Those two words have been playing on repeat in my mind for the last twelve hours. Infuriating little things that have kept me far too awake for what I need to be in order to be prepared for what’s happening today.
My third trial.
In just a few short hours, I will be face to face with the men who once tried to kill me.
But I’ll also get to see Char again.
Whatwill I tell him?
So much has changed these last two months, so much that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I am not the same girl he saw in that alley. I am not the same weak child he saved during the first trial.
And I am not the woman he should love.
Because I can’t love him back.
Not inthatway, and that’s what he deserves.
In so many ways, I wish I could. I wish I could be that for him, especially when I know Ryjax can never be that for me.
My chest heaves.
But I stillwanthim. Desperately. Hopelessly. Endlessly.
And that matters.
So, it wouldn’t be fair to Char.
I suck in a shaky breath, my mind trying to focus on what’s important, at least in this moment.
The third trial.
The event I have been dreading my entire life…is almost here.
But it’s also the event I’ve spent the last two months preparing for.
A wall of fire appears before me, then, to the sides of me, before completing the square and forming behind me. A solid barrier only a weapon could penetrate, but I’m also faster now. And I won’t be as easy to kill.
“Anyone who tries will live to regret it.”Nyxa’s words bring a smile to my face.“When was the last time you checked your mental barrier?”
My smiles fades, and my flames die out. I’ve been so distracted lately I honestly don’t know.
She huffs.“Don’t forget how—”
“Important maintenance is.”I finish for her, and she huffs again.
I close my eyes and envision myself standing within the brick wall she helped me build. Light filters through numerous cracks, cracks that are far bigger than they should be.
Shit.
Letting out a sigh, I prepare myself to fix it, but before I can, I hear a knock at the door.
I know it’s Ryjax before I see him. He’s the only one who can bring me back to my village.
Opening the door, I hold my breath, hating that I can think of nothing but him.
Hating that when we were last together, I failed to ask him the one thing I had been dying to know—how the hell did he get me out of that cell?
And hating that I can’t even bring myself to ask him now. I’m frozen. Unable to think. Unable to move.
