But as I looked at their weary faces, a terrible thought clawed its way into my mind.
What if it doesn’t?
Chapter 36
Rykr
Amahle’s bedroom resembled a war room more than sleeping quarters, with maps sprawled across every flat surface, the air thick with sweat and the heat of too many bodies crammed into a tight space, and the scent of half-eaten food and ale rising from the stacked plates and cups beside the door.
Seren had returned with her friends and Tara in tow, which had even surprised Brogan Ragnall. While I respected their desire to help rescue Esme and fight rather than flee, the logistics of involving so many people were fraught with room for error. If any one of them was caught, we could all suffer for it.
It was also problematic that I wanted nothing more than to take Seren back to our room and relieve the unbridled lust I couldn’t seem to control when I looked at her. She sat across the bed from me now, her legs crossed, the tight fabric of her leather trousers hugging her hips. Despite my best efforts to find a less alluring place to fix my gaze, there wasn’t any place on her body that didn’t lead my thoughts back into temptation.
I’d enjoyed sinking my lips against the curve right below her hipbone. Trailing kisses to her inner thigh and tasting the sweetness of her?—
“Pay attention,” she hissed, a faint blush on her cheeks. She leaned forward then, setting down the book on the Skorn.
I held her gaze, a feline smile twisting on my lips. “I was.”
“Really.” She arched a brow. “What did I just say?”
I sighed and leaned back on my hands, stretching my shoulders back. “You said that the Skorn trial’s first challenge is the Hall of Echoes—a tunnel leading into the base of the amphitheater. Most of the sentenced don’t know it exists and it eliminates two thirds of them.”
She smirked, an impressed look in her eyes. “And do you remember why it’s the first challenge?”
“Because it’s filled with Nyxwraiths—shadow creatures that make you face your deepest fears. They feed off doubt. The more you give in, the stronger they become.”
“And you Viori just so happen to keep these creatures on hand for your trials?” Thorne shook his head with a scoff. “Tell me there’s not something deeply twisted about that.”
“You’re right,” Tara shot back from her place beside her father. They were both poring over the map Darya had given her. “It’s much more barbaric than stealing infants out of their mother’s arms and cutting them with blood magic.”
Thorne narrowed his eyes. “Why do the pretty ones always have to have loud-mouthed, bossy older sisters? Better you than me, my friend,” he said to me with a chuckle. He crossed his arms and looked back at Tara. “Just how many violent criminals are there among the Viori that this trial needs to exist in the first place?”
Brogan’s face darkened and he silenced any retort from Tara with a look. “The Skorn is barbaric. Losing the ability to admit that is a loss of our own integrity.” He locked eyes with Thorne. “The Viori leadership uses it to sow fear of their authority into the hearts of the people. There are far more people in that arena every year than deserve to be there, though I would argue that no one deserves such a cruel punishment. But Haldron needs his spectacle, so there is never a lack of souls condemned to the trials.”
Amahle frowned, then sat beside Seren. “You mean there’s more than one trial before you face the Skorn warriors?”
“Apparently there are two other challenges.” Seren lifted the book and held it out to her. “The Hall of Echoes, the Surfacing, and the Arena of Skorn. To be honest, the second challenge worries me the most. There’s barely any information on it. All it says is that once the sentenced make it through the Hall of Echoes, they have to face the Surfacing before reaching the main arena of the Havamal. But I’m not sure what that involves.”
“Do you think the name has a clue?” Ciaran asked. He sat on the floor beside Thorne, preparing bandoliers of weapons they’d collected in the city, both looking too large and too squished to be comfortable sitting there.
“Probably.” Seren sighed and took the book back from Amahle. “I feel like I must be missing something.” She bit her lower lip and flipped through the pages again.
My gaze fixed on her mouth, my willpower slipping fast. I stood abruptly. “A word?” I asked holding a hand out to her.
She gave me a puzzled look, then a knowing look came into her eyes. Taking my hand, she let me lead her out of Amahle’s room and across the hall. Maybe everyone knew what I was doing, including her father, but right now I didn’t care.
I closed the door behind us, and she crossed her arms. “A word?”
“All right, three. I want you. Right now.” I pushed her back against the door and crushed my mouth against hers.
“You’re ridiculous,” she breathed against my lips, but sank into my arms just as readily, a soft, contented moan in her throat as she returned my kiss. “We need to be preparing for the Skorn.”
“We have two or three hours before we face certain death, and I can’t think of a better way to prepare.” My hands slid down to her waist, quickly working the buckle of her trousers.
I pushed her trousers down over her hips and turned her to face the door.
“My father’s right across the hall …” she warned as my lips dropped to the curve of her neck.
