Cassian stood first. “House Draven observes…”
One by one, the others followed. The process wasso formal, and it hadn’t been done in the first trial. It gave me chills.
Then the silence returned.
I looked forward, really focusing on the obstacle course ahead. Or at least what I could see of it from here. The usual arena was completely transformed from its original state. The gauntlet stretched before us, a collection of platforms of stone suspended over a black chasm. The dirt-packed floor that was normally there… a terrifying abyss had taken its place. There were spinning gears above flame pits, narrow beams slick with ice, monkey bars that led to a final platform that rose high above the rest. In the center was a faint glowing crystal pulsing at its peak. It shimmered with a subtle hum that prickled at the edge of my magicless skin.
Kaelric leaned toward me. “This isn’t just about speed, it’s about control.”
He was talking again. That was good, especially considering our bond was about to be tested. Ever since Fenmyr… since Valkaryn suggested I might be his mate… things felt weird between us.
I nodded. “Great, we have to be fast as we run across the abyss,” I said sarcastically.
His lips twitched, almost a smile, but then his eyes dropped to the middle of the course. There was ajump. It was twenty feet out, with nothing to land on in between.
“When the bell chimes, you may begin,” Corvessa said. “Good luck. If you survive today, you will be one step closer to glory.”
I peered to my left and right at each bonded pair, only four of us left in total. How I was still alive to have made the second trial? I had no idea.
Kaelric leaned into me then, catching my gaze and holding it. Staring into those endless green eyes made butterflies take flight in my stomach.
“Wait for the chime,” he said.
I swallowed hard and adjusted my grip on Valkaryn.
The sword thrummed softly in my hand, calm and ready.
‘You are not alone,’she whispered to me.
I squared my shoulders.
Somewhere deeper in the course, the crystal sounded a low, resonant chime.
The gauntlet had begun.
“Stay near me,” Kaelric said.
I nodded. “I always do.”
He gave me a look I couldn’t quite name —half exasperated, half something else.
I steeled myself. The platform we stood onfloated in a long arc over an open void. Some parts of it were cracked, some shimmering faintly like heat mirages. Not all of it was real, I knew that instantly. This whole area reeked of magic. One wrong step and I’d vanish into whatever was below.
Kaelric backed up and then began to run, and I went after him, sticking close on his heels. The platform suddenly split off into multiple directions, causing me to yelp, though I remained steady. Kaelric started to veer left, but Valkaryn pulsed in my palm.
‘No,’she warned.‘That path is magically broken. Go right. Trust me.’
I grabbed Kaelric’s arm mid-stride and yanked him toward the right.
He didn’t argue. He just followed.
To our left, an initiate from House Caelthorn blasted past us and took the other path. Ten paces in, he shouted a curse before suddenly dropping into the abyss as if the very ground no longer existed. I saw his wolf-bonded try to stop him, but too late, and then he too was gone in seconds.
“No,” Kaelric breathed, steadying himself on the platform as he slowed.
“Was he one of your wolves?” I asked.
Kaelric just nodded and then slipped his hand into mine, trudging forward more carefully.
