Some days had passed since the attack, since Aerys had stood before the House of Celerion and spoken. His speech had been measured, commanding even, yet the tension it sought to soothe lingered, thick and unyielding. It was understandable, really. House Celerion was not a family of easy obedience; it was a collection of proud, strong-willed characters, each convinced of their own worth and superiority. Still, Callius and him had begun carving out a small, informal group, one bound by quiet understanding rather than blood or title.
they started their exploration cautiously. Aerys did not confess his fear to Callius, though he could doubtless read it in his stride, the slight tightness in his shoulders. The mountains offered him deceptive sense of security. The rocky slopes, the narrow ridges, the shadowed hollows—these were tkeirs to navigate, to command. But beyond them, the plains and forests teemed with threats both mundane and unthinkable. Creatures that walked on the edge of divinity, predators trained in cruelty and cunning, and companions who might betray in the blink of an eye. The House itself was no sanctuary. The castle—their supposed bastion—was as vulnerable as any field encampment. That realization weighed on Aerys, cold iron on his chest, heavier than any armor.
Hunger gnawed steadily. The first days had been manageable, but as time stretched, the strain became physical, tactile. Hygiene slipped; the small comforts of the civilized world seemed increasingly irrelevant. Rosis, ever irreverent, discovered his first blemish and howled with mock horror.
— Look! It's like a bee sting! he announced, pressing a finger against the eruption.
Aerys pretended fascination, as though he had never encountered the indignity of adolescence. Callius leaned closer, his eyes narrowing in curiosity.
— Brother, it's really—
Rosis exploded the blemish with a quick squeeze. Callius jumped back, gagging slightly. jinn laughed so hard she toppled from her perch, a tangle of limbs and mirth.
— Sometimes, Rosis said once the chaos subsided, I wonder what all this is for. This game, this… contest. What is its purpose? To test our worth? To see who can lead the empire?
— And your conclusion? Callius asked, keeping distance.
Aerys said nothing. The world waited beyond the mountain ridges, and our focus lay elsewhere.
We divided our efforts. Léa and Rosis took the clockwise path toward the tower of eimos, while Callius and I headed ios, turning counterclockwise. Nightfall would mark our rendezvous. From the top of the tower, the land seemed deserted. Hills and plains stretched empty. No riders, no infantry of House solenar. To the south, the lakes shimmered and mountains loomed, dotted only with goats. Beyond, the Granbois Forest sprawled in dense, dark waves over dozens of kilometers.
Around ten kilometers from the castle, they discovered a ruined fort perched over the narrow pass leading into the valley. Inside, iodine, survival rations, a compass, rope, six burlap sacks, a toothbrush, matches, and bandages. they divided the supplies, each grabbing what would fit. The discovery was a lifeline, a reminder that someone had prepared for survival here. Weapons and armor, perhaps, or other tools of war, would surely lie elsewhere, scattered across mountains, forests, and plains. they were not meant to fight with bare hands alone. This was a test, a hunt disguised as survival.
The sun had begun its slow descent when they returned to the castle. their skin, scorched by daylight, prickled under the cooling fog. Titos and his band returned from a fruitless sortie into the plains. Only two goats accompanied them. I said nothing of the matches Cassius and I had found. If Titos was to command, he would first have to master fire. Sevrius, wherever he had gone, seemed silently complicit with this plan. The gorillas of Titus struck stones together, futilely, sparks refusing to ignite. Sacré Proctors.
The lower-selected cadets, weaker and less skilled, were conscripted to gather firewood, a task impossible without flame. Hunger pressed down on everyone except Rosis and Léa, who had been given extra rations. I watched Titos, noting the way he surveyed the girls, a predatory glint in his gaze. He had a habit of seeing people as toys, pawns to be shifted and tested.
— Do you know where he sent Vixos? I asked.
Callius shrugged, but Aerys knew. Vixos was dangerous, the second-in-command to Titos, sent to prepare an attack from ios on House solenar.
— If we act, it would be an advantage to have him on our side.
The valley below held our attention. There, six kilometers out, Vixos dragged a girl by the hair—House celeryon's first captured slave. A pang of jealousy struck Aerys, unbidden. Not for her, but for the victory that had eluded him, claimed instead by Titos' minion.he clenched his jaw. This game was no longer abstract; its consequences were tangible.
— Then we move, I murmured.
Callius' gaze met Aerys's. No words were needed. they descended from the tower, their bodies taut with tension.