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Scott clears his throat. “Thankfully, we were waiting for you on the other side of the beacon. You were the last two through before it closed. We were able to get you here before too much damage was done.” His expression turns grave, and I brace myself for whatever he’s going to say next. “The healers gave you the antidote, but you’re probably going to have scars for the rest of your life. You’re lucky they didn’t have to amputate your legs.”
He doesn’t bother to try and soften his words, not one to beat around the bush, and honestly, I prefer that. If having scars means I get to keep my life and my legs, then I’ll take that any day. Still, the reality of his words sinks in, and I’m glad I’m already lying back—I almost died.
Needing to think of something else, I swallow against the sudden lump in my throat. “Did you manage to avoid getting stung?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t have scorpions. There were spiders in mine.”
I can’t stop my shudder as I imagine thousands of spiders crawling up the chasm walls. I don’t know what’s worse, spiders or scorpions.
“If Syn hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t gone back for you…” My father trails off, his voice breaking. My heart constricts painfully as I look up at him. I hate that this is all so hard for him, but I don’t have an option, I was forced into this.
“I’m okay, Dad. The goddess is watching over me,” I promise quietly, giving him a small smile. The need to crawl down the bed and wrap my arms around him is strong, however, I barely have the energy to have this conversation right now, let alone anything physical.
I’ve been putting off my next question, but I can’t ignore the worry inside me any longer. I meet my mate’s gaze, knowing he’ll tell me the truth. “Did I pass the trial?”
“Yes. The council reluctantly accepted.”
Closing my eyes in relief, I blow out a long, pent-up breath. When I open them again, I find all five of them watching me closely with various expressions of concern. Hoping to reassure them that I’m okay, I flash them a weak smile. “I was worried that I failed my challenge by not rescuing the male…” It’s my turn to trail off, my smile fading as I’m unable to finish the sentence.
“No, that wasn’t the challenge. They didn’t care if the people we saw lived or died. The challenge was to kill the creature under pressure,” Syn says from the corner, the first thing he’s said to me since I woke up. “You succeeded.”
I succeeded. I made it through to the next round. It nearly cost me my life and shattered a part of me in the process as I watched a stranger die, but I’m alive. That’s all that matters, right? Somehow, I’m not so sure anymore. I want to survive, but at what cost? How many more have to die or get hurt in the process? Nicolai is only here now because he volunteered when he learned I was taking part in the trials. He wasn’t supposed to be one of the competitors.
“Laelia.”
Joel’s voice snaps me out of my morose thoughts, and I slowly lift my head to meet his gaze. He’s frowning, but I can feel his distress. Moving to my side, he steps directly in front of Scott and takes my hand in his. I don’t miss the moment Scott makes awhat the fuckgesture, rolls his eyes, and vacates the chair beside me, propping up the wall instead. Joel either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, his attention locked on me. I find myself getting lost in his eyes, and the rest of the room falls away.
“Don’t ever think like that.” It’s phrased like an order, but there’s a note of vulnerability in his voice. “You do whatever you need to in order to survive and get back to me. I need you, and so do your other mates who haven’t found you yet.”
There’s a banging noise as if someone’s just slammed a door, but I don’t look away from Joel. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but his end of the bond is wide open, and I can feel his every thought and emotion. His depth of love for me takes me aback, and it’s clear that even the thought of losing me when he just found me terrifies him. He wishes I could see myself the way he does, and that maybe if I did, I would understand how much it would devastate him to lose me.
My father is trying to bite his tongue, obviously having strong feelings on the subject but not wanting to interrupt a moment between me and my mate.
“Okay,” I whisper, my voice clouded with emotion. “For you and my family, I’ll keep fighting.”
The smile he gives me is blinding, and then he leans down to kiss me. Our lips touch in the softest of brushes, but I’m not ready for him to back away yet. Humming in the back of my throat, I use what energy I’ve got to kiss him back and coax him to me. The kiss deepens, and the world falls away again.
At least it does until my father coughs, reminding me of our audience.
Smiling despite the blush on my cheeks, I give my father an apologetic look. I glance around the room and notice Syn’s absence, explaining the door slam I heard earlier. Sighing, I rub weakly at my forehead. That male gives me a headache, and I know I’m going to have to have a chat with him soon about whatever this pull is between us, but I’m too exhausted to even contemplate that right now. My father was right, though, Syn saved me. I know now that I wouldn’t have made it back without his help.
Letting out a deep breath, I glance around at the remaining males. “What happens now?”
Scott pushes away from the wall and moves to stand next to my father. “We’re halfway through the trials now. All of the successful champions will have the week off to rest, train, or whatever you want to do with the time.” He shrugs, his expression giving no indication of what he thinks about all of this. “At the end of the week,” he continues, “there will be a celebration before the next trial.”
Halfway through. Shock stuns me for a moment as I think back over the trials so far. Our very first trial was at the opening ball, not that any of us knew it until one of the champions dropped dead, poisoned from the food the council had provided us with. It was only because the goddess warned me that I knew something was wrong and I could warn the others. Then the scavenger hunt where I was partnered with Scott, followed by the maze. Somehow, I’ve made it through all three, and no one is more surprised than me.
When I first agreed to take part in the trials, I had no idea what the challenges would be like, and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the creatures the council has managed to find—not that I would have imagined finding my mate here either.
Now, I just have to survive another three trials, two of which I need to finish high enough in to qualify moving forward to the next challenge. The council doesn’t expect me to win, but I have to make it through to the final trial. However, with how weak I feel, I’m lucky that we get a week-long break, otherwise I don’t think I’d survive the next trial, let alone make it to the finals.
With the look my father’s currently giving me, I’m not about to admit that out loud, because he might just smuggle me out of the hospital while I’m too weak to stop him. Joel’s concern reaches me through the bond despite his neutral expression, and I realise that he must have been able to feel how sick I really was while the scorpions’ toxins were pumping around my body.
My eyes flick to Scott, who’s bracing his forearms against the footboard of the hospital bed, his tattoos bright in the fluorescent lights. He looks so out of place next to the others in the room, the lone biker wolf with his long hair and rough exterior. Nicolai has always been gorgeous in a classical way, and my father may look a little rugged, but he carries a sense of authority. Joel, my mate, is huge and a wall of muscle, his alpha power clinging to him like a cologne.
I blame the fact that he stands out for the reason that I’m staring at him rather than the muscles rippling in his arms as he shifts his weight. Clearing my throat, I focus on the question that’s been on my mind since I woke up and found him here.
“I take it you’re out of the trials now?”
