A growl ripped through my throat as I followed the scent, growing stronger with each step I took. Drops of blood trailed the forest floor like a beacon leading me to her. A storm raged inside of me, primal anger and dread mingling together and battering against my skin, begging to be unleashed.
If she was hurt…
A soft whine reached my ears.
I moved through the thicket like lightning, zeroing in on the sound.
Wedged beside an overturned log was a bundle of branches, red fur visible beneath the leaves and twigs. I threw them all aside and nearly fell to my knees at the sight of her.
Rissa.
Still in her fox form, blood seeped from a tear in her leg. She had tucked herself into a tight ball and was carefully licking at the wound, her yellow eyes trained on me.
In the blink of an eye, she shifted. Her body expanded as she staggered out of the hole. Leaves and dirt were tangled in her blonde hair, which was pulled back with a strap of leather. Her facewas pale, eyes bloodshot and tired. She wore tight-fitting, dark clothing, as if she’d been transported in the middle of a patrolling shift. Her pants were torn at the left thigh and I saw punctured skin beneath. A dagger wound. It must have happened recently, if her healing abilities hadn’t yet taken effect.
“Leo, where are?—”
“What happened to?—”
We talked over one another as I reached down to help her stand, my back nearly giving out under the movement.
“This is the third trial,” I answered, supporting her while she got her bearings. My legs trembled, but I ignored it. “Gayl’s up to something. He gave a speech at the ball and announced that the trial was starting now, instead of in a couple days as was the original plan. The palace disappeared and we were transported here. The challengers, Lark, Horace…we’re all here.”
My sister’s surprise quickly gave way to her analytical nature. I could practically see the theories and strategies running through her mind.
“He must know about Lark and Horace. We’ve been fools to think we could stay hidden while under his nose for this long. If he can wipe all four of us out in one fell swoop, he knows the Sentinels would descend into chaos. Unravel from the inside. We’ve got to make our move?—”
I stood in front of her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Rissa, we need to go back to the others and focus on getting out of here. We can’t do anything for the Sentinels if we’re trapped in this trial.” I put her arm around my shoulder to help her walk, relieved to see the cut at her leg starting to clot. “What happened to you?”
She let out a huff, blowing a tendril of hair back from her face. “It was that Illusionist challenger. I woke up in a tunnel and didn’t know what was going on. There were these animals…” She shivered, her arm going rigid across my neck. “I found him running away from something and decided to follow him. He was the first person I’d seen. He didn’t know I was there until we got to the big cave and this hugethingcame out of the tunnels. Emperor’s tits, it was the biggest?—”
“Trust me, I’m aware,” I cut her off with an unamused laugh. Stopping, I pivoted so she could see the evidence. “We became well acquainted.”
She inhaled. “He got you good, didn’t he? Are you alright?”
“I should be askingyouthat question,” I said, raising an eye at her leg. “I take it the beast wasn’t what stabbed you?”
“No, that pleasure went to the Illusionist.”
“Another reason for me to kill him.” This prick’s ledger was getting as long as Gayl’s himself.
“We made it past the lion thing and somehow the Illusionist figured out how to escape. I followed him through the wall and he was waiting for me on the other side with a dagger—how he got it, I’ll never know. He stabbed me in the leg before I could shift and get away, but I eventually lost him. I’d only been hiding in the woods for a few minutes before you found me.”
She was already steadier on her feet, hardly needing my assistance as we neared the others. I snuck a peek at her leg to find the area now a bright pink instead of red and bloody. Stiffness had set into my back, a consequence of my venture through the forest, but the burning sensation had all but disappeared.
“I’m glad you got away. Callum is dangerous—I don’t think he would hesitate to kill any one of us, if only to gain an edge in the tournament.”
“You said this was the third trial. How in theworlddid we get here, Leo? Did Gayl catch you at the ball? IknewI shouldn’t have agreed to let you go.”
“What good would that have done, since you weren’t there and you ended up in the same predicament?” I pointed out. “Lark said the only way we could be transported here is if Gayl had our blood. My guess is there are samples somewhere in the palace records, and he’s been biding his time to use them until now.” I clenched my jaw, thinking of all the terrible things someone with his power could do with our blood. One could have total control of another ifthey were willing to use dark magic such as his. The simple compulsion spell Rose used on me after the first trial that lasted only a few seconds was child's play compared to what Gayl was capable of.
“We’ll get answers when we’re back in Veridia City,” I continued, pushing away a vine in our path. “For now, we need to survive the night.”
65
Leo
The others were shocked to find me returning with my sister at my side and demanded to know what had happened. After Rissa quickly recounted her story, Horace took inventory of the supplies and weapons between the five of us. Rose’s dagger, his own sword, Lark’s broken antler mask, and mine and Salome’s collections of herbs. Without knowing how long we would be on the island, our primary focus was to find shelter away from the open clearing. Lark knew the basic layout of the area and advised we head north in the direction of the lone mountaintop I could barely make out against the midnight sky, as there were a series of caves she said we could rest in for the night.
