“Delegates,” she began, her voice commanding the hall. “You will all now be aware of the sad news of the death of Rosalie Faye.” Regret passed over her features before she schooled them. She bowed her head. “May the Four have mercy.”
The hall droned the words back.
“Lord Lyra,” Simone continued briskly, “has graciously agreed to supply Team One with a further delegate. Kristof Wren will be joining their team.”
A tall man with short dark hair moved into the room and took his seat next to Thomel on Team One. His face was carefully blank. Elias Lyra shuffled uncomfortably by Simone’s side.
“The Air Trial will begin at eleven o’clock,” Simone instructed. “You will report to the arena by ten-thirty where you will receive instructions. I need to inform you ahead of time that no magic will be permitted in this trial.”
A shocked whisper ran through the room.
They can’t be serious.
Simone ignored it. “You will depend only on each other. Any use of elemental power will result in disqualification from this round.”
She stepped back without flourish to stand beside Kara’s father. The room was silent, but Kara’s own fear was mirrored in the faces of her teammates. They were all remembering Morra on the boat deck, limp and half-drowned, saved only by her healing magic. The faces of Team One when they’d returned without Rosalie.
Oryen spoke first. “If we can’t use magic, we’ll need to strategise. Listen to each other.”
Gregor grunted. Sebastian stared hard at his father as the Council left. Then his gaze found Kara’s. She knew they were both thinking the same thing. The ban on magic felt like a message. Kara didn’t speak as they left the hall. None of them did. The courtyard was quieter than usual, with only the sound of a distant bell tolling.
“Ten-thirty,” Jax muttered. “That’s not long.”
Kara busied herself packing medical supplies – splints, bandages, salves, herbs. Everyone from nobility to villager in Hale was trained in basic field care – not everyone could heal as quickly or as effectively with magic as she could. Her magic, stronger through her bloodline, hadalways come easily, instinctively. It’s why she hated traditional remedies. They let the pain linger.
But it was all she had.
The bell tolled again. It was time.
Together, their team entered the arena. It was already packed, the noise deafening. The entire arena floor was empty other than rows of stone pillars.
“Up there,” Oryen said.
Kara looked up. It was the sound she registered first.
Creaking wood.
High above them, suspended in the air, was a web of impossible danger in the form of four separate paths leading to a stone pillar emblazoned with a team number – their number four was to the far right. Each path was built of ropes, swinging beams, and narrow planks shaking in the wind. Platforms floated between the structures, some connected by thin roped bridges, others requiring leaps of faith. The whole thing swayed ominously in the wind.
Kara’s stomach dropped before her mind had finished processing it.
A fall from there would kill. No question.
“Well... that looks easy,” Jax muttered sarcastically.
Gregor eyed the ropes suspiciously, but didn’t move. Sebastian strode purposefully towards their team’s starting spot. He looked back impatiently. “Staring at it isn’t going to make it any lower down.”
Kara sighed. He was right. The rest of them followed, casting nervous glances at the terrifying course above them.
“I’m not even sure I can look at that,” Sienna said. “Let alone climb it.”
Morra exhaled slowly beside her. “Then don’t look. Just move.”
As they gathered near their starting spot, a voice rang out from the neighbouring pillar.
“Race you to the top, Seb!” Cass shouted across from Team Three’s pillar, eyes bright with challenge.
Sebastian shot her a cocky look, hand ready on their ladder. “You’re on, Cass.”
