AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s a trap,” I said.
“You’ll be fine.” She snorted. “You’re with me. No one will dare to touch you now that I’ve stood by you on my cousin’s behalf. Come! Every candidate in the school must go through the trial.”
We crossed the bridge and stepped through the vast ivory door at the rear of the candidates.
A golden marble floor and gilded columns extended before us. The moon shone through the tower’s skylight, illuminating the interior as much as the tower’s magical light.
Symbols of five houses on a variety of gemstones shimmered from the back wall. Candidates from each house lined up in the lane under their own house crest, facing a podium on the dais.
I followed Cami to our house lane under the symbol of seven arrows in a radial pattern on a blue diamond as big as a fist.
The five kingdoms were all about flaunting their wealth and magic. Each house had its own gemstone. House of Vampires was linked to black opal. House of Shifters chose emerald. House of Fae had ruby. I craned my neck to look for Bea under a glowing sapphire, the mage house’s gemstone.
Neither Bea nor I was tall enough for us to spot each other. After a few tries, I gave up and sent a silent prayer for her and my other geek friends.
Other than footsteps and shuffling from the candidates as we all tried to settle down in our lanes, the enormous hall was quiet. It was then the stench hit my nostrils.
“Did you smell that?” I whispered to Cami.
“Skyward is a thousand-year-old building, sustained by the remnants of old magic,” she said. “Only the royals, headmistress, and the druid were allowed to enter the tower before this day. I don’t think any of the princes like to come here.” She let out a low chuckle. “They don’t like traditions or anything old. They’re the rebellious new generation.”
I bet the princes could sense the wrongness here too, but I doubted they’d dug deep. They simply stayed away, dismissing the ivory tower as too ancient for their liking. Their absence gave the bad actors room to work their black magic here.
The longer I stayed in this hall, the more stifled I felt. The feeling of being trapped increased.
When had the corruption started? How long had this deep wrongness been going on?
Cami still had a hand on my arm, as if she didn’t trust me not to bolt at any second. But she shouldn’t worry. The enormous door had sealed behind us, a dozen sentinels standing guard in front of it.
Since I couldn’t get away, not until after the trial, I might as well try to figure out what the black magic was all about here. I took a deep breath, reaching out with my senses. The foulness hit me right in the center. The tainted magic carried the signature of the druid mixed with unknown witchcraft powered by blood, bones, and the pain of the sacrificed.
The agony of the victims’ tormented souls cried out to me, so strong that it made my teeth chatter. I swayed with dizziness. The fear in me faded as rage seared my blood. I smelled the residue of their recent ritual of horror, of human sacrifice. It was still fresh.
A dreadful realization sank its claws into me. The druid had been so keen on getting his hands on me. Sacrificing a demigoddess would give him power beyond his wildest dreams. He’d mentioned once that he’d been tracking a demigod, and I was more than a demigod.
I’d seen a few nasty-looking witches and mages around the druid on campus. Did they work for him, or did they belong to his cult coven? Were they all behind the human and supernatural sacrifice?
The druid loomed in front of a long desk of glass beneath the raised dais where Headmistress Ethel stood tall behind a gilded podium, ready for an opening speech. Behind her were the royal balcony seats. Cade, Rowan, Silas, and Louis took the front row. Killian’s seat remained empty.
Sy peeked out, training her lustful gaze on Rowan.
He wore a fae royal military uniform in wine-red and blue tones. The vampire prince wore black and dark red, the mage prince wore gold and sapphire, and the shifter prince wore green and blue.
Anxiety and a hollow feeling expanded in my chest at the absence of the chaos prince.
My icy gaze landed on the druid as I felt his ink black stare on me. Amid thousands of candidates, the fucker still singled me out. I didn’t look away.
I’d pondered slitting his throat, or setting Sy on him and letting her eat him, as I realized that he was so fixated on me that he wouldn’t rest until he had his filthy hands on me. And now, knowing what he’d done to other victims, I was determined to find a chance to erase him for good.
An evil smile ghosted the druid’s black lips at my challenge, and my stare told him clearly that he was a marked man. He just didn’t know yet that he was a dead man walking.
Don’t engage with the druid. Not now, Sy warned. Don’t let him distract us and make us lose the game. We need to get through the first trial and win, and then we’ll take the first opportunity to off him.
Talking about games, I didn’t care about the trial, but Sy took it to heart. She was always competitive.
“Good evening, bride candidates!” Headmistress Ethel raised her arms in a big welcome gesture under the banner of the star charts of Mist of Cinder.
She wore an elaborate white gown, the height of fashion for mature noble fae ladies, with a collar high and tight enough to choke her if she wasn’t careful. Her hairdo was meticulous, every pin in the right place, and her makeup was flawless. I was more interested in her ruby earrings, amazed that her pointed, elegant ears could sustain their weight. It was all show and vanity, right?
