“I remember the first words they told us like it was yesterday. ‘Your death happens when you say it happens.’ Freaking inspiring, man.”

- Orion Graduate, Eldoria Branch

Stars danced across my vision and I was immediately convinced I was dead. Waves of pain radiated from my shoulder, my head, and my foot. They consumed my thoughts until I was nothing but a ragged mess of sweat and heavy panting. I tried to open my eyes, but the blinding light that poured into them was enough to send a new chorus of discomfort through my entire body.

A cold and delicate cloth wiped at my brow and I felt warm hands press something against various parts of my body. I stirred but couldn’t make myself look.

The afterlife sucked.

Foreign energy coursed through my body in a mighty wave and I sat upright with a gasp. The pain was gone. I opened my eyelids hesitantly, sure more blinding light from the beyond would sear into my soul if I let it.

Nothing.

I checked my surroundings in confusion. My ankle and shoulder still throbbed, but the wound to my head was entirely absent. I noticed both joints were firmly wrapped with gauze and turned to find an elderly man in a green uniform with his back turned to me. He was talking to several people in fine clothes, all of whom were various shades of red with rage. My ears popped and sound returned in a tsunami of discord.

“She’s a sniveling thief!” One of the humans protested loudly.

“That peasant has no idea what she's done!”

“Give back the Duke's property, or my mother will have your job, you useless old man!”

The elderly man raised his hands in silence and several Orions in their black uniforms rushed over to pull the young nobility back from the agéd man. One of them, a dwarf with an axe that looked like it could cleave any monster in half without even trying, stepped in front and barked out commands loudly.

“You fecking twits! Get out ‘afore I use your fingers for paper weights. Y’know the rules about found items. You want her stuff so badly, fight her for it once she's out of the medic’s tent. Now, ‘git!” The dwarf didn't flinch at their flabbergasted expressions.

“How DARE you talk to us this way, commoner! Do you have any idea—”

The dwarf slapped the boy so hard that he did a full rotation before his friends caught him.

“Return to the ceremony ‘afore I beat each and every one of you,” the dwarf threatened in a low voice. Reluctantly, the small group left the tent, but not before they leveled vicious glares in my direction.

I felt a sinking sensation as the small party retreated, though I had no idea what they were talking about.

The elderly man set something down and turned back to me. He let out a short huff of satisfaction.

“About time. You were about to miss the best part,” he consoled in a raspy yet kind voice. His back was hunched and he wore spectacles that glowed faintly with magic. It made his eyes appear much larger than what was natural, yet it just added to the endearment he gave off. “Up you get, little one. They’re about to start the ceremony. It’d be mighty awkward to have me repeat it for you if you stayed. I’m not good at all that cocky grandstanding you black vests are so inclined toward.”

“Am I dead?” I asked the kind man as he waved at me in dismissal.

“No. Now go,” He called back to me. I shrugged and immediately regretted it. Pain throbbed through my limbs, but I cursed and got to my feet with anxious movements. The stony ground was identical to that of the courtyard outside the hunter academy, and I took in the tent filled with stretchers like the one I was just on. Other men and women in green uniforms were strolling about tending to various people all around my age.

Details started to return in horrific detail and I grabbed one of the tent poles for balance.

Screams.

Blood seeping into dirt.

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Bestial roars.

Death.

It rushed back all at once, and it was all I could do not to faint. Again. I squinted at the noon sun that peaked through the billowing sleeves of the tent. Outside and about a hundred feet away, a short podium was surrounded by haggard frames of people I recognized.

Survivors.

I sighed and straightened my back. With confident steps that hid my dread from the world, I walked out of the cloth pavilion. A few noticed my arrival and gave me nods of acknowledgement. A few, however, all in finely crafted garments marred by dust and blood, glowered at me.

“Thief,” one of them whispered. I frowned.

What are they talking about?

“Welcome, cadets of the Orion division!” a new voice rang out from atop the dais with some sort of magical amplification. I flinched back. It wasn’t because of the volume. It was because I knew that voice. It was seared into me even more than the newly formed scars on my chest and neck. A slow grin formed along my face.

I was right. I’m on the right track, coming here.

“You survived the first true test of your caliber. All of you have demonstrated that you truly do belong in our esteemed division. We do not expect blind bravery or martial prowess. We expect cunning. Tenacity. The brutal and unwavering will to face death and spit in their face. You are all Orions now. Though you shall be trained, you will no longer have the luxury to stand behind another’s shield. You will be that shield for our world. Wherever you go, you will be the unmovable rock against the tide of monsters. You will become kings and queens as you rise to the highest echelons of power!” The man raised his hands to the crowd. His eyes landed on me and I caught the barest flash of surprise before he continued. My nearly invisible grin widened at his discomfort.

You should be, you smug bastard.

“Train hard. Study harder. We may not have claws or teeth like them, but we will crush any beast that thinks to call us anything but their executioner!” The crowd roared their approval at his bold words, and goosebumps covered my skin.

Those eyes.

“Over the next three years, you shall be reforged into the greatest hunters in the world. Every branch claims to do the same, but there is a reason Valoria has never fallen to what the surge spits out. We are the strongest. We are the sword.” His voice grew quiet, but it cut through the stilled audience like wheat under a farmer’s scythe. “There will be no one to coddle you within these walls. You may be called on at any time to rise to the defense of our city and home.” He paused for dramatic effect and waited for the surprised whispers to die down. I waited, motionless. “Death lurks here. Remain vigilant. You all know what you signed up for.”

The man stood to his full height again and grinned congenially down at us like some kindly father figure.

“Classes begin on the morrow. Rest well. Do whatever you must to prepare. Orions! Dismissed!” Another roar of approval echoed across the stony surroundings as the cadets all flooded toward the massive oak doors ahead. “Thea Shade, a moment, if you will,” the speaker requested. A few people turned around to see who he was talking to, but most continued on their way into the academy proper.

I froze.

I pulled my hands close against my chest, and it was only then that I realized something bizarre. My right arm felt significantly heavier than my left. I looked down and noticed, to my utter amazement, a thick band of metal tightly clasped around my wrist. It was the exact same shade of steel as the gauntlet I’d borrowed on the battleground from that dead boy.

I shook my wrist a few times. The blasted thing refused to come off. Disbelief briefly clouded my awareness until the tall and handsome human was upon me.

“Well done out there, Miss Shade. I must applaud your ruthlessness, even with what appeared to be a lack of proper education in combat. You made quite the impression on the staff, child. ” I turned to face the man who’d called my name and what little warmth remained in my fingers fled. I felt sweat gather across the small of my back at the sight of him. Though I was emboldened to see this man here at the same academy where Kaelin attended, it wasn’t like I wanted to be within ten feet of him.

Unless I had a blade in his chest, that is.

“Excuse my boldness. You may recall, but I was leading the investigation that led to your parents house. My name is Alaric Hawthorne, though I am better known as Professor Hawthorne within these walls.” He smiled kindly, but I couldn’t look away from his gaze.

They were the eyes of a snake.

“Thea,” I croaked out after an awkward pause. He laughed goodnaturedly.

“Glad to know you remember it! I am quite looking forward to your career at our school. I shall be keeping a close eye on your progress.” He leaned in with faux secrecy as he whispered. “You have a lot of promise.” The professor clasped his hands behind his back and smiled again. “And good find, Miss Shade.” He nodded to my wrist. “It’s not often you see that level of craftwork. Be sure not to let anyone chop it off.”

I swallowed hard as I realized he wasn’t joking.

“Good luck,” Professor Hawthorne—the man who’d stolen the memory of my brother from everyone on the planet—said with a practiced smile. I felt everything in my veins burn with anger and indignation.

How dare he act like nothing happened?! How dare he waltz in here and congratulate me on not dying, and then nonchalantly allude to the idea that I was someone to look out for? Heat rushed to my cheeks, but I managed not to throttle him on the spot.

“Thank you,” was all I managed to say. He waved as he turned toward the short flight of wide steps that led into the academy. I let out the breath I’d been holding and swiveled away so that I could think without everyone observing me. I pivoted on my heel and ran headlong into the sturdy chest of someone over a full head taller than me. I jolted back, pain flaring to life in my nose from where it clipped the person’s chest straps.

“Ow! What the fu–”

“You are in my way,” The deep and buttery voice spoke, barely louder than a whisper. Still, it carried a barb sharper than any monster’s claw. “Move, or do us all a favor and throw yourself back in that pit.”