Whisper [Fourth Wing]

Chapter Two

"OKAY CADETS, LISTEN UP." my voice fills the wide halls outside the first-year dorms and a hush falls over the nervous cadets in front of me. How I'd ended up with this job I didn't know but hey, at least it was giving me a chance to check on Violet before lessons started tomorrow.

After the cadets had been sorted into their wings, sections and squads, we'd been dismissed for the night. I'd somehow gotten roped into helping the first year cadets find their quarters but at least it had offered me a shelter from Dani's glare. I never thought I'd say it but I was actually thankful for Commandant Pancheck dragging me away before Dain could lay into me about the squad change. He was furious.

"Can't we just go to bed and you can tell us whatever it is in the morning?" one of the first years from the back of the group calls forward.

I really wished we could. My eyelids were dropping and my muscles ached. I missed my bed. I'd hardly slept yesterday.

My eyebrows raise and a smile tugs at my lips. Well, if I was going to have to put these lot to bed then I might as well have some fun with it. "Sure." I nod politely at the girl with long brown hair. She was from our squad, wasn't she? What was her name...? Lula. Lola. It was something with an L.

"Great." she quips back, pushing to the front of the crowd and reaching for the handle of the dormitory doors. This ought to be good.

The brunette pulls on the golden handle, the dark oaken door beneath it creaking from the force but not budging. She frowns then tries again, this time pulling harder. She's going red now and her foot is planted firmly against the wood. Once again though, the door doesn't move and she falls backward into the crowd behind her until she lands flat on her ass. A chorus of chuckles come from the other cadets and I simply smile down at the girl.

"Having a bit of trouble there?" I taunt, stepping forward and offering her my hand which she glares up at.

"The stupid door won't open." she bats my hand away and pulls herself to her feet before stepping back. Her cheeks are now flushed a bright pink and that invincible attitude is melting with her shoulders which begin to curve inward.

"That would be because first-year dormitories are locked during conscription day to prevent anyone tampering with other cadets beds before the years even begun." I explain, turning around and flicking my wrist in front of the door. The lock clicks and this time, when I pull the door, it opens easily.

It had taken me almost all of last year to figure out how to do that. I could write with a quill, light a lantern and move people with my lesser magic. Yet, I could not open a door. Something about it was so goddamn hard.

The brunette first year grumbles. "You could have told us that before."

And missed all that fun? Why would I ever do that? Every cadet in this hall today felt invincible. They'd not only survived the parapet but managed to not run and get scorched. In their eyes, they'd done the hard part and now the fun began. But boy were they in for the shock of their lives.

"You all need to watch your backs from now on. I bet you think that you're safe. When you're sleeping. Walking the halls, eating your lunch or just chilling in the courtyard." A few murmurs break free from the crowd and I continue. "Well you're not." That gets their attention. "You're never safe in this place and you're never going to be safe again until you're dead."

Someone lets out a cry at the back of the group that sets off a chain of gasps from the others. These cadets were just kids. They didn't know what they'd walked into, not really. They had no idea how often death lurked around these halls, how many of them they'd watch die. How many of them they'd have to kill.