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Chapter 3 :Bond by shadows

The hall reeked of steel and sweat. Recruits lined the black stone walls, murmuring prayers or cursing under their breath. Elianna stood stiff, forcing her hands to unclench at her sides.

This wasn’t just orientation. This was bloodsport wrapped in ceremony.

The High Keeper’s voice cracked like a whip across the chamber:

“Only the strong remain. The rest feed the ash.”

Her stomach turned cold. They hadn’t said anything about this in the summons.

A shadow fell across her, and she didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Try not to faint, freckles,” Dominic murmured as he leaned against the wall beside her, too close. His mismatched eyes gleamed like twin blades, and the scar through his brow twitched when he smirked. “Would be tragic if you died before your dragon got bored of you.”

She stiffened. “Don’t you have someone else to torment?”

He shrugged, inked muscles flexing as his arms crossed. “Why would I waste my time when you react so beautifully?”

“Beautifully?” Her voice sharpened. “If by that you mean imagining ways to set you on fire, then yes.”

He grinned, teeth white and wicked. “Careful. That sounded like flirting.”

Before she could retort, the steel doors boomed open.

“Recruits!” barked an officer in black scale armor. His face was carved from stone, his voice colder than a grave. “You will walk The Crucible. Cross alive, and you remain. Fail, and…” His lips curved in something that wasn’t a smile. “Well. The pits haven’t eaten in days.”

The floor shuddered and groaned as heavy gears turned. A spiral staircase yawned open in the center of the room, descending into blackness. Heat rolled out like the breath of some ancient beast.

Dominic pushed off the wall, towering over her like a living shadow. “Hope you can keep up,” he said softly, voice dripping with challenge. “Would hate to see you break this early.”

She glared daggers at his back as they descended. Gods, she hated him.

The stench hit first—burnt flesh and rust. Then the roar, deep and hollow, rattling the stones under her boots.

And waiting at the bottom, two things that made her gut clench:

The Crucible—a vast cavern where broken bridges twisted over pits of molten rock. Chains rattled in the shadows where beasts moved, their eyes glowing like coals. The heat hit like a hammer.

Around her, the recruits clustered in uneasy knots. Armor scraped. Boots scuffed. A few whispered prayers to gods Elianna didn’t know.

“Look lively,” someone drawled from behind her. A figure stepped forward—tall, whipcord lean, his smile sharp enough to cut. His tawny skin gleamed with sweat, and his short copper hair caught the firelight. But it was his eyes that hooked her—bright amber, like wildfire.

“Name’s Elias,” he said with a grin that dared her to laugh. His voice carried a lilting accent, musical even under the tension. “You look like you’ve never seen a pit before.”

Elianna blinked. “That’s because I haven’t.”

He laughed, low and easy, though his hands never left the knives at his belt. “Don’t worry. Just don’t fall in.” His gaze flicked toward Dominic, then back to her, and his smile sharpened. “And ignore the tall one. Men like him are all teeth and ego.”

Dominic’s voice slid in like a blade between ribs. “Interesting advice from someone who’s never survived a real Crucible.”

Elias arched a brow, completely unfazed. “You volunteering to hold her hand, big man?”

Dominic’s smirk deepened. “If I wanted to, she’d beg for it.”

The air snapped tight. Recruits nearby leaned closer, sensing the spark of something ugly—or fascinating. Someone muttered, “This’ll be good.”

Elianna’s cheeks burned, though with fury, not embarrassment. She wanted to scream, to throw something, anything to wipe that smug grin off Dominic’s face.

Before she could, the officer’s roar shattered the tension:

“MOVE!”

The first gates slammed open, and the roar of fire drowned out every thought. The Crucible had begun.