Chapter 169 — Four-Wing Run

Chapter 169: Chapter 169 — Four-Wing Run

Two Years Ago

Nikolai reached the next objective three seconds after Jaden and knew they had lost it before either of them touched the marker.

Blade’s crest was already glowing across the stone.

He stopped beside it, breathing harder than he wanted to admit, while Jaden bent forward with his hands braced against his knees.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Jaden looked up, took one look at Nikolai’s face and immediately started smiling.

"Don’t."

"What? I’m innocent."

"You’re not exactly subtle."

"That sounds like a problem between you and whatever version of me lives in your head."

Nikolai looked back at the marker.

Blade.

Again.

Hale had started the morning close enough that they should have been able to take the western route first. Their opening section had gone almost perfectly, they had cleared the previous two objectives without losing anyone, and somehow Cassian’s group had still reached this one ahead of them.

Beside him, Jaden straightened and dragged the back of one hand across his forehead before glancing at the marker again.

"Nik."

"No."

Jaden gave him a look. "I haven’t even said anything yet."

"You were going to tell me I care too much."

"I was actually going to say that if you stare at Blade’s crest any harder, you might frighten it into giving us the points."

Nikolai turned toward him slowly.

Jaden’s smile widened at the look on his face.

"See? Completely different."

Nikolai shoved him lightly in the shoulder as he walked past, and Jaden laughed before following him up the narrow trail leading away from the marker.

They had been moving together long enough that neither needed to discuss where they were going next. Nikolai took the path climbing through the trees while Jaden settled naturally to his left, watching the slope below them as they moved.

The Four-Wing Run had spread students across most of Valerius’s outer grounds since first bell. Each Wing had started from a different route, with objectives scattered far enough apart that following another team was rarely useful.

By now, competitors from all four Wings were moving through the forest, racing to clear whatever remained before the final tally.

And somewhere ahead, Blade was still winning.

Nikolai picked up the pace.

Jaden noticed immediately.

"Oh, for Goddess’s sake Nik."

"We’re behind."

"By one objective."

Nikolai glanced at him. "Still behind."

Jaden shook his head and muttered to himself, "You realise Cassian is probably not thinking about you nearly this much."

Nikolai heard him but said nothing.

They cleared the rise and cut between two large trees before the path opened onto another part of the course.

Two Prymont students were moving downhill on the opposite side.

One of them lifted a hand when she noticed Jaden, and he returned the gesture without slowing.

Nikolai recognized her as one of the Ardens, though he could never remember exactly how she and Jaden were related.

There were enough of them at Valerius that keeping track had become irritating years ago. Another Arden had been selected under Ashbourne that morning, while one of Jaden’s older relatives was running a different route for Hale.

Nikolai had pointed out before first bell that apparently House Arden intended to be everywhere at once.

Jaden had informed him that jealousy was ugly.

The two Prymont students disappeared down their route, but Jaden looked after them for a second longer than necessary.

Nikolai frowned but said nothing.

The next objective lay beyond a shallow ravine where an academy barrier forced competitors across a line of shifting stone platforms instead of letting them jump directly to the other side.

Nikolai went first.

The moment his foot struck the second platform, the first shifted behind him.

Jaden was already moving.

"Left."

Nikolai changed direction without looking back. A stone rose where his foot would have landed, and he stepped over it before ducking beneath another section that swept across at shoulder height.

The platform beneath him tilted.

He jumped.

Jaden crossed behind him in quick succession, reached the final stone just as Nikolai landed badly and caught his forearm before the slope could take his footing out from under him.

Nikolai used the grip to steady himself while Jaden pulled himself onto solid ground.

They released each other and kept running without breaking stride.

It had always been like that with Jaden.

There was very little discussion once they started moving. Nikolai usually knew where Jaden would be, and Jaden seemed to understand what Nikolai wanted before he bothered saying it.

Which was exactly why the fact that something had been wrong with him all morning was becoming harder to ignore.

Jaden looked behind them again.

Nikolai slowed.

"What?"

Jaden faced forward. "What?"

"You’ve done that four times."

"Done what?"

"Looked behind us."

"I enjoy the scenery."

Nikolai glanced around at the trees pressing in on both sides of the trail. "We’re in a forest."

"Exactly. Beautiful trees."

Nikolai stared at the side of his face.

Jaden kept his attention firmly ahead.

A few seconds passed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Jaden."

That finally made him glance over.

Nikolai did not say anything else and honeslty? He did not need to.

Jaden sighed through his nose and looked away again. "Can we beat Blade first?"

Nikolai gave him a flat look. "You’ve spent the last hour telling me I care too much about beating Blade."

"I contain multitudes."

"You contain bullshit."

That finally earned a smile from him, although it disappeared quickly enough for Nikolai to notice.

They reached the next marker several minutes later.

This time Hale had beaten Blade.

Jaden slapped his palm against the registered seal while Nikolai activated the second mark beside it. Hale’s crest brightened across the stone.

Nikolai looked at it with considerably more satisfaction than he probably should have.

Jaden caught the look immediately.

"Oh, look at that."

Nikolai glanced over. "Keep moving."

"You’re smiling."

Nikolai gave him a look that was meant to end the conversation.

It did not.

Jaden was still grinning.

Nikolai started down the next trail without answering.

Jaden followed, still laughing quietly, and for several minutes he seemed like himself again.

That made it easier for Nikolai to leave the earlier questions alone.

They crossed an Ashbourne group near the lower path and exchanged nothing more than the brief look competitors gave one another when trying to decide whether the other side knew something useful.

Farther ahead, somebody shouted after discovering another objective had already been claimed.

The Run carried on around them exactly as it had since morning.

By the time they reached the edge of the eastern woods, Hale had recovered enough ground that Nikolai was beginning to think catching Blade before the final section might actually be possible.

Jaden had gone quiet beside him.

For a while, Nikolai let it pass. They kept moving beneath the trees, boots striking the packed trail in an easy rhythm, until Jaden rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and finally spoke.

"There’s something I need to tell you."

Nikolai looked over.

Jaden kept his eyes on the path.

"What?"

A beat passed before he answered.

"Later."

Nikolai’s expression flattened. "That is an incredibly irritating way to start a conversation."

"I know."

Jaden adjusted the strap across his shoulder and kept walking as though he had not just dropped that on him.

"What is it?"

"After the Run."

Nikolai slowed slightly, forcing Jaden to do the same.

"You’ve been acting strange all morning, and now you’re telling me there’s something you need to tell me after the Run."

Jaden glanced at him. "Yes."

"And you expect me to leave that alone?"

"For maybe another hour."

Nikolai studied him.

Jaden lasted several seconds before finally looking back, and whatever Nikolai saw there wiped away the irritation.

There was no smile this time.

"Is something wrong?"

Jaden’s steps faltered just enough to notice.

Then he shook his head.

"Not yet."

Nikolai frowned. "What does that mean?"

Jaden exhaled slowly through his nose and faced forward again. "It means we’ll talk after."

"Jaden—"

"You wanted to beat Blade."

Nikolai caught his arm lightly, stopping him for half a second. "I can stop wanting that for five minutes."

Jaden looked down at the hand on his arm, then back at him.

"I’m touched."

"I’m serious."

"So am I."

Something in the way he said it made Nikolai let go.

Whatever Jaden wanted to say, he clearly had no intention of saying it here, with students moving through nearby routes and officials scattered across the grounds.

"After the Run," Jaden repeated.

Nikolai did not like it, but Jaden had already started moving again.

For a few seconds, he watched him go.

Then he exhaled through his nose and followed.

He would get the answer out of him later.

For now, he let it go.

They reached the next objective twelve minutes later.

The moment Nikolai stepped into the clearing, his pace slowed.

Something was wrong.

The space ahead of them was empty.

No students cutting across from another route. No official waiting somewhere near the objective. No voices carrying through the trees.

The marker stood untouched near the center of the clearing, its surface blank.

No Blade crest.

No Ashbourne.

No Prymont.

Nothing.

Nikolai looked around once more before his attention settled back on the marker.

"That’s strange."

Jaden did not answer.

Nikolai moved farther into the clearing. An uncleared objective this late should have been good news, especially with no other Wing in sight, but something about the emptiness bothered him.

There should have been an official nearby.

Every major point on the Run had someone positioned within range, even if competitors could not always see them immediately. If a student was injured badly enough or one of the course barriers malfunctioned, somebody needed to be close.

Nikolai looked toward the surrounding trees.

"Hello?"

His voice carried farther than he expected before fading into the forest.

Nothing answered.

He glanced back at Jaden and found him still standing near the edge of the clearing, his attention fixed on the marker. Whatever had been bothering him earlier had sharpened into something else entirely.

"What?"

Jaden crossed the clearing without answering and crouched beside the marker.

Nikolai followed, his attention dropping to where Jaden was looking.

A clean cut ran through one of the sigils near the base.

Nikolai frowned and lowered himself beside him. The marking had not faded or failed on its own. Someone had sliced directly through it.

Jaden held his fingers just above the damaged line without touching it.

"Nobody competing would do this."

"No."

Anyone caught tampering with an academy marker would be removed from the Run before the officials even finished asking why.

Nikolai straightened and looked around again.

Standing still made the silence impossible to ignore.

There should have been voices carrying from one of the surrounding routes, students crashing through the trees or at least an official somewhere close enough to hear them. Even with all four Wings spread across the grounds, the Run was never this quiet.

Jaden rose beside him. "Try the signal."

Nikolai pressed two fingers against the academy mark set into the objective post and sent essence through it.

The sigil brightened beneath his hand, held for a moment, then faded.

No response.

He tried once more and got the same result.

"Could’ve been damaged with the rest," Nikolai said, looking over.

Jaden was no longer watching the marker.

His attention had shifted toward the eastern trail.

"Come on."

Nikolai frowned. "The next objective is north."

"We’re not going north."

Jaden turned and started toward the trees.

Nikolai watched him take several steps before following. "Where are you going?"

"Back."

"To what?"

"The others."

That stopped him.

Nikolai caught Jaden by the arm before he could go any farther and pulled him around.

"What is going on?"

Jaden looked down at his hand, then back at him. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

"Something’s wrong."

Nikolai’s grip loosened. "You’ve known something was wrong since this morning."

Jaden’s jaw tightened, and that small reaction was enough.

Nikolai released him.

"What?"

"Not here."

"You keep saying that."

"Because I can’t explain it here."

There was none of Jaden’s earlier humor left now. He kept glancing toward the trail behind them, his body already angled as though every second they remained in the clearing was another second wasted.

Nikolai had seen him worried before.

This was different.

"Fine." He stepped aside. "Where are we going?"

Jaden looked toward the route they had come from.

"We find my family first."

Nikolai’s brows pulled together. "Why?"

But Jaden was already moving.

Nikolai swore under his breath and followed.

They left the objective uncleared.

Earlier that morning, walking away from easy points would have irritated Nikolai enough to argue about it for the rest of the Run.

Now neither of them mentioned it.

They moved quickly back through the grounds, but the silence followed them.

After several minutes, Nikolai began looking more carefully at every trail they passed. They should have crossed another team by now, or an official moving between objectives, or someone coming off one of the neighbouring routes.

There was nobody.

Jaden picked up his pace again, and Nikolai stayed beside him as the trail curved around an old stone boundary before descending into a denser part of the forest.

The trees closed tighter around the path, cutting away more of the afternoon light.

Jaden stopped.

So suddenly that Nikolai nearly went straight past him.

"What?"

Jaden did not answer.

He was staring ahead.

Nikolai followed his gaze and, for a moment, saw nothing but trees.

Then a man stepped onto the trail.

Nikolai slowed.

The stranger wore no academy colours. Dark clothing disappeared beneath a long hood that hid most of his face, leaving only the lower half visible.

Nobody outside Valerius was supposed to be anywhere near the Run grounds.

Before Nikolai could speak, another figure emerged several paces behind the first.

Then a third.

"What the hell—"

Jaden’s hand closed hard around his arm.

Nikolai looked at him.

The colour had drained from Jaden’s face.

All morning he had been distracted, evasive and increasingly tense, but Nikolai had never seen this expression on him before.

Jaden Arden was afraid.

"Jaden?"

His friend did not look away from the figures.

"His shoulder."

Nikolai turned back.

The first man had moved far enough into the light for the edge of his cloak to shift, exposing a black insignia near his shoulder.

A broken crescent.

A skull beneath it.

Nikolai’s body went still.

"Where did—"

"Nik."

Jaden’s voice had dropped almost to a whisper.

Movement stirred deeper among the trees.

Another hooded figure stepped into view, followed by another, until Nikolai could no longer tell how many shapes were waiting beyond the trail.

His attention returned to the insignia.

He knew that mark.

Every wolf raised around the old Houses did.

The Moonless Court.