Chapter 26
26
Lara’s good mood continued long after her bruises from the Fire trial had faded. The next trial was Earth’s, she told me, and she already knew what it was. “It’s the magic test. We’re going to be sent aboveground to a forest about an hour away.”
I looked up in surprise from the pile of cosmetics in front of me. “Won’t the wards stop you?”
“Oh, the ones on the main hill above the throne room? No. We’ll be underground for most of the journey. The forest we’ll be in is also surrounded by wards, though, so we won’t be able to leave.”
I thought I understood how the wards around Mistei were set up now. One enormous bowl bounded the entire city from the surface to deep underground, and smaller circles surrounded every entrance to the hilltops and forests above, sprouting like mushrooms. That way no one could tunnel out and no one could escape during the few events that took place aboveground.
“So how will the forest test you?”
“We have to use magic to survive for a week with no supplies. It should be easy.”
I looked at Lara skeptically. “Have you ever been outdoors for more than a few hours?”
“No, but I’ll be fine.”
Earth’s control over soil, plants, and water was ideally suited to this challenge, but Lara only wielded a small amount of power. It wouldn’t be enough. “Can you hunt for food?” I asked. “Build a shelter? How will you stay warm at night?” Even though it was late spring and the weather was warming, the nights would be chilly.
She waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll build a fire for warmth.”
“And how will you do that?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. “I don’t know yet. But I can call up water from the ground, and maybe I can make vines sprout with fruit to eat.” She didn’t sound entirely sure about that. “I’ll figure the rest out.”
“What if there are predators in the woods?” I pressed.
“I’ll fight them.”
“With your bare hands?”
“Why are you being so awful?” she snapped.
“She has a point,” a voice said from behind us.
I hadn’t heard Oriana come in, but the princess leaned against the door with her arms folded, studying us.
I curtsied, but Lara just scowled. “I’ll be fine.”
“The king just added another constraint to the test.” Oriana’s normally composed face was drawn tight with tension.
“Can he do that?” Lara asked. “I thought the tests were determined by the Shards.”
“The basics of them, yes. But the king can add little…surprises…if he wishes.” The princess’s tone indicated this would not be a pleasant surprise, and my worry grew. “He’s decided it’ll be more entertaining if the contestants are allowed to kill each other.”
“What?” Lara and I demanded in unison.
Oriana’s expression was grim. “It isn’t against the spirit of the trials, since some contestants might die anyway.”
Lara flinched at this reminder. “Well, I’ll just avoid everyone, then. I’ll make a…a burrow or something.”
“He’s going to encourage the candidates to hunt each other, Lara.”
This was very bad. The Illusion candidates couldn’t weave full illusions yet, but they could disguise themselves well enough to blend in with their surroundings. Lara might not even sense them approaching. Garrick was a formidable fighter, and he’d taken a strong dislike to her. What if he tracked her down?
Lara looked petrified. “What will I do?”
Oriana switched her gaze to me. “Can you hunt?”
“Yes, my princess.” It had been a required skill growing up outside the village with no consistent source of funds.
“You made it through the bog. Could you survive outside for a week with no supplies?”
“Yes.” I knew how to build a fire and construct a shelter, how to identify edible plants, and how to find safe drinking water by digging a hole next to a river so the water would seep in and the soil would filter out impurities.
“Then we’ll use you,” Oriana said. “We’ll smuggle you into the forest and you’ll spend the week with Lara.”
My stomach felt tight, and cold dread prickled over my skin. A week in the wilderness with a pampered Fae lady who possessed very few survival skills sounded awful even before I considered the fact we might be murdered at any moment. “What if one of the candidates sees me?” I asked. “And wait, is the king casting an illusion so people can watch, the way he did in the bog?”
“The Earth Shard is the sole judge and won’t allow outside viewers,” Oriana said. “Much to the king’s dismay, of course. He wanted to see any deaths in detail. In terms of the other candidates, we can dress you as a tree nymph so anyone who catches a glimpse of you will assume you’re supposed to be there. You must do everything in your power not to be seen, though.”
“Are there nymphs in the forest?” Lara asked, surprised.
“Not normally, but the king is letting a few woodland Underfae out for this test. He says it will make the trial more realistic if they interact with or sabotage candidates.” Oriana paused, lips compressing. “And there will be Nasties. Flesh-eating ones.”
“Shards,” Lara breathed.
Oriana’s composure was legendary, but even she wasn’t made of stone. Her brow creased with worry as she looked between me and her only daughter. “It won’t be easy. Start preparing now.”
Lara and I lapsed into silence after she left, contemplating the terrifying prospect of a week in the woods surrounded by enemies.
I taught Lara everything I knew over the following days. She would need to find shelter first, either near a water source or somewhere she could summon water. She would need to disguise her shelter to prevent other candidates from spotting it, so a burrow might actually be a good idea. She would need to disguise herself, too, which meant looking as much like her surroundings as possible. Green and brown clothes, and then she was to smear every inch of exposed skin with mud.
She looked increasingly horrified at each new piece of information. “Mud?” she squeaked.
“It’ll disguise your scent as well. Some of the Nasties might be able to smell you otherwise.”
“They’ll definitely smell me if I’m covered in mud .”
We decided on a plan. I would hunt, while Lara would find water and plants using her magic. I would, of course, verify that the plants were actually edible. Since neither of us wanted a confrontation, we would do our best to stay hidden for the entirety of the test rather than trying to prove ourselves against the other candidates. Osric’s bloodthirsty whims weren’t worth dying for.
It was a decent plan…so why did I have a creeping feeling this was about to go very badly?