Chapter 22: Ike's Test

Ike limped up to the wall and took a deep breath. He looked behind him at Ronan. “I don’t think I can do it.”

Ike rubbed his leg that had only recently been taken out of the cast. Ronan and Clove ran beside him.

Alfred rolled his eyes. “This lot is so weak.”

“They’re pathetic,” Freya scoffed.

“Don’t be afraid, Ike,” Clove said. She forced a smile but was concerned for him. It’s not that she didn’t believe he could do it, it was that she could hardly handle the idea of Ike getting hurt once more.

“I’ve got no idea how to make such a jump,” Ike confessed. His muttonchops blew in the breeze.

Ronan put both his hands on Ike’s shoulders and rubbed away the knots.

“Loosen up,” Ronan said. “Don’t focus on the jump, focus on the bell. And when you need to make the wings, breath out and envision yourself landing safely.”

Maritza couldn’t have given better advice herself. Ronan continued to remind her of herself. He had an incredible understanding of his abilities, and an intense, raw power that hadn’t been allowed to flourish thanks to The Shroud. Now it was all coming out. And if he was learning how to hold The Shroud back, then he’d only become even stronger and more talented with his marking, though The Shroud would soon remind him of the deal they had made.

Ike took a few more breaths, then said, “Okay guys, I think I can do this. Thank you.”

Clove and Ronan took a step back.

“We know you’ve got this,” Clove said.

Her smile was just what Ike needed to see. Following Ronan’s instructions, Ike gazed up at the bell and imagined the gold metal at his fingertips. His marking plumed out smoke, and Ike jumped so high he hollered out and his voice cracked as he soared through the air.

Ike jumped even higher than Ronan had, and when he started to descend, Clove and Ronan both held their breaths. Ike fell for a second longer than they would’ve liked, and it stopped their hearts, though he found the power to complete a second jump.

Ike just barely rang the bell, then fell like a rock. He flipped a few times and screamed out in horror.

Clove stood on her tiptoes and cheered, “You can do it Ike!”

Ronan’s stomach tensed, and he said a prayer.

Ike straightened his feet, and two small butterfly wings formed from white Essence around his shoulders. They flapped once, broke his fall, but faded away before he could land. Ike tumbled to the ground and landed on his side with the chuckle of someone who had cheated death.

Clove and Ronan both bounced up and down, then hugged one another.

“We’ve got to work on your landing,” Ronan joked, extending a hand out to Ike.

Ike made it onto one knee before Clove tackled him back to the ground and kissed him on the cheek. The two had been spending their sunny mornings in each other's company, and eating each meal together, but this was the first romantic contact they made, and Ike felt like he was floating out of his body. His head bobbled, starstruck, and Ronan watched him smile the hardest he’d ever seen.

Clove pounded an excited hand to Ike's chest and exclaimed, "I knew you had it in you, you big, silly, handsome lug!"

Maritza stepped forward, unable to hide her own smile this time. The trio of Ronan, Ike, and Clove gave her hope amidst a world that she found to be so dark. They gave her a hope that the Hellsworn could be defeated.

“Well done, Ike,” she said.

Ronan was ecstatic that Clove had kissed Ike, and he wished he could show Maritza similar affection. She gazed at him for a second, admiring how his muscles had begun to fit to his tall frame, and how rugged he appeared with the stubble of black beard on his face.

Essence filled Ike’s progress bar, and his first tally mark formed.

Meanwhile, as the happy trio celebrated, Freya and Alfred considered their options. They had a month, and they needed to make sure Ronan was out of commission. There would be many more trials for them to sabotage, though Alfred was thinking of the bigger picture. He understood how strong Ronan was becoming.

Alfred knew he would need to hit Ronan where it hurts, and where Ronan could never recover from.

For the following weeks, Ronan, Ike, and Clove all trained rigorously.

They would spar in a circle with blunt blades, challenging one another to push their Mark of the Butterfly to the limit. The whole time, Ronan kept one eye out for Alfred and Freya. Clove had said the two were trying to sabotage Ronan’s success, but Ronan was more afraid for his friends.

He watched over Ike and Clove like a hawk.

But aside from a few dirty looks from across the dining hall in the morning, Alfred and Freya avoided Ronan.

That made Ronan all the more suspicious of what the two were conspiring towards.

Ronan cast these thoughts aside as Ike dodged a vertical strike from Ronan. Ike quickly repositioned his feet, then lunged with one hand outright in a flurry of fast, precise attacks.

“That’s great!” Clove shouted, clapping for the two. “Ike your form is good. Ronan, keep your sword up and steady!”

Clove knew just how to keep the two on their toes. Ronan held his curved sword far out ahead of him, then swatted away Ike’s thrusts as fast as they came.

Maritza marched into the training grounds, her curly blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. Ronan’s eyes drifted to her long tan legs for only a second. Then he caught Ike’s sword with his, spun his wrist, and disarmed Ike swiftly, sending Ike’s sword into the dirt by the blade’s tip.