Chapter 30: The Test

Celestria was already asleep by the time I came back to the room. I didn’t apologize until the next morning. I had already made her feel awful with my comments. I didn’t want to disturb her beauty sleep too.

In typical Celestria fashion, she forgave me right away. She must’ve spoken to Hunter, Tanner, and Johnny when I wasn’t around, because even though I kept to myself and barely spoke to any of them, they didn’t ask me any questions and let me be.

The terrible truth Dawson had given me wasn’t the only thing that made me retreat. The test was coming up. Somehow, I had decided that a passing grade would prove I belonged in Berwick and that the spies’ evil ways hadn’t rubbed off on me.

My private potions lessons came to an end when Master Rhoslyn took two personal days to handle some business in a nearby town. I missed learning from her, but it worked out because now that my evenings and nights were free, I was able to squeeze in more studying time.

The evening before the test, I finally felt my mood lift, so I decided to join my friends in the dining hall. Almost every student I passed ate with one hand and flipped pages of their books and notebooks with the other. Everyone looked stressed. Even Allyah, who must’ve known the truth about me, decided to keep her comments to herself and practiced handling her dagger by spinning it between her fingers.

The conversation was light. Johnny made everyone laugh. Tanner shared some stories about growing up in the royal palace. Hunter stayed quiet and held my hand under the table.

We didn’t need to speak; his support shone through his actions. Despite everything that had happened, I couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

It had been a good while since I’d had a nightmare, but the night before the test, bloody swords and dead bodies kept me up.

The next morning, we didn’t gather in the dining hall or the arena. Instead, the masters, including Master Rhoslyn, who must’ve returned overnight, brought all the first-years to a spacious courtyard behind the main building. There were wooden benches and flowerpots. Ravens sat on the window ledges and watched us with great curiosity.

There was nothing special about this courtyard, but I had spent enough time at Oswalda to know that things could pop up before my eyes when I least expected it.

“Dear students,” the administrator said, addressing the crowd. “Today is the final test of the year. As you already know, failing the test means the end of your studies.”

My heart sank all the way to my knees. Master Rhoslyn must’ve sensed my panic from afar, because she gave me an encouraging smile.

“That being said, you’ve had the best masters in the entire kingdom, and you’ve been studying very hard. All you can do now is rely on your magic and work with it, not against it.”

Master Bavol flicked her wand, and a long table appeared. It held clear buckets filled with small, black vials. “As most of you know, this test will be different from the first. We will not be personally interacting with you,” she said. “Instead, we will break you up into groups. You will drink a vial of a special potion that Master Rhoslyn prepared.”

“It’s a portal potion,” Master Rhoslyn chimed in. “It will transport you to a large stadium where we’ve set up an obstacle course for you. Once you get there, you will have to rely on your magic and prove your allegiance to the kingdom.”

We had our daggers and swords and wands that most of us still hadn’t been able to use. No other instructions were given.

Tanner, Hunter, Celestria, and Johnny were on my team. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the masters thought that I was falling apart and that I wouldn’t be able to pass the test unless my friends were by my side. Either way, this was the best outcome I could’ve asked for.

The potion tasted exactly the way it looked—gritty, lumpy, and gross. As soon as I downed it, my body started to tingle. One moment, my friends stood before me. The next, they started to slowly disappear. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t because my vocal cords didn’t work.

When I reached for my neck, I didn’t feel skin. My neck wasn’t there. My head wasn’t there. Everything went dark, and I was gone.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t in a stadium. Instead, my friends and I stood at the edge of a dark, thick forest.

“What the—” Hunter started, but a rustling behind the trees stole the words right out of his mouth.

We raised our wands and swords as soon as a figure slowly came into view. My heart only stilled when I realized that it was Master Rhoslyn.

“Master, did we end up in the wrong place?” I asked, worried that I could no longer feel my magic.

She removed her hat and tossed it aside. “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be, my dear Drake.”

There was no reason to fear the master, but deep down I knew something was wrong. When she cracked her neck and her head snapped off, I realized I was right.

Hunter shielded me from harm, while Tanner and Johnny did the same to Celestria. Together, we watched as our beloved master contorted, stretched, and transformed into a different person altogether.

A thin and tall man with short black hair and pale skin stood before us. Even though we were in a forest, he wore a suit. A heavy chain hung around his neck. “Let’s see who has been paying attention,” he said in a surly voice, his yellow teeth on full display. “Who can tell me who I am?”

“Guarin,” I said, seething with anger.

“How do you know this man?” Celestria asked, shaking like a leaf.

“I saw his face on a poster outside Oswalda on our first day of school. He’s an Arachnid and their king’s most trusted confidant.”

Guarin bowed to us. “A pleasure to meet you as my real self. And good job! I knew you were my favorite for a reason.”

As soon as he took a step toward me, Hunter, Johnny, and Tanner pointed their swords at him. “Not so fast,” Hunter said.

I felt a cool sensation spread through my shoulder.

“Don’t touch her!”

“Alston? You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe,” I told him, shielding him from the evil man.

The pixie squeezed his hands into fists. “I know. That’s why I’ve come to protect you.”

“Relax, lover boy and pixie friend,” Guarin sneered. “Drake has been spending her evenings with me for months. I haven’t harmed her once. I don’t plan to start now.”

I could feel my friends’ eyes on me. “Master Rhoslyn has been giving me private potions lessons. She asked me not to tell you, but now I realize that I should’ve.”

“Someone you thought was Master Rhoslyn,” Celestria corrected, her voice thick with betrayal.

“Where is the real Master Rhoslyn?” Tanner asked.

Guarin plucked a twig off a tree and scratched his forehead with it. “Let’s see…I killed her. And then, once a little bird named Sarah let me know that a very special girl received a ten on her test even though she didn’t have any powers before, I decided to take the master’s place and see this girl for myself.”

This wasn’t happening. I had spent months talking to the master, laughing with her, learning from her, and keeping it all a secret from the people I loved and trusted most. Little did I know, all this time I was rubbing shoulders with the actual enemy.

“Everyone had to go through the barrier on the first day of school,” Johnny said. “People with bad intentions wouldn’t have been able to get through, so how did you?”

Guarin chuckled. His skin was so thin that I almost expected the corners of his mouth to split open. “Arachnids might not be able to use magic, but we still have potions. And we’re very good at making them, especially ones that help us get into places Berwick doesn’t want us to reach.”

“Good for you,” I said, my voice tense. “But why did you come here? What do you want from us?”

“I only want something from you,” he said, pointing the sharp end of the twig at me. “You were raised by Arachnids. Like I said before, we share a connection. Now you know what it is. You don’t belong here. You are meant to fight for us so we can destroy Berwick once and for all.”

“I’d never do that.”

“Not even if I have the answers that you’ve been looking for?” he asked. “Do you think I’m the only spy who has infiltrated Berwick and Oswalda? We have eyes everywhere, and that’s why I know exactly who you are and where you come from. If you come with me to Arachnid and give us your loyalty, you’ll have a chance to become the most powerful and important figure in all the lands. Isn’t that what you’ve always dreamed of?”

I didn’t even have to think about it before I answered. “I’m not going anywhere with you. My loyalty lies with Berwick and the people who stand beside me,” I told him.

“Drake has spoken,” Tanner said, wielding his sword, “and if you know what’s good for you, you will take us back to Oswalda and surrender.”

Guarin’s face turned sour. “Oswalda?” he said. “No, little boy. Not when I’m needed elsewhere. But before I go, there is one thing I’d like to show you.”

He pulled two vials from his pocket. He opened one and drank its contents. Once he opened the second, he tossed it high up, and smoke filled the air. It seeped into my eyes. It made me see things, awful things.

My friends’ screams told me they were seeing them too.

“I gave you a choice, Drake,” Guarin said, his voice surly and muffled. “A choice you will not be offered again.”

He vanished with a loud pop just before a powerful tornado swept along the edge of the forest. It picked us up off the ground, spun us, and teleported us back to the Oswalda courtyard, where terrified masters and students were waiting for us.

Hands reached for me and questions filled my ears, but when the masters asked me what had happened, there was only one thing I could tell them—

“War is coming.”

End of Book 1