My beast stirs, not liking the other male being so close to her, but she backs away from him the moment he’s safely on the ground. “Thanks,” he rasps, clearly exhausted.
“You should have shut it down sooner if it was too much,” Jeh scolds. I don’t blame him. Wes’s stubbornness could have cost Declan his life.
“Okay.” Wes doesn’t bother arguing. He knows Jeh is right, or maybe he just doesn’t have the energy because he tips his head back and closes his eyes.
“There are enough of them on the other side to clear a path for us.” Jeh moves toward the mouth of the barrier with caution. In the past, I would have expected him to shift. He would be stronger, faster, and able to withstand more attacks whether they were magical or physical, but I understand why he hasn’t. Someone has to communicate instructions, and my sole focus isno longer on the team’s survival, it’s only on Briar’s, so he’s a better fit for the role.
Jeh crouches down then leans around the wall, only to spring to his feet and step back immediately. Hildi steps out, her hands lifted as if to show she’s not a threat. I’m pretty sure she just startled him, but the truth is he should have known someone was that close. I would have even if I wasn’t shifted.
“Sorry. When I realized the portal closed, I came to let you know there’s a clear path.” Hildi lowers her hands to her sides, relaxing. Warning bells go off in my head. They are treating this like it’s a practice run, not the real thing, even after they have witnessed others die or, in Hildi’s case, probably killed them. Confidence is one thing, but getting complacent is another.
I snarl and brush my body against Briar. They may not be taking this seriously, but I am, and we need to get on the other side of this wall. Jeh cuts his eyes to me. I’m sure his beast is bristling, but I also know he isn’t stupid enough to challenge me, even now.
Briar reads my cue and moves forward. The remaining stragglers who didn’t make it through the portal follow us past the barrier, leaving Jeh and Hildi to deal with Wes. The only movement I see is from the elites, but I’m not foolish enough to think we are the only trainees taking advantage of the natural protection this area provides. I haven’t decided if I should hunt them down and get rid of them, or wait to see if they come for us. Either way, I need to get Briar secured before determining my next move.
BRIAR
I’ve been biting my tongue for what feels like hours, and the need to speak is driving me batty. “How much time do you think is left?”
Sunny turns his head, but if that’s an answer, I don’t have any way of deciphering it—not that I expected much of a reply anyway. He’s been in his wolf form since all of this began, and I’m getting antsy. It feels like it’s been too quiet for too long. Even the short-lived battles from the other side of the wall seem to have stopped ages ago.
Sunny and I are tucked behind a small wooden structure that reminds me of the corncrib back home that my brothers never finished building. Most of the other elites have broken offinto smaller groups, occupying areas within the bay dotted with similar structures. I gave up trying to figure out what they were for a while ago.
“About seven hours.” I turn to see Jeh standing not too far behind me. It rankles me that I didn’t realize he was there.
“It feels longer,” I admit while watching him with suspicion.
“I know. I didn’t expect to be sitting around.”
“I guess it’s better than fighting or running the entire time.” This is the first time I’ve actually spoken to the other shifter. He’s kept his distance since Sunny kicked him out of his room.
“Somehow I don’t think this is what the Undertaking will be like.” A sigh of annoyance slips from him as he leans his shoulder against the structure. “Foley probably doesn’t want that many of us dead. Frostburn was in last place in the previous contest.”
“How many trainees survived?” The question in my head spills from my mouth before I can think better of it.
“Frostburn trainees?” Jeh asks with an arched brow.
I shift so I can see him better, making sure I’m still pressed against Moros, who hasn’t moved since the conversation began. “Yeah, how many from Frostburn made it home?” It’s a dark question, and I know the answer isn’t going to make me feel any better.
He exhales heavily. “Twelve.”
That’s actually more than I was expecting. “Out of how many?”
“Two hundred.”
I realize my eyes are bulging out of my head, but I can’t help it. Why the hell do we do this to ourselves?
I don’t realize I asked the question out loud until Jeh answers, “It’s not like we have much of a choice. At least when you try, there’s a chance of survival. Refusing to come is a death sentence.” He looks away, and I get the feeling he has somepersonal experience with the matter, or maybe someone he knows does.
“It’s bullshit,” I announce, even though it’s pointless.
“What isn’t?” His eyes dart to Moros next to me before he leans his head back to look up into the air. I get the impression my arrival here is lumped into the same category of bullshit for him, but I can’t really blame him. I know what a broken heart feels like.
I never asked Sunny if he had feelings for Jeh. He seemed so blasé about kicking him out of his room that it never really crossed my mind that there might have been more to their relationship until later. By that point, I didn’t want to know if there was something between them other than being on the same team. Now, though, I’m wondering if I’ve been so self-absorbed I didn’t realize Moros was missing someone too. I can’t imagine those feelings would just disappear because I’m his mate.
I look over at my wolf and start to ponder if there’s another reason he’s avoiding Jeh. I honestly hate to think of him with anyone else, but I’d feel just as bad if I ignored his feelings for my own. My instinct is to reach over and sink my fingers into his fur, but I don’t want it to seem like I’m rubbing it in the other shifter’s face either.
Sunny chooses that moment to look over at me as if he knows what I’m thinking. His citrine eyes don’t break from mine when he leans forward and licks the side of my face. I chuckle softly at the unexpected affection then look back at Jeh, but the male is no longer behind us. In fact, I don’t see him at all when I glance around our makeshift camp.
