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“Tell me how to fix this, Aria,” I urged as soon as we were alone. I knelt at the side of the bed, my elbows propped on the mattress as I took in her conflicted expression.
She swallowed and looked away. “I’m just tired of running,” she started. “I thought for sure we were safe here, but you let me go into that meeting unprepared. I just… I want to besafe.”
“I’m sorry,” I breathed, reaching out to drag her closer to the edge of the bed. She sat up, so I was kneeling between her thighs as I spoke. “I didn’t think too much about the woman’s warning because we were invited, being treated like special guests. I thought we were safe and she was crazy or something.”
It wasn’t a lie, exactly. While I hadn’t thought she was crazy, I’d definitely thought we were safe and protected by the crown. I had assumed that the people we would need to fear were the fae themselves, as maybe they didn’t take kindly to outsiders.
It’d never occurred to me that the real threat would come from the King and Queen themselves.
“We have to be careful,” she whispered, laying her cheek atop my head and cuddling my face to her chest. “Everyone else was child’s play, I think. The fae are unchartered territory.”
I wanted to say that she didn’t need to tell me that, that she hadn’t a clue about the terror I was suppressing, thinking of what could happen to her or my brother or Johnny if something went wrong. She had no idea of the things I was truly capable of.
Actually,Imight have no idea as to what I was truly capable of when it came to her. And that scared me more than the present danger ever could.
3
DAY ONE IN HELL
ARIA
Being awakened at the ass-crack of dawn wasnotfun. It was even worse after having tossed and turned most of the night, then being startled awake by Sariel’s night terrors shortly after finally managing to fall asleep.
For that reason, I was running on about four hours of sleep, with a crick in my neck and overall exhaustion to boot. I barely registered the fae who led me to the dinning hall where the other beginners sat. I barely registered anything, actually.
I was given fifteen minutes to prepare myself, twelve of which I spent staring forlornly at myself in the bathroom mirror, despairing over the fact that I’d squandered my time. The other three were spent brushing my teeth and taking the quickest shower in all of history.
Reese and I met in the corridor. Based on her bleary-eyed look and total silence, I could assume that she shared my sentiment of it being way too early in the day.
We were escorted by stoic-looking male Guardians. It was only when we emerged in the open courtyard did I realize that Sariel hadn’t so much as twitched when the Guardian had appeared in our room.
My stomach tightened in confusion. Something was wrong with that. I knew even now that he was still very much asleep, and that when he did wake up and find me gone, someone would be answering to him.
I heaved a sigh. Reese blinked at me.
“This is as far as we may go with you,” Reese’s escort explained. “You are honored guests within the Free Kingdom, but the training grounds strip you of this status.”
Reese and I locked eyes. It was clear what he was saying: There would be no protection or coddling beyond these gates.
The other Guardian snorted. “Ifyou survive the day, you’ll be deemed Newbies. I hope you come to your senses. Female fae barely make it through the beginner training, and you’re weaker than them by a lot.”
“Enough, Badger,” the first Guardian snapped. “Leave them. Our orders are fulfilled.”
Reese and I stared after their retreating forms.
“Well, that was motivating,” Reese mumbled.
I turned back to the imposing wall that separated us from the other beginners. It was lined with wild ivy as well as another pretty, colored flower that I couldn’t identify, and it rose so high, I had to wonder what they were trying to hide within that required a walled-out area within the palace grounds.
A space separated the left and right sides through which I could make out the barren training grounds. There was no gate, but on either side of the opening stood two of the biggest Guardians I’d ever seen. It was still early enough that the only sound I could hear was the chirping of crickets.
Reese and I approached the entryway, and the Guardians moved as one to block the way.
“State your business,” the one on the left said his voice nothing but a rumble.
Reese’s swallow was loud as they stared down at us.
“We have training with the beginners,” I managed.
