AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smile and turn to Luna, her smile warming something in my chest.
“That was great,” she praises, squeezing my arm gently. “Your control has grown so much in the last couple of days.”
Smile turning wry, I raise a brow. “Being locked in my rooms and having nothing else to do other than practice has probably helped with that.”
“I was going to say it must be my fabulous teaching, but that could be part of the reason too,” she mumbles, but her lips twitch, so I know she’s not really offended.
Sensing that magic lessons are over, Syn peels himself away from the wall and crosses the room, wrapping himself around me. Nuzzling against the crook of my neck, he inhales deeply, his resulting satisfied grumble making my core tighten with desire.
The scent of magic is still strong in the air, but it doesn’t belong to me or Luna, so I know that Atlas and Nicolai are still training together in the sitting room. Nicolai has been focusing on drawing and releasing his power in a non-destructive way. He seems to have very strong, volatile magic, as if the violence of his rebirth has transferred into his power. Thanks to Atlas’s help, if he can focus, he’s able to tame it and form it into something useful, but if it’s left too long, it will find its own way out. Unfortunately, that’s usually in the form of uncontrolled blasts of power. So far, no one has been hurt, but there’s a tension that hangs in the air as we all wait for it to happen. Atlas tells me that Nicolai is making steady progress, though, and to give it time.
We don’t have time.
I don’t know where that thought came from, but it’s been plaguing me. All day, a sense of urgency has weighed on my shoulders. Why I feel this way is a mystery. The goddess isn’t sending the message, and it’s not the darkness within me speaking. Something in my gut is whispering it, and I would usually just brush it off as being a nervous thought, but this isn’t easy to just push away.
A knock on the door pulls me from my turbulent thoughts. I hear Joel in the other room moving to see who’s there, and I gently untangle myself from Syn and pad into the sitting room. Since I’ve been confined to my rooms, the only visitors we’ve had have been Kano or Luna and Constance for my lessons. None of them would usually knock on the door. Besides, Luna is already here, and Constance was called away, which leaves my brother, but he rarely comes during the day because he’s working for the queen, so I’m intrigued to see who is knocking.
Pulling the door open, Joel freezes for a moment before stepping back to reveal Kano. Surprised but pleased to see him, I step forward to greet him. I’m about to make a comment about being disappointed that he wasn’t someone more exciting when I take in his expression. His whole body seems rigid with tension, his jaw tight and hands balled into fists at his sides. However, it’s the concern flashing in his eyes that truly worries me. Something is wrong.
I feel my chest tighten. “Kano, are you okay?”
He moves farther into the room, waiting for the door to close behind him, his eyes shifting as if to make sure we’re alone. His chest moves rapidly, and I see a slight sheen across his face, like he rushed to get here.
“I wanted to give you as much warning as possible.”
The tension in the room rockets as my mates step forward, ready to defend me at a moment’s notice. Even Luna moves forward, taking half a step in front of me—not from Kano, but whatever news he hurried here to tell us.
“The queen wanted to spring it on you, but I knew I had to give you some warning,” Kano continues, the words tumbling from him.
Alert, I tilt my head to one side at the mention of the queen. What is she planning now? Things were too quiet over the last few days, and I’ve been expecting her to spring something on me. While I’m not surprised, I’m also not foolish enough to think that I’m not going to be in danger.
“Warning? About what?” I ask, somehow managing to keep the anticipation and growing trepidation from my voice.
Joel shifts his weight, and I feel his alpha power swell from the other side of the room as he addresses my brother. “Is Laelia in danger?”
Syn, who has been standing at my back closely enough that I can feel the heat from his body, growls at the invisible threat, claws extending from the tips of his fingers. Reaching out, I absentmindedly run my hand down his arm in comfort as I focus on what’s happening.
Kano straightens and meets my gaze. “The queen has announced a mandatory meeting in an hour. She wouldn’t tell me what it was about, but everyone is to attend.”
If I had thought his expression was grim before, he proves me wrong as it darkens, his brows furrowing as he delivers his next words. “I think she’s going to announce the next challenge.”
ChapterThirteen
Under guard, we’re led to the meeting hall. From the almost empty halls, I would guess that once again, we’re going to be the last into the meeting, all eyes watching us closely. It makes me feel like a criminal, which I’m sure is exactly why the queen arranged things this way.
“This is ridiculous,” I mutter angrily under my breath for the hundredth time.
“I’ll be sure to pass on your criticism to the queen.” Luna smirks beside me, but I know it’s to cover her mixed emotions on the situation. Being the good friend she is, she doesn’t want to worry me any more than I already am. Honestly, her joke helps as I snort, imagining the queen’s reaction.
“I feel like an idiot,” I mutter, gesturing to my clothes as we approach the meeting hall.
It’s been almost an hour since Kano warned us, giving me just enough time to prepare myself both mentally and physically. We still have no idea if this meeting is actually about a challenge, or when and where it will take place. To make sure I was prepared, I dressed in dark trousers, combat boots, a loose white shirt, and a leather jacket I found at the back of the wardrobe.
The clothes are completely different from anything that is usually worn around Haven, especially by females, meaning I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb. However, I’d much rather prefer committing a social faux pas with my clothes than be dressed in a ball gown and have to run away from whatever monster the queen is sure to unleash on me in the next challenge.
My mates are dressed in a combination of dark jeans and jackets, much like mine, and if the circumstances were different, I would be drooling over them right now, becausedamnthey look fine.
The seven of us finally arrive at the hall, and I give myself a little shake in an attempt to rid myself of this nervous energy. None of us have a clue what this is about, but with the queen keeping things so secretive, even from Kano, it makes me think along the same lines as my brother, that this is about the next challenge. The last one nearly destroyed me, so to say I’m nervous is an understatement.
