When she blinked her eyes open, the man was staring at her and rubbing his temples.
“I’m so sorry for this,” she said.
He frowned as she slammed his head into the desk. He crumpled to the floor. Stella checked his pulse before carefully removing the page that Fionn had requested from the ledger.
Stella scanned it quickly, committing it to memory before ducking outside.
Fionn’s face lit up when he saw her. “No problems?”
“No problems, but we need to get back,” she said, shoving the page into his hand as she brushed by him. She walked down the dock and up the trail to town with a sick roiling in her stomach.
A little memory was no great loss, but she’d assumed when Fionn offered to trade that he’d wanted help to recover a relative’s memory. This task left her feeling like she’d unwittingly become an accomplice to some unknown crime.
Stella shook off the anxiety and forced herself to focus on one challenge at a time. The Gauntlet Games’ final challenge was upon them, so the mystery would have to wait.
36
TEDDY
The blindfold was just loose enough that Teddy could make out his boots when he looked down. Gravel crunched beneath his feet as two guards escorted him into starting position for the final challenge. The night was hot and oppressively humid—like every summer night in Olney—and the low light made it hard to tell what sort of environment he was in. Beneath his leather armor, his shirt was already damp with sweat.
The noise of the crowd was muted in a way that suggested he might be in a pit again. He shuddered as the sense memory of the first challenge came back to him in a rush—the cold water on his skin and the panic that tore through him when he’d realized his armor was stuck.
A soft, calming sensation swelled in his chest.
Stella must have sensed his panic and was trying to calm him down. He took a deep breath and tried to narrow the funnel of their connection so she wouldn’t feel so much from him. He didn’t want to distract her from what was sure to be the most violent challenge yet.
He stumbled over a rock but was steadied by the guard on his right.
“Godsforsaken blindfold,” he grumbled.
Just like the first challenge, this one had started with him being blindfolded and dragged helplessly through a series of twists and turns. Teddy had no idea where he was, but without sight, his other senses were sharper. He could smell the overpowering sandalwood scent of the hunter on his right and the hint of onion on the breath of the guard to his left.
“Stay here. You’ll hear the rules read off in a few moments, once the other competitors are in place,” the hunter on his left said.
The two of them retreated, leaving Teddy alone with his swirling thoughts.
“I’m not your peace. I can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved. When I win tomorrow, I’m not going to ask for Arden’s hand. I’m going to ask for the bond to be broken so we can both be free of this.”
Stella was so calm when she spoke those devastating words—like she’d already grieved the loss and was whispering the message to his ghost. It was the most rational she’d ever been, and Teddy was so angry at her for being steady when he felt so out of control. Stella wanted him, but not enough.
He couldn’t even blame her. He didn’t want this life. It would have been cruel to cage her alongside him—but gods, if he didn’t wish he was selfish enough to do so.
Olney was Stella’s home. He saw the way she cared for her siblings, the way Leo and Rosie looked up to her, the way her parents poured their love into her and how that had made her such a brave and kind woman.
Teddy had never known someone like that—had never let himself be known. She had studied him in the practiced way a warrior studied an adversary. But she hadn’t wounded him on the field of battle. She’d unearthed the most tender part of his heart and made sure to hurt him there—in the way only a lover could.
And now it was over. He didn’t know what to say about it or how to move forward. Instead, he kept turning the memory over and over, waiting for it to hurt less.
He needed to think of something—anythingelse. Patting his pockets, he took inventory of the herbs he’d stocked up on in case heneeded a spell. The magic challenge, like each of the others, had varied historically. Some gods tried to level the playing field between those who summoned and those who couldn’t. Those were the years when the final challenge was most entertaining and violent. Endros seemed the type who was out for blood and Teddy doubted he would give Teddy and Stella an edge.
The number of competitors had dwindled from sixteen to nine, and the final challenge typically produced the most desperation and bloodshed. He had no doubt that this event would follow that pattern, and that made him even more worried for Stella. She’d been able to hurt someone else to protect him, but not to protect herself.
Teddy had become so accustomed to the constant swirling pulse from the bond in his chest; thinking about losing it left him bereft. Would Stella really wish it away if she won? Would he?
He imagined the bond like a thread connecting the two of them and gave a gentle tug on it the way Rainer had taught him. A moment later, Stella’s responding tug echoed back to him. She was somewhere straight in front of him. Just sensing her there at the other end of the connection was a relief.
Footsteps approached from behind Teddy.
