AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aeron stepped toward me.
I flinched.
“Why so jumpy, sweetheart?” His menacing laugh snaked up my spine as he adjusted the collar of my vest.
I smacked his hand away, hating how my body had betrayed me and shown him the cracks in my mask.
“You know, I thought about letting you live until the final trial. It makes the most sense to guarantee myself the victory and all.” He dropped his arm to his side. “However, I’m not sure how much more I can tolerate listening to your grating, holier-than-thou voice.”
“Fuck off,” I seethed as I proceeded to the clearing.
However, I didn’t make it far when he gripped my braid and yanked me back.
I yelped in pain.
“You can’t run from me this time, you worthless bastard,” he promised.
I staggered back, frozen, and he marched ahead of me like the path was forged for his feet alone.
“Don’t let him get inside your head,” Breana said as she approached from behind, and I jumped. “I’m pretty sure I overheard him crying for his daddy last night. His parents didn’t hug him enough if you ask me.” She pushed the tree branches aside, motioning me to go ahead of her while I rubbed the sore spot on my head.
For someone with such a small stature, she sure had a way of making you feel protected. She reminded me of Lilian in that sense—Stars rest her soul. I was doing this for her, too. Fighting for her justice. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind one of these foul creatures was responsible for her death.
“I’d believe it.” I waited for her to catch up. “The things people are capable of when they’re desperate is terrifying.” The thought made me cringe. How effortlessly any of us could adopt the same callous and apathetic demeanor as Aeron. It was a disconcerting realization, if I allowed myself to consider it. It wasn’t only our mortality that hung over our heads, but our own morality would be tested, too.
Breana shrugged. “Let’s stick close together, then. You watch my back. I’ll watch yours.”
“And what if we make it to the end?”
The possibility of lasting that long weighed heavy on my shoulders. If Talon thought I could walk out of there, maybe it was worth believing in myself. For Lilian. For my mother. Even Lewis and Sage.
“Then we draw sticks to find out who’s getting out of this alive.”
Fifteen
“Welcome competitors to the second trial,” King Harkin boomed from his throne on the deck above.
Only six of us remained from the previous trials, and if that was any indication of how this one was going to go, I needed to heed Talon’s advice and put my stubbornness to work. Regardless of how much it pained me to admit that.
‘Worthless, bastard.’
Aeron’s comment rang through my head, taunting me.
“As you can see, today’s trial differs from the last,” the king continued. “Today, you’ll have four hours to tame a wild stag, using nothing but skill and, for a select few, weapons to help you advance. Those who don’t make it back before those four hours are up will be eliminated.”
Panic strummed my tightly wound muscles as I peeked at the board of names and saw mine third to last, behind Irving and Breana. An improvement from last week, but defeating, nonetheless. I knew it was based on our prior trial performance, but I couldn’t help but feel like it reflected mine and Talon’s training sessions. How was I going to make any progress when we couldn’t stand one another?
I dropped my gaze to my hands when a pair of daggers materialized before me. I paid little mind to who or what anyone else received, too occupied weighing the blades in my palms to get a good feel for them. They were light. Dull. They’d be useless taming a stag. They’d be useless taking down a rabbit in the Elmhurst Woods behind my home.
I rotated my wrist and turned the weapons over in my hands, containing my disappointment.
“May you not let resentment get the best of you and lose sight of the goal. Let the trial begin.” King Harkin snapped his fingers and disappeared with the rest of the fae court, just as they did before, a dark, ominous sky taking their place.
Calandra and I caught each other’s attention before we disappeared in different directions and nodded a silent ‘good luck.’
I ran deep into the forest, careful to remain vigilant of my surroundings and develop a plan. There was no way I could wrangle a stag alone. I’d need help. Team up with the others or trap it.
Savoring the wind on my skin, I ran, and my chest swelled. How I’d missed running. The freedom. The peace. The blocks in my mind crumbled with each step, and I took a deep, calming breath. I could use vines and branches to create a web of sorts, maybe leave a trail of berries to lure it to the trap and rope its legs together when it gets caught up in vines. It could work—dragging it back would be a different story—but I’d cross that bridge when I got there.
