Kerralyn’s cheeks darkened even further, but fury filled her face. “They came through the veil. They’re turning our villages into swampland. And they wereinvited.”
A few people gasped.
Goosebumps peppered my skin, and I rubbed my arms.
“Wholet them in?” Malcolm asked, his mouth a grim line.
“We don’t know,” she said. “All we know is that they’re here, and they’re encroaching further into our territory every day.”
“And that’s where you all come in,” Malcolm said softly. “They’ll attack again, and we need to be ready.”
Maddox sent me a sneer. “Send Isi to stop them. She’s good at giving orders. Just don’t expect her to keep anyone alive while she does it.”
The words hit like a blade in the belly. I didn’t show the flinch, but inside, everything clenched. I hadn’t told Jaxon to leave his watch. I hadn’t told him to try to collect honey.
But I’d let myself sleep while he watched the dark alone. I’d trusted he’d be there when I opened my eyes.
And now he wasn’t anywhere.
Guilt churned inside me, tangled with fury. I wanted to scream at Maddox that I’d done the best I could. That he wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone. But my throat remained a locked box, my hands fisted at my sides.
I took the blow. Maybe I even believed I deserved it.
Bryson growled. “Enough, Maddox.”
“Yes,” Malcolm said. “That will be more than enough. We’re all in this together, all of us fighting not only to survive but to protect our people. If we bicker among each other, all of us will fall. I mean it, Maddox. Find a way to make this work or I’ll find it for you.”
He held Maddox’s gaze until it dropped to the floor.
“If we’re all needed so much,” a tall man about twenty asked. “Why kill even one recruit?”
“We don’t set the trials, the Beast Council does. Bonding with magical creatures requires a specific type of person. Not just anyone with magic can bond successfully. The beasts choose their partners,but they’re drawn to those who demonstrate specific qualities during the trial.” He nodded softly, sorrow shadowing his eyes. They thrust us into the trial, but it must hurt them to watch us die.
“They look for restraint, wisdom, and yes, teamwork,” he added.
“Jaxon showed restraint,” Maddox grumbled. “Fara showed wisdom.”
Not when she went off alone. Guilt swamped me all over again. She’d only left because she wanted to find herbs to heal my arm.
“Power is amplified in those who survive extreme conditions,” Malcolm said. “The trial itself strengthens your magic. The results are fewer magic-wielders than we’d like but ones who can not only survive the trials and the bonding, but the flow of magic your bonded will send you. Undisciplined magic users are more susceptible to corruption and madness. The magic requires a culling for balance.”
A shiver wracked my frame. I’d survived for years in my home court with a trickle of magic warming my soul. Unnoticed. Not forced to drink poison. All that time, I could’vetrulygone mad. I wasn’t sure why I’d doubted it.
“What do you mean by our bonded sending us magic?” Lexie asked, Derren watching Malcolm with steel in his eyes.
“Your companions will enhance your inherent skills.”
My companion had left me, and I had very little magic to work with. Which meant I had no right to be here. But I wasn’t leaving. Not until I found out what happened to Addie. Not until I found those missing children and returned them to their families.
Malcolm scanned the room. “I’m going to divide you into groups, because some of your teams are sparse.” He nodded to two men, the only survivors of their team of eight. “Others larger. Original team members will remain together, of course.”
“With all due respect.” Stones grated through Maddox’s voice. “I’d like to be assigned to another team. Any team buthers.”
“With all due respect,”Malcolm snarled. “I’m asking you to give your team a chance. Make this work.”
“Not happening,” Maddox whispered, low enough for my ears alone.
Malcolm nudged my group into one corner of the room, then added two more members.
