My head span as I clambered to my feet. I was looking forward to going home to our little cabin later that evening. Knowing that I still had the most important trial to come was somewhat daunting, but I knew that, no matter what, by the end of the day I’d be tucked up in bed with the man I loved.The man who was keeping secrets from me. I shook myself. That wasn’t true. It was more likely than not that Samyak had simply forgotten to fill me in on one tiny, probably insignificant piece of information. He’d probably frozen initially when Violet had been taken, and then jumped into the fray and been injured then.My head injuries were making me think irrationally; I was sure of it. I forced my thoughts of Samyak, even the nice ones of us eating dinner together in our cosy kitchen, to the back of my mind. I had to focus.I’d found the dandelions, and by some stroke of luck it seemed that my fall
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As we neared the river, I saw something that I’d missed before. Tucked into the flowers was a small statuette, with a white pillar candle held in its centre. Beside it was a small, wrapped parcel of something; it looked like a collection of herbs, bound together in white twine.“The final trial is known only to those who have undergone it as the Spirit of the Wolf. It is a right of passage, as well as an indicator of your nature – it will guide you through your choice, and it will allocate your tribe for you,” explained Luna Carla.“What are they? What are they for?” I asked, my questions tumbling from my lips in quick succession.She smiled, and then led me over to the small gathering of items on the grass. “This is called the Candle Dragon. It is an ancient rite in our pack. The Candle Dragon is used for guidance. It is, however, not to be used lightly. It has been with the Lap
My vision blurred as I followed the flickering of the candle’s flame. Then I felt as though I was being pulled forwards, and I let myself tumble into the darkness.I felt myself roll over, and then I scrabbled with claw-like hands to right myself. I stumbled onto my feet, and stared into oblivion. There was nothing for me to catch sight of; there was no way for me to orient myself. It was just… black.I span around, searching desperately for anything. The emptiness was vast, and then my vision began to blur once more. I felt compelled to sit down, and I crossed my legs as I had done before. I let my hands come to rest in my lap, and I stared forwards. There was a sound. It was like the beating of a heart, growing gradually louder with each breath that I took. I didn’t know where it was coming from, and then I realised: it was coming from within me.My eyes flickered, and the candle was back. The Candle Dragon had disappeared, and the rest of the space was still black. I rocked forward
Samyak was waiting for me outside the pack house, and his eyebrows shot up as I neared him.The walk back from the river field had been slow and arduous, and each step had felt as though I was heaving lead bricks through the grass. I’d felt the familiar heat of tears prickling at my eyes, and my throat had formed a lump that became impossible to swallow.I’d initially been elated, after discovering that I was, indeed, a Pronghorn. I’d been filled with a surging kind of pride; one that had created delicate tingles in the tips of my fingers. But once I’d turned away from the Candle Dragon, the nightmarish visions I’d experienced came flooding back.If that was what was within me, there was no way to escape it. I wondered if everyone’s fifth trial had been so brutal, though I knew instinctively that they had not. Mine had been flooded with dark imagery, and seething words of promises long
“Wait! No, no, no,” Samyak chanted. My arm froze in mid-air, ready to push the kitchen door open fully.“What?” I frowned. I couldn’t smell anything; I’d assumed he was cooking us dinner, but the usual scent of fried onion and garlic wasn’t seeping through the air as it so often did.“Wait there. Sorry,” he added, poking his head through the crack in the doorway. He smiled dopily at me, and I cocked my head at him with a smile.“I thought you were calling me because it was ready?”“I was. But I just need you to grab me something from the bedroom. Then stand outside, right by the front door. Okay?”“Okay,” I nodded, the bridge of my nose crinkling with confusion. “What do you need me to get?”“Could you get me something warm – a big jumper will do
“I’ve set up a meeting with the rogue pack’s Alpha.” Ace sounded calm, but his eyes were wide and dilated. They were childlike, but not playful as they so often were; today, they were scared.We were stood uncomfortably in Alpha Felix’s office. There was a coiled tension in the air, like the wound neck of a python ready to spring. My body felt mechanical, like an automaton on autopilot, as Ace spoke.I felt the same fear reflected within myself. There was an undeniable pit, and I felt my sanity drop into it at his words. I inhaled, one single, shuddering breath, and then I straightened my back out, and stood a little taller.“When is it?” Alpha Felix asked.“Tomorrow. They said they wanted to hear what we had to say. But there’s one condition.”“Well?” Alpha Felix pounded his fist down onto the desk, so hard that his mug of coffee rattled. The liquid inside splashed, and a single drop slid down the ceramic. “What is it?” He barked.His temper had been short lately, particularly where A
“Arienne–“ Samyak said, his tone startled. His eyes no longer looked black; now they were a bright, translucent brown, like a crisp, autumnal leaf held up to the sun.“Why didn’t you want me to take this book, Samyak?” I asked. My own voice was devoid of emotion, and I could hear a sharp inflection to each word that I had not intended to use.He looked as though he’d been slapped. Outside, the sky began to darken with thick, oppressive clouds.“I – I don’t mind. I just didn’t think you’d want it,” he stammered. “That’s why I put it down.”“Okay,” I said, my eyes narrowed. I clutched the book close to my chest, and looked away from him, my nose and chin hoisted into the air.“Ari…” he trailed off. From the corner of my eye I saw him exhale heav