(Akilah's pov)
I was going to kill him.
I paced across my room for what felt like the hundredth time, my boots thudding against the wooden floor.
Back and forth, back and forth, back and-
"Ugh!" I groaned, dragging my hands through my hair.
The space in my room began to feel small; it was starting to feel like I was being suffocated, and it was all his fault—that arrogant, insufferable, cold-hearted jackass.
I stopped pacing long enough to glare at absolutely nothing.
The memory of our argument days ago replayed in my head for the millionth time.
His smug expression and dismissive tone.
Like, who does he think he is?
"Your mate," Vee stated.
"Whose side are you on? He literally called you weak," I snapped.
"The winning side, and besides, you are weak. If I were to be in control, I would show that mutt who's really weak," she said.
My jaw clenched at her reasoning. She really knew how to get on my nerves.
And now because of him…
I had done the one thing I said I wouldn't do.
I put my name in the Vanguard ballot, and now I have to participate in this stupid mission. I honestly felt like screaming my lungs out.
I resumed pacing.
The clock on my desk ticked loudly.
6:45 PM.
Fifteen minutes.
Only fifteen minutes left before I had to go to the training grounds where the mission would take place.
I looked at the clock.
Then looked again.
Only ten seconds had passed.
"Great."
I was losing my mind.
With a frustrated sigh, I grabbed my bag from the edge of my bed.
I had packed a water bottle, some dried fruits, and a bag of pretzels. I didn't know how long the challenge would be, and knowing my luck, it would probably take hours.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and glanced at myself in the mirror.
Black leggings and an oversized gray hoodie. My hair is tied back into a ponytail, comfortable and simple.
Taking one final breath, I left my room.
By the time I reached the training grounds, dozens of students had already gathered.
Clusters of people stood together chatting excitedly.
Taking one final deep breath, I started walking towards them.
The moment I stepped onto the field, conversations quieted. Heads turned. Eyes followed me. I immediately regretted coming.
Keeping my gaze down, I tightened my grip on my bag and walked through the crowd.
Eventually, I found a spot near a stone bench, far away from everyone else.
I dropped my bag beside me, taking a seat, while I played with my fingers nervously.
The cool evening breeze brushed against my face. Above us, the sky was slowly darkening. Stars were beginning to appear.
For a few moments, I simply sat there. Trying not to panic.
Trying not to think about Kael who I had yet to see. Maybe he fell sick and won't be coming.
Naturally, fate is never on my side. My eyes drifted across the crowd, and there he was.
Standing with his usual group of minions. Confident, annoyingly attractive, and completely insufferable.
His dark gaze landed on me.
For a brief second, our eyes met.
Something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then he looked away.
Typical, his probably imagining ways to cuss me out, which brought back my irritation and why I was even here in the first place.
God, I hated him. Absolutely hated him.
The fact that my stomach did weird little flips whenever I looked at him was completely irrelevant.
And annoying.
Very annoying.
Thankfully, before my thoughts could spiral any further, movement near the front of the field caught everyone's attention.
Coach Rhyder had arrived, causing the crowd to quieten.
He walked onto the podium overlooking all of us. "I am pleased to see such a strong turnout tonight." His voice carried effortlessly across the field. "Each of you standing here has shown courage simply by placing your name into consideration."
A murmur moved through the crowd.
"As many of you know, the Vanguard is one of the academy's most prestigious organizations."
"The students selected for the Vanguard represent the future protectors of our school."
"The training is difficult."
"The expectations are high."
"The sacrifices are great." His expression hardened.
"But those who succeed become legends."
A wave of excitement swept through the gathered students.
"Tonight's mission would determine which students possessed the qualities necessary to be a vanguard and to be a part of the team."
"You will all be entering a portal that would transport you to outside school grounds, leaving you somewhere far from the school grounds." Coach continued.
"You will be placed into teams of four."
A large structure stood beside him, which I hadn't noticed before.
Coach gestured toward it.
"The Ballet of Fire."The flames immediately rose higher. Gasps echoed around the field.
"Your teams will be chosen anonymously."
Coach Rhyder smiled.
"The fire has already made its selections."
The blue flames exploded upward, causing Everyone to jump. A piece of burnt parchment emerged from the fire.
Coach caught it smoothly, unfolding it. "Each team will be tied by the same color. The first name is a member of the black team."
The first name rang across the field, and a student stepped forward.
Then another name.And another.And another.
Four students eventually gathered beneath a black banner.
The crowd applauded.
The process repeated.
Blue Team.
Red Team.
Green Team.
White Team.
Purple Team.
Each time, the fire spat out burnt parchments.
Each time names were called.
Each time, students rushed forward.
Excited.Nervous.Terrified.
Meanwhile, I remained exactly where I was.
Every team slowly filled, and still my name was yet to be called.
A strange knot formed in my stomach. Maybe the ballot didn't think I was worthy of trying out. Maybe it was actually for the best.
Then again…part of me wanted this. Wanted to prove myself. Wanted to show Kael I wasn't weak.
I immediately hated that thought. I didn't need to prove myself for him to be happy.
One final team remained.
The fire erupted once more, and a parchment emerged.
Silence consumed the training grounds.
Coach Rhyder opened the parchment."The first member of Silver Team…" he paused.
"Taylor."
Cheers erupted.
Taylor grinned and moved forward.
"The second member…"
"Darien."
More applause as the blonde boy joined Taylor.
The third name appeared.
"Kael."
The crowd practically exploded.
I rolled my eyes.
One final name remained. The ballot spar the last parchment.
Coach unfolds the paper but stops from reading the name.
For a brief moment, confusion crossed his face.
With a frown on his face, he looks at the crowd.
"The final member of the silver team is…"
I could feel my heart pounding against my ribs.
Closing my eyes as I began to plead for my name not to be called.
"Please don't be me. Please don't be me. Please don't…"
"…Akilah"
Silence. Complete, absolute silence.
My brain stopped working. I looked around as everyone stared at me.
Surely I had heard wrong. Surely—
"Akilah," Coach called again.
Nope.
Definitely me.
The whispers exploded instantly, and at this moment I wished the ground would open up and swallow me.
Instead, I forced my legs to move. The walk towards my team felt like a death march.
I could practically feel everyone's eyes on me.
Especially Kael's.
When I finally reached the group, I kept my head lowered.
I walked right past Kael.
Refusing to acknowledge the death glare currently drilling holes into the side of my head.
I stopped beside Taylor, who had offered me a warm smile.
"Looks like you're stuck with us."
I sighed.
"Lucky me."
Taylor laughed.
"Actually… we're the lucky ones."
That caused me to blush a little.
The contrast between Taylor and Kael was honestly ridiculous.
One was friendly.
One looked like he wanted to throw me off a cliff.
Coach Ryder eventually spoke again, and the crowd quieted once again.
Each team received a small object.
When our turn came, Coach Ryder handed Kael a golden pendant.
The pendant had a glowing ruby in the middle.
"Through this mission, you will be working as a team to find your way back home. These objects will guide you to find your way back here, where I will be waiting for you."
"Each object contains clues. These clues will lead you through until you reach the exit point, and I will be waiting upon your arrival." He stated, "However, these are no ordinary objects."
"They are made to distract you from reaching your destination. Each object has a spell on it to make your mission a bit more difficult," the coach said.
"You need to find ways to reverse the spells for it to unlock the path back here."
"You have fifteen hours."
A wave of tension swept through the crowd.
"Fifteen hours to reverse the spell ."
"Fifteen hours to come back home."
"Fail…" his gaze sharpened.
"…and your chance of being part of the vanguard is zero."
I sighed. Fifteen hours. That sounded difficult.
glancing towards Kael.
I realized that our biggest obstacle wasn't the wasn't going to be the mission itself but each other.
If Kael refused to work with me…and continued treating me like I was invisible…we were doomed.
Coach Ryder pointed toward several glowing portals.
"Good luck."
The crowd began moving.
Teams approached their assigned portals.
I was beginning to have a nervous breakdown. In which Taylor had seemed to notice. He grabbed my hand before pulling me with him, walking through the portal.
Taking a deep breath in, I closed my eyes. Letting the world disappear.
I immediately regretted every life choice that had brought me here.
A moment later, solid ground appeared beneath my feet.
I slowly opened my eyes to see trees, huge, towering trees. A forest stretched endlessly in every direction, and the air felt cool.
Above us, countless stars glittered across the night sky. It reminded me a lot of the stars back home; it was beautiful.
A groan sounded nearby.
I turned.
To see the boy whose name I had learned to be Darien was bent over, clutching his stomach.
"Honestly," he muttered, rubbing his temple. "I've done this one-hundred times, and it still makes me sick."
Taylor laughed.
He walked over and patted him on the back.
"You'll survive."
I couldn't help smiling slightly.
Taylor eventually looked at me, then walked over.
"I'm really glad you joined."
I blinked.
"What?"
"The Vanguard." His smile widened, "and that you joined our team."
Something warm flickered inside my chest.
"Thanks."
He shrugged."I mean it."
I nodded, not trusting myself to say much more. The situation was already awkward as it is.
Being trapped in a challenge with Kael wasn't exactly my idea of a good time.
Darien finally recovered and joined us.
He extended his hand to me. "Darien."
I shook it. "Akilah."
His grin widened. "I know."
I rolled my eyes.
"Right."
"Nice to officially meet you, though."
His expression softened.
"I'm the mature friend between these two losers."
"He means having the maturity of a five-year-old," Taylor corrected, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.
"And yet fate has chosen me to be Lycaria's future beta. Ironic, isn't it, you know, since I have the maturity of a five-year-old," he defended.
So he was one of the high-ranking wolves, just like Kael and Taylor.
Then the realization struck.
"You would be related to Seraphina, would you?"I pointed at him.
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Darien burst out laughing.
Taylor immediately started laughing too.
I felt my face heat.
"Guilty. She is my younger sister." He said before falling back into a fit of more laughter.
It was funny how Darien seemed more cheerful while his sister seemed more hostile and insecure. Made me wonder whether one of them was adopted.
For a brief moment, the tension disappeared, and I had forgotten about Kael and me being on the same team until footsteps approached and everything instantly became awkward again.
The boys stopped laughing as Kael stood in front of us.
His expression remained cold. His blue eyes swept over us. Stopping briefly on me, the temperature seemed to drop. I could feel a cold chill crawling down my spine.
"Finished?"His voice was flat.
Darien sighed."Here we go."
Kael ignored him."We need to move. Standing around and laughing won't help us."
Taylor nodded."Agreed."
Kael gestured toward the pendant in his hand."We need to find a way to get this thing to show us the way back to Veyloria."
His gaze shifted toward the forest. "The school is located west of the horizon, so I say we head west."
"And which way would west be?" I asked.
"We will know when we know, for now we have to move on." his tone was clearly irritated at my question.
"Fifteen hours to get this thing to show us the way, so that we can be done with this mission."
Without another word, he turned and walked away. Not sparing a second glance in my direction.
Scoffing loudly, I grabbed my bag.
Darien sighed before following right behind him.
Taylor shook his head before ushering me forward.
The forest stretched endlessly before us.
And somehow I had a feeling the mission ahead wouldn't be nearly as difficult as surviving fifteen hours with Kael.
"