Chapter 37: Terms of Entry

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Terms of Entry

"I’m going to get you back."

Jared said it quietly, barely above a whisper, to the huge dark shape standing in the smoke. The words didn’t echo. They just settled into the scorched air between them.

The Ground Dragon didn’t move. Her eyes stayed fixed on him, steady and unreadable.

A thin curl of steam rose from her nostrils. For half a second, something flickered in her gaze, a small, strange softness he might have imagined.

Then it was gone, and she was just a beast again, standing in a pit, waiting for orders from someone else. Someone other than Jared.

Jared swallowed hard.

’Now what?’

He had to make a decision, and he had to make it quickly. He couldn’t just walk away from her. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to charge across the dirt and rip the gem out of whoever’s pocket it was sitting in. But he wasn’t stupid. If he tried anything hasty, anything at all, he could be dealt with. Seriously.

He glanced at the two figures standing a few yards away.

Julius stood with perfect posture, his cloak swaying gently, his hands loose at his sides. Karl slouched beside him, scratching the back of his neck, looking mildly bored.

They were both high tiers. That much was obvious. Much more capable than he was. He had felt it in the way the flames had vanished in an instant. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what would happen if this came to a fight.

’They’d beat me one on one. Either of them.’

He did the math, grimly.

’And now there are two.’

"Earth to," Julius said. He snapped his fingers in front of Jared’s face, then paused, squinting. "Er. What’s his name?"

"Oh, please," Karl said, rolling his eyes. "Stop pretending like you don’t know who he is."

Jared blinked.

The world snapped back into focus.The two men looking at him with polite, expectant expressions. He realized he’d been staring through them for a good 20 seconds, jaw tight, lost in his own head.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry," he said. "I’m sorry about that. I tend to do that."

It was a lazy excuse.

[No you don’t,] the system said.

Jared’s jaw twitched.

[You’ve never done that. You’re the most hyperactive person I’ve ever met. You can’t stand still for a minute without muttering, fidgeting, or yelling .]

’.’

[I’m just saying it was a very bad lie.]

Julius smiled, polished and pleasant. "It’s quite all right. It’s been an eventful morning."

"It has," Jared said. He hesitated, then asked the question he’d been holding in since the door had swung open. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"The Ground Dragon." He nodded toward the huge shape in the center of the pit. "Who owns her?"

The smile didn’t change. Julius tilted his head, as though weighing the question like a coin.

"We don’t have to answer that."

"No," Karl said. "We really don’t."

Jared nodded slowly.

"That’s fair," he said.

It was. In a strange way. It wasn’t a denial. It wasn’t an explanation either. It was a closed door, and the fact that they’d bothered to close it told him everything he needed to know.

’It’s one of them.’

He didn’t know which, not yet.

’What I need to do is clear, in the long run.’

He needed to train. Hard. He needed to become strong enough to take them on, one at a time if he had to. Together, if it came to that. It would take months. It might take years. But it was the only way. He couldn’t snatch her back today. He couldn’t snatch her back next week. He needed to get stronger first, and he needed to get close.

’Right now, the closest path to taking back my gem is...’

He stopped.

The thought hung there, half finished. He didn’t need to complete it. He knew exactly where it led.

"We can end it here, if you like," Karl said, rolling his shoulders. "No shame in it. You’ve already done more than anyone else. We could call it a pass and be done."

"Or you could keep trying your hand," Julius added. "Against this one. It’s your choice."

Jared looked at the dragon.

He looked at the two men.

He took a breath.

"I’ll take it," he said. "Thank you."

Julius’s eyebrows lifted, just slightly. It was the first genuine expression Jared had seen on his face all day.

"So you don’t even want to keep trying," he said slowly. "Against this beast."

"No."

"Not even once more?"

" I said No."

"I thought you’d be more interested than you currently are." Julius’s tone was mild, curious, a little puzzled. "You were so eager when you came charging in. I assumed you’d want another go."

Jared shrugged. "I got what I came for."

Karl hadn’t said anything.

He was watching Jared with a look Jared couldn’t quite read. It wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t friendly either.

"Didn’t you have a beast like this?" Karl said.

The words were almost lazy. His tone was perfectly neutral, so even and calm that Jared couldn’t tell if he was being earnest, or if he was joking.

Jared’s stomach tightened.

’Like this.’

He kept his face blank. "I did."

"A Ground Dragon. SSS rank. From a report."

"That was me."

"I remember." Karl scratched his chin. "Shame about that."

Was it a jab? A genuine sympathy? A subtle test? Jared couldn’t tell. He looked from Karl to Julius, then back again, and felt a cold prickle run down his spine.

They had both played their hands. Julius with his smooth, careful politeness. Karl with his easy, shrugging calm. Somewhere in that exchange, one of them had been lying, and the other had been telling the truth, or both had been lying, or neither. It wasn’t clear who was playing him and who wasn’t.

’This is a game.’

He had no cards.

[They’re good,]

’I know.’

[One of them is a thief. The other is either an accomplice or a bystander. I can’t tell which. I can’t tell you anything, Rex. They’ve both got faces like locked boxes.]

’Then we wait.’

[That’s the only play.]

Karl pressed a finger to his ear. A faint click sounded, and he spoke into some hidden earpiece, his voice relaxed and crisp.

"Get a healer beast in here. Get the others up. Then we’ll have them face a different beast."

"You pass," he added. "Welcome to Team C of the Golden Bear Guild."

He said it like he was reading a weather report.

"You don’t seem all too enthusiastic," Karl said at last.

Jared blinked.

"Sorry. I’m just tired."

"Tired."

"It’s been a long few days."

"Hm."

[That’s a very convincing performance,]

[You sound like a man who’s just been told he’s won a competition he didn’t enter.]

’I’m trying.’

[Try harder. Or at least smile.]

He forced a thin smile. Karl watched it for a moment, then shrugged.

"Fair enough." He jerked a thumb toward the far side of the arena, where a small door stood half open. "You can go wait in the room beyond this hall. After the others take their exams, I’ll reconvene with whoever hopefully passes as well. It won’t take long. A couple of hours, maybe."

"Okay."

"Or you could just go home. Get some rest. I’ll notify you when I need you."

"Okay."

"Whichever you like."

"Ok."

’That was weird’

Karl nodded, and he and Julius turned away.

The healers were working now. Pale light bloomed across the arena in soft, golden waves. Groaning figures stirred. A boy sat up, coughing. A girl pressed her hands to her face and began to sob quietly. The twins were already whispering to each other.

Zoey lay near the ridge of rock, still unconscious, her braid singed, her jacket scorched along one sleeve.

[Go home,]

’No.’

[It’s an excellent suggestion. You’ve been through a lot. Karl said it himself. You could go back, sleep, eat something, take a shower, and wait for a call.]

’I’m not leaving.’

[Why not?]

’I’m waiting for Zoey.’

[Oh.]

[Of course. How silly of me. You’re going to sit in a cold waiting room for 3 hours, so you can be there when the girl wakes up.]

’It’s not like that.’

[It’s very lovey dovey.]

’It’s not.’

[It’s incredibly lovey dovey. I might write a poem about it or maybe a novel. ]

’I’m waiting because she’s my...’ He stopped, remembering how the last time that sentence had gone. ’Because I owe her. That’s all.’

[Mm. Sure.]

’I’m not going anywhere.’

[As you wish.]

He walked across the arena, past the healers and the groaning masters, and slipped through the small door at the far end.

He sat down on the nearest bench and folded his hands between his knees.

The silence pressed in.

He looked down at his palms. They were still dirty with soot. A faint tremor ran through his fingers. He flexed them, slowly, once, twice, and let them go still.

’I just joined the Golden Bear Guild.’

It seemed absurd. The biggest, richest, most powerful guild in the country had just handed him a seat on one of its top teams. Thousands of rookies would have killed for it. His sister would have cried tears of joy. A week ago, he would have been over the moon.

But he felt hollow. He didn’t want this victory right now.

’I didn’t come here for fame.’

’I didn’t come for power either.’

He had wanted those things at first. He could admit it. Glory. Respect. A name that people knew. But somewhere in the last few days, something had shifted.

It wasn’t ambition anymore. It wasn’t hunger.

It was about gaining something youve lost back. It was about his beast.

It was revenge.

It was about his revenge.

’I do want power. ’

He shut his eyes.

[You’ve gone quiet,]

’I’m thinking.’

[That’s what worries me.]

He sat there for a long moment, listening to the clock tick.

When he spoke, his voice was low and rough, and he said it directly, out loud, to the empty room.

"I can’t have revenge consume me."

The words echoed faintly off the white walls.

"I can’t go down that path."

He opened his eyes. He stared at the floor, jaw clenched, hands knotted together.

Then he sighed, long and slow, and leaned his head back against the wall.