There was a shadow of someone tall on the ground in front of me. Leaning forward to peer around the corner, I saw the man with the butterflies standing in front of the fireplace, pushing my papa against the mantle.
I almost stepped out of my hiding spot to run for him when Papa saw me. His eyes widened and he whispered something I couldn’t hear, but then the air felt too heavy on my chest. It was hard to breathe. He must have cast a spell.
“Branock Aris sends his love,” the man holding Papa said in a scary voice, before pulling out a knife and?—
“Papa!” I shrieked, my hands reaching out to him as I tried to run forward. But I couldn’t. My skin hit something solid, an invisible wall blocking my path. I kept crying for him, hot tears burning my cheeks, my throat already sore and my body aching from the effort of trying to push past his spell.
I watched, unable to move, as my papa slumped to the ground. Blood poured from his neck where the man had cut. I could barely see through my thick tears, but I swore the man looked back in my direction, his eyes brushing over where I stood as if he had no idea I was there. Then, he and the second man turned and ran out the front door, leaving me alone.
Papa choked, a horrible, gurgling sound, and then the invisible wall went away. I dashed to his side and saw the gash on his neck, the thick, red blood streaming from it like a river, covering the floor in front of the fireplace.
I fell to my knees with a scream.
“Wolff? Wolff?” A hand shook my shoulder, turning me. “Was this man hurting you?” Horace asked, gesturing to Callum.
“What would it matter if I was?” Callum sneered. “The first trial has begun. There are no rules.”
I gasped as their exchange ripped me from the memory, forcing my breaths to even out as I met Callum’s smirk.
“What’s wrong, Feywood?” he asked. “Can’t handle a little trick?”
A sinking weight settled on my chest, adrenaline pumping through me as the image of my father’s murder burned on the backs of my lids. Wiping any hint of emotion from my features, I held Callum’s gaze, unwilling to give the reaction he sought.
“He’s right,” I said, voice steely. “There are no rules. I’m fine, Horace.”
I couldn’t deal with this right now, the mind games and retaliation. With the small hint of amaranth still on my tongue, I whispered a spell for protection and strode past Callum, getting away as swiftly as I could while promising to make him regret this once I couldthinkagain. Once I could breathe.
Once I wasn’t falling apart.
“I’ll be seeing you,” he called after my back, and I thought I heard Horace say something in response, but I was too far down the hall to care.
The pounding in my ears grew louder, my vision graying around the edges as I twisted the knob of the closest door I could find.Locked. The next one was, too. My thoughts spiraled as I tried to find a private place to collect myself.
I stumbled to the end of the corridor, spotting a narrow staircase spiraling to the floor above. Without thinking, I forced myself up the steps, my hands seeking out the grooves in the stone as I climbed. The cold, rough edges on my fingers kept the dizziness at bay and helped me stay grounded until I reached the next landing.
Before I could catch my breath, I collided with a hard body.
“Careful, there,” a deep voice said, and I looked up to find a pair of eyes.
A pair of strikingly familiar onyx eyes.
I stiffened. It was him.
The man from the forest.
15
Leo
It was her. The Alchemist from that night. The girl with the spell that leveled afully grownsnow leopard Shifter.
I wracked my thoughts for why she would behere, of all places, when I remembered—she’d been traveling in one of the palace’s carriages that night. That meant she was either a highly regarded spectator, a challenger herself, or family to someone involved.
Her skin was warm beneath her black clothing as I reached out to steady her. Dark hair was pulled back into a braid, small tendrils breaking free and framing her sharp cheekbones. What gave me pause was the sheen of sweat on her olive features, the dilated pupils, the shaking hands.
I knew I didn’t have time for this. I wasn’t even supposed tobehere, especially after the conversation at the Drakin’s Lair last night. Rissa could tell how irritated I was that they’d chosen someone else for the task, and she more than likely expected me to do something rash. If my sister caught word I’d disobeyed her and snuck in to search for evidence of Gayl’s Grimoire, she’d wring my neck.
But something was obviously wrong.
