“She is,” Sir Muldoon confirmed. “And she forges some really nice toys for us. If you behave, I’ll even let you play with them.”
He smirked, rather coldly. “You get a nice relaxing evening tonight,” he said. “Isn’t that nice of me?”
We shared worried glances. We didn’t get nice relaxing evenings, not here. We worked until late at night, then stumbled into bed only to be woken - seconds later - by cockcrow. If we were being allowed to relax ... whatever was coming tomorrow morning had to be really awful. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself just how much I’d survived in the last few months. I could do it. Whatever it was, I could do it.
Archie took the silent cue to speak. “Are you planning to hang us tomorrow morning?”
“Of course not,” Sir Muldoon said. “You’re going on survivalist training. All you have to do is get from Point A to Point B without being caught.”
“We’re dead,” Hector said. “I’d sooner be hung.”
I scowled. It was hard to escape the feeling he was right.
Chapter Eight
Cold air wafted across me, blowing raindrops into my face.
I stirred, certain that something was wrong even though I wasn’t sure what. I was cold and uncomfortable and ... it dawned on me, blearily, that I was no longer in my bunk. I wasn’t even in the hall! My eyes snapped open, staring up into a gloomy overcast sky. It looked as if it was about to rain. I sat up, looking around in horror. I was in the middle of a clearing, as naked as the day I was born. It felt like I’d been thrown back into the Challenge.
“Ancients,” a voice breathed. “What hit me?”
I turned before I could stop myself. Caroline sat there, bare breasts bobbling. She had no baby fat left after weeks of intensive training, nothing but solid muscle and flesh. I stared, then forced myself to look away. She had looked back at me, her eyes wide and staring. I cringed, cursing the instructors under my breath. It was bad enough getting naked in the barracks, where we were normally too tired to notice ... or care. Here ...
A cold gust of damp air blew against me. I reached for my magic to cast a warming spell and cursed, again, as the magic flickered out. Someone had wrapped a cuff around my wrist, taking my magic. I didn’t have to look at Caroline to know she’d been cuffed too. Our hands were free, but we had no magic. I glanced around, remembering our orders. We had to get somewhere, didn’t we? A compass lay on the ground, positioned neatly on top of a nasty-looking knife - it looked more like a small sword - and a single flask of liquid. I picked it up and checked the contents. Water.
“Water,” I told her. “We live in luxury.”
“No belts, no scabbards, no nothing.” Caroline picked up the knife and held it with practiced ease. “I guess someone forgot the rule about running with swords.”
“Looks that way,” I agreed. I slowly turned, scanning the desolate landscape. Where were we? I was having flashbacks to the Challenge. “You think they’ve taken us off the estate?”
“Looks that way,” Caroline echoed. She picked up the compass and pointed north. “Shall we go?”
“I guess.” I wanted to take the lead, if only to keep my eyes off her. She was very distracting. I also knew she’d kill me if she caught me staring at her. Literally. “I’ll go first. You keep the knife at the ready.”
I shivered as we walked, doing my best to ignore my nakedness. Where were we? If we’d been asleep, we could be anywhere. We could be on the other side of the country. I looked at the distant hills, as barren as an aristo’s heart, and groaned. We could be hundreds of miles from the hall. I wondered if there were any civilians, if they were watching from a distance. It was hard to believe someone could eke out a life for themselves in these surroundings, but humans were endlessly adaptable. I saw a white spot moving on one of the hills and frowned, before realising it was a sheep. Perhaps we weren’t that far from civilisation.
My bare feet ached while we walked. Water droplets soaked my hair and skin. Cold water slid down my back, splashing to the muddy ground. The cuff seemed to grow heavier as we moved, taunting me. The compass vibrated in my hand as we slipped down a rocky gorge, the barren interior suggesting the entire region would flood when the rain finally came in earnest. I glanced back at Caroline and saw she looked as bedraggled, too. We certainly didn’t look like Kingsmen!
“They said it was a survivalist test,” Caroline said. “But how are we meant to survive here?”
I scowled. It was quite possible to live off the land on the estate, but here? I wasn’t sure the gorse was edible. The water trickling down the streams might be poisonous. There were spells to check if something was safe to eat or drink, but - without magic - there was no way we could use them. I glanced up at the darkening sky. Perhaps we should walk with our mouths open. It might be the only way to be sure the water was safe.
“I guess we keep our eyes open for food,” I said. The sheep were a long way away, but ... we could catch a lamb and turn it into food. Couldn’t we? Or would that be cheating? Or ... were we allowed to ask a civilian for help? Sir Muldoon hadn’t set the rules very clearly. “Do you think we’re allowed to seek help?”
“I don’t know.” Caroline snorted, behind me. “We might not have a choice.”
Thunder crackled, high overhead. I jumped, reaching for a spellcaster I wasn’t carrying as the skies opened. It felt as if someone high overhead had tipped a bathtub over us. I cursed and started to scramble for higher ground as the trickle of water became a flood, washing down the gully and threatening to take us down with it. Caroline followed, cursing too as we reached the top of the gully and looked around. Rain washed us clean. We huddled together, too cold and miserable to care that we were naked. The rain seemed never-ending.
“We’ve probably failed,” Caroline predicted. “You think they’ll rescue us or just leave us to die here?”
“I think they’ll come for us,” I said. We hadn’t lost yet. We certainly hadn’t been told we’d lost. “I ...”
The rain stopped. I brushed water off my arm as I let go of her and stumbled to my feet. We stood on a hill, staring into a gloomy fog. Visibility was so poor that I was tempted to suggest we stay where we were, at least until it got better. But I knew we couldn’t wait. Sir Muldoon hadn’t mentioned a time limit, but I was damn sure there was one. And besides, we didn’t have anything to eat. We might starve to death before we were rescued if we stayed still.
They’re probably watching us and laughing, I thought, as we started to make our way down the trail. And telling themselves we’ll never make it to the far side.
The compass vibrated again, drawing us on. I kept walking, despite a growing tiredness that threatened to bring me down. I hadn’t eaten anything. My stomach growled ominously, warning me that I needed to find something to eat before I collapsed. We’d been told we could go several days without eating, if necessary, but I found it hard to believe we could go without eating while hiking our way across rough country. I started keeping my eyes open for sheep or something - anything - we could eat. I wasn’t proud. I’d eat a rat or two if the only other option was starvation.
“Let me take the lead,” Caroline said, stiffly. “It’s my turn.”
I tried to think of a good argument against it, but came up with nothing that wouldn’t annoy her. Instead, I shrugged and traded the knife for the compass. Caroline grinned challengingly, then struck out at terrifying speed. I forced myself to keep up, knowing she was making a point. Neither of the girls were inclined to let the boys baby them. Caroline was tougher than many people I’d met. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on the back of her head as she moved, heading down a rough path. She didn’t seem inclined to slow...
The ground gave way under her. I jumped as she fell into a pit. I heard a crash, followed by a grunt of pain. A trap? Or ... or what? I inched forward, ready to hop back if the ground threatened to collapse under my feet too. My head felt thick, thick and dull. The cuff had worn me down. I pulled at it with my free hand as I
reached the hole and peered down. Caroline had collapsed at the bottom, staring up at me. I didn’t need to be a trained healer to know her leg was broken. It simply couldn’t bend in that direction without being broken. And she was bleeding.
“Keep back.” Caroline sounded as if she was in dreadful pain. Blood spilled from her chest. “Adam, keep back.”
“I’m not leaving you there,” I said. I tried to find a way down. The pit was cunning, clearly designed to keep someone - or something - trapped until the hunter could return to see what he’d caught. Thankfully, he hadn’t lined it with spikes. “I’m not leaving you there.”
I forced myself to think. If I had a rope ... I had no rope, nor did I have a place to put it. I could get down, easily enough, but how could I get up again? It didn’t matter, I told myself as I swung my legs over the side and started to lower myself into the pit. Caroline might bleed to death before help arrived, if we were being watched. I shuddered. If we weren’t being watched ...
I lost my grip halfway down the wall and fell the rest of the way, hitting the stony ground hard enough to hurt. The impact jarred me, sending pains up and down my legs. Blood ran down my legs as I forced myself to stagger over to Caroline. Her leg was definitely broken. And her chest wound was far worse than I’d feared. I pressed my hands against her bare skin, trying to staunch the bleeding. It didn’t work.
“They have to be watching us.” Caroline sounded dazed, as if she was drifting away. I wanted to slap her, in hopes of keeping her focused, but I didn’t dare. A single spell would have been more than enough to save her life. I tore at the cuff, but it refused to budge. “They’ll come for us, won’t they?”
I swallowed, hard. I hadn’t seen anyone before lowering myself into the pit. It would take time - perhaps too much time - for help to arrive, even if it was dispatched the moment Caroline got hurt. I knew a dozen spells that would save her life, that would get us both out of the pit effortlessly, but I couldn’t use them. The cuff was too tight to remove. Caroline was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Caught you staring,” Caroline managed. Her breath came in fits and starts. “Just you wait.”
“Caught you staring too,” I tossed back. There had to be something I could do, but what? “You plot your revenge. You’ll live long enough to punch me in the balls.”
Caroline laughed. The sound became a choking cough. Blood splattered around her mouth. I put more pressure on the wound, but it seemed useless. She was bleeding out in front of me and I could do nothing. I looked up, hoping to see the instructors peering down at me. But there was no sign of them. A thought struck me and I reached for the knife, trying to act before I could think better of it. This was going to hurt ...
“What?” Caroline coughed again, spitting up more blood. “Adam ...”
I took the knife in the cuffless hand and sliced down, cutting off my other hand. The cuff fell to the ground. Blood spilled everywhere. I felt the magic return, followed by a wave of pain and ghostly sensations that suggested my body hadn’t quite realised I’d lost a hand. I cast a painkilling spell I’d been warned never to use unless the situation was desperate, followed by a spell to cauterise the wound and keep me from bleeding to death. Caroline let out a sound, something between a giggle and a cry of pain, as I bent over her, casting an entire string of healing spells. If this was cheating, I’d make the most of it. I sealed up the wound, fixed her broken bone and replenished her blood. By the time I was finished, I was so weak and drained that it was all I could do to remove her cuff. I should have thought to do that first.
“You saved my life,” Caroline said. I almost laughed at her astonished tone. “Adam, you saved my life.”
“I guess that means you can’t punch me in the balls, then,” I said, as she helped me to stand. Blood - hers and mine - trickled down our bodies and pooled on the stony ground. “I saved your life.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Caroline said. I was suddenly very aware of her breasts pressing against my arm. “You were staring.”
I leaned against her as she cast a levitation spell, lifting us both out of the pit and landing us neatly on solid ground. I lay there for a long moment, staring up at the dark sky. Had we failed? We hadn’t been told we could remove the cuffs. I looked at my stump and shuddered. A hand could be reattached, or regrown, if someone was willing to pay. I didn’t know if the instructors would agree. Technically, I’d probably broken the rules. But if I hadn’t, Caroline would have died.
Caroline swore. I glanced at her. “What?”
“The fucking compass is broken,” she said. “We don’t know where to go!”
“It doesn’t matter,” a new voice said. I looked up to see Sir Muldoon. I didn’t know how he’d managed to get so close without us spotting him. “You’ve both passed.”
I stared at him in shock. “That was a test?”
“Of course.” Sir Muldoon looked back at me, evenly. “What did you think it was?”
“You ... you arranged for her to get injured as a test?” I glared at him, balling my fist. I hadn’t been so angry since Francis had hexed me in the back. “She could have died!”
“But she didn’t, thanks to you,” Sir Muldoon told us. “And between you, you escaped a trap.”
“You ...” I threw the punch without thinking. “You ...”
Sir Muldoon sidestepped the blow. “You have been told, time and time again, that you will be tested,” he said, sternly. He didn’t seem worried that I’d taken a swing at him. I suppose it would have been a different story if I’d actually hit him. “This was just another test.”
He turned. “Come with me,” he said. “We’ll get back to the hall, then assess your conduct during the test.”
“I’m not sorry,” I said. “I needed to remove the cuff.”
“We know.” Sir Muldoon glanced back at me. “There wasn’t any other way to save yourselves.”
I glared at his back as we resumed walking down the trail. The entire area seemed to be glowing with magic, now the cuff was gone. I wondered, sourly, if we’d been walking in circles the entire time. There was enough magic in the air to make sure of it, particularly as we hadn’t been able to sense it when we awoke. The compass could have been programmed to lead us over the pit, just to ensure that one or both of us was injured. I clenched my fist, struggling against the urge to throw another punch. The bastard could have killed us! I wasn’t sure he would have bothered to rescue us if we’d been permanently trapped.
Caroline touched my hand, lightly. I scowled at her, unsure how she could take it so calmly. She’d nearly died. She would have bled to death - or worse - if I hadn’t cut off my own hand. My thoughts ran in circles. The others might be facing their own challenges - or worse. Who knew what they’d be facing?
“Next time, it might be you who gets injured,” Caroline predicted. “Or one of the others.”
“We’ll see.” Sir Muldoon didn’t look back as the hall came into view, but I could hear the irritation in his voice. “There’s a certain element of chance in the exercises.”
“You’re a bastard,” I said, crossly.
“That’s you’re a bastard, sir,” Sir Muldoon corrected. “And these tests are designed to make sure you can handle yourself under pressure. Which you did.”
“Hah.” I wanted to clutch Caroline’s hand as the excitement steadily drained away. It was suddenly very easy to envisage all the hundreds of ways everything could have gone wrong. “I nearly panicked.”
Sir Muldoon stopped and turned to face me. “You want to know something important?”
He went on before I could say a word. “There aren’t many men without fear. Those who claim to be fearless have often simply never run into anything to fear. When they do, they tend to come apart at the seams. They don’t learn how to handle fear until it’s too late. For us? The key is not being unafraid. The key is learning how to work through it, to keep your fear from rendering you helpless and alone. Today, you t
ook an important step towards mastering your fear.”
“And learning how to mutilate myself,” I muttered.
“Get up to the healer’s chamber and have her check you out - both of you,” Sir Muldoon ordered. “She can grow you a new hand. You can report to the dining hall afterwards and get some food. Tomorrow is another day.”
“Is that your way of saying there’s going to be another test?” Caroline asked. “A nastier one?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, princelings?” Sir Muldoon sounded amused, rather than angry. “The only easy day was yesterday.”
Chapter Nine
I’d thought Sir Muldoon was joking. He wasn’t.
The next two weeks - or what I thought were the next two weeks, as it was hard to tell - grew harder and harder. Sir Muldoon and the other instructors pushed us as much as possible, forcing us to develop our skills or risk being left behind ... or worse. I sweated though combat training - with and without magic - and relaxed by studying social etiquette and how to handle myself in High Society. Caroline seemed to find it easy, but the rest of us struggled. We honestly didn’t know how to wear a proper suit or tie our ties. I almost felt sorry for Akin and Alana as we worked our way through wine lists, learning how to bluff our way through social encounters I would have considered unthinkable. If they’d spent their childhoods memorising millions of useless facts, I could almost see why they acted as if they had a giant stick wedged up their behinds.
“You have to be comfortable everywhere,” Sir Muldoon pointed out, when I protested. “We need you to be a social chameleon, as comfortable at a wealthy man’s table as you are in a dockside pub.”
I shuddered. I’d never been in a dockside pub. Father had threatened to thrash me to within an inch of my life if I so much as looked at a dockside pub. I’d heard enough horror stories to understand the old man had a point. They were crammed with hard-living men, drinking and whoring to forget the horrors of their lives. I knew I could have been one of them, if things had been different. It didn’t mean I had to feel sorry for them.
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