by Olivia Ash
“Thank you, and same to you,” I say and continue heading back to my room.
Chapter Nineteen
Soren is pissed.
I can practically see the waves of rage pouring off him as he stands in the training court assigned to us. But I won’t let him demean me any longer. Squaring my shoulders, I approach him. As I near, my magic starts to burn and I’m reminded that for some reason, my magic reacts to him. With Milo, Jesse, and Gideon, I don’t really mind. But him? I’m freaking perplexed.
Once I’m within two-feet of him, he digs into his speech.
“Where were you last night?” he asks, spittle shooting from his mouth at the last syllable of night.
“Where were you?” I ask folding my arms over my chest. “Or is it just a part of your amazing training to keep your student waiting on you for over an hour before she gives up and goes to bed?”
“I gave you an order,” he says.
“You’re good at giving those. Bravo. Just so we’re clear, I was here exactly when you ordered me to be. Again, where the hell were you?”
He positions himself for an attack. This suits me just fine. If he wants to spar, who am I to stand in the way? But I’m not holding back.
I position myself and my hand glows with light. As soon as his gaze moves to my hand, I release it, shooting it toward him. He dodges, much to my disappointment. I was really hoping it would hit him. Knock him on his ass, maybe pound some sense into him, at the very least.
“I don’t have to answer to you.” He paces in front of me. “You answer to me because—”
“Yeah, I get that. But if you want to make sure I don’t kill anyone, then you can do so by treating me with respect and not like an ant you can torture with the sun and a magnifying glass.” My hand glows again with another ball of powerful light. This one is stronger, larger, but I don’t release it just yet.
“You are dangerous, Wren.” His gaze travels from my power-lit hands to my face. “You have power. Too much power. Have you ever considered that it’s unnatural?”
The heat that burns through me grows, and my magic pools in my arms, building in pressure as my hands clench into tight fists, causing the magic to erratically swirl around my fingers. But I know I can’t lose control, so I let the powerful energy disperse and fade. “You will either be civil, or I will find a new mentor. I haven’t done a damn thing to you, and I will not stand for being ridiculed or snapped at anymore.”
I step closer to him and swing a fist at his face. It connects in a satisfying pop. I swing my other fist, but he blocks the attack. His expression changed from the serious, angry face to one of being impressed. Maybe he’s not accustomed to people getting so close to hitting him. I don’t care. I’m going to do it again, eventually.
He smiles a little, and that only pisses me off more. This isn’t cute or funny. He says, “I will not allow you to have another mentor. I’m going to keep a close eye on you, and nothing you say will keep me from that. Not even Headmaster Storm or your precious Deacon Lawrence.”
I lift an eyebrow and swing. If he wanted to fight with me, insinuating that I’m unnatural, then so be it.
He takes the hit, grabs my wrist, pulling me close, as he narrows his beautiful amber eyes on me, full of burning fury. I swing with my left and he catches my fist, forcing it behind me and twisting me so that my back is pressed against his firm muscles.
His breath blows hot over my neck as he says, “Nice try, but you will have to do better than that.”
I try to ignore the way the warmth tingles in all the right ways or how his voice sounds dangerous and pleased at the same time. I throw my head back, nailing him in the jaw. He grunts but doesn’t let go.
“Try harder,” he says.
I roll my eyes and hate the way my body is responding to him right now. I’m pissed, and my body wants to screw him more now than ever.
Not freaking fair.
“You asked for it,” I say, stomp on his foot, and use his weight to throw him over my back and to the ground.
That worked.
And the look on his face is a mix of shock and, dare I say, thrill…
“You’re an asshole, Soren. You wouldn’t know kindness if it slapped you in the face.” I pant as I walk in an arc around him. “I’m not the problem here, you are. Don’t you think I want to succeed here? I want to pass the trials, and I’m willing to prove myself. Isn’t that enough?”
He flips himself to his feet and there is something about him that seems slightly different. Not much, but still there. His eyes are softer even.
“Now we are getting somewhere.” He smiles and that distracts me.
What the hell is he smiling at? And it’s a damn nice one at that.
But that’s what he wanted. A distraction.
Before I realize it, I’m on my back on the ground. Somehow, he cushioned my fall. My head rests on the grass and I look up at him, narrowing my gaze. I swing.
Again, he catches my flying fists and pins them to either side of my head. He lowers himself. “I wish I had known that getting you to focus on the fight required pissing you off first.”
His voice is soft and it’s almost like a complete one-eighty.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Never had an initiate stand up to me before. It’s refreshing.”
“It was provoked,” I growl as I try to free my hands.
He forces my hands back down and says, “And do you think your enemies are going to actually fight fair against you?”
“Let me go,” I growl out.
“Make me,” he whispers while he levels his eyes on mine.
Yeah… something happened, and I’m lost as to what. It couldn’t be the fact I stood up to him… did he actually get laid?
That thought sent my stomach plummeting lower. I don’t know why, but I don’t like the idea of him being with another woman. Which is just ridiculous.
“Come on, Wren. You’d be dead by now if this were a real fight.”
I lift an eyebrow. My magic lights up my right hand. His eyes flit to the ball of light rapidly forming. He rolls off of me just as I release my magic. It shoots against the barrier on the other side of the training court, absorbing into the invisible shield with purple and pink tiny lightning bolts that fizzle and sizzle until they’re fully absorbed.
Soren is already on his feet and I roll to mine and face him. “Feel better provoking a girl?”
“You’re not just a girl. Are you?” He smiles.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I ask through a laugh. I wish he’d lighten up a little more like this. This is nice. I may actually end up tolerating him…and dare I say, liking him.
“Come at me and find out.” He beckons me to him.
I shake my head. He’s toying with me. And I don’t know how to feel about that. “All because I stood up to you?”
He shrugs. “Maybe. I still don’t trust you yet.”
“The feeling is mutual. Believe that,” I say.
I don’t know what happened, but this is more like it. If it’s one thing I know, it’s not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’s obliging my request, and that’s all I asked for. Now, I get to absorb this training. Although I’m not sure what tonight’s training is going to look like, for now, I’m good with this slight change.
Chapter Twenty
The strange change in Soren stayed on my mind for the rest of the day. Jesse tried to drag it out of me, but I wouldn’t let him. Eventually, we both fell asleep. Except, at some point, I’m transported out of my bed toward a steep cliff overlooking the ocean with sharp, jagged rocks jutting out of the water at the base of the island, reflecting the moon’s light.
The air is cold, making me grateful I had put on warm pajamas before I laid down. The chill of the ocean seeps through me as the wind picks up, urging me toward a dark path within the woods. I wrap my arms around me and try to keep as warm as possible.
I have no idea where I am, ex
cept, I’m clearly still on the island. Without any idea as to where I’m supposed to go, I walk along the path. The trees creak and moan and I keep my eyes peeled on the moving shadows in case this is some attempt to catch me off guard. The trolls were really good at that.
Eventually, I find flickering lights up ahead and as I step closer, I notice there are torches on either side of the pathway, and in front of me is the Lady Alene patiently awaiting my arrival. I smile as I approach. She’s always been so pleasant to me. But despite how nice it is to see her, I realize this is my next trial.
“Good evening, Wren,” she says.
“Hello, Lady.” I marvel at how the light dances along her stone features. I wonder what she looked like in life. The detail of the statue is amazing, but it still leaves some questions to fill in. Like what color was her hair, her eyes, and skin?
“Do you know why you are standing in front of me right now?” she asks.
I nod. “My next trial.”
She nods, clasping her hands in front of her. “Indeed. Sometimes, a mage’s aid is called upon in the most inconvenient of times. You must demonstrate your ability to perform magic with little sleep and while ill-prepared. This is a demonstration of your physical strength.”
I nod in understanding. Soren had canceled our evening training session, telling me I deserved the break for a job well-done, but I wonder if there wasn’t more behind it. If maybe he knew that my trial would happen tonight. I used the free time in the library to research my magic more and with hopes of seeing Milo again, but to my disappointment, he wasn’t there.
“Your task is to make your way back to the castle. The path is wrought with danger, and for that reason, you must only travel by the light of the moon.” She points to a path that appears. Bushes and trees move out of the way, the lower branches forming an arch. “Good luck, Wren and farewell.”
Lady Alene steps to the side and I settle my focus on the path ahead. I take a few deep breaths, shaking away the last of the sleep beckoning me back to my bed, as I approach the path. I have no idea where this is leading and I’m not quite sure what type of trial this is. Get back to the castle using only the light of the moon, because the path is dangerous.
That leaves a lot to my imagination, and after the things I’ve seen in my life, this unsettles me.
I glance over my shoulder at Lady Alene. She nods once with a soft smile on her stone face. I return the nod and face the path again.
Ready or not, here I go.
As I move along the path, it becomes darker and more difficult to see. It’s like the shadows have a life of their own, seeping into every possible space and claiming darkness over as much as possible. Things around me move, and I keep a look out for anything coming for me. Just ahead of me is a bend in the path, and I slow down. There is more to this trial than what meets the eye. I know I have to be careful.
I was told this is a dangerous path. So far, it only seems that way. But Lady Alene wouldn’t warn me of the dangers if there weren’t actual dangers to be careful of. With that in mind, and the mysterious time limit ticking away as the seconds roll by, I pause and take stock of my surroundings.
My eyes have adjusted to the dark now. On either side of me are bushes of dull, greyish looking flowers that are probably white in the daylight. These flowers are tiny and appear delicate. This sends a thread of warning through me. That could mean they are poisonous or have some other kind of undesired effect.
“Better avoid those,” I tell myself and continue on, albeit a little more cautiously.
One step forward and the light of the moon reflects off something in front of me, closer to the ground, that makes me think of a trip wire.
Awesome.
This trial is turning out to be something that feels more like it was designed solely for the purpose of making an initiate fail. Maybe that’s the purpose? Only the best of the best gets in here and that means you have to not only know your stuff, but you have to be clever and efficient.
Makes much more sense.
As I approach the line, it fades into the shadows, blending into the dark and making it incredibly much more difficult to see. This is going to take some work.
I can’t use anything but the light of the moon to see by, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t use magic. Carefully, I push out my feet, one at a time, and as soon as I feel the thread for the trap, I bring my foot back a fraction of an inch, so I don’t trip it.
Lowering myself to the ground, I gently drag my hand along the wire to what the trap triggers. At my level, moonlight glints off of a pipe sticking out from the ground. I stand and inspect the pipe more, touching it. I pull my hand away to find my fingers covered in soot. That means it shoots fire. A lot of it, judging by the size of the opening.
I’ll have to be careful to not get my body caught inside that. I would step over the trap, but something tells me I need to disarm it, even if that triggers the fire, so that I can show my resourcefulness. But I’m not positive. The first trial was challenging in the sense of solving riddles and finding clever ways to make it from door to door. I had to use my magic to help me.
Since these are trials to help with my admission to the academy, it would make sense that I would have to be both clever and talented with magic.
Very well. I move a few feet back and aim my hand toward where the trip wire is. My hand warms with fire. I aim a concentrated stream toward the trap. The wire gives way.
The pipe clicks and the smell of gas fills the air just before igniting. A torrent of flames shoots across the path, making it completely impossible. The plants on the other side start to wilt and I know I have to act quickly before whatever danger Lady Alene warned me of comes in search of roasted Wren.
I hold my hands out to the side and they start to glow radiant blue. Wind blows against my back, passing me and blowing into the fire. Soon, the wind fills with moisture, and before long, the fire eventually sputters out.
One trap down… and I have no idea how many more to go.
I make it to the bend and follow it around. Branches from the trees above me reach for the ground like spiny fingers.
Great. That’s probably another dangerous thing to avoid. I don’t want to even think about what that could mean, but I know I have to be careful. Army crawling will zap too much of my energy. But I can’t just walk straight through either.
I sigh. “Won’t this be fun.”
To my left is the sound of rushing water. It sounds like it’s pretty far down, which lets me know there is a cliff to avoid. To my right, snaps of twigs, moving bushes, and dark groans echo toward me.
Whatever is making the noise seems to be getting closer to me, and I certainly don’t want to find out what it is.
This is going to take some effort, but I have to get through quickly and as carefully as possible.
Now the sound is coming behind me and I’m out of time to figure a way through. I start moving, lowering myself, bending, and twisting to avoid the branches. One catches on the sleeve of my pajama shirt and tears a hole, leaving a burning cut in my arm. Before long, the pain throbs through my whole shoulder.
I don’t slow down as I continue to move, extra careful to keep from getting scratched by the branches again. Judging by the sounds of the creature behind me, I’ve gained some distance, but it’s not enough.
Another bend and the ground inclines before leveling out. The path ends in a large drop where the ocean water rushes through. I narrow my eyes as the rope bridge looks like it flaps against the other side.
Great.
I can’t jump that far, and I certainly can’t float over there. But I have no choice. I have to use my magic.
But exhaustion is setting in. I’m running on pure adrenaline. Already my endurance has been tried and my energy is rapidly depleting from the lack of sleep.
As I look over the top of the gap, the castle towers stretch into the sky with lights shining through some of the windows. I know I’m almost there, and that thought al
one helps keep me going.
I use my magic to pull the ropes toward me, beckoning them to me. It’s a risk, because of the glow in my hand, but there’s no other way across.
That creature is catching up, judging by the sounds echoing behind me, and I know I’m running out of time. I will either have to get across this expanse or fight off something I probably have never seen before.
Not a pleasant idea. But it’s what my choices have come to.
“Come to me,” I beg of the bridge, using my magic to pull the bridge to me. There’s give to the bridge and as it slowly raises toward me, I feel the tug of the wind that blows it and the weight of the material itself fighting against me.
Finally, the rope reaches me, and I struggle to grip it and tie it to the post next to me. I pull on a plank to bring the other side to me and tie it as well. I add an enchantment to the rope to keep it from coming loose as I cross, even though I know nothing will be in place to stop the creature from following me.
Still, with no time left to get moving, I move across the bridge on my hands and knees, keeping the other side in my sight. When the wind blows through me, I grip the planks and hold on for dear life.
Half-way across, the bridge drops a little. I look behind me to see the ropes slowly coming free.
Shit.
I move quicker, but still being careful not to lose my balance. I have less than a quarter of the bridge left to get across, and I hold my breath.
Once I’m on land again, I release the breath I have and quickly fall to my rump to watch the bridge give way completely and fall back down to slam against the side of the cliff.
The sky lightens more as the sun starts to rise over the horizon. But the light does nothing for the shadows around me.
After a few moments to catch my breath, I climb to my feet and continue on. The shadows move more violently on this side, but nothing hangs over the path here. I can see the sky as it lightens, and before long, torches light the way.
I make the final turn, reaching one of the paths that leads through the garden behind the castle. I half-run the rest of the way back, until I’m met with two figures dressed in burgundy cloaks. I can’t see their features, shrouded by the hoods.
