Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 23

R Visitor

this book is better than I thought it would be. I love the additude of the characters

– Thornhill Academy.

Obstacles.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I sat through the motions of class after class, notes scrawled, teachers droning, my mind elsewhere. The dragon pin on my blazer felt like it weighed ten pounds, and every time I caught someone staring at it, I wanted to rip it off and shove it in my bag. When the lunch bell rang, I didn’t even bother with the food hall. Too many stares. Too many questions, I wasn’t ready to answer. Instead, I dragged Tessa back up to my attic dorm, and we sprawled across the couch with the leftovers from last night’s run into town. Cold pastries and enchanted juice tasted better than anything that hall could’ve offered anyway. Now, though, I was back at the training grounds. The air was cooler out here, sharp with the scent of grass and sweat. Students milled about the field, already stretching, already eyeing one another like they were waiting for the fight to start.

I ducked into the changing rooms, weaving between benches and the chatter of shifters tugging off their blazers. My locker creaked open under my hand, and instead of the skimpy training uniform from yesterday, I found something else folded neatly inside. A shirt. Large. White. Familiar. My breath caught. I pulled it out, the fabric soft and far too big for me. It wasn’t regulation. It wasn’t even close. It was Evander’s shirt. The same one he’d stripped off yesterday to hand me when the whole class had gawked at my scars. I stared at it for a long moment, the noise of the room fading around me. My chest tightened in a way I didn’t want to name. Sliding it over my head, I felt swallowed whole by the fabric. But somehow… safe.

I strode back out onto the field, tugging at the hem of the oversized shirt. The fabric brushed my thighs, and though it smelled faintly of soap and something warm, something distinctly Evander. I kept my chin high. The coach’s eyes flicked over me, lingering just a second too long, but he said nothing. Just barked at another pair of students to stop dawdling. Fine by me. Once the last of us had filed out, he blew a sharp whistle, the sound cutting through

the chatter.

“Listen up!” His voice carried like thunder across the grounds. “Today, we’re starting something simple. An obstacle course. You’ll be running it throughout the semester, and you’ll be expected to improve your times if you plan to pass this class.”

Murmurs rippled through the group. The coach pointed toward the looming treeline beyond the field. The woods stretched wide, dense, their shadows dark even under daylight.

“The course is set through there. Normally, the woods are off limits.” His gaze swept over us, hard and unyielding. “Today, they’re yours. Somewhere inside, you’ll find a path. It’s marked with runes. Follow it all the way through, and it’ll spit you back out on the far side. Simple enough.”

“Simple, my ass,” someone muttered.

The coach’s lip twitched. “The course is timed. Your goal is to beat your own best with each run. I don’t care if you’re the fastest or the slowest, what

matters is that you improve.”

I glanced toward the woods, the shadows shifting like they were already waiting to swallow me whole. Great. As if I didn’t already stand out enough. Kael

cracked his knuckles nearby, grinning like he’d been waiting for this. Evander stood further off, calm and unreadable, though when I caught his eye,

his lips

quirked just slightly. Perfect. Just perfect.

The coach’s whistle snapped the murmurs dead.

“One more thing,” he barked. “Shifting is allowed. Magic is allowed. In fact, use every damn thing you’ve got. Whatever gives you an advantage, use it. The

only rule? You don’t help anyone else. This course measures your ability to work independently. Understand?”

A ripple of excitement shot through the students. Shifters dropped to their knees, bones snapping, skin tearing into fur and feathers and scales. A grey wolf

shook out its coat, lips curled in anticipation. A hawk burst upward in a flurry of wings, circling overhead. A massive boar pawed at the ground, snorting

steam. The magicals sparked to life too, faint glows haloing their fingers, the air buzzing with ozone and power. One boy’s hands burned with flickers of fire.

A girl shimmered, her whole body flickering translucent as she tested some phase–walk. Fucking great. Meanwhile, the coach dragged a chair across the

grass, plopped down, and pulled out a clipboard and stopwatch, as if this was his morning entertainment. He gave us all a single, sharp look.

“Off you go.”

Chaos exploded. Shifters barreled for the treeline, claws tearing into earth, wings beating. Magicals hurled sparks of light to clear the brush ahead. The air

MON

29

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