Chapter 8 CHAPTER EIGHT

AERIS

The blindfold dropped over my eyes before I could take a full breath.

Darkness swallowed everything. The world as I knew it…trees, stone, towers, faces was gone.

Sound sharpened…even the smallest footstep echoed like a drumbeat in my skull. Every rustle, every snap of twig made my pulse stutter.

Someone to my left exhaled shakily. For a half-beat, I thought I felt fingers brush mine. Rhea. It was Rhea. Then the guards pulled us apart.

A firm hand pressed between my shoulder blades, shoving me forward.

“Walk,” One of the guard's voice ordered.

And just like that, the world tipped forward.

I lifted my hands, instinctively, trying to lift the blindfold. It didn’t move.

Not an inch. It was then I realized we weren't just blindfolded…the blindfold had been sealed with some  kind of enchantment we wont be able to break.

The guards grunted, shifted behind me, and the pressure against my back nudged me forward again. We were moving. Slowly. Step by step.

The first thing I realized…this wasn’t the edge of the Academy. Not even close.

The air shifted, colder and heavier. Dense with the smell of pine and damp earth. Leaves whispered above, brushing like fingernails against invisible skin. Roots threatened to trip me at every step as twigs snapped underfoot. The forest stretched on infinitely…or so it felt. I had no way to measure distance, no horizon to guide me. Only the rhythm of my own heartbeat and the faint hum of magic in the soil.

I wasn’t even aware of Rhea. Or anyone else. All the recruits had been separated the moment since. Their screams, their curses, vanished behind me, swallowed by the trees. I was alone.

We walked for nearly two hours before I realized the guards’ footsteps had stopped, receding into the distance. The moment the last echo disappeared, I knew I was finally on my own.

My plan had been simple…at least in my head.

Step one: find a safe spot. Preferably one not crawling with beasts or venomous foliage.

Step two: stay alive.

Step three: once enough hours passed, someone would inevitably find me.

Exactly the kind of plan someone with no real combat experience would make.

Exactly the kind of plan that would probably get me killed.

But I had no choice. I forced myself to keep moving, one cautious step at a time. The air was thick and heavy, smelling of wet leaves and the earthy tang of decomposing wood. A faint, sharp sweetness lingered, like crushed fern and wild berries. Somewhere in the distance, a low growl…or was it a branch snapping? made my heart jump.

This was a beast’s habitat. Predators roamed here: creatures with eyes like molten gold, claws sharp enough to rip through bark and bone alike. Yet, I reminded myself of what I had read in my books. Most were cautious of humans, more curious than immediately aggressive. All I had to do was remain silent, avoid drawing attention, and not trigger them in the wrong way.

I ducked beneath a low-hanging branch, crouching where the undergrowth offered some cover. My eyes..though blindfolded were alive in their own way. I sensed the rhythm of the forest: the subtle rise and fall of energy, the pulse of magic that lingered in the soil, the vibrations traveling through the roots and trees. It was as if the forest itself was alive, judging my presence, testing my patience, and probing for weakness.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my racing heart to calm. I finally found a spot down a tree and sat there…waiting, hoping someone would find me.

For a moment, there was nothing but the steady thrum of my pulse and the whisper of wind threading through needles overhead. My legs ached from hours of careful walking, my hands trembled with residual adrenaline. I curled my fingers into the soil, grounding myself.

Suddenly, a  branch snapped..not the quick flick of a squirrel or the swish of a restless bird.

No.

This was heavier, deliberate and close.

My breath caught halfway up my throat.

The air shifted, colder now, thick with the scent of musk and damp fur. Something large was moving through the underbrush, slow and confident, each step sinking deep into the mulched forest floor.

I didn’t dare move.

My fingers dug into the soil, and I felt the earth vibrate..barely, but enough.

It’s coming closer.

Leaves rustled. A low chuff reverberated through the air. The forest stilled, holding its breath with me.

My blindfold made everything worse. Sightless, every sound grew teeth, every breath felt stolen. But I remained where I was,pressed against the trunk, spine stiff, body a statue carved from trembling nerves.

The creature stopped right in front of me.

I could feel its warmth exhale hitting my cheeks, humid and hot. Something rough brushed against my knee, and for a split second, I swore I felt coarse fur.

It sniffed. Long and slow.

My heart pounded so hard I was sure it could hear it. Hear me.

One wrong twitch…one shaky inhale…and my story would end right there.

But I didn’t move.

Not a finger.

Not an eyelash.

Nothing.

A deep growl rumbled aggressively.

Then, after what felt like a full eternity stitched into seconds…the creature stepped back. Leaves swished as its weight shifted. Another grunt, then the slow pad of it turning away.

One step.

Two.

Three…

The sound faded into the distance until all that remained was my frantic heartbeat and the rustle of the wind reclaiming the silence.

Only then, only when I was sure it was truly gone did I allow my lungs to fill properly.

A trembling breath.

Tears stinging my eyes.

Relief washing over me in a cold, dizzy wave.

Relief washed over me in a cold, dizzy wave.

I was right… staying calm would save me.

A few minutes passed—quiet, heavy, breathless.

Then…

A branch snapped again, but the sound was different this time. It was lighter and human.

“Is anyone there?” a male voice called out.

“Yes—yes!” I answered quickly. “I’m here!”

His footsteps drew closer through the underbrush, careful but purposeful. He stopped a few paces away before lowering himself down beside me

You alone?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, exhaling shakily. “The guards dropped me somewhere in the forest and left. I’ve been walking for hours.”

He hummed in agreement, the sound low and rough. “That’s how the trial works. They want to see us panic and die.”

There was no bitterness in his tone..just resignation. Like he’d already accepted the cruelty of it.

“I almost did,” I admitted. “A beast came by. A big one.”

His posture shifted; I could hear the faint scrape of his boot against the forest floor.

“And you…” His voice dipped lower, baffled. “I didn’t see any evidence you used magic, and you’re still in one piece?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “It came right up to me. Sniffed me. I stayed still. Didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. And it left.”

He let out a breath “I would never have thought of that. Honestly? I would’ve panicked. Or tried to run. Or gods help me—thrown a stick at it.”

The image of that tugged an unexpected laugh from me.

“You’ve been out here long?” I asked after a moment, trying to distract myself from the trembling in my hands.

“A while,” he answered. “Long enough to be tired of tripping over roots and hitting my shins on every rock the forest has ever grown.”

“That sounds about right.” I chuckle

He let out a slow breath, the kind that fogs in cold air. “Well…we might as well know who we’re dying beside. Or surviving beside. Preferably the second option. I’m Rowan Calder… you?”

“I’m Aeris,” I said quietly. “Aeris Thalorian.”

“Thalorian… like the Thalorian?” he asked, surprise shaping his voice.

I nodded instinctively, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes.”

A sigh slipped out of me. “Remind me to never add my family name next time. I need less attention drawn to me…”

Rowan huffed a soft breath that I couldn’t quite read. “Your family draws attention whether you want it or not.”

I bit my lip, sinking a little deeper against the bark behind me.

“Well,” he continued, “at least now I know who I’ve been sitting beside.”

I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

Before I could respond, a low rumble shivered through the trees.

A growl.

Far away… but not far enough.

My spine straightened immediately. “Rowan.”

“I hear it,” he said, voice dropping to a whisper.

The growling deepened…slow, hungry, alert. The forest hushed, the leaves stilling as if bracing for the creature’s approach.

“It’s coming closer,” Rowan breathed.

“Just stay still,” I whispered urgently. “It’ll leave if it doesn’t see movement. It worked before…it’ll work again.”

We both held our breath as the steps thudded softly through the brush.

My throat tightened. I clenched the roots beneath my fingers, willing myself to become stone again.

The beast moved toward us… and then—

It stopped.

Right in front of us.

Its breath washed over my face..hot, thick, and foul. A deep snort rattled the air. Then… slowly… it stepped away. One heavy stride. Then another.

Relief began to seep but then, Rowan adjusted slightly, brushing a stick with his boot.

The beast froze. Its attention whipped backward, toward us. Toward that sound.

I stiffened. “Rowan… what was that?”

He didn’t answer.

The beast growled, enraged now, circling back toward us with a violent stomp of its claws.

“I said stay still!” I half-screamed in a whisper, panic clawing at my ribs. “Rowan, don’t move—”

But Rowan stood up.

I heard the soft rustle of leaves as he rose, felt his presence shift from beside me to directly in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I hissed. “I said to not move”

He inhaled once, then, with a tone far colder than before, he said:

“Well… what I didn’t say was that I have a feud against the Thalorians.”

My breath died in my throat.

“Your sister injured my elder brother in combat months ago. Badly. He hasn’t been able to use his magic since then.”

His words dripped with contained rage.

“This,” he continued, “is my little way of getting back at her.”

“Rowan,” I whispered, horror and betrayal tangling in my chest. “Don’t—”

“Oh,” he added lightly, “and I can be invisible. That’s my magical power.”

Then—

I heard nothing.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Rowan—Rowan!” I hissed.

Nothing.

Only his fading words hanging like poison in the cold air..

“Survive, Aeris.”

And then the beast…furious, lunged toward the one thing still breathing in its path.

Me