Master Carn huffed but said nothing else as he drew a key from his pocket, which he used to unlock a stone door.
I glanced down the long concrete hallway, first to the right and then the left. “Where are we?”
He grunted, pulling open the door.
My fears of dungeons evaporated with the sight of Kaja, Nell, Evil Barbie, and one of her sisters all seated on a gray mat. I passed my instructor and crossed the threshold into a gymnasium of sorts, but it was fully made of concrete, from the floors to the ceiling. On the far wall was a cache of glittering weapons.
Cool.
“Young ladies,” Master Carn greeted the others.
Nell and Kaja waved excitedly at me while Mallory and her clone sister Heather just crossed their arms and glared.
Backatcha.
“The midyear practical is slowly creeping up, and with the recent attacks, the king has asked that all alpha heirs start practicing within a group. This will help strengthen your abilities, both individually as well as collectively.”
Ugh. Why was Evil Barbie in our group?
“Nell will brief you on a few details of the exam and give you some strategies to help you do well. The other professors are doing the same with their students. Good luck.”
With that, he left, locking the door behind him…
“Did he just lock us in?” Kaja said, her eyes widening.
Exactly my thought!
Nell chuckled. “It’s for our safety as well as theirs. Imagine poking your head into the room and getting hit in the face with a fireball. This is a practical skills gym. No one in or out without a key. Don’t worry. We can leave.”
She held a key up as if for further reassurance.
“All right,” I grinned. “So, give us the deets.”
Nell cleared her throat. “So, here’s what you need to know—”
“My sister already told me.” Mallory pointed to her sister Heather and rolled her eyes until they stuck to the ceiling. “We playmagical‘capture the flag.’ A demonstration of our skills for the High Mage Council and king.”
After Mallory finished with a huff, Nell snapped her mouth shut with a click of teeth.
“Yeah, well, it’s a bit more complicated than that.” Nell’s gaze bounced to each of us, and she continued: “A student died two years ago. If you don’t practice enough, not only could you fail to return for studies the second half of the year, you could fail to draw another breath. Did your sister tell you that?”
Nell glared at the mute blonde next to Mallory.
Mallory blanched and then glared at her sister. “No.”
“All right! Well, now you all know.” Nell clapped her hands together. “The trickiest part about the midyear practical is you’ll need to show your skills to get high marks, all while protecting your flag. They change things around every year. Last year, we were teamed with heirs from other clans.”
My stomach dropped. What if they put me on a team with Justice or Rage?
I leaned forward, trying to absorb all the info I could. Should I be taking notes?
“But this year could be different. Don’t count on anything. It’s deep in the woods. Two to four teams, depending on the size of the class year. Capture the flag … by any means necessary.”
“I’m sorry … what?” I asked. “Like anything goes?”
Nell nodded. “Anythinggoes. You can throw a fireball at Mallory’s head and won’t get in trouble. The king wants all graduates to be warriors. Only the best to lead our packs.”
I grinned, imagining throwing fireballs at Evil Barbie. “That sounds badass.”
