After hundreds of footsteps, Sephyra and Mariselle were led to a courtyard lined by high stone walls that swallowed all sound except the distant hum of magic.
The moment they walked in, they found tons of human girls moving together in a tight cluster. Sephyra's breath fogged as she got pushed forward by Dominion soldiers. Every movement made her ribs ache, but she forced herself to keep up, focusing on the rhythmic crunch of the ground beneath her feet to keep from falling apart.
Around her, the girls looked graceful with their polished hair, dresses, and blushed cheeks. They whispered eagerly to each other, comparing hopes, dreams and fantasies. Some imagined marrying an heir, some imagined wealth and some imagined a way out from the slums.
Sephyra imagined none of those things. She was only trying not to collapse.
Mariselle walked ahead in her silk gown, her curls bouncing with every step. She didn't bother hiding her pride. Her eyes narrowed in disdain on Sephyra's messy hair, dirt-streaked face, and trembling hands.
"You better give up now instead of embarrassing the Dorne name," she hissed under her breath. "You already look like you crawled here."
Sephyra didn't answer, she wasn't ready to fuel Mariselle's spite and get publicly humiliated.
A group of soldiers lined the entrance without looking at the girls or acknowledging them at all. For them, this was routine. Another batch of human candidates and another round of selection.
"Move forward," one soldier barked and the group obeyed instantly.
At the open courtyard, five figures waited atop a raised stone platform: Two witches in dark cloaks, a male vampire with crimson irises, a male wolf-shifter with braids down his back, and a sharp-eyed muscular, and uninterested female wolf.
Silence dropped over the girls. The vampire stepped forward, with a sharp, slicing voice. "Welcome, candidates. Today marks the Selection of Fifty. By night, twenty of you will remain and thirty will return home."
Several girls squealed softly in excitement. A handful sighed in relief and one girl muttered, "Gods, I hope I make it."
A little number of others trembled and Sephyra was among the trembling ones.
The vampire's gaze swept the group with clinical neutrality. "The Academy seeks discipline, resilience, and obedience, so you will be tested accordingly. Do well, and you will live comfortably within the Academy walls. Fail…" His lips curved faintly, but not kindly. "…and you will go back to your lives."
A collective breath was released. It sounded easy.
A wolf-shifter officer stepped forward next. "You will run," he announced. "You will endure. You will not stop until you reach the end. You may push your opponents. You may hinder them but in no circumstance may you cheat."
His amber glowing eyes hardened. "No magic shielding. No spells or charms. If we detect any unnatural aid, you will be eliminated immediately from the selection."
The word "eliminated" made several girls shift uncomfortably.
Sephyra blinked at the platform ahead. A vast yard stretched before them, enclosed by blazing iron braziers that spat violet fire. The heat was intense even from where she stood.
The ground looked wrong; dark, patchy, and faintly glowing. She squinted her eyes to clearly see that it was littered with thick stone slabs, their edges glowing red with heat.
No one spoke or breathed until the female witch lifted her staff. "You are to cross this ground barefoot."
A wave of shock broke through the girls.
"Barefoot?"
"Is this safe?"
"It looks hot…"
A male witch raised a calming hand. "A protective barrier will be cast over the grounds. You will not die. The pain, however…" His voice rounded into a cruel tone. "Is part of the evaluation."
Mariselle's expression sharpened into confidence. "I can do this. I have to," she muttered, sliding her slippers off elegantly. "It's nothing."
She glanced back at Sephyra again, smirking at her ugly dress and shaky fingers. "Try not to pass out before even starting, stepsister."
The soldiers crowded the girls forward until their toes met the hot edge of the ash-covered expanse.
"Begin when the signal sounds," the wolf-shifter commanded.
Sephyra's heart was beating so loudly she thought she'd collapse.
"Ready?" The air stilled for a minute. "Run!"
A horn's blast bounced off the wall, vibrating in their chests, it led to chaos.
Girls bolted forward, shrieking as their bare feet touched the fiery ground. Sephyra stepped onto the ash and almost screamed when fire bit up her legs. She stumbled, gasping in panicked breaths, each step more desperate than the last.
Around her, the strongest girls moved ahead, gritting their teeth and fixing their eyes on the opposite platform. Some pushed others aside without hesitation. One girl elbowed another so hard she fell face-first into the embers.
Mariselle glided past Sephyra with infuriating ease. "You this fool, quit now! You won't make it!" she snapped, shoving her shoulder.
Sephyra staggered but caught herself. Tears blurred her vision, but she forced one foot in front of the other, gasping as each step sent fresh agony slicing through her soles.
The heat increased as she moved farther.
Girls screamed, limped and crawled. Some collapsed only to be yanked up again by soldiers barking at them to continue. The protective barrier hummed overhead, it was a reminder that death wasn't permitted, but suffering was a must.
By the halfway point, Sephyra's legs shook uncontrollably. Each inhale burned her lungs with smoke and heat. Her feet seared on the stones, blistering with every step. Sweat, tears, and ash clung to her face, grit catching between her teeth. Her body shook with every excruciating motion.
Like it couldn't get any worse, a girl shoved her from behind, sending her sprawling. Her palms hit scorching ash and she cried out, curling instinctively before forcing herself back up.
Just a little more, just enough to survive. Don't stop. I have to make it into the academy.
She crawled, heaved herself up, and forced each step forward. Agony shot through her with every movement, her body shuddering.
Mariselle was already near the end, and a triumphant laugh escaped her mouth.
Girls began collapsing past the finish line, soon there were nineteen of them.
The instructors counted, and a few seconds after the 20th girl crossed, Sephyra was still a few feet away, barely dragging herself over the embers.
"STOP!" the witch examiner suddenly commanded and everyone froze.
The witch's gaze fixed on the girl who had finished twentieth, a slender brunette trembling violently.
"You used magic."
The girl's eyes widened. "N-No—I didn't! I swear!" The witch raised her staff, and a glowing sigil formed above the girl's head. She sank to her knees, crying uncontrollably. "I only—I only used a charm—just a small one. I didn't want to fail—please!"
A vampire soldier appeared beside her in a heartbeat and with one swift, brutal motion, her head rolled across the stones.
Blood poured out, steaming on contact with the hot ground.
The girls immediately screamed in fear, scrambling backward, and tripping over each other. Even Mariselle paled, stumbling several steps away, with her face drained of color.
Sephyra froze in place, all her muscles locked in terror.
The witch turned slowly and rested her cold gaze on Sephyra. "You," she pointed. "Step forward! You were next to finish, so you are the replacement."
Sephyra's mouth went dry but she pushed herself up on shaking limbs, every step sending raw agony through her feet. Her body quivered under the pain, but she managed to cross the final stretch.
Just then, Mariselle found her voice, anger cracking at the edges. "NO! You can't choose her!" she snapped. "She's weak! She barely made it! She's useless!"
The witch didn't even look at her. "She finished on her own strength, therefore she belongs inside."
A sigil marked itself onto Sephyra's wrist, glowing faintly; #20.
She became the last accepted candidate, barely by accident or maybe luck.
Within a few minutes, a mechanical vehicle drove in and its rear doors yawned open. The girls were packed inside shoulder to shoulder, pressed into a steel box with no windows, the doors slamming shut behind them before anyone could look back.
After a drive that felt like eternity, the carriage stopped moving and soon, the doors were pulled open. The girls stepped out and were towards the Academy gates.
They got in and the gates slammed shut behind them, sealing them inside the walls, a voice rang out from above: "Welcome to the Aetherion Royal Academy."
There was a pause, until the voice came again. "Only the strong survive."