Conquering the sand dunes in our weakened state and with Jonas less than happy about all the help he needs isn’t exactly easy, and by the time we’ve got him in the carriage and Llinos returns to the beach, there’s no sign of Loch.
‘He must have got into another carriage,’ Llinos says after giving up her search and climbing in with Jonas and me.
The carriage is painfully empty. We should be happy that we made it through to the next stage, but it’s hard to celebrate when so many didn’t. The image of Estel’s body flying through the air fills my mind. Another image to add to the carousel of nightmares already stored in my head.
‘You were phenomenal, Rose.’ Llinos breaks the silence as the horses pull away. ‘The way you climbed that thing! Unbelievable.’
‘I’m glad I was able to use my abilities to climb and throw daggers, but I doubt I’m going to be so lucky in the trials that follow,’ I say truthfully.
She shrugs. ‘You never know, and you’ll also have the non-magical one at some point. And anyway, think about all the people with magic who didn’t survive.’
She’s right and I appreciate her optimism, but while I haven’t seen exactly who survived and who didn’t, it’s likely a few of the weaker Rettlings were lost. As such, I can almost guarantee that I’m now officially the runt of the group.
As I contemplate who else may or may not have made it, my mind flickers to Zara. What are the chances that she didn’t survive? I already know that Kyor did, but at least he’s now out of the second trial.
I fall asleep at some point and wake to the clatter of carriage doors opening. We are back in the eastern arc, where the healers are already waiting. And they’re not the only ones.
‘Thank the Gods.’ Caroline rushes to Llinos’s side and buries her head in her shoulder.
‘All Rettlings to the healers.Allof you.’ It’s Zelle’s voice and hearing it causes a warmth I didn’t expect. His eyes catch mine and he offers a slight dip of his chin. It might be my imagination, but I’m pretty sure he looks pleased to see me among the living.
Unlike the majority of the people who stumble out of the carriages, I’m not entirely sure a trip to the healer is necessary. Then again, I might be able to walk, but I’ve also got my fair share of cuts and bruises. And maybe a couple of cracked ribs. There’s also the fact that I can’t hear anything out of my right ear. Yeah, on second thought, a trip to the healers definitely wouldn’t hurt.
‘Sorry, you two.’ I place my hands on Caroline’s and Llinos’s shoulders. ‘Gonna have to break it up. I need help with Jonas.’
‘See you later,’ Caroline whispers as she tucks a strand of bloodied hair behind Llinos’s ear.
The healing hall is to the left of the dining room, and it’s been separated into two areas: those who need the most help, and those who need a quick once-over. Llinos and I get grouped together and are quickly whisked behind separate curtain dividers while Jonas is taken away.
‘I think it’s just bruised ribs,’ I tell the healer as he scans his hands over my body. ‘Oh, and my ear. I think it burst my eardrum when it yelled.’
The healer’s cheeks pinch inwards as he mutters something to himself. Even with both working ears, I’m not sure I’d have worked out what he said, only that it isn’t positive.
No more words are exchanged between us as the tingling of his magic ripples over my skin. I close my eyes and bask in the sensation. It’s like pressing my palm to the temple door to see Dinah or feeling the spell Jonas placed on my door. I just wish it were my own magic causing it, not someone else’s.
‘You’re good,’ the healer says as he withdraws his hands from me.
‘Great. Thank you.’
He looks at my blood-soaked clothes. ‘You should bathe and then fetch yourself something to eat. And then rest,’ he suggests. ‘Who knows when they’ll call the next trial.’
As I clamber to my feet, my stomach churns. There are a lot more healers than usual. Are they here merely because they knew the injuries from the jötnar would be significant or for some other reason? Like we need to recover quickly because we’re going to be expected to fight again soon. Very soon.
The healer’s right. Now that they’ve started, they could call the next one at any moment. Maybe they’ll cram the other four trials in right at the end of the four moons, or maybe they’ll be kind and spread them out evenly so we have time to recover. Something tells me it won’t be the latter.
‘Thank you,’ I say before turning and heading through the curtain, only to collide with a wall.
Or at least what I think is a wall, until I step back and find myself staring at a chest. Kyor’s chest.
As I glance up towards his face, he looks down at me with a repulsed expression.
‘So you made it.’ I can’t tell if it’s disappointment or surprise in his tone.
‘It would appear so,’ I respond drily.
As the silence swells between us, uncomfortable and heavy, I assess his current state and conclude that he must have been healed first, because there’s not a mark on him. His blue sigils remain perfectly painted on his face and a wolf stole sits around his shoulders. He’s still dressed for battle, and if he went for me now, if he took his vengeance for my mother’s false ‘failure,’ I couldn’t possibly stop him. I have nothing left.
He evidently reads the thoughts on my face and clicks his tongue in exasperation. ‘I’m not going to cut you down when you can barely stand. I have honour.’
