Page 61 of Trivium

“Rory! What do you see!?” She needed to know if they were seeing the same thing.

“Lennox sounding like an absolute idiot!” she yelled back over the chirping and howling of the foxes. Good—it wasn’t just her. Shrinking back from Lennox’s whistle, the foxes scattered, leaving as fast as they came.

“You’re welcome.” Lennox winked at Ahmina before jogging ahead of them into the forest. Ahmina noticed the way his shirt stuck to his skin in the rain, and how his wild hair dripped down onto his face. She had to stop fighting battles with him in the rain; it lit a desire within her that she was desperate to put out.

“We need to get back,” Kit said. “I’m sorry, Ahmina.”

Time was up. She failed.

“What about Lennox?” she asked, pulling her chakram out from the tree, her hand shaking.

“Mina,” Rory said, her voice soft as she touched her shoulder.

“Lennox can take care of himself,” Kit said, completely unconcerned that Lennox was running around a deadly-creature-filled forest alone.

“But,” Ahmina argued. “We need to find him.”

“Lennox is probably already back at the hatch. It’s over.”

“What if he’s not? We should look for him. Just for a few minutes?” Her eyes welled with tears. Lennox would be fine. She knew it. They all knew it. But admitting as much meant admitting defeat. If she just had one more opportunity…

“Maybe we can talk to Adeyemi, get you an extension,” Rory said softly.

“No.” She shook her head, refusing to accept the inevitable.

“It will be worse if you’re late,” Kit reasoned.

“Come on.” Rory linked her arm through Ahmina’s and guided her along. At some point, when Ahmina stopped crying and became numb again, they separated, and Ahmina followed them absent-mindedly the rest of the way.

As they approached the outpost, Ahmina’s chest tightened. It had been her last chance to prove she belonged here. A noose around her neck, and it was time for her to step off the platform and face her sentence.

“Psst.” A whisper caught her attention, and she turned to see two green eyes peering out from behind a tree.

“Loveleena?” she called, squinting.

“Shut up and get over here,” Loveleena whispered.

Ahmina crept over, glancing behind her to make sure Rory and Kit hadn’t noticed. They continued forward, deep in conversation.

“What are you doing?” she asked, confused as to why Loveleena was camped out behind a tree. The answer was a dead Slyfox that hung by its tail in Loveleena’s hand. A second fox lay at her feet, its pink tongue lolling from the side of its mouth, flecks of dirt clinging to the tip where it touched the ground.

“This is for you. Say you killed it.” She shoved the creature in Ahmina’s face, forcing her to cradle it in her arms. The creature was heavier than she expected, and she heaved it up to get a better grip.

“Why are you giving me this?”

Loveleena scowled. “Oh don’t be all dramatic about it now. You asked for this. I better get my potion.” She picked up the second Slyfox by its tail and stormed off, boots sloshing as she went.

Ahmina followed her, not wanting to be left alone in the forest with a bloodied, furry Slyfox in her arms.

44

ZEINA

Zeina didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she was lost.

She thought she was running toward the outpost, but the more she searched, the more disoriented she became. To make matters worse, she was without a dagger, having left it in Lennox’s upper thigh. She sat down, back against a great oak tree, and sighed. At least she was far away from Ahmina.

A bush beside her fluttered, and a smooth skinned creature with long back legs jumped out. She stared at it, not sure what to expect from the plump, small creature. It simply croaked, its small black eyes staring back at her.