Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
"What if they brought us here as food for the students?" a boy beside us asks, his eyes wide with terror. "Maybe primals eat people."
"Primals don't eat people," another voice responds.
"You sure about that? You ever seen a primal eat?"
"Never seen a primal. Period."
Mireen offers me a sidelong glance that says she at least doesn't think we're about to be consumed. Then her eyes widen when they fall to my badge. "A 'V'? That means you volunteered, right?”
"It's a long story." I can feel my expression shuttering, walls sliding into place like fortress gates before an attack.
To my surprise, Mireen nods instead of pressing me for answers. "I didn't even think this place was real." She looks around the large hall as more offerings are led in by guards.
A lanky boy with intelligent eyes sidles up beside me. Unlike the fear evident on most faces, he carries himself with quiet confidence.
"Ah! So there is another volunteer," he says, nodding at my badge. "Only two so far in the entire gathering. That's two out of about fifteen hundred offerings. Have you met him? The other 'V'?"
"I haven't..."
"I'm Nolan, by the way."
"Nessa."
"In any case. Curious that so few would volunteer, isn't it? Or is it just that the tight age window means most loved ones aren't eligible to do it?" He has a rambling way of talking, almost as if he's thinking aloud.
I glance down at his badge and see an "R". "What does yours mean?"
"Replacement. Somebody with no eligible next-of-kin ran once they were selected, and I was taken in their place." He shrugs. "It's okay though. My cousin is training to be a diviner, and she said she's picked up fire affinity markers in me."
"Fire?" Mireen whispers, instinctively shifting away from him.
His smile falters. "What, afraid I'm a Red Kingdom spy?" He wiggles his fingers, as if poking fun at the very idea.
"My uncle died fighting Red Kingdom. His unit was wiped out by one of their fire primals. Every last soldier burned so badly their armor was the only thing left on the field." Her voice trembles with sudden, barely contained anger, all her easy-going nature evaporated in an instant.
I notice her slight accent then—a subtle drawl that marks her as a deep norther. Up that close to the border, tensions between Red Kingdom and Empire are on everyone's mind every day. The war is literally in their backyards. No wonder she said they see a lot of death where she’s from.
Even for the relatively fortunate like those of us in Saltcrest, the war’s reach is long. Supply blockages often cripple port trade, leading to shortages and starvation. The famine that claimed my best friend’s life hit when I was just eight, and it was a direct result of the war.
"I'm Empire-born," Nolan cuts in, voice tight. "Last time I checked, Empire still accepts fire and earth primals. I'd be fighting right alongside people like your uncle if I became a primal."
"And yet you don’t have to look far to find stories of fires and earths betraying Empire. Turning coat to join Red Kingdom. They can't be trusted," Mireen counters.
"Not every fire and earth elemental is loyal to Red Kingdom," Nolan argues. "Some of them choose to side with Empire, and Empire should be glad for it." He stands straighter, back rigid with indignance.
"Come on," I say, looking between them. "We're all in the same boat now. The last thing we need is to make enemies of each other."
Nolan shrugs, offering a hand to Mireen.
She swallows, then takes and shakes, even if she doesn't look particularly happy about it.
"Do you know what they're going to do with us?" I ask them both.
"You don't know?" Nolan says, leaning in and lowering his voice. "It was a long journey from Marrow's Edge to here, which gave me quite some time to press my selector for answers. Tight-lipped fellow, but I did gather this much: they're going to test us for elemental affinity. Dangerous as all hells, of course. But people like me with affinities should survive."
"Test us? How?" My pulse quickens, a birds's panicked flutter trapped beneath my skin.
"He wouldn't say. I did get the distinct impression it is a rather... deadly process, though. I'm afraid our numbers will thin dramatically before day's end."
A thick lump forms in my throat as I look at Mireen. Her wide eyes say she's just as unhappy with the news.
"You never answered before. Did you meet the other 'V' yet?" Nolan asks suddenly.
I shake my head.
"He's just coming into the room now. Right there," he says, pointing through the crowd.
I follow his finger and feel the air rush from my lungs.
The other volunteer is tall, broader and more muscular than anyone else in our group, standing apart like a predator among prey. The space around him is conspicuously empty, as if everyone senses the danger rolling off him in waves.