aided him up that accursed trek. He'd gotten some training in Eluria that he was not fessing up to.
