On the wooden beams of the rafters, mere feet above my head, crouched a shadowed figure. One I’d met twice before.
This time, he wore no cloak, only black pants and a loose white tunic with the sleeves rolled up his arms, exposing tan skin corded with muscles and a tattoo of two fierce animal faces on his forearm. The veins around it flexed as he clenched his hand, his piercing black eyes practically glowing in the darkness.
“Of course, it’syou,” I grumbled.
“Believe me, you’re the last person I expected to find breaking into my home.” In one swift movement, he leapt off the beam and landed before me. The rope at my throat twitched and unwound itself, falling to the floor and slinking behind him.
That’s when I realized…it wasn’t a rope.
Swallowing, I rubbed my neck, instinctively moving backward. “Is that…do you have atail?”
“Tell me,” he started, taking a step toward me with a suspicious glint in his eye. I could feel the wariness and distrust radiating from him. The scent of sandalwood and vanilla—the same scent that lingered long after I’d left the shadowed alcove yesterday morning—engulfed me. “Who sent you?”
I scoffed. “What are you talking about? Nobodysentme.”
He growled softly and moved again, and I backed away until my spine hit a wall. A low hiss escaped me as an ache spiked through my skull and side.
Instantly, he stopped moving. His eyes flashed at the sound. “You’re hurt,” he said, almost surprised.
“I’m fine.”
His gaze fell to my right side, which my arm was protectively wrapped around. My jaw twitched from suppressing a grunt as his eyes slowly trailed back up my body to meet mine once more.
The front door banged open. He didn’t so much as blink. I craned my neck to see around him and spotted a beautiful blonde-haired woman in a deep burgundy cloak standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips.
“Leo! What are you doing to her?” she asked, dulcet voice sharp with annoyance.
He sighed and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Turning to face her, he said, “I should have known she was one of your strays.”
“One of her—” I shook my head to clear my confusion, then winced at the motion. “Excuse me, I’ve never met this woman before.”
To my surprise, she smirked. “Funny way of saying ‘thank you for saving my life,’ but I’ll take it.”
I stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Yes, Rissa, I’d like to know that, as well,” the man—Leo—said, irritation lacing his words. “I thought Lark had you helping with the first trial.”
Rissa unfastened her cloak and threw it onto the back of the couch as she approached us. Growing closer, I could see her mischievous, glittering onyx eyes, so very similar to the man at my side. But hers held a softness that his didn’t, a playful gleam that had me wondering if she enjoyed toying with us like this.
“She did. You’re looking at it,” Rissa responded casually, gesturing at me. “I couldn’t very well let our charge lie alone in those woods after a horse nearly trampled her, could I?”
“You’rethe one who brought me here?” I asked, trying to piece together the last few hours. Fates, I didn’t even know how much time had passed. And had Leo mentioned Lark? How did they know who she was? Orme, for that matter?
“Yes, well, after chasing off that maniac Illusionist once he broke free from whatever spell you had over him. Turns out, he’s afraid of a little bite.” On the last word, Rissa’s eyes took on a golden glow as her pupils elongated. Large canines burst from her mouth and she bit playfully in the air, her features returning to normal a split second later.
I gasped and gripped at the wall behind me. “You’re a Shifter?” She smiled in answer, and something dawned on me. The fox who’d been at my side when I woke up…it had similar golden, glowing eyes. “Are you a…a fox? The one who was here when I came to?”
Her smile widened and she gave me a mock bow. “At your service. Now, we need to get you back in shape so you can finish your trial. Lark’s going to killmeif she finds out I almost letyouget killed on the first day.”
Anxiety raced through me. “What time is it?” I asked, whirling around to find a clock and instantly regretting the sudden movement. Pain lanced up my side, the ginger root hardly dimming the intensity.
Rissa pulled a pocket watch from inside the burgundy cloak hanging over the couch. “Six o’clock.”
“Six?” Over half my time was gone, and only a couple more hours were left with full sunlight. I had to get back to the trial.
Leo looked at me, his features pulled into a scowl while his eyes burned with displeasure. “Thisis her? The person Lark enlisted for the mission?”
I didn’t know how he knew about that, but his condescension made me bristle. “I have a name, you know,” I snapped.
