Xan sat at his desk and pulled out a basket I hadn’t seen behind his desk. “Okay,someof the time.” His eyebrow ticked with annoyance, though I swore a bit of relief filled his voice.
“These are the crises I planned to contain today, assuming I have the focus.”
“We have time now.” I pulled up a chair, surprisingly eager to dig into a project. “Let’s get started and tell me about your people as we go.”
Xan gave me a flat look. “Lark’s Logistic Lackeys.” He repeated my words, pulling a gold scrawl off the top. I grinned, proud of myself for coming up with that on the spot. “I’m glad your confidence is returning, but whatever this is, you’re still on thin ice.”
I raised a brow. “Welcome to the club. We fix this or we kill each other.”
I’d half meant it as a joke, but an uneasy tension filled the room. Tension that was probably my fault. I scowled. “For Quinn’s sake, let’s fix it.”
Xan inclined his head, and together we contained the first crisis.
Chapter 26
Quinn
EzrahaddescribedThePit to me, so walking into the train station shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. Instead of teeming with life, it felt like a cave, one distant dot of light at the center, impossibly far away. Voices murmured from the boxes and raised seats, but not a single soul moved on the floor.
As my eyes adjusted, the dot resolved into the ring, waiting for me, and only me. I suddenly felt very underdressed.
Not knowing what was coming, I’d thrown on yoga pants, layered shirts, and my bumblebee hoodie, bloodstains and all. A twisted good-luck charm by now.
“Ugh, this is dull. I’d have gone with flashing colors, but the Abernathys begged for boring.” Ravana stepped forward, and I followed.
I didn’t know the tests, but four families meant four trials in four days. I took a deep breath. I could do this. Brit and Joe flanked me, dressed in blacks and one of Brit’s pit-fighting get-ups, while Ezra, still disguised as a Westwater, hovered behind them, ready to step into my shadow at a moment’s notice.
The ring changed from a dot of brightness into the familiar round fighting space. Someone had resurfaced the floor to pristine white. Dead center sat a simple wooden desk. A scrawl glowed golden on its surface while a simple armless chair waited for me.
“Test, as in an actual written test?” I blurted.
“Figures.” Ravana gave an exaggerated sigh. “Trust the Abernathys to turn a trial into homework. Honestly, Edinburgh would be better off if the Westwaters ran the whole damn place.”
The closer we got to the ring, the louder the voices rose. I caught a bit of movement from the seats under the boxes. So, it was more than just the four families watching. I swallowed as nerves filled my stomach.
“Top box, upper left,” Ezra whispered. “Xan, Rowan, Cayden. I’ll stay close for your magic. We believe in you.”
He melted back into the dark. My heart warmed.
“You’ve got this,” Brit squeezed my elbow, and I hoped I smiled in return.
A ramp led up to the round ring on the far side. I walked up it alone while my friends took up guard positions on the floor. Once at the top, I squinted and shaded my eyes, looking for my guys, but I could only make out a few shapes in the gloom.
Everyone could see me; I couldn’t see them. Sweat slicked my skin. I laced my fingers to stop the shaking. It didn’t help. This was the complete opposite of fading into the background.
“Take a seat, please,” a familiar, mellow male voice said.
I lowered my hand and looked over. Jamie Abernathy gave me a reassuring smile and pulled out the chair behind the little desk.
There was no turning back now.
I glanced into the darkness once more. Not just Xan, Alex, and Teivel too. A literal evil piece of shit who wanted to own me, and a crazy mentalist who wanted what he didn’t have.
With shaking hands, I sat in the offered chair and let Jamie help push me close to the desk.
“Answer the questions to the best of your ability.” Jamie’s voice carried; the crowd’s mumbling died. He pointed up. “Your answers, as well as how long it took you to form them, will appear above you, though our family will determine after the fact if you’ve passed or not.”
I swallowed hard. I’d never been bad at school, but I didn’t get top marks either. Usually, it was my work ethic that balanced out my average test scores.
