Vallen: The Marking (Vallen series #1)

Chapter 17

December moved by quickly. We celebrated Christmas by lighting candles for the deceased and new years by watching Professor Swilthin and a few of the other students that controlled fire make what could be called fireworks, except with less of a bang. But the main reason why it passed so quickly was because I spend the entire month preparing myself for the second week of January.

It was our first proper exam period. We have had tests to see if we understood the subject but the exam would eventually prove Professor Kamau right or wrong about me. After the week we would have our first vacation, completed with our first trip into Welkis, the town that surrounded the castle.

Both Eldon and Alaric spend most of their time helping me, even though they had exams coming up too. I felt prepared for nearly every exam, except for Divine studies.

"Manticores have a body of a lion and the face of a human, centaurs have the body of a human and the face of a horse. No, wait, the other way around." I corrected myself before Eldon could. He nodded me to go along. "Gorgons are Medusa's-"

"But they're not." Eldon corrected me before I could go one. "They have hair for snakes and-"

"That's what I call Medusa." I complained.

"That's what Kamau will fail you on." He responded. "Explain them fully."

I glanced over at the clock and saw that I only had five more minutes before my exam.

"They have snakes for hair, a woman's body but with wings. They had a round face, a flat nose and they couldn't keep their tongue in their mouth because of their teeth."

"Date of extinction?" He finally asked, closing the book.

"21 AD." I answered. Eldon shook his head.

"12 AD." He corrected me and handed me the book. "Don't worry Eira, you will get a passing grade."

"Yeah well I want to prove a point," I shoved the book in my bag and headed for the door. "I need more than just a passing grade."

The exam was harder than I thought it would be. I was one of the last people to leave the room, solely because I kept on second-guessing my answers. Professor Kamau kept a sharp eye on me. No even allowing me to pick up my pen when it rolled off the table. He made sure I wouldn't cheat, even though I had absolutely no intention to.

Friday was rounded off with our human studies exam, which was even easier than the first test, and the weekend started. I was absolutely exhausted from the past few weeks, the mysterious treasure room we found was the furthest thing from my mind.

I sat down on one of the sofas in the entrance hall and waited for Alaric. We had agreed to meet up here after our human studies exam, which he still struggled greatly with. I had tried to help him out as best as I could, but he refused it most of the time, saying that I needed to study for the rest of the subjects. He got help from Darius and Eldon, and told me everything would be fine.

He walked into the entrance hall holding a small box. His face was all red and he looked as tired as I was.

"How did it go?" I asked him, dreading to hear the answer.

"I think I did sort of okay." He said, sitting down next to me and placing the box in the middle. "I don't think I got the professions right." He started opening the box. It was made out of a white shiny carton and had a big purple string on it. He removed it and showed me what's inside.

"I told my parents that I was struggling with the exams. Apparently they told my grandmother." He said, holding up the box of chocolates. "She sent one to Darius and Eldon too. Want one?"