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I’d been at this for over half an hour and had yet to hit the target. I refused to leave the training room without landing at least one, determined to be productive. Winning on sheer luck once was pushing it. I knew I wouldn’t get that lucky again.
Picking up another knife, I aimed, steadied my breath, and released?—
Missed again.
Letting out a string of curses, I launched knife after knife at the board in a fit of anger, not caring if any of them hit, before dropping to the ground.
Panting, I held back tears, trying but failing to not feel sorry for myself. My hand slapped against the ground, and I took comfort in the sting.
I wanted to curse at the stars.
Scream at how unfair this was.
But it was pointless—no one could save me. I was the creator of the hell I was living in, and it was up to me to get out. If only I could be more cunning. Stronger. More resilient. Instead, time felt like it was running out.
With the third trial coming up in a couple of days, I could use all the help I could get. I’d taken the initiative and pushed myself—trained harder. Yet there I was, feeling more pathetic than I did before I’d started.
“I’d find your failure amusing if you weren’t so delusional.”
The hairs on my arms stood at the sound of Aeron’s grating voice, wishing I hadn’t thrown all my knives. It wasn’t safe to be alone with him, especially not after what Calandra and Breana had told me. I estimated the distance between me and the closest knife. He was predictably unpredictable, and there was no telling what he’d do.
“I might be many things, but delusional isn’t one of them. So, feel free to leave.” I wiped my hands on my pants.
He didn’t—Aeron kept walking toward me with a menacing glower on his face. The knife was less than a yard away. I could get to it before he did.
“What would be the fun of that? The training room is available to anyone. Plus, it appears you could use some help.”
“I don’t need any help from you.”
Aeron stopped in his tracks and tipped his head back with laughter. It wasn’t boyish and genuine like Talons, but dark and laced with venom. I used his hesitation to my advantage and hurried to my feet, scrambling across the floor to reach the knife.
Aeron stopped laughing when he noticed what I was trying to do and closed the distance between us in a flash, reaching for the knife before I did.
I scurried away from him, but I wasn’t fast enough—he grabbed me by my collar and yanked me up to meet his scowl. Kicking him as hard as I could between his legs, Aeron dropped to his knees with a growl but kept the knife firmly in his hand.
“And here I thought we were becoming friends, Elowyn.” He clenched his jaw and raised his head like a predator that’d been tempted. “Why’d you have to ruin it?” He stood up, focused on me as he pursued.
My legs slipped from underneath me as I hurried away from him, Aeron on my heels as I raced to where the knives lay near the target. Diving to the ground, I had one in reach when his body slammed into mine, knocking the wind out of me.
It felt like the training room walls were closing in.
I struggled to catch my breath, fighting and thrashing to get him off me. But it was pointless. My arm strained as I stretched it as far as it could go, desperate to reach a knife that lay feet away.
I was so close—if I could just touch one.
Aeron flipped me over, pinning me beneath his legs, and held the blade to my neck. “It’s going to be so satisfying watching you bleed out. Seeing you take your last breath.”
I kept reaching, refusing to give up. “Do it already,” I snarled. “You want to so bad. Do it.”
“And ruin the fun of making you anxiously bide your time until I do?” He turned the blade onto its side and slid it across my neck.
I held my breath. Shivers wracked my skin as the cool weapon taunted me.
I heard the grin as he asked, “Where would my manners be?”
This couldn’t be happening.
The tip of my index finger brushed the cool, slick edge of a blade, and I flicked it into my palm, getting a firm grip on the handle before launching it into his thigh. Aeron roared out in agony as he rolled onto his side, and I slipped away, readying my knife in my fist as I backed up.
