The chaos demon that was obsessed with her muttered his agreement from somewhere around me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes off her again. The frost clung to her lashes like diamonds, and her lips were slightly blue now.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. If you tell me, I’ll get you out of there,” Professor Emberveil promised.
Rune’s entire body shivered with each breath. The icy water had filled up to her waist now. “You think I can’t handle this? My ex played rougher.”
My muscles froze at that.
Who the fuck was her ex?
Her dads, her mom, the warlock professor, Slater, Koa, and even fucking Dimitri had twisted expressions on their faces.
I needed to find her ex and kill him before they could. I’d present his head to her as a gift.
“Do you need me to do worse?” Professor Emberveil threatened.
Rune stared forward with frozen lashes and whispered just loud enough to be caught on the mic, “Please, do it. I’m learning a lot about myself.”
Raze hissed through his teeth. “Damn.”
Water blasted over her.
Rune, inside that crystal coffin of cold and cruelty, looked like a beautiful fucking weapon sharpened by pain.
Fates help me, I wanted her more than anything.
She wasn’t just passing this trial.
She owned it.
It went on for another ten minutes, and she was soaked to the bone and shivering by the time the box was lifted from her.
Water poured from the stage and onto the floor as she sucked in a sharp, shaky breath.
“Fuck,”she barked out.
The warlock’s fingers twitched like he wanted to dress her again, but he didn’t.
“If cold won’t work, we’ll get creative. Ever heard a banshee scream?” Professor Emberveil asked.
Rune threw her head back and shook her soaked hair out. “Yeah, a few times. Sound torture is an interesting angle, but my brother’s singing is a bit worse.”
I smirked, my gaze zeroed in on her breasts. She was soaked, and her nipples were almost tearing holes in the bra.
The temperature in the room dropped again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. It was from the magical essence within a sound machine that Professor Emberveil rolled out next to Rune.
Rune barely had time to breathe before it hit.
Banshee screams exploded from the machine. It was piercing. Shrill enough to slice through fucking bone marrow.
The sound grated like nails on a chalkboard, and it was horrible.
Everyone in the viewing chamber flinched, but it wasn’t that bad from this far away. It wouldn’t do any real damage to us.
Several students around me clutched their ears instinctively. One girl started crying, and I knew that bitch wasn’t going to make it.
Rune was the one at the epicenter of the banshee cry.
She flinched hard when it started. Her face twisted in pain as she crumpled slightly in the chair. Her head dropped.
