I glanced back at Maddox, one of the eight in my group, giving him a nod. Great question. He stood with his arms crossed on his chest, his sharp eyes scanning the rest of us. I suspected he was already calculating which of us wouldn’t make it out. Beside him, his younger brother, Jaxon, rocked on his heels, his crooked grin wide. Nervous or cocky, I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t spoken to either yet, but I’d watched enough to know they weren’t the type to die easily.
“Of course there are rules and guidance.” There was no mistaking the cunning on Malcolm’s face. “Eight groups of eight recruits. One Fernwood crossing. A possible reward at the end. The Rite tests who you truly are. You’ll understand soon enough. That’s enough information, don’t you think,recruit?”
“Absolutely not,” Bryson said in a stiff voice. “Give us more information, if you please.”
So maybe the guardwasn’tinformed of what went on during the Rite.
“Your job is to survive the Rite, then survive bonding,” Malcolm said. “I look forward to calling many of you warriors at the end.”
Whispers hissed around me.
I, for some asinine reason, kept looking at Trew.
Kira pushed off the wall and stalked over to stand with him, sliding her hand up his arm in a caress that screamed possession. She sent me a look that shouted,see? He’s mine.
“I wonder which recruit will break first.” Her gaze found mine. “Some look incredibly fragile.”
“By the fates, who needs to hear something like that?” Lexie shifted closer, her shoulder nudging mine. She tugged on my arm, urging me to the side of the room. “Ignore the fucking bitch.”
Trew disentangled himself from Kira. She shot a glare at his backas he walked straight toward me, cutting through the recruits. Lexie tensed, her hand tightening on my arm.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t seem to make myself do anything but stand there while he directed the timing of our next interaction.
He stopped near enough in front of me that I felt the heat of him through the leather, a warmth that wasn’t welcome or safe, but still made something inside me curl tight. “Try not to die too quickly, minxpip. It’d be such a waste. You’ve only just started looking dangerous.”
“Watching again instead of intervening?” I asked.
“We’re not allowed to intervene.” Something flickered in his gaze. Regret, maybe. But it was gone before I could name it.
He pivoted and strode across the room and through one of the archways.
Kira’s gaze flicked from me to the archway, and she made a slicing gesture across her throat before pointing at me.
I smiled back at her, letting her see exactly how unbothered I was by her threat.
Fragile things break, but the sharpest ones cut on the way down.
11
ISI
Nia and the other wardens strode out of the archways, where they must’ve been waiting for Malcolm’s signal. Her mouse bobbed on her shoulder, clinging to her blue tunic with its tiny claws, its gray fur blending with her shoulder-length hair. The tiny beast’s whiskers twitched as its black eyes swept over the recruits trying not to look as terrified as they felt.
The scent of fear-sweat mixed with the lingering breakfast smells clinging to our clothing, and the bread and cheese I’d eaten sat heavy in my belly.
Nia stopped in front of our group, her attention falling briefly on me with what I swore was a speculative lift of her brow. Did she know about what happened last night? The body was gone this morning, and I wasn’t going to ask who’d disposed of it.
“Eight groups,” Nia said, her voice carrying the kind of authority that would not stand for argument. “Follow your assigned guide, which is me. Stay with your team. Do not deviate from the route.”
Each word dropped into the silence like a blade finding flesh.
Bryson stepped forward, his broad shoulders squared in theposture of a man accustomed to command, his dark shaved head gleaming in the torchlight. “Can you give us more details about what we can expect in the trial? Any guidance on terrain, duration, or the specific challenges we might face? My prior commander experience suggests?—”
Nia’s gray eyes fixed on him with the kind of look that could freeze blood in the heat of summer. Her mouse’s whiskers stopped twitching, as if even the tiny creature scented the danger in the air.
“Get back with the others.”
Her dismissal cut through Bryson’s stern demeanor. His jaw tightened, the muscle jumping beneath his skin. For a heartbeat, I saw the man who’d led troops and expected his questions to be answered with respect. But that man held no power here.
