There was something about Illusionists that got to me.
“I can handle being a target,” I said, my pride peeking its head out and sniffing the air.
“I don’t doubt it. But tell me, Rose, did you come to the capital alone?” I froze, the blood draining from my face. He must have noticed my reaction, for he added, “Can you handlethembeing one?”
I hadn’t even thought of Ragnar, Morgana, or Beau when I’d retaliated against Callum, of how each of my actions could leaddirectly back to them. Even though putting innocent civilians in harm's way had been expressly forbidden, I wouldn’t put it past someone to disobey if I made them mad enough.
Fates, I was anidiot. If anything happened to my family because ofme…
I had to pull myself together. I couldn’t let my emotions control me, those hot surges of anger that consumed and made me lash out irrationally. I had a mission to accomplish and people to keep safe.
“You’re right,” I conceded quietly. “I won’t let it happen again.” I made a mental note to find Beau and Morgana before the night was over and ensure they kept plenty of protection charms on them.
Nox nodded. “Oh, by the way, I met the last challenger after you stormed out of the great hall.Callista,” he said, dragging out the word. “The Lightbender from Emberfell. She’s a crowd favorite, I can already tell. Knows how to put on a good show. She had the entire court entranced with her fancy light magic, like some performing monkey.” He chuckled darkly. “I could have shown them a few tricks myself, but I doubt they would have applauded me.”
“What do you shift into, anyway?” I blurted, unable to stifle my curiosity.
“That’s a rather personal question, darling.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, you’ve seen my magic at work.”
“So this is an ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’ type of request?” he asked, wagging his eyebrows. I put a finger to my temple. Keeping up with this man was exhausting.
Laughing at the annoyance on my face, he said, “If I ever have to shift, you’ll know. I plan to lay as low as possible until absolutely necessary.” He pushed off from the door frame. “I’m glad we had this talk. Good luck with the first trial tomorrow, viper,” he said, then turned on his heels and disappeared down the empty corridor.
The First Trial
14
Rose
Idreamt of butterflies.
Delicate blue wings laced with black and yellow fluttered onto the tip of my finger, a faint tickle making me shiver when it brushed against my skin.
In my dream, I smiled.
Until blood began to drip from the wings and down my hand.
Ruby red glistened over my skin, coating it in the thick, hot liquid. I jerked my hand back with a scream and the butterfly flitted away, but still, the blood came.
On both my hands now. The ground, my feet, my legs. I couldn’t run from it.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I woke from my nightmare with a jolt. The sound of something scratching against the wood floor drew my attention to the door. My fingers instantly closed around the handle of my dagger beneath the pillow.
Squinting, I scanned the room by the faint light of the rising sun coming from the window. The knocking had stopped, and the air was silent once more, save for the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. I released the hold on my dagger and scrubbed a hand over my face with a groan.It’s too early for this.
Untangling my legs from the sheets, I climbed out of bed, stretching as I padded across the floor to the door. On the ground rested a folded envelope with the official seal of the Veridian Empire staring back at me. I cracked the door open to stick my head out and see if anyone was there, but the corridor was empty, except for Horace. His back was to me as he paced down at the end of the hall. Had he been there all night?
When he turned and caught my eye, he gave a grunt, then continued to ignore me.
Not a morning person either, I took it. I had a feeling we would get along splendidly.
A flutter of nerves erupted in my stomach as I shut the door with a softsnickand crouched to pick up the envelope, finding my name on the back in bold letters and the titleFeywood Challengerwritten below it.
Today was the first trial.
