(Starla)
The sun had set by the time we returned to the Last Stronghold.
Torches flickered in their holders, and the fortress was quieter now; the bustle of the day faded into the hush of evening.
Alistair walked beside me, his usual chatter subdued. We had both been affected by the visit to the healing ward, by Hila’s hollow eyes, by the weight of the loss.
"You are quiet," he softly spoke, observing me with his side eye.
"Yes, just thinking."
"About the disease?"
"About everything. There has to be a way." I glanced at him, bunching my lips.
Alistair nodded, his sky-shaded eyes thoughtful.
We turned a corner, and I stopped dead.
Azkan stood at the end of the corridor, his thick arms crossed, his eyes which seemed to have been fused with melted amethyst, blazed. Beside him, Runa’s smile was cunning and vengeful.
"Where have you been?" Azkan’s voice was cold. "I have been looking for you for hours."
Alistair stepped forward, his grin returning. "Brother! I told you we were going to the Academy."
Azkan’s sharp gaze remained fixed on me. "Who permitted you to stay out till so late? Don’t you know you have duties with my brother, or are you here to roam freely?" His voice cut deep, but I knew I was at fault. I shouldn’t have spent the entire day; I should have checked on Aksel.
"I apologise," I began. "The academy and the healing ward consumed a lot of time. Alistair was showing me..."
"The healing ward." Runa fisted her hands, her nostrils flaring, that smug smile disappeared. "What the hell?"
Azkan’s forehead furrowed too, and he pinned his brother with a glare.
I felt my stomach tighten. I might have gotten him into trouble.
"What were you doing in the healing ward?" Azkan asked, his voice carefully controlled.
"Talking to the surviving guides. Learning about the disease," I quietly answered.
"The disease." Runa stepped closer, her eyes stormy. "How curious that you will take such an interest in our guidewomen. Almost as if you were... comparing notes."
I met her gaze. "I was trying to understand and help."
"To help." She laughed, a taunting laugh and stepped closer to me, too close for my liking. Her index finger pointed at me. "You think I believe a word that comes out of your mouth. You might fool them, but you can’t fool me."
"I took her. So back off," Alistair took a step and shielded me with his body.
"So what now? She is your new pet? And you are her bodyguard?"
"Runa, don’t start a fight." Azkan’s voice came as a warning.
"No, Azkan." She turned to face him, her expression triumphant. "I think it’s time both of you knew the truth about your precious human guide."
I felt a shiver crawl across my spine. Did she find out the secret I had been holding?
"What are you talking about?" Azkan asked, his eyes swirling in confusion.
"She will concoct some lies," Alistair added.
But Runa ignored them and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small white crystal, cut into a pyramid shape. "I did some digging," she began. "While you were playing tour guide, I was digging."
No. No, no, no.
"I always found it interesting how her human energy felt." Runa’s smile widened.
Azkan’s gaze shifted to me, unreadable; his jaw tightened, revealing those sharp edges.
"But here is the thing," Runa continued. "The reports said the human guide sent to us was S-ranked. One of the most powerful guides the human world had to offer." She paused, savouring the moment. "But I find her energy weak and fading. Not at all what the energy of an S-Ranked appears like."
I could tell that Runa was speaking from experience. Alistair had already told me that Runa was also suffering from the disease, but she was too proud to admit it.
"So I brought the guide’s prism," Runa twisted the crystal in her hand.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.
"The S-ranked guide. Let’s see if she truly is one or is merely a fake spy they have sent to finish what they couldn’t last time. A trickster perhaps to tame Aksel."
"Your pessimism is deplorable, Runa and your jealousy insatiable. You should be the last person talking about a guide’s energy."
The silence that followed Alistair’s words was deafening. They both glared at each other with open aversion.
Azkan stepped forward, all regal, his cape flying behind him.
"Runa has a point," Azkan’s voice was dominating and harsh. "I have felt it too. I would like for her to take the test."
I opened my mouth. Closed it and opened it again, but I couldn’t form a response.
Deny it. Lie. Do something. But the words wouldn’t come.
But I knew I couldn’t wiggle out of it. If I refused to take the test, they would know that I was hiding something. If I took the test, it could reveal my weak, dying energy.
Alistair tried to defend me again, but I placed my hand on his back, keeping my gaze fixed on Azkan. I confidently said.
"I will do it. I have nothing to hide." I stepped forward and extended my hand towards Runa.
She smirked, her fuller lips twisting.
"The Guide Energy Prism," she announced, her voice carrying through the silent hallway.
"Every guide in the Beastworld has been tested with this. It measures the purity and strength of your energy. The colours will reveal the truth of what you are."
She held it out to me, dropping it on my palm.
"Hold it with both your hands and let your energy pour inside it, slowly. It will change colours.
Yellow is for E-ranked.
Grey is for D-Ranked.
Blue is for C-Ranked.
Purple is for B-Ranked.
Red is for A-Ranked.
Silver is for S-Ranked
Golden is for SS-ranked."
She paused, her cunning eyes focusing on me.
"And teal, a healing green, is for SSS-ranked. The highest rank. The rarest."
Her gaze swept over me, dismissive.
"Let’s see what colour you bleed, little human. I am sure a dirty yellow."
She wasn’t wrong. According to my test results, that would be the colour.
She took a step back and crossed her arms with Azkan. Both of them curiously stared at the crystal in my hands.
Alistair assuredly smiled. "Go ahead. It’s fine."
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. Come what may, but this needed to be done.
I let my energy flow out in small waves from my trembling hands and let the crystal absorb it. With a loudly thudding heart and desperate eyes, I waited for the colour of the crystal to change.