“Are you ready?” Pollux asked.
Ilori shrugged, trying to hide her nervousness. “I guess so.”
“All right.” Pollux sighed. “I wish I could give you something, but all you get is the weapon and item you choose. You will not hear or see me, but everyone watching will see you. Be careful.”
Ilori nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
A cheer erupted from the arena. It was her turn. Pollux led her to the entrance. She looked back at him, then took a deep breath and stepped into the arena.
Everything changed instantly. She found herself standing on the windowsill of a mansion. She crouched down to regain her balance. On one side of the windowsill was a three-story drop-off. On the other side was a cozy room occupied by two men who were glaring at her. She could imagine Pollux’s voice as if he was just giving her a scenario. “You gathered your information. Now what do you do?”
Ilori sprang into action. She looked down to the windowsill below her on the second floor. It was too far of a drop. She would never make it down before she was attacked. She jumped on top of the windowsill.
The roof was not far. She jumped from the top of the windowsill and barely grabbed onto the edge of the roof. She heard alarms blaring from inside the building as she pulled herself to the top. There was a gunshot below her and she felt the wind of the bullet as it rushed by her arm, nearly grazing her.
She ran to the opposite end of the building. It wouldn’t take long for the images the test had created to find a way to the top. She stopped at the edge and pulled one of her throwing knives out of its sheath on her belt. She took the rope off her belt loop and tied one end of it to the hilt of her blade. She estimated the distance between the building and the nearest tree. There was at least thirty feet of open lawn below. She would have to throw her hardest.
Ilori backed up a little. She charged to the edge and threw the knife as hard as she could, stopping right before the very end of the roof. The dagger soared higher than she thought it would. It hit the nearest tree’s highest branch, which was not high enough for her to swing to the ground with it. She tied the end she was holding to one of the many chimneys protruding from the roof. After a quick glance back to make sure no one was on the roof yet, she got onto the rope and stood up with her hands out for balance.
She started at a walk. Then she slowly started to speed up. Before long, she was almost jogging along the rope.
About halfway across, she heard a gunshot and nearly fell off as she tried to dodge the bullet. She felt one foot slip off the rope. She immediately collapsed around the rope and held on for dear life.
The rope was shaking. She glanced back. The test images were sawing at it. She felt fear clench her heart. She wasn’t close enough to the tree yet. If they cut through, she would hit the ground. She stood up and leapt forward right as the rope gave way.
For a breathless moment, she was airborne. Then the rope was in front of her and she grabbed it. Before she got a chance to take her breath, she climbed up as fast as she could.
The rope slapped the ground behind her. She kept climbing. The tree seemed to fly straight to her. She braced herself for impact. Then the tree was behind her. She swung past the trunk and let go once she was on the branch.
She reached down to yank the dagger out of the branch and started to wind up the rope. It was taking too long. She pointed at the rope and made a twirling motion with her finger. It coiled up and attached itself to her belt.
Shouts came from the mansion. Ilori jumped from one branch to another. She ran along the length of it and jumped at the end onto the closest branch from the next tree over. She hurried to the trunk and climbed to the other side of the tree before she sprinted along the branch and jumped onto the next branch.
She continued running through the trees as fast as she could. She had to be close to the end of the arena. She climbed down one of the trees and continued on foot. The exit would be close to the ground.
She stopped short. The test would not let her out so easily. She was being watched. She pulled out one of her throwing knives and walked slowly toward the exit. She wished there was time to hide, but whoever was tracking her already knew where she was.
A single branch creaked. Ilori pivoted, looking up at the tree it had come from. There was nothing. She took a step away from the tree.
The ground gave way beneath her suddenly. Before she knew it, she was lying at the bottom of a pile of dirt in an underground cavern. The ceiling was too high for her to reach from the top of the dirt pile. She looked around for a possible way out.
A low rumble made her heart skip a beat. She looked away from the walls and noticed that there was a tunnel in front of her. She could tell that there was something hiding in the shadows of the tunnel, but all she could see were two green eyes.
The creature came out into the open. As it walked into the light from the hole, she could fully see it. She gasped.
???
Pollux grabbed Castor by the shoulders. “What are you doing?” he screamed. “Not even most of the trainers know how to deal with a level ten monster like that.”
Castor freed himself from his brother’s grasp. “Relax,” he said. “I sent Leoma to change the settings on the test once I saw the eyes. Someone must have hacked into the test controls.”
Pollux’s hands fell to his sides. “You mean the dragon isn’t supposed to be there? What was the original plan?”
“She was supposed to be surrounded by soldier-images and have to find a way out.”
Pollux paled. “Since when did we have a level ten dragon in the test? Even the hardest setting is easier than that.”
The door crashed open and Leoma charged to Castor. She was breathing hard. “I put the test on the easiest level and the dragon didn’t disappear,” she panted. “The dragon isn’t responding anything Amber is trying to order it to and the rest of the test is working just fine.”
Pollux nearly fainted. This was what he got for trying to train the daughter of legendary heroes. He almost didn’t want to hear the rest of Leoma’s report, but he listened anyway.
“The dragon is real,” she said. “And the only way it could have gotten into the test was with the help of someone on the outside.”
???
Ilori blinked. The dragon didn’t disappear. She immediately recognized it. Why would they send a level ten monster against a first level trainee? She wasn’t even supposed to know it existed, but Pollux had insisted she learn about every level ten monster. Could this be why?
The dragon hissed. It squatted on four long legs designed for amazing leaps. Its pointed tail swished back and forth in impatience. Poison dripped out of its gaping, toothless mouth. The most easily-identified characteristic of all was its back, two lumps on either side of its shoulder blades visible instead of wings. She was facing a deadly Wingless Arrow dragon.
The dragon lunged forward only a few seconds after she fully saw it. She rolled to the side and jumped to her feet. Before the dragon could turn on her, she jumped onto its back and held onto the horns on its head. The dragon roared. It tried to bite her, but she was out of its reach. It tried to twist around, but the hard scales prevented that.
The dragon started bucking. Ilori kept an eye on the ceiling. Then the dragon did an amazing leap right underneath the hole. She immediately jumped off its back and grabbed onto the edge. She climbed on top and started running toward the exit.
A soldier-image popped up from the bushes and aimed its gun at her. She shoved him down and he disappeared. She looked at where he had vanished as she was running and frowned. Why would the test give her a level ten dragon and a level one soldier?
The dragon surged out of the hole and started charging towards her. There was no way she could outrun it. She jumped onto the nearest tree and scaled it as fast as she could, hoping that the dragon couldn’t climb.
The dragon roared at her. She took her rope out and dared to go down to the lowest branch, which was just out of its reach. She tied one end of the rope around the tree branch. If she swung just right, she could jump off the rope and swing into the exit, which would get rid of the dragon and all of the other dangers.
She gripped it tightly in her hands, sweaty palms making it hard to grip. The dragon stared up at her, furious that its prey was just barely out of reach. She turned away from the exit and jumped off the branch. The rope swung back, then forward. Ilori drew her knife and slashed the dragon as she shot forward. She had to jerk her leg out of the way as it tried to snap at her.
She was at the exit. She jumped off and ran the rest of the way. She hit the doorway.
There were people surrounding the entrance. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side before she could run into a large cage that was set up. “Get back, Princess.” She recognized the voice in ear. Gallan, the only fairy healer in the school only made an appearance if something really big was happening.
“Gallan,” she gasped. “What?”
The test portal disappeared, but a dragon charged through the doorway, stopping right before the cage. It looked around and spotted Ilori. It swiped its foreleg, shoving people to the side as it pounced on her.
Ilori struggled to free herself. She stared into those deep, merciless eyes. The dragon lunged forward, opening its mouth. So this was how it would end.
The dragon froze suddenly. It looked back at its tail. Ilori noticed sedation darts poking out of its tail right next to the spines. The dragon looked down at her. Then it closed its eyes and fell forward.
Something grabbed onto Ilori’s arm and yanked her out from underneath the half-conscious dragon before it could crush her. She looked up, amazed that her heart was still beating. Gallan offered a hand. She took it.
“What was that?” Ilori said breathlessly. “Why would Pollux send me against that?”
Gallan shook his head. “That dragon wasn’t a part of the test. He somehow got in. We suspect he had outside help.”
Ilori stared at him. “Outside help? But that means—.”
“Someone brought it in just to attack you.” He gripped her shoulders. “Princess, someone tried to kill you.”
She brushed him off. "Good. That means they failed." And with that, she turned and strode away, resisting the urge to turn around and see the look on his face.
Ilori returned to her room and picked up a tattered leather bag before she sat down. After a quick check around the room to make sure no one else was there, she slipped a dragon scale into it and closed it up quickly. She set the bag down and laid down on the bed.
It was unfortunate the dragon had been captured. Who knew what they would do with it? She closed her eyes, silently wishing that the dragon would be safe. Like a true friend, he had done his part. As long as no one found out she was behind it, they should both be safe.
With a sigh, she opened her eyes and picked up the tethered bag. She felt around in it until she grasped a smooth round object. She held it to her lips and breathed on it. An image of a finely dressed man appeared over her head.
“Ilori,” he said gruffly. “Did the plan with the dragon work?”
She smiled. “Yes, Father. It pulled through. Within a few days, the dragon will mysteriously disappear. Then next month, I can pull out as well.”
He cursed. “You’re coming up with a plan of your own.”
She smiled again. “That’s what I do. Don’t worry, Father. The war will start one way or another. Everything is set perfectly. Now all I have to do is get rid of the fairy boy and fake my death.”
“Very well.” His eyes softened. “Stay safe.”
She stared into his eyes. “Don’t worry. Before you know it, you will have your princess by your side again.”