Through half-lidded eyes, I could vaguely make out a metal rack. I blinked, my vision clearing.
Moric lay slumped on the ground. His eyes were shut but his breathing was even and regular; he was fast asleep.
Lana leaned against the wall of the sparring room, her eyes fixed threateningly on the male pacing before her.
“Drugging us was not necessary,” she hissed. “We would have come willingly.”
“Wrath really brings out the blue in your eyes, sunshine,” Septimus cooed.
I propped myself up on one elbow and Lana immediately dropped to a crouch before me, her hand outstretched. I took it, allowing her to help me up. I felt groggy and irritable. I brushed the dust from the floor off my back and scrubbed my face. Pieces of hair had come loose from the braid I had so carefully entwined this morning. I shoved the strands away from my cheeks, annoyance bleeding into anger as I surveyed Moric and Anama still sleeping on the ground. A few feet away, the other survival squads also slept.
“What the actual fuck just happened?” I asked.
Lana ground her teeth, looking just as upset as I was. “Septimus and his cronies thought it would be entertaining to drug and haul us back to Valhan House for another one of their unofficial challenges.”
“They’re designed to help you face the real challenges. You can thank me later, sunshine,” Septimus said. He was the onlyelven in the room, and looked exceptionally impatient. He strode back and forth while the others began to rise.
“Stop fucking calling me that,” Lana seethed.
“What vicious words for such a pretty mouth.” Septimus stared at her dead on, unfazed. “I wonder what else it can do.”
The blush that tinged Lana’s cheeks had nothing to do with the rouge staining her skin. I noted it with curiosity, wondering if there had been some truth to Moric’s teasing earlier.
The raised voices, it seemed, had woken Anama and Moric. They both stirred, blinking blearily as they looked up at us.
“What’s going on?” Anama asked as I helped her to her feet.
There was no need to explain though; everyone was now awake. Septimus crossed to the center of the room, eyes alight with amusement. “I hope you all had a good rest. The second unofficial challenge begins now. The good news is that it’s highly unlikely one of you will die during this challenge. Unless you manage to royally piss off your instructor.” He flashed a set of even, white teeth at us. “Your task this challenge is to steal something – anything, really – from your instructor. The bad news is that each of your instructors has been made aware of this challenge, and they’ll be on the guard. You have one hour.”
Septimus sauntered toward our group, his golden eyes fixed on Lana. “I’m afraid you won’t manage to steal anything from me, sunshine, but I’d love to see you try.”
The look Lana gave him was positively murderous, but Septimus had already walked off, exiting the sparring room without a backward glance.
“Fucking elven.” She scowled.
I vehemently agreed. How was I supposed to steal something from my instructor when I didn’t even know where he was? The last time I had seen him, he had nearly hurled a bolt of lightning at me. Frustration sizzled in me. I didn’t realize my hands were clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms, until Anama gently touched my shoulder.
“Are you okay, Lirah?” she asked.
I exhaled a calming breath through my nose, though it did little to soothe my frazzled nerves. “Yeah. No. I don’t know. I just feel so… angry. At everything. And all the time.”
“Hmm. Have you ever felt like this before?”
“I’ve been angry, sure. But–” I shook my head, “– never this kind of… fury. It’s like a constant ache in my chest that never fully goes away. It feels like I’m a hairsbreadth from snapping all the time.” I rolled my shoulders, but they were still tense springs.
“You know,” Anama hedged. “When you take the sacred oath, it’s not onlyyourfeelings that are shared. The link is… reciprocal.”
I froze.
Was she saying what I thought she was saying? Fuck,no.
“Anama, I need you to be perfectly clear with me. Are you telling me that thisrage, this eternal battle not to scream every single second of every single day, is not evenmine?”
She winced. “If it’s a new feeling, it’s most likely stemming from the link.”
From Kilian.
I was going to fucking kill him.
