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She looked at it but didn’t take it. “Why aren’t you afraid of what I could do?”
“You would've killed me by now if you wanted to.” He took a step closer, eyes steady. “You wouldn't hurt me for no reason.”
Her pulse quickened. “Many would say otherwise.”
Lance skimmed over the top of the river.
“Maybe, but I’m a better judge of character.”
He gestured in front of him and let her go first up the trail. She glanced over her shoulder once, catching him watching her with that same unreadable calm.
“Besides,” he said, “you wouldn’t know what to do without me, witchling.”
She snorted. “I wouldn’t be so certain.” But she looked back again.
They returned in time for the midday meal.
Alcaeus and Idonea sat across from each other in brittle silence, speaking only when duty demanded. When he asked how her day had been, she told him to rot.
Before she left, Alcaeus rose and addressed the hall. His voice carried easily, heavy with command.
“As most of you're aware, tonight begins our biggest test,” he said. “For darkness will engulf us. The dawn will not rise, and the horizon will swallow the sun. It is during this time you will be tested.” He looked at Idonea and she swallowed. “Tested to see if you can avoid the dark’s call and stay with the light, even when none can be found.”
A sudden cold plunged through the hall. No dawn. Idonea's stomach tightened. Nexis entities moved easiest in true dark.
Chapter 14
When the gathering dispersed, Idonea slipped outside into the cold. Snow caught in her lashes and melted cold against her skin. She stood beneath the eaves, listening to the muffled sounds from within the hall: chairs scraping, the low rise of voices, the scrape of steel.
Frost webbed across the abandoned fountain. Idonea stared at it longer than necessary. Anything to delay going back inside.
“Thought you’d disappeared,” came a voice behind her.
Lysander. He moved quietly, always too quietly.
“Would it matter if I had?” she asked without turning.
He came to stand beside her, far enough to give her space. “Your father would notice.”
“My father—” she stopped herself. “He doesn’t worry.”
Lysander didn’t answer.
She exhaled. “Do you believe him? About the test?”
He took his time before answering. “I believe darkness finds its way in, no matter what name we give it.”
She turned to him then. “I don’t trust this place.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Her lips twitched at that.
He looked towards the horizon. “You should head inside.”
She pulled her cloak tighter. “I will, soon.”
Lysander went back towards the hall.
