“Thank you,” I whispered, and my feet went flat on the floor again.
Just as quietly, he answered, “You’re welcome. Now read.”
I cocked my head, studying the words. It was all a jumble of scribbles…until it wasn’t.
Suddenly, I could read it clearly, the magic working.
There were five trials. Each vastly different.
I didn’t speak, reading them through. Multiple times.
1. Agree
2.King
3. Secret
4. Truth
5. TERMINATE
My brows puckered in confusion. “Why is number five—”
“Quiet,” Lord Belshazzar snapped, cutting me off before I could say too much. All kindness vanished from his features as he straightened to his full height. He closed the book, his nostrils flaring. “Gwynnore, what say you? Do you accept the trials?”
I closed my eyes, running them through my mind again.
Why was terminate capitalized?
It was extremely odd.
My eyes opened and wandered to where Anna stood.
Her gaze flicked in my direction, stalled, then swiftly looked away.
Whatever the trials were, they would be brutal.
That much I knew.
I sucked in a sharp breath when fingers gripped my chin, pulling my face forward and yanking my attention off the other woman. I slapped at the fingers, and growled, “What the hell?”
Cato had appeared directly next to my side without me even hearing him. His fingers gripped my chin harder, stinging my flesh. But his words were cool and composed, even their meaning was just as brutal as his touch. “No one—past, present, or future—is allowed to reveal secrets of the trials to other candidates.” A hard shake of my chin. “It is punishable by death. For both parties involved.”
In a flash, I shoved his chest. Cruel and hard, right in his solar plexus.
The asshole didn’t even take a step back, but he did release my chin. To cross his arms and stare down the tip of his nose at me—that nose was my nose. Pert and straight, perfectly placed on his face. His brows rose slowly, speaking even more gradually, “Do you understand, Gwynnore?”
I took a step back from him, allowing the tips of my fangs to show. “Don’t touch me again.”
Lord Belshazzar sighed heavily and stepped between us, his eyes only for me. “Answer his question, candidate.”
I swallowed my pride and nodded. “Yes, I understand.”
Fuck, I wasn’t going to ask her.
It had been a knee-jerk reaction to look at her.
Cato turned and walked away, back to the dais.
