Chapter 9
Quinn
One minute, I stood at the back of a crowd listening to Everly and wishing I could see over all the tall people, and the next, the ground was shaking. A trainee in front of me screamed and fell from my view.
Hero grunted, and I turned just in time to see him catch a blow from what looked like a club on his forearm. I froze, the blood draining out of my face. I knew this was too good to be true. Scenarios one through three all ended in violence. It had been a matter of time.
Another trainee screamed and fell in front of me. Something snapped off their waist, bounced on the ground, and smacked me hard on the cheek. Pain blossomed, and tears sprang to my eyes. I shook. Not again.
I gripped Everly’s hand and pulled her backward. Next to her, Hero kicked out, hitting his attacker’s knee. The man screamed in pain and went down.
Fear shot through my veins. “Run.”
I made it three steps away from my peers before a man stepped in front of me. He bashed a club against his palm. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I froze. Memories of hot power stabbing into me rose to the surface. My neck chilled with the weight of the collar. It didn’t matter if those things had actually happened or not because right now, they tarnished my soul.
Everly’s lovely dress graced my peripheral vision, and I backed up, putting my arms out. I hadn’t known my friend for long, but she was sweet; she’d reached out to me, befriended my crazy ass.
“You can take me,” I said. “But leave Everly alone! She shouldn’t have your magic forced into her. Leave her out of this.”
The man furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could respond, a high-pitched bellow sounded from my right, and a body slammed into the man. I didn’t wait. I grabbed Everly’s wrist and pulled. We were getting the fuck out of here.
“Stop, Quinn,” Everly said calmly.
I turned to find my friend’s other arm snagged by her brother. Blood-red magic swirled around them.
Two more trainees screamed and fell to the ground. Although my attacker still grappled with my savior, another man with a club was already running toward us. Panic scattered my thoughts. Reality or fantasy, I was getting out of here.
“I’m sorry. Your brother will take care of you… but I can’t do this again,” I said. My flight instinct kicked in, and I released Everly.
The three spots on my lower back throbbed. They weren’t random results from my blackouts. Men had shoved their magic into me. They were still attached to me. I suddenly wanted to throw up.
Never again.
Fuck me.
I sprinted.
The sounds of fighting ceased, but I didn’t stop.
I went faster. My legs tingled, and suddenly, I was running faster than physically possible.
My stomach muscles burned along with my quads and calves.
The world blurred. For a moment, I thought I was blacking out.
Instead, my feet pounded across the ground so fast that I must resemble a cartoon character.
Magic. This was magic, like the energy my door took from me.
I hit something hard. A body stepped back, cushioning my impact and halting me in my tracks. The slight tingle in my legs cut off, leaving me breathing hard and shaking. Two hands on my upper arms steadied me.
I ripped myself out of the man’s grip and stuck my arms out as if I could push my attacker away. “Not again. Never again.”
“Quinn, stop, it’s me.” Ezra’s voice was unbearably soft.
Just like Gandalf’s had been. I was so fucking na?ve.
I looked up, finding the dark plum-purple hair of my workout buddy/savior.
His startling eyes burned with an emotion I couldn’t pinpoint.
Sweat ran down the side of his face. His chest heaved from exertion.
I froze. Footsteps sounded behind me, and Ezra put out a hand, halting whoever was at my back.
“No one’s going to hurt you,” Ezra said, stepping forward.
I stepped back, and my panic rose.
“It was a stress test.” Ezra didn’t step toward me again. “A few bumps and bruises. A glimpse at who can hold their head and who can’t.”
I shook like a leaf, still struggling to separate past and present. Or maybe fact from fiction. I didn’t know.
The man behind me slid into my peripheral view. Rowan was also breathing hard. His gaze was trained on the bruise on my cheek. He crossed his arms over his chest, frowning.
I’d wanted to see him again, but not like this. I put a hand on my stomach and forced myself to take a single deep breath.
No magic stabbed into me.
No one touched me.
I hadn’t blacked out.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
I squeezed my eyes shut. Everly… I’d abandon the only person here who truly seemed to care about me. “Is Everly okay?”
“Everly’s fine.” Ezra leaned forward. “Her twin dislocated my enforcer’s kneecap.” He took another step forward, and I flinched. He immediately stopped. “What matters now is your state of mind.”
I barked out a laugh. Jesus tap dancing Christ. You’re a genius, Miss Q. Terrorize me, then apologize and make it better. Fucking brainwashing at its finest.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
I scratched at my lower back. The three spots ached, but a fourth still hadn’t added to the collection. Maybe I really was fine.
I looked past the two men boxing me in and found myself at a part of the castle I didn’t recognize. A few flowers dotted a sloping wall. Ancient, rusted cannons protruded through squares at its base. Only the dark clouds were visible above them. A drop of frigid rain landed on my cheek.
“Where are we?” I asked.
Ezra reached toward me.
For a split second, I remembered our moment in the Alun and the feeling of his arms holding me close as he protected me.
A cold wind cut through my hoodie.
This moment was nothing like the Alun.
I wrapped my arms around myself, and Ezra pulled his hand back as if I’d burned him. He rested it against his sword hilt so easily, as if the weapon never left his side.
The two versions of my friend blurred together in my mind; the shirtless eye candy who made me feel safe, and the brutal enforcer now holding himself apart.
I shouldn’t have had to fight to reconcile them, but I did.
He’d warned me on day one that his muscles weren’t for me to admire.
I believed him then. I believe him now. But that didn’t make it any easier to look at him and not miss the man who let me close.
Ezra took a slow breath in. “We’re on the other side of the castle.”
It took me a moment to remember I’d asked a question.
“Quinn?” Ezra asked.
I took two quick breaths. “Right, other side of the castle.”
Ezra glanced at Rowan, still standing and watching, before returning his attention to me. “You don’t seem surprised.”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s not the first time I’ve run from someone trying to hurt me.”
Maybe not the first time I’d run unnaturally fast. God only knew what happened during my blackouts. I hurt enough after some of them that I could have been running laps around a track like the Road Runner.
Ezra rocked back on his heels. He clearly wanted to say something. Instead, he glanced at Rowan again before squaring his shoulders. “I need to get back. Are you able to complete your placement?”
I looked up. “Do I have a choice?”
Ezra grimaced, and that was all the answer I needed.
“I’m able to complete my placement.” I met Ezra’s gaze. “Are you the proctor or something?”
“Or something.” Ezra pointed at Rowan. “Rowan will see you back. He will be a good friend. Explain. Talk to him.”
Bells and alarms filled my head. ‘A good friend’ were the exact words Winston used. Ezra wasn’t who I thought he was, not at all. I opened my mouth to ask for an explanation, for anything, but Ezra stepped into his own shadow and vanished. My jaw clicked back together.
Rowan took another step toward me, and I stepped back.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised.
I bit my lips shut and gestured for him to lead the way. Although Rowan clearly wanted me in front, I refused to let him out of my sight. Lead weights dragged at my legs, and my muscles screamed with every step. The magic I had thrown into my body pushed me way past my physical limitations.
A cold, drizzly rain splashed down on the world. I should have brought the pink cloak that came with my uniform. But the sun had tricked my ass thoroughly, as this place had tricked me into trusting.
‘A good friend.’ Why would Ezra say that?
We trudged forward until the area came into view. Rowan put his hand out to stop me. I dodged it, turning to face him.
“Earlier, you said ‘again.’” He swallowed. “Did someone hurt you?”
I ignored his question. I couldn’t answer it. Either all of this was some fucked up nightmare, or it was real, and they had. I wasn’t sure I could deal with either answer right now.
“Quinn,” Rowan said. “Whatever happened in your past—”
“Why does Ezra want you to be my friend?” I asked, balling my fists. “Did he push me toward Seth?”
Rowan put his hands out. “I don’t know who Seth is, but I’m one of Ezra’s five. He trusts me. I’m sure if another of his officers had followed you, he would have said the same thing.”
Or something. Ezra had said when I asked who he was. The man wasn’t a random enforcer; Rowan was one of ‘his five.’ Now that I thought about it, Ezra had pulled me out of Professor Holiday’s placement without being questioned.
I had no idea who Ezra was, but a simple gym bro had been the wrong assumption in every way, shape, and form.
I started walking again, and Rowan settled in by my side.
“How have your first few days been?” He asked. “Tested the support of many structures?”
“I think that’s your job,” I said evenly.
I meant it to be rude, but Rowan broke out in an infectious, wide grin that pulled on my lips. A little of the fear eased out of me. I was still in the same delusion. I could do this.
“Thanks for the book, and thanks for coming after me.” I grimaced. “I’m on edge.”
“You don’t say?” Rowan tapped the side of his cheek.
I snorted. “Dick.”
We stepped back into the training yard, and through the soggy rain, I overheard my peers whispering about cowards and frightened children. My stomach tightened, but it didn’t need to. None of these people were real. The rumor mill was literally meaningless.
Everly bounced up to me and took my hand. A wave of fresh guilt washed over me.
“You ran so fast!” she exclaimed. “Thank you for trying to take me with you.”
I looked for sarcasm or hurt, but there wasn’t any. My new friend was genuinely thankful, but I abandoned her the minute things got too hard.
“I left you.” I bit my lips together. “You shouldn’t thank me for anything.”
“You did what you had to.” Everly pulled me into her chest. My face landed right between her breasts. Although having no clue where Hero stood, I could feel the hate radiating off her twin. I giggled.
Everly released me. “I made a new friend! Brit tackled the guy who attacked you.”
I turned to find myself face-to-face with the pit fighter.
She cocked her head to the side. “So, my man, we meet again.”
I looked at Everly, who nodded and mouthed, ‘She knows.’
I shook my head, a smile creeping onto my face.
“Who’s your friend?” Brit asked, jabbing her thumb at my back. Rowan still hovered.
I slipped between Everly and Brit. “Rowan, he’s one of Ezra’s officers, who doesn’t need to take the placement.”
“Ah, yes, right.” Rowan cleared his throat. “I’ll see you around.”
Rowan studied me for another second before trotting off.
I wrinkled my nose.
“Ezra? As in Commander Ezra of this entire place?” Brit asked incredulously. She pointed at Ezra, who was already barking orders at trainees at the front, to be sure.
I sighed. Commander. Of course, the man I’d demanded to take off his shirt three times now wasn’t some guy. Miss Q wouldn’t have it any other way.