I nod my head, unable to form a proper reply. It’s the second trial. And it’s starting now.
Chapter 36
Iassess what to take with me as we dress hurriedly. Do I want to take my entire bag? I’ve got Estel’s sword, as well as my daggers, but that’s a lot to carry. Then again, is being without weapons a risk I want to take?
Last time, a few swords against the giants would’ve helped. But are we likely to be fighting again? Surely it will be something more strategic … but what? Several recent evenings have been spent discussing past Retterhelds, and despite everyone’s best efforts, it seems almost impossible to deduce a pattern in the trials. We know that a magicless trial and likely a water trial will both come at some point, but in what order, no one knows. Sometimes the frozen lakes in the north of the territory have been used, but other years, multiple trials have taken place in the Sunken Temple. I’m not sure how staying silent while fighting would pan out, but maybe the priestesses don’t count screaming as a word.
Hesitating, I force myself to take a calming breath and clear my thoughts. I definitely need to be armed, so I grab Estel’s sword and the blade I used to slit the jötunn’s throat, then hesitate again. I still know next to nothing about the blade from Dinah, although there seemed to be a theme with the Rettlings that it harmed significantly. The knighted guard who was killed in the same way as Jai had been rumoured to have assaulted one of the maids on the night of the first ball, and while no one had anything specific to say about the Galreckian who died, no one had a single pleasant word to say of him either.
But maybe the fact that Dinah gave me the blade is all I need to know. With a sudden spur of decisiveness, I take the knife out of its box and slide it next to the other in my belt, then follow Llinos out of the room, downstairs, and into the courtyard. Once again, the carriages are waiting for us.
We move to go together, but a priestess steps between us.
‘You will travel alone to this trial,’ she says.
Llinos and I exchange a look. That’s not what either of us wanted to hear.
‘It’ll be fine,’ she says, offering me a swift hug. ‘I’ll see you at the end.’
Assuming we both survive.That’s the thing neither of us says.
I’m just about to step inside my carriage when a voice yells from across the courtyard.
‘Rose! Hold on!’ Jonas is sprinting towards me. When he stops, he grabs my hands and pulls me in towards him.
‘No risks, I know.’ I roll my eyes at him.
A smile flickers on his lips before he leans in and presses them against mine.
The kiss catches me by surprise. So much so that my body turns rigid until he steps away.
‘I’ll see you afterwards. At the ball. With Kay and Will and everyone else.’
I nod, still in shock at the moment I didn’t see coming.
‘Just friends, hey?’ Llinos smirks from the carriage beside me. ‘You’d better survive this because I’ve got some serious questions.’
She’s not the only one. As I stand there in confusion, I feel a scalding glance on me, burning my skin. I turn to locate the owner, and I meet Kyor’s glare. Jaw tight, he turns and gets into a carriage of his own.
The momentwith Jonas isn’t enough to bury the anxiety I feel at being in the carriage alone. I need someone to talk to. To distract me. To tell me which direction we’re going in or repeat how important it is that we work together to get through this. Talking helps alleviate my fears. Being stuck in my head does not.
The night sky is dark overhead, meaning it’s impossible to get my bearings once we leave the last ring of Wrohelm. I try to listen for clues, but all I can hear is the howling of wolves. The sound causes a churning dread to fill me. I don’t think they’d expect us to fight wolves … would they? No, that’s ridiculous. Wolves are sacred in Morathka. Though people aren’t …
I’m expecting the journey to take as long as the one to the beach did, so I’m surprised when the carriage trundles to a stop while it’s still dark out. Checking that my weapons are firmly in place, I step out and scan the area for the other carriages, but there are none. Instead, I’m on the edge of a forest, and waiting for me is a lone priestess. No, not just any priestess. Dinah. My heart lurches as I rush towards her.
‘How?’ I say, enveloping her in my arms. ‘How are you here?’
‘I may have pulled a few strings.’ Her smile highlights the lines at the corners of her eyes. ‘How are you doing, Rose? I’ve heard wonderful things about your first trial.’
‘Well, I survived it,’ I say. ‘That’s definitely good.’
‘From what I heard, you did more than just that.’ She brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, the way my mother used to do. ‘Have you brought the knife with you? The dagger? The one in the box?’
‘Yes.’ My pulse soars as it dawns on me that the answer I’ve been searching for might be standing right here. ‘It’s the same as the one High Priestess Mila used at the vows. It’s magic, right?’
‘I don’t have time to talk about that right now. I have to give you the rules.’
‘But it did something?—’
