Chapter 3 The Trial of Teeth

The message still burned in Aeryn's hand. Wrong twin. He lives.

He had barely closed his fingers around the blood-inked paper before the door slammed open.

Two enforcers in black-and-silver armor barged into his room, their eyes glowing faintly beneath half-masks.

"No time," one growled. "The Trial begins at moonfall."

Aeryn barely had time to shove the note under his pillow before they yanked him to his feet. No breakfast. No briefing. Just cold stone, colder air, and the iron grip of hands that didn't care if his feet were touching the ground.

They marched him down tower staircases and across a bridge suspended over a chasm that glowed green with runes. The academy was alive at this hour-dozens of students and instructors in ceremonial cloaks gathered along terraces and balconies, whispering as he passed.

Lucien Damaris stood beneath a silver lantern, arms folded, watching Aeryn with his usual sculpted boredom. His gaze didn't linger long.

Kael Vier stood near the amphitheater steps. Broad-shouldered, bare-armed despite the wind, golden eyes narrowed. There was something in his posture-tense, like he was waiting for a blow that hadn't come yet. He didn't wave. But he didn't look away either.

The Trial Grounds were an amphitheater cut into the bones of the mountain itself. Stone seating encircled a pit filled with thorn-choked vines and black earth. Above it, the Hollow's forest loomed-a mess of gnarled trees whose branches clawed at the rising moon. Mist slithered through the trunks like breath.

Headmaster Voren stood on a floating dais, draped in crimson robes that hissed with every movement. His voice rang unnaturally loud.

"Trial One: Survival". The forest will judge your worth. Your task is simple-endure the hollow night. No spells, no help, no shortcuts. At sunrise, those still breathing may return.

Gasps from the crowd. Murmurs. Someone laughed a little too eagerly.

Aeryn didn't move.

The ground beneath him did.

Glyphs pulsed, and the floor opened. He dropped like a stone, tumbling down a dark chute of screaming air and flickering lights-until the earth caught him in a bed of tangled roots.

The Hollow.

Silence reigned.

Aeryn scrambled to his feet. Moonlight filtered through a canopy so thick it looked woven. The trees were too close, trunks wide enough to hold stairwells. The air smelled like moss, old books, and bones.

He took a step-and the tree beside him groaned.

Not in the wind. Not creaking. Groaned. Like a voice struggling to rise from sleep.

He backed away, heart racing.

Somewhere deeper in the woods, a scream tore through the silence.

Not an animal. Not human.

Something else.

He turned and ran.

Twigs slashed his arms. Roots tried to trip him. The forest shifted behind him-paths he thought were clear were now blocked by brambles. Every turn led nowhere. Or worse, back to where he started.

After what felt like an hour, he collapsed in a crooked tree with bark like melted wax. His legs ached. His hand throbbed from where the horned woman had cut him.

And that's when he saw the first vision.

Asher.

Standing between the trees. Same armor. Same eyes.

But there was no blood.

"Asher?" Aeryn croaked.

The figure didn't speak. It stepped backward and vanished into the mist.

Aeryn staggered after it-only to trip a hidden line. Runes exploded underfoot. He was thrown back against a tree, ears ringing.

Two figures dropped from the branches above.

Vampires.

Both wore the House of Ash sigil. Red eyes. Pale skin. One male, one female. Smiling.

"Well, well," the male purred. "The little mutt found his way into our hunting ground."

"Begging for an early exit," the girl added.

They lunged.

Aeryn barely dodged the first strike. He rolled under the next, scrambled for a branch, swung wildly. The girl caught his wrist, twisted-he screamed. Fangs neared his throat.

Then a blur of muscle and fury slammed into her.

Kael.

He tackled the girl to the ground, snarling. The other vampire slashed his arm open-Kael didn't flinch. He turned, headbutted the male into a tree, then grabbed Aeryn by the collar.

"Run."

"But-"

"I said run!"

They tore through the woods together. When they finally stopped, Kael was panting, blood dripping down his arm.

"You shouldn't be alone," Kael growled.

"I didn't ask to be here," Aeryn snapped.

"I know. That's why they want you dead. You're weak. Untrained. And your existence offends the old bloodlines."

"Then why save me?"

Kael didn't answer at first. He looked away, jaw tight.

"Because you're not the only one with ghosts."

Then he walked off into the trees.

Aeryn stared after him. He wanted to shout. To scream. But he knew Kael was right.

So he turned-and kept walking.

He didn't notice when the trees began changing.

The bark shimmered. Leaves glowed faintly. He'd entered a grove unlike any other part of the forest. The air buzzed. Stones marked a circle on the ground. Something beneath them pulsed.

He stepped into the ring.

The reaction was instant.

Glyphs exploded beneath his boots. The wind howled. Roots whipped from the earth. A low growl echoed from the soil.

The ground split open.

A creature emerged. Massive. All bone and shadow, antlers too long, teeth too many.

A guardian.

It screamed.

Competitors rushed toward the noise.

Aeryn barely had time to draw breath before another heir-a dragon-blood with bronze scales-lunged at him. Aeryn ducked, rolled, scrambled for a rock.

The guardian lashed out, killing one of the attackers instantly.

Kael burst from the trees again, grabbed Aeryn, shoved him behind a stone.

"What did you do?" he shouted.

"I-I don't know!"

The guardian roared.

A spell hit Kael in the back. He grunted, fell forward.

Aeryn saw his blood.

I saw Kael's body slump.

And something snapped.

His vision was blurred. His hands burned. The silver chain at his throat flared so brightly it seared his skin.

He rose.

His eyes glowed red.

His limbs cracked and reshaped. Not the wolf. Not vampires. Something between.

He screamed-and the sound shattered trees.

The other heirs froze.

Aeryn lunged.

He tore through one attacker like paper. Slashed another's chest open. Swung a fallen branch like a blade, cracking bone. He roared, blood flying from his mouth.

He turned toward Kael.

And he bit him.

Kael shouted in pain.

Then whispered, "Asher."

Aeryn froze.

His heartbeat slowed. Vision cleared.

Kael's blood was on his hands.

"No," Aeryn breathed. "No, no, no."

He stumbled back. Stared at his claws. At the broken grove. The ruined guardian. The bodies.

Kael lay on the ground, unconscious, blood pooling around him.

Aeryn turned-and ran.

Behind him, the forest swallowed the light.

And the trial was far from over.