I inched to the next weapon and the next. Then murmurs and laughter began.
“Well, it looks like the ancient, most powerfulweapons known to our kind are not interested in accompanying a magicless Dreg rat into the trials,” Corvessa stated. “Are we surprised?”
More laughter.
This was mortifying. I’d really thought I had a chance. I thought that when this mark was imparted on me that I could make a difference for my family. I was almost near the end of the weapons walk when something white caught my eye.
I snapped my head up to see the white wolf tracking me. He was walking with me, just outside the line of weapons in the center of the arena as if… stalking me.
Fear spiked through my chest just as I reached the second-to-last weapon. It was a beautiful double axe with a gold-inlaid hilt.
“Ahh, the Void Piercer. Can cut through shields and wards. No one is safe at the end of its blade. Surely you want it, but will it pick you?” Corvessa taunted.
I stood before it, begging the blasted thing to glow.
But it didn’t.
An embarrassing amount of time passed, then Corvessa clapped her hands. “Alright, move along. You’ll have to enter the trials without?—”
I stepped away from the Void Piercer and moved toward the final weapon. A lethal sword awaited me, itsblade sharp and gleaming dangerously beneath the arena lights. An intricate silver wolf adorned its hilt.
The detailed form suddenly blazed with a fiery glow. The weapon erupted with power, glowing fiercely as if forged from pure sunlight itself. Golden hues merged with fiery oranges and molten yellows, engulfing the entire blade until it seemed made of living flame. The brilliant glow intensified, spilling vibrant waves of light across the arena, bathing every shadowed corner in dazzling warmth.
I raised a hand, shielding my eyes from the blinding radiance, my heart racing as I realized the weapon wasn't simply glowing… it had awakened. It had chosen me.
“No! Impossible,” Corvessa growled.
I heard growling to my left as the wolves began to move.
“Grab it!” Cassian shouted across the space.
“This is a mistake. Donottouch that blade!” Corvessa boomed, throwing her hand out.
I didn’t think, I just acted. I dove forward, grasping the blade, and a shockwave blew out from the weapon. Screams filled the space as I was brought to my knees, my teeth clanking together painfully with the force. But I held on to the sword, not daring to drop it.
“This Dreg rat holds the King Killer.” Magistrate Corvessa’s gaze swept over the gathered crowd, settlingfinally on the blade now blazing in my grip. “Forged by the Creator himself. It has not chosen a master in a thousand years. A blade whose mere name makes rulers tremble. It is whispered to have toppled kingdoms, ignited rebellions, and reshaped entire realms. Once awakened, it becomes a bloodthirsty companion to those daring enough to wield it. Surely this is a mistake.”
She seemed as if she were almost talking to herself.
I peered over at the wolves to see nearly every one bowing their head, movingawayfrom me. All except the white one. He passed by them, head held high, yellow eyes locked on mine.
What in the Hades?They didn’t act like that with any of the other initiates.
That’s when they attacked. I watched as a small pack of three gray wolves broke away and pounced on the white wolf. They moved so fast, I could barely track them. Snarling, snapping of teeth, chunks of fur and blood flew as the four wolves tangled together. The weirdest part? The other wolves stood frozen, heads bowed as if in reverent honor.
A howl rent the air, and then the white wolf broke away from the fight with two of the gray wolves dead at his feet and another slinking away, limping.
I stood and clenched my fist, holding my left arm out to the white wolf as the others had; myknees shook with fear. Being bitten by a wolf was not something I looked forward to.
“He has a traitor mark!” Cassian shouted. “Don’t bond him.”
What?
I frowned, peering back at the wolf just as it leapt into the air toward me.
There, on its chest, was a branded burn mark in the shape of an X. I didn’t know a lot about the trials, but I knew what a traitor mark was. It was rare—in fact, itneverhappened. When a wolf bonded with a human in the trials, then left them for dead halfway through and didn’t protect them as promised, they were traitor marked. This wolf had previously bonded with a human and didn’t protect them as promised, probably causing the human to die. I moved to yank my arm back, but it was too late. His jaw clamped down across my arm, and he bit down.Hard.
A scream ripped from my lungs as a searing pain flared to life across my skin. I felt something invade my mind, like a presence that was familiar, but also foreign, because it was not my own.
