Page 6 of Veiled

The officer pauses. Her eyes flick up at me in obvious surprise. “Conscript?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

There’s a beat of silence, then she scribbles something at the top of my file that I can’t see and hands me my stamped folder.

“Echo Squad. Barracks E. Room 212,” she sighs, followed by the same curt orders she rattled off to Emily before me.

Matt steps up behind me and repeats almost the same conversation. A minute later, he’s holding a matching folder. Same squad, same barracks, different floor. We exchange a look.

“What are the odds?” he says with a grin.

I smile back but don’t answer, my full attention already shooting to the sky, where a series of roars are getting louder by the second.

Out of nowhere, a gust of wind causes everyone to stumble and folders to blow from the tables.

A dragon soars below the already low cloud cover above us, wings outstretched like sails, scales gleaming onyx in the sun. It’s massive, fast, and far too close for comfort as its shadow envelops us in darkness before it banks left and drops off the cliff edge.

As quickly as it appeared, it’s gone, vanished like it was a figment of our imagination.

Matt whistles low. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who just shit himself.”

“Right there with ya, Mattey,” I say, patting his chest as I take mindless steps toward the uniform line. “Pretty sure I forgot how to breathe for a second.”

Our Corrections Transportation Officers don't waste a second, gloating about us no longer being their problem as they turn toward the path we walked in on—probably off to get the beer they’ve been talking about having all day.

Once our uniforms and class supplies are in hand, Matt and I make our way back through the crowd to the first barracks building we passed when we got here.

“Meet at the dining hall at six for dinner? I want to try and take a quick nap,” he says as we climb the steep stone steps, worn smooth by the thousands of students who have used them day in and day out over the last few hundred years.

“Works for me,” I say, before splitting off when we reach my floor.

A long hallway stretches before me, lined with old wood and iron doors, their hinges groan as excited recruits bounce in and out of their friends' rooms and fill the air with chatter. It’s no surprise so many of them know each other; they grew up going to the same events hosted by the King at Kilkirk Castle, and have probably shared more gossip than a rag columnist.

I find my room about a third of the way down the hall and drop my bags to the ground to dig the key out of my intake envelope.

The room I step into is compact but clean. Enough windows line the wall to let in a decent breeze as I fling them all open, hoping to quickly clear out the stuffiness clinging to the walls. To my right sits a small but functional en-suite with a stand-up shower, a shelf to the left of the mirror that hangs above the sink, and a toilet directly in front of the door, as if it were added as an afterthought.

My bed rests beneath the windows, a two-drawer wooden nightstand tucked beside it. A tall, narrow armoire stands a few feet from the bottom of the bed, and a basic wooden desk and chair are pushed against the wall, closest to the door.

It’s tight, utilitarian, and maybe a little claustrophobic, but it’s home for the next year, and more importantly, it’s safe.

After tossing my bag on the bed, I start opening all of the armoires' doors and drawers and pull my stack of uniforms from the laundry bags to hang, the smell of starch and leather making my stomach flutter. Once they've all been meticulously hung, I unpack the rest of my stuff, which goes depressingly fast. A few folded clothes put into drawers. A photo of Matt and me when we were kids, covered in mud after one of our obstacle course showdowns, goes on my nightstand. And a couple of books find their spot on my desk. That’s it.

Taking some time to look over what seems like a confusing schedule, I try to memorize which buildings and wings each of my classes will be in.

Core Class Schedule:

A Days- Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Combat Class – Combat Arena

Combat Med – Infirmary/Classroom

B Days – Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

Strategy – Castle: Room 164

Environmental Tactics – Castle: Room 225