“Really?”
“Run fast and stop for nothing,” Ronen urged, patting Rune’s side, ignoring me altogether.
She took off before I could snap something back. I yelped, tensing my legs around her body and shoving my arm through the sword strap before ducking down. I latched onto her fluff, wishing there was more substance to hold. But at least most of my attention was on staying on and not the thoughts threatening to pull me under.
The trees in the Veil Forest creaked and rattled from a punishing wind, swirling the fog Rune ran through. My brows lowered as I glanced at my still hair. Shouldn’t the wind be hitting us? It was hitting everywhere else. Everywhere but our warm little bubble, as if we had some sort of shield while we ran.
The black, leafless trees merged into a shapeless haze, leaving me unable to discern any details. If the infected lurked behind the trunks or hid in the fog covering the ground, I would never know. Rune never paused in her stride, never stopped. She sprinted out of the forest, past Hoar Hollow, and continued until she passed the castle gates.
Her lungs pumped rapidly beneath my legs as she carried me up the hill, finally slowing down. I eased my hold on her, letting her breathe more deeply, and rubbed behind her ears.
“You did well, Rune. You can put me down now. We’re safe.”
Her fur coiled around my fingers like a wispy hug, and then she plopped herself down on the snowy road. I slid off her back right as Alexei dropped from the sky in front of me.
“Well, I’m glad you’re in one piece. Ronen made it seem like you were fighting for your life in Veil Forest.” Alexei huffed.
I took off Ronen’s sword, grabbed the unusually warm hilt, and held it out to Alexei. I was glad I didn’t have to use it. “He overreacted. We didn’t run into any trouble.”
Alexei’s face blanched. His gaze darted between me and the sword.
I offered it, hoping he’d take it, and he jerked back.
“It’s Ronen’s.”
He laughed, but it sounded a little high and strung out. “I know whose sword that is.”
“Okay, well, can you give it back to him?”
I was sure he was still with the king or doing whatever damage control he had to do, and I needed to get to the arena. I didn’t wantto be carting this heavy, giant, soul-absorbing sword around while I trained.
Alexei shook his head, taking another step back and pointing to Rune. “Give it to her. She can give it back to him.”
I didn’t have the energy or time to dissect Alexei’s weird behavior. Walking to Rune, I held out the sword. She opened her mouth wide. Taking a guess, I placed the sword sideways, resting it against her five-inch canines. She bowed her head as if in thanks and closed her mouth over the sheathed blade.
Alexei quietly led me to the arena, leaving Rune to cool down. Something about Ronen’s sword had his flirtatious tongue in a twist. Maybe Ronen never lent out his special sword.
His dappled wings snapped out of existence once we reached the doors. He opened them to reveal Moira standing too close to Oliver. She turned, her irises flashing with blue fire, and her mouth popped open as she saw me step through the threshold. Her shock quickly transformed into a tight, vile smile, like it did when she was about to punish us—but worse.
I left Alexei with the redheaded Dread, who eyed me up and down, judgment clear in her gaze.
“What the hell have you and Ronen been up to?”
“You want answers, MJ, ask him.”
I caught the sharp tone of her reply as I walked toward my squad leader, hoping I didn’t have another Moira on my hands. One was enough.
“Let’s get this over with.”
“Theon and Cyrus,” Moira sang, brushing her hands across my shoulder pads like she was tidying my uniform, “follow us. The restof you go to our station and pair up while I deal with our imposters.” She squeezed my shoulders, unable to take her eyes off my body.
Heavenly Shit. I forgot to change.
Moira slid her arm around my shoulder like we were friends and led us through a sea of red and black. But she kept our pace slow, giving every warrior, new and old, time to see what I was wearing. I couldn’t keep count of how many lips curled in disgust or how many ran their fingers over their weapons and smiled like they couldn’t wait to rip into me and show me how much I hadn’t earned the colors of Hell.
Once we reached the showers, Moira shoved me into the back wall with startling force. My shoulder took the brunt of the pain. Oliver luscelered to my side, rage in his flaming emeralds.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
