And despite their unease, the side-eyes and whispers that follow me as I inspect the halls and rooms of our sanctuary, I understand them. I savedtheirlives. But I also took so many others.
They don’t know that those lives were already lost. That no healer could have saved them. No one dares ask why I chose to end some and save others. Out of fear? Guilt? I don’t know how to explain it. Deep down, they must be glad they were the ones chosen to live. Or maybe they wonder if I’d do it again, if they questioned me?
“You should rest,” Kaelzar says, his voice startling me. My eyes snap open. When did I close them?
His outburst at the inn still lingers in the back of my mind. He apologized profusely, explaining that it wasn’t about Peonica herself but about the idea of being tethered to yet another person without his consent. That, he said, was what truly made him angry.
In theory, it makes sense. And technically, he’s right. I should’ve asked before placing another life under his protection. But I promised him it would only be for one more challenge. After that, we can be rid of the ring altogether. No matter how useful it’s been, it still belongs to Calista. It was never ours to keep.
Eventually, he relented. Reluctantly, but sincerely, he accepted the burden. Still, Peonica and Kaelzar continue to avoid each other at all costs. I’ve decided for now to let it be.
I’m still standing, leaning against the wall. I was supposed to be paying attention, watching a woman show me yet another living quarter, ready to be occupied permanently.
“I’m fine,” I rasp. Even the tall woman in front of me looks away, clearly taken aback by my worn-out voice. “This will do nicely. Thank you,” I say to her and turn to leave, only to find four more women waiting just outside.
Kaelzar growls low in his throat. The tall woman bolts, and he slams the door behind her with a sharp bang. “I’d take a battlefield over a temple full of women,” he mutters, stalking toward me. “At least there, your enemies know when to back off.”
I smile, slow and tired. “They’re on our side.”
“Debatable,” he says. His hands land on my shoulders, strong but gentle, rubbing slow lines up and down. “What do you want most right now? Name it. I’ll handle it.”
The kindness in his voice catches me off guard. For a second, I say nothing because… I don’t think I deserve it. I saved many women, yes, but I also failed so many. Who am I to ask for anything now?
But my gaze drops to the bed behind him before I can stop it. And without permission, my mind offers an image of his hands. On my face. My back. My thighs?—
Heat flushes my neck, and I curse the exhaustion. I spin away, heart lurching, as if he could read the thought right off my skin. It’s absurd, and yet…
“I’d like a hot bath,” I blurt out. “And some fresh clothes,” I add, glancing down at the rumpled ones I’ve worn for two days straight. My voice lowers, more a plea than a demand. “And while you're arranging all that I want to step outside. Somewhere quiet. Secluded. Just for a moment.”
Kaelzar nods not as if I’ve asked for a simple comfort, but as if I’ve issued a command worthy of a general. With a flick of his fingers, the air behind him tears and shadows swirl into a narrow rift.
He steps through first, his silhouette swallowed by the dark. Then he reaches back for my hand. I take it without hesitation, no longer fearing the oppressive feeling that used to knot my stomach each time I crossed into the Shadow World. The shadows brush my skin like a chill breeze, familiar now, but never quite comfortable.
The moment we emerge, the scent of earth and dew greets me. We stand in the untamed fringe of the temple’s gardens, a wild, forgotten corner the landscapers hadn’t yet dared to prune. Moonlight silvers the tall grasses, ivy coils lazily over crumbling stone, and fragrant night blooms unfurl in the shadows. Somewhere nearby, water trickles faintly, hidden in the underbrush.
“I shadow-scouted,” Kaelzar says, motioning to a moss-dappled bench half-swallowed by vine. “There’s no one here. If this suits you, I’ll return shortly and escort you to your chamber as soon as everythingis ready.”
I nod, my chest tight with gratitude. “It suits me perfectly,” I say with a smile. “Thank you.”
He disappears, the shadow rip closing behind him.
Alone now, I wander. The path is uneven, roots clawing at the stone, but I welcome the solitude, the hush. With each step, some of the tension drains from my spine, until I spot a small shrine nestled beneath moonlit trees.
I step inside. The space is maybe twenty paces end to end, small enough that my footsteps echo off the far wall. A few stone benches sit in uneven rows, swollen with creeping roots. At the opposite side stands a statue of Calista. Two fractured columns flank her, their shadows stretching across the floor.
Vines cling to her stone robes, to her elegant horns, over her big open eyes. I picture lanterns lighting the path and some women kneeling to her in reverence. Guilt clenches hard in my throat. Calista doesn’t deserve this revival, and I am almost certain once the Trial is over and I’ve won, I will regret my victory.
I step back outside and start toward the path I came from, intending to wait for Kaelzar when a faint rustle stops me. Not the kind made by wind, but an intentional sound. I step cautiously toward it, only to be slammed to the ground.
The impact knocks the breath from my lungs. My back hits the earth, and hot breath floods my face, tinged with a smoky-sweet scent.
“You’ve ruined my Champion,” a voice hisses. But it isn’t a sound. It is inside of my mind. Melodic, female and ancient. My vision sharpens, and I realize what’s pinning me: glistening green scales, eyes like molten gold. Seraphina’s dragon. “Now help me fix her.”
I expect my magic to react, to burst out of my body or at least attempt to attack the dragon. But strangely, it does not. Her front paws slam down on either side of me, pinning my hands beneath them, blocking my magic somehow, I realize with a startle. I can’t summon it, like it’s been sealed under her.
Panic flares, and I reach out instinctively across the bond for Kaelzar. A moment later I remember that it is gone, I gave the ring toPeonica.
Only then does it register: the dragon spoke into my mind. It takes a moment for the thought to settle.
