Page 59 of Hellbound

An uproar exploded from the competitors.

“You either complete the trials with the rules as they are, or face execution. As I said, there will be no losing survivors, only one surviving winner.” His statement stopped their complaints.

She became aware of how many Envorsen were lining the edges of the room, casually leaning against the wall, making small talk. Still, their eyes shifted and roved over the dozen competitors gathered at the center.

They were memorizing their faces to root out suspicious activity for the challenge.

As the only woman, she would stick out like a sore thumb.

Bohdan was counting their heads now, dividing them into four groups.

Ksenia’s eye twitched when she narrowly missed being placed into a team with Tivan. Nothing good could come of that partnership. Better they were on opposing teams so they could kill each other civilly.

She turned to her newly assigned teammates. Standing a head taller than most, a man was fiddling with the collar of his vest, which hung on his frame despite its well-tailored appearance. The other was stout like an ox, his thick arms corded with muscle, but his hands looked capable of finesse and craft. An odd trio they would be.

Introductions were curt. The thin man was Pavel. The thick man was Vuk.

Both looked expectantly at Ksenia.

“How did you survive Catch and Kill?” Vuk grunted, his bushy eyebrow raised.

“Same as the rest of you. Crossed over the wall.” Ksenia rolled her eyes.

“But you’re a woman,” Vuk replied with a snort.

“You’re a woman,” Pavel chimed in, his syllables growing brighter at the end.

“Am I really? I had no idea.” Ksenia looked down upon herself, feigning bewilderment before thrusting her middle finger in their faces.

Pavel waved his hand impatiently. “No, I don’t mean to insult you. I meant this is a hidden advantage.”

A quick snap of Bohdan’s fingers called their attention. “Before you leave, come see me for your personalized dossier on your cover moving forward. You will adopt these personas any time you are within Hearth, except during the trials themselves.”

Aliases? Ksenia hadn’t expected this, and by the looks of the crowd, no one else did either.

They lined up before him, and he riffled through the folios before doling out each competitor’s assigned covers.

Bohdan reached Ksenia and passed her the heavy parchment. Their fingers brushed briefly in the exchange, and a shock of electricity zipped up her spine.

Stop thinking about him. Stop it now.

He moved on impassively.

Competitors had already opened their dossiers.

“Scribe? Ugh, I hate writing,” one man complained.

Another: “Taster! Amazing—assuming I don’t get poisoned, but I’ll eat well till then.”

Ksenia flipped open her own.

Courtesan.

Courtesan.

Her eyes daggered at Bohdan’s profile as he handed out assignments to the remaining few.

After a few disgruntled exchanges about their covers, the competitors had filtered out of the room, all except for Ksenia.