“Bitter Embrace,” Lily answered.
Master Payne slithered to the front of the group. His gaunt, wiry frame and crooked smile, being the only part of his face visible under his hood, made Elora shrink in on herself. The man was creepy. She had heard the rumors about his deformities, twisted limbs, sunken to the skull eyes. All of it was supposedly results of countless experiments with venom and toxins that he enjoyed testing on himself. She was unable to understand what would compel someone to want to do that. It was ludicrous.
The poison master pulled an enormous rat from somewhere up his sleeve.Was it just… sitting there?Elora blinked, her thoughts momentarily derailed by the sheer absurdity of it. She fought the urge to laugh at the mental image of the creature casually hanging out in his robe, waiting for its grand debut.
“You will test your poison on this.” The poor thing clawed at the air, trying to get away from the creepy skeletal man and the grim fate he had planned for it.
Lily stepped forward slowly, her lips quivering. With a sharp inhale, she tipped the vial, pouring the liquid death down the creature’s throat. The rat squirmed, its tiny claws scraping at her finger. With a quick flick, she dropped it onto the hard ground.
The rat squeaked and darted toward the entrance, hoping to retreat into the woods. But before it could, it froze. Its small body began seizing violently. A sharp, guttural sound escaped its mouth right before blood seeped from every orifice in thin, crimson streams.
Its limbs twitched. Its eyes bulged almost fully out of their sockets, and a foul odor filled the air as feces splattered on the floor beneath the trembling creature.
The Masters watched with casual disinterest. But the students, their hearts and empathy still intact, recoiled. Several clamped their hands over their mouths, while others turned away completely.
Elora’s stomach churned as she looked away from the gruesome scene.Poor thing probably thought it was free of that miserable sleeve.The rat had escaped the robe only to meet a far crueler fate. The irony of it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Arria stared intently at the rat, her face grim. It was as if she were punishing herself, forcing herself to witness every second of its suffering. Not even her usual fidgety hands twitched; she was a statue.
Elora reached out and squeezed her hand. Arria’s fingers were cold and stiff. She blinked, shaking herself from whatever trance she was in, and met Elora’s gaze.
“I’m fine.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Well done.” Master Payne inspected the dead animal, seemingly gleeful, as a smile crept across his face.What a disturbing man.
Master Egorim took over again. “Healers, you will test your elixirs on yourselves. Who will be presenting?”
Arria, Rowan, and Marcus stepped forward for their presentations. Marcus began by lifting a large rock and smashing it onto his foot. Birds erupted from the trees, startled by his scream. He staggered before falling face-first into the dirt. Gritting his teeth, he applied a green paste to his injured foot. After a few minutes, he struggled to his feet and walked in a circle. He had a noticeable limp, but he probably did more damage than the paste could heal.
Rowan took his turn. He held his palm over the flame of a brazier. Elora wrinkled her nose at the burning flesh odor mixing with the fire’s crackle.How can he stand it?Her own skin tingled, imagining her hand feeling the bite of the flames. She couldn’t look away, though she really wanted to. Both boys’ bravery was commendable. She wasn’t sure she’d be willing to do the same. But did that make her a coward or just smart?
When Rowan finally pulled his hand away, he smeared a clear salve over the charred skin. When he peeled the salve away, he revealed skin that was red and swollen but unburnt.
Arria was last. She held up two bottles, one filled with a swirling black liquid and the other a small shimmering blue vial. “I have here Reaper’s Kiss and its antidote.” She glanced around the room, searching for another animal they might have brought. Really, she should look up their sleeves.
“How should I test this?”
“A bold choice, but like the others, you must test it on yourself.”
What!? He can’t be serious.Elora’s mind spiraled.Surely one of them has another rat tucked away somewhere.Elora bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t call them out on the insanity of it all.Obedience…Thorn’s fractured voice reminded her.
Arria’s fingers tightened around the vials. She stared at the canopy above, searching for some divine intervention. Elora wanted to reach out, to stop her. But Arria lifted the vial of poison to her lips and swallowed the dark liquid in a single gulp.
Without hesitating, she downed the antidote. Her breathing was rapid, her chest heaving as she waited for the antidote to work its magic.
Everyone stared at her. A bead of sweat traced a path down her temple, and her eyes darted around the room before locking straight ahead. The seconds stretched painfully long, the tension almost unbearable.
Did it work? Did she time it right?
A minute passed. Nothing.
“Well done,” Master Egorim said, allowing Arria to let out a shaky sigh of relief.
But before anyone had a chance to congratulate Arria for not dying, Master Fern marched forward. “We will perform the last two tests within—”
A sudden, violent cough tore through the master’s words. Arria’s hand flew to her throat, and color spread across her skin and face. First red, then that sickly purple of someone suffocating. An icy terror gripped Elora.No…
A choked, gurgling sound escaped Arria as she fell to her knees. She clawed at her neck and gasped for air. Her deep brown eyes locked with Elora’s, her lips quivering, struggling to form words.
