Chapter 59
don’t have my furs,’ I say to Kyor in a panic as I race to pull on my‘I clothes. I can’t believe I didn’t think to bring them down here with me.
I’ve spent every night here after all. But I guess I thought we had more time until the next trial. ‘In the wardrobe,’ Kyor tells me. ‘Benny gave them to me a couple of days ago. I forgot to tell you. Guess he figured it might be another middle- of-the-night thing.’ ‘Thank you, Benny,’ I mutter as I grab the clothes. There was a reason the others always looked at him as a leader. He thinks of it all. As I sheath my dagger, feeling the steady cool of the metal in my hand, Kyor is already painting his sigils. ‘You want me to do yours?’ he asks. ‘Etta and Aitara, right? With the
Wrohelm rings?’ I nod. ‘Thank you.’ Given his artistic skill, it’s unsurprising that his hand is far steadier than mine and the circles of Wrohelm are actually circular, unlike when I’ve drawn them. ‘I should’ve got you to do them before now. You’ve done a better job than I can.’ ‘How about I do it for every battle going forward, then?’ he says, and it makes my heart ache because my father used to paint my mother’s. ‘That sounds like a deal.’ I turn my head up and kiss him gently on the lips .
With our faces painted, we gather with the others in the courtyard, where the carriages are already waiting.
Benny beckons us over. ‘What have you learned?’ I ask.
He gestures to the carriages. ‘Their tyres. They’re the same ones we picked up when we arrived at port. Exactly the same. They need them to go over a very specific terrain so my best guess is we’re heading to the Lueayan Channel.’ Fear flutters through me. I know people have swum the expanse of water that lies between the mainland and the Eastern Isles before, but surely they can’t expect us to do that? If they do, there’s no way I’ll make it.
I gulp. ‘Maybe we have to row across,’ I say hopefully. ‘There’s no point guessing,’ Kyor replies. ‘It’s a waste of energy.’ ‘He’s right,’ Jonas agrees.
The comment causes Benny and me to exchange a look. Jonas has barely spoken to me or Kyor since the incident in the dining room, and he’s normally the one offering the most speculation in these situations. Maybe he just doesn’t want to go into the fourth trial with bad blood between us.
After all, we’ve lost people in nearly every trial so far. There’s no reason this one should be any different. ‘Your best bet is to use the journey to get some sleep,’ he continues. ‘Make sure you’re rested. You’ll need as much energy as possible.’ As he finishes, I glance across the group. There are sixteen of us left, and judging by the way they’re already forming pairs, they’ve all had the same thoughts and conversations as we have.
Some of the pairings are obvious. Nessira’s with her aunt, Clade, while two of the remaining three guards are together, and two of the Galreckian Rettlings, Moryal and Del, have formed a pair. The third Galreckian is with Seiren, and Odetta seems to be with Yeva. I feel a pang of sympathy for Yeva, given how vile Odetta can be, but the pairing makes sense. Yeva needs ash, and Odetta burns things. That leaves Grenda with Zara. They’re by far the oddest of the pairs and, as much as I hate to admit it, having Grenda on her side gives Zara an even better chance of surviving. ‘Do you think we have to travel alone?’ Jonas asks, looking at the carriages. ‘There are enough for each of us.’ ‘I’m going with Rose,’ Kyor replies instantly.
I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘If that’s what I want, right?’ ‘I’ll make it worth your while.’ He grins and I can’t help grinning back, even as Jonas mutters something behind us.
Given his comment, when Kyor and I climb into the carriage, I expect us to carry on where we left off. Instead, he takes off his fur and bundles it into a makeshift pillow against the wall.
‘We need some sleep,’ he tells me. ‘You’re not serious?’ ‘Absolutely. You may have forgotten, but we didn’t exactly get much rest before we were interrupted.’ I frown. ‘Actually, I can’t remember. Were we doing something fun?
Perhaps you should remind me.’ His smile is enough to make my insides melt as he leans forward, brushing a kiss against my lips. If I couldn’t see his hands down by his side, I’d swear he was using his static on me. Because the fizz that rolls through my body is unbearable. ‘We can pick it up later,’ he murmurs. ‘Once we live through this trial.
Promise.’ I don’t expect to sleep. Not with the bumpiness of the journey, the impending sense of doom, and the fact that just looking at Kyor reminds me of the feel of him between my thighs. Yet at some point my eyes close, and it’s only when I feel Kyor’s hand gently squeezing my shoulder that I
realise I drifted off. ‘Thorn, we’re here.’ I open my eyes and breathe in a yawn. The air is salty, crisp. We’re definitely by the sea, but not the same stretch we used to say goodbye to Llinos. Instead, as Benny predicted, we’re facing the Eastern Isles.
Rather than opening the door and stepping outside, Kyor blocks the way. His brow furrows. ‘Thorn, I don’t mean to sound like Jonas here, but I can get us through this. You know that, right?’ ‘You do sound like Jonas,’ I respond through a second yawn. ‘I’m not telling you to sit back or stay out of the way. I’m just asking you not to take any unnecessary risks.’ ‘Definitely sounds like Jonas,’ I grouse again, though I can’t help the smile on my lips that only widens as he kisses me. When we break away, he
draws in a long, steadying breath. ‘Okay,’ I tell him. ‘Let’s do this.’ We climb out, only to find that the carriages have stopped mere feet from a cliff edge. Had it not been for the last dregs of moonlight shimmering on the water, I might have missed it altogether, and falling off a
cliff because I wasn’t paying attention would be a shit way to end the Retterheld.
There, in front of us, stands Mila. I can’t help but wonder how many people she expects to die in this trial. After all, she’s the only one who knows how deadly each round will be.
As the others gather around us, my hand slips into Kyor’s.
When Zara casts her eyes back to me and scoffs, I’m tempted to pull my hand away, but I don’t. Screw her. Screw anyone who judges me for being stripped. Or for who I’m fucking. They’ll judge me even if I win this damn thing, and I’ll let them. It says way more about who they are than who I am.
And so I squeeze Kyor’s hand a little harder and don’t let go. ‘Rettlings, welcome to the fourth trial.’ Mila’s voice is as commanding as always, though my eyes wander to her waist, where a dagger rests at her hip. I press a hand to its twin, hidden beneath the folds of my jacket. ‘Your fourth trial is simple,’ she continues. ‘Tomorrow night, the ball will not be held in Wrohelm, but on the Eastern Isles.’ I glance at Benny and see the flicker of excitement on his face. ‘All you have to do is reach it.
At the bottom of the cliff face, you will find four boats. Each boat will hold two people. When the last boat has landed on the shore, the trial is ended.
Simple.’ Excitement flutters in me. A cliff climb and a row? I can do those. Yet almost immediately a knot tightens in my stomach. Those numbers don’t add up. There are sixteen of us, and only four boats.
Half of us won’t even be able to attempt the crossing? Fuck. It’s a race against time.
Everyone is looking at one another, working it out. The knot in my stomach turns into pure dread.
We’re going to have to kill one another. That’s what’s going to happen. I can already see it in Zara’s and Odetta’s eyes. They are going to kill whoever they have to if it means they get a boat.
Kyor leans in towards me. ‘We’re fine,’ he says confidently. ‘No one is getting near us. There’s no one faster down this cliffside than you and me, and we both know it.’ He’s right, but my fate isn’t my only concern. I glance at Jonas. I have no fucking idea what he’s going to do. ‘You can’t waste time thinking about them,’ Kyor says. ‘Everyone knows what they signed up for. You worry about yourself, that’s it. Okay?’
I nod. ‘And you. ’ ‘I look forward to seeing you on the Eastern Isles,’ Mila concludes her little speech, and a moment later, a flash explodes in the sky.
The fourth trial has officially begun.
I don’t need Kyor to tell me what to do. I race to the edge of the cliff and start to scramble down. ‘I know I said I trust your judgement,’ Kyor calls, ‘but you see it’s pretty steep here, right?’ ‘I know you’ve climbed worse,’ I call back. ‘And it’s going to stop the others from doing the same.’ ‘Not disagreeing. Just a little bit in awe,’ he says, flashing me a grin. ‘My girl fucking owns it.’ ‘Damn right I do.’ I’ve come so far, and in this trial especially, I’m not the weakest. I’m one of the strongest.
It’s amazing how at ease I feel in this part of the trial. Not just at ease, but genuinely excited. I almost forgot my love of climbing. The rush and the thrill of finding the best path and pushing my body to follow it through.
In just a matter of minutes, I’m going to be by the water. But that’s where my advantage ends. There might be boats, but something tells me this isn’t going to be as straightforward as gently rowing across to the Eastern Isles into a warm welcome. There’s something in the water. I’d stake my life on it. And unfortunately, I’m going to have to do exactly that. ‘How are you doing?’ Kyor calls again. He’s almost level with me now, giving me a chance to see the way his arm muscles flex and tighten as he stretches for each of the handholds. I can’t help but remember that first night I saw him and the way his eyes fixed in my mind even then. ‘You all right?’ he asks, concern etched in his features. ‘Sorry.’ I shake the moment away. ‘Got a little distracted.’ He offers me a knowing smirk. ‘Really?’ ‘It’s not my fault you look so good in life and death situations,’ I tell him, only for him to chuckle. ‘Come on. Some of the others are closing in. We need to get to the boats first.’ He hits the ground while I’m still ten feet up. ‘Would you be insulted if I offered to catch you?’ he calls up. ‘You really think that me landing on you – me straddling you – is the best use of our time right now?’
‘I wouldn’t argue with it.’ ‘For fuck’s sake,’ Benny yells down from above. ‘You do realise things echo off a cliff and get louder, right? I think I preferred it when you two were pretending to hate each other.’ ‘I definitely preferred it,’ Jonas mutters.
I land a moment later, my feet firm on the ground. Benny is not far behind, but Jonas still has a long way to go. ‘Make sure you hold that boat for him, Benny!’ I call. ‘Don’t worry. I know the rules,’ he replies. ‘You just get you and your prince across.’ I don’t need to be told twice. I race across the stone beach to where the boats have been dragged up past the shoreline. They’re sturdier than I expected, with wooden hulls and wooden oars with metal ends. Great for a gentle row on a lake, but crossing a freaking channel? We’ll have to wait and see. ‘Where do you want me?’ I ask Kyor. ‘Front or back?’
‘Now, Thorn, really?’ he groans. ‘I meant in the boat,’ I huff. ‘Right. Right, go in the front. I’ll steer.’ I head to the bow and start to drag it forward as Kyor pushes from the back. We need to get it into water, but where we go from there, I’ve no idea.
No bright lights guide us as only the faintest glimmers of the Eastern Isles are visible over the waves. ‘Any chance they just have really small lamps on the islands?’ I ask.
Kyor flashes me a grin. ‘Sadly, I think they’re just far away, my love.’ If it wasn’t for the fact that the others are racing down the cliff face behind us and would happily skewer us with their swords, I would let my heart stutter over what he just called me again. But then, it could easily have been a slip of the tongue. Or a casual term of familiarity, nothing more.
I force the words out of my head as my feet hit the water, and a rush of fear judders through me, so visceral it steals my sight.
I don’t want to be here. I shouldn’t be here.
The thoughts come with a hollowness. Like they are somehow detached from my own mind. But how could that possibly be? How can I have thoughts that aren’t my own?
‘Thorn?’ Kyor’s voice snaps me out of the moment. Only then do I realise the water is knee-deep. ‘You need to get in.’ ‘Right. Sure.’ As I climb into the boat, Kyor pushes us out, wading through the waves until the water is at his thighs. Then, with one final launch, he jumps in and begins paddling.
For a few minutes, we’re completely silent. The only sounds are the lapping waves and the gentle splash of our oars breaking the surface. ‘Is it just me,’ I say, ‘or does this all feel a little too easy?’ ‘Just stay alert,’ Kyor murmurs.
I do as he says, but it doesn’t stop me from talking. ‘Where are the others? How are they doing?’ ‘Hold on. They’re … shit.’ His response is enough to make my chest squeeze. ‘Looks like Benny and Jonas are going to have to fight the others
for a boat.’ ‘Fight who?’ ‘Yeva and Odetta.’ My throat constricts even further. Jonas and Yeva are both from Wrohelm, so what does that mean? Would he switch sides and help her instead? No, I can’t imagine he would, and Yeva and Odetta’s combined firepower is substantially greater than what Benny and Jonas are working with. ‘Fuck,’ I say. ‘Any chance you can intervene? Offer them a helping hand?’ Kyor exhales sharply. ‘Rose, my love, are you suggesting that I interfere in other Rettlings’ fights just to aid your friends?’ Yup. There was no mistaking it then. Twice in two minutes. Still, this time I don’t dwell on it. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. Can you do it or not?’ ‘You know that if I do that, there’s a chance that Etta won’t see them as worthy of the gifting. They should really do it on their own.’ ‘Are they going to do it on their own?’ I snap. ‘Or are they going to get
killed?’ His silence is all the answer I need. ‘Just do it, Kyor. I’m not losing them too.’ He turns back. Silver crackles of lightning appear between his fingers and a cloud darkens over the shore. A split second later, the light shoots from his hands, bounces off the cloud, and crashes downwards, striking the
ground between Benny and Odetta. It’s a testament to Benny’s powers that he was able to leap away before it struck, but Odetta wasn’t so lucky. She sprawls backward, giving Benny and Jonas a chance to grab the boat. By the time Odetta has gathered herself enough to start hurling flames at them, the boys are already on the water.
Relief rolls through me. I get what Kyor meant about Etta seeing them as worthy, but we’ve all needed help at some point or another in the Retterheld. I know I certainly wouldn’t be here without their support.
But I’m not going to dwell. The boys are alive, and they’ve got a boat.
That’s what matters. I refocus on the view in front of me. As far as I can see, there is nothing. Nothing but the sea. Still. Quiet. Maybe it is as simple as crossing the channel.
But then, as the water brushes against the hull and spills over my legs, a feeling ripples through my stomach, a twisting that grips the very core of my soul. It is pure, tortured agony. My breath hitches for a moment, but then the pain is gone and it’s like I’m not even in my body. I’m above it.
Seeing the water. Seeing our boat. Seeing Jonas and Benny rowing towards us as we sit there drifting. What in the Gods’ names is going on? Is this part of the trial? Have the priestesses somehow used their magic to pull me from my body? I didn’t even know that was possible. How the fuck do I get back? ‘Rose!’ The boat surges and Kyor slams into me, and just like that, I’m back in my body. Whatever that aberration was, it’s passed. So does that mean it was part of the trial or not? Only as Kyor reaches out over the side of the boat do I realise I’ve dropped one of my oars in the water. ‘What? What happened?’ My voice cracks. ‘I was about to ask you the same, Thorn. Are you okay? You just stopped rowing and let go of the oar,’ he says, handing it back to me. ‘Did I?’ I can’t remember that. I can remember being above it all. And before that all I can remember is pain and the fierce anguish that filled me when the water struck my legs.
My chest pounds as I twist around to look at Kyor, already aware of how insane I’m about to sound. But if that wasn’t the priestesses’ doing, then there’s only one explanation. Somehow, there’s still magic running through me. ‘I felt something,’ I tell him. ‘I felt something in the water.’ ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m not sure.’ I put the oar back in the rowlock and lean over the side.
‘Rose, what are you doing!’ ‘Just let me do this.’ He quiets as I lower my hand into the water.
A moment later, the pain tears through me and I scream out in agony. ‘Rose! ’ I rip my hand out of the sea and the feeling is instantly gone. That presence. That pain. Vanished.
There is something in there. Something in pain. Something strong.
Kyor stares at me, then glances at the water. ‘Don’t touch it. Don’t,’ I plead with him. ‘It’s … it’s horrible.’ He ignores me, just the way I knew he was going to. ‘I just want to see, that’s all.’ Fixing his own oar, he dips his hand into the sea. His brows knit together as he pushes his arm in deeper. ‘I can’t feel anything,’ he says. ‘Really?’ I breathe. ‘It was in so much pain. Like it was trapped. Like it shouldn’t be here.’ He watches me carefully, but I suspect he’s thinking exactly the same as I am. It’s just a case of who has the guts to voice it first. In the end, it’s me. ‘Do you think this has something to do with the ice? With what happened before?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘But I’m starting to hope it might.’ The comment catches me by surprise. ‘You are? Why?’ He tightens his grip on the oar and nods towards something over my shoulder. ‘Because if it is, then maybe you’ll be able to work out how the hell we get past that.’
