CHAPTER 128: THE WINTER TRIALS 3

The western training grounds had been transformed into a sort of obstacle course.

Aegis stood with the other remaining participants, staring at the setup. Rope bridges stretched over pits filled with water. Climbing walls that shifted and moved. Platforms that appeared and disappeared at random intervals. And at the far end, a massive stone door with glowing runes etched into its surface.

Duchess Valemont stood on a raised platform, hands clasped behind her back. Her steel-grey hair caught the afternoon light.

"The Cooperation trials test your ability to work with others under pressure," she announced, her voice carrying across the grounds. "You will be assigned partners. Your task is simple: reach the far door, solve the puzzle, and ring the bell behind it. The catch? Neither of you can complete the course alone. You must rely on each other’s strengths."

She gestured to the course.

"Some obstacles require two people working in perfect sync. Others require one person to trust their partner completely. Communication is key. So is adaptability." Her smile was sharp. "Oh, and you have fifteen minutes. Fail to ring the bell in time, and you’re both eliminated."

Murmurs rippled through the group.

Duchess Valemont pulled out a scroll.

"I will now announce the teams. When I call your names, step forward and prepare yourselves."

She began reading.

"Kanna Greaves and Scarlett Lionheart."

Scarlett’s face went bright red. Kanna nodded once, calm as ever.

"Talia Stone and Liora Vale."

Liora’s expression didn’t change, but Aegis caught the way her shoulders relaxed slightly.

[Clearly, she was hoping they’d be paired up. Good for them.]

"Serilla Frost and Lune Solana."

[... What?]

Serilla raised an eyebrow. Lune showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Kai’Lin Summerfang and Mei’Lin Summerfang."

The twins grinned at each other, tails swishing in unison.

Duchess Valemont continued down the list. More names. More pairings. Aegis waited, tension building in her chest.

[Please don’t pair me with someone incompetent. Please don’t pair me with—]

"Aegis Starcaller and Darius Goldspire."

Aegis’s stomach dropped.

[You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.]

Darius turned to look at her from across the grounds. That infuriating smug smile spread across his face. He walked over with the confidence of someone who’d never had to work for anything in his life.

"Well, well," he said, stopping in front of her. "Looks like we’re partners, Starcaller."

"Looks like."

"Try not to slow me down."

"I was about to say the same thing to you."

His smile widened.

Duchess Valemont clapped her hands once.

"First team, you’re up. The rest of you, observe and learn."

Two students Aegis didn’t recognize stepped up to the starting line. The moment they crossed it, a gong sounded and a massive hourglass materialized in the air above the course, sand already pouring through it.

The pair moved quickly—one boosting the other over a wall, then being pulled up in turn. They worked their way through the rope bridge, stumbled on the shifting platforms, but managed to reach the door with three minutes left.

Then they stared at the puzzle for two minutes without making progress.

The bell never rang.

A horn blew. They’d failed.

More teams went. Some succeeded. Most didn’t.

Scarlett and Kanna went next. Scarlett was so focused on not embarrassing herself in front of Kanna that she nearly fell into a pit twice. But Kanna’s calm instructions and steady presence kept them on track. They rang the bell with thirty seconds to spare.

When they came back, Scarlett looked like she’d just won the lottery and fought a dragon at the same time.

Talia and Liora went after. They finished with two minutes left, easily.

Then it was Aegis and Darius’s turn.

They stepped up to the starting line.

"Any brilliant strategies, Starcaller?" Darius asked, rolling his shoulders.

"Don’t die. Don’t get me killed. Try to keep up."

"Charming as always."

The gong sounded.

They ran.

The first obstacle was a wall too high for either of them to climb alone. Aegis dropped to one knee, hands cupped.

"Boost me up. I’ll pull you after."

Darius stepped into her hands without hesitation. She lifted, he grabbed the top of the wall and hauled himself over. His hand appeared a moment later, reaching down.

Aegis jumped, caught his wrist. He pulled her up with surprising strength.

They dropped down the other side and kept moving.

The rope bridge swayed violently over a water pit. Aegis stepped onto it first.

"Go slow," Darius called. "If we both rush, it’ll—"

Aegis was already halfway across, moving with quick, confident steps.

"Or just do that," Darius muttered, following.

The shifting platforms came next. They appeared and disappeared in patterns that took a moment to read. Aegis watched for three seconds, then jumped. Her foot hit the platform just as it solidified. She leaped to the next one. Then the next.

Darius followed her rhythm, trusting her timing.

They reached solid ground with eight minutes left.

The stone door loomed ahead. Runes covered its surface in intricate patterns. Below it, two pedestals with hand-shaped indentations.

"Puzzle time," Aegis said.

Darius studied the runes, head tilted.

"It’s a matching sequence. See how some runes are repeated?" He pointed. "We need to activate them in the right order."

"But there are two pedestals."

"Which means we both need to activate them simultaneously. It’s testing coordination." He moved to one pedestal. "I’ll take left, you take right. We’ll need to match the sequence together."

Aegis moved to the right pedestal.

"What’s the sequence?"

Darius traced the runes with his eyes.

"Top to bottom, but alternating. I’ll go first, you go second, then me, then you. Watch for the rune to light up before you press."

"Got it."

He placed his hand on the pedestal. A rune near the top of the door glowed red.

Aegis pressed hers. A different rune glowed blue.

Back and forth. Red, blue, red, blue.

They moved through the sequence, building speed. Aegis watched the pattern, trusting Darius’s read of it.

The final rune glowed.

The door groaned and swung open.

Behind it, a bronze bell hung from a chain.

Darius grabbed the rope and rang it hard. The sound echoed across the training grounds.

The horn blew. Success.

They’d finished with four minutes to spare.

Aegis let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

"Not bad, Goldspire."

"You either, Starcaller." He turned to look at her, something calculating in his expression. "You know, you’re more competent than I expected."

"Try to contain your shock."

"I mean it. Most people would have panicked on those platforms. You read the pattern instantly."

"I’m good at reading patterns."

"Clearly." He dusted off his hands. "We made a decent team."

"Don’t let it go to your head."

"Too late." But his smile had lost some of its smugness. He looked almost... genuine. "Good luck in the combat portion tomorrow. You’ll need it."

"Right back at you."

He walked away without another word, heading back to the noble section of the stands.

Aegis watched him go, mind turning.

[That was... surprisingly not terrible.]

She then remembered what Lune had said.

"Friendship is vulnerability plus respect. Anything else is just networking."

Maybe she had been right. Maybe "befriending" Darius was about recognizing that underneath the smugness and the political maneuvering, he was just someone trying to secure his family’s future.

Not so different from her, really.

The thought stuck with her as she rejoined Scarlett and the others.

"How’d it go?" Scarlett asked.

"We won. Surprisingly smoothly."

"Darius didn’t try to sabotage you?"

"No. He actually worked with me."

"Weird."

"Yeah."

Aegis glanced back at where Darius sat in the stands, talking with other nobles. He caught her eye for a moment, nodded once, then turned away.

[Maybe there’s hope after all.]

The Cooperation trials wrapped up as the sun began to set. Duchess Valemont announced the successful teams, and the enchanted board updated to show who remained.

Out of the original sixty participants, only thirty-two were left.

Aegis’s name sat comfortably in the top ten overall rankings.

"Tomorrow," Duchess Valemont called out, her voice magically amplified, "we begin the Combat trials. Single elimination. Only the strongest will advance to the finals." She paused for effect. "Rest well tonight. You’ll need it."

The crowd dispersed slowly, students heading back to their dorms to prepare for tomorrow’s fights.

Aegis walked with Scarlett and Lune, her mind already racing ahead to the tournament bracket. Who would she face first? What weapons would they use? How could she leverage her new Aether techniques?

"You’re thinking too hard," Lune said quietly.

"Probably."

"You did well today. Both portions."

"Thanks."

"Don’t fuck it up tomorrow."

"I’ll try not to."

Scarlett threw an arm around both of them.

"We’re all gonna kick ass tomorrow. I can feel it."

"What if you have to fight Kanna?"

"I’ll kick her butt anyway!"

"Sure you will."

They made it back to the dorm as the last light faded from the sky. Aegis collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow, everything would come down to combat. Pure skill. No strategies, no teamwork. Just her against whoever stood across from her in the arena.

She thought about Lady Cassandra watching from the stands. About Talia trying not to look worried. About the noble title waiting at the end if she could just win enough matches.

[I’ve come this far.]

She closed her eyes.

[Time to finish what I started.]