Chapter 24
24
I awoke to the soft glow of the morning sun warming the tent.
Tent. Wait .
As my vision came into focus, I saw that the tent had been roughly repaired, some twine made from branches keeping it together.
Images from last night started flashing back into my mind, but I couldn’t handle them. Not this early. I nuzzled my face in the layers that surrounded me, searching for more comfort instead of facing the bite of the creeping chill of dawn—and the reality of what had happened. At what I’d done. As my mind reached a higher state of consciousness, I realized that I was wrapped in a pile of blankets and a cloak that smelled of that smoky spice and sweet pine scent. His scent.
“Good morning, little thief,” that smug male voice said. I lifted my head, my blonde hair in disarray around my face. Tristen was lounging across the small tent from me, and he was grinning.
“What happened?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbows.
“You stole my powers last night. Took you long enough to use them, too. Tell me: did you come into my tent last night to steal my power, or was that just an unfortunate accident?”
“You’re a bastard,” I said, shoving off his cloak, trying to get away from the overwhelming smell of him in the tent—but I froze before ripping off the final layer of blankets, realizing I was naked underneath. As I looked up to level a glare at him, he was already throwing me a bundle of clothing.
“Well, this bastard got your clothes from Rachelle,” he said. “Shadowfire loves to burn through clothing if you can’t control it, which you can’t do. Yet.”
Yet? I shook my head, trying to make sense of the fact that he wasn’t… angry with me. I picked up my riding clothes from yesterday. Somehow they had been cleaned and dried and warmed… and they smelled of campfire.
“You… you cleaned them?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Rachelle brought them early this morning. I thought you’d want something clean to wear.”
Such a thoughtful kindness. It stole my breath for a moment—but only for a moment. Kindness from a kidnapper didn’t count.
“The others must have heard what happened last night,” I said, my mouth going dry. Had Callum heard…?
Tristen shook his head. “When you heard the forest go silent last night? That was one of the prisoner’s powers, to create a sound barrier. You killed him, luckily, so we don’t have to worry about that nuisance anymore.”
I let out a breath, relieved. Then, I caught myself. “I killed them,” I whispered.
Tristen studied me. “Does that bother you?”
“Not as much as it probably should,” I said, my eyes flickering up to Tristen. “Unless I wasn’t a stranger to killing in my past?”
Tristen’s expression gave nothing away. “You killed them in self-defense. Plus, I think the gods would forgive you considering we’re in these trials for their benefit. Your past self would understand, also.”
“Speaking of my past,” I said, trying to sound casual, but my voice betrayed me by sounding shaken. “I remembered you. Last night. I had a flash of a memory.”
“What did you remember?” His expression was hard, stony. Unreadable.
“You… you showed up in my town. In Riverleaf. To take me away. From my village. From Callum. From my… my mother,” I choked on that last word. Trying to conjure the face of a woman I so desperately wanted to know. But no matter how much I wanted to see her, her image would not come to my mind.
Tristen’s dark eyes flickered. “I have nothing more I can give you about your past.” With that, he rose. Tristen nodded at a few tin containers on the floor by the bedroll. “Breakfast,” he said, and then he was gone.
I watched him go, the flap of the tent closing behind him. I felt shattered in some way. Maybe it was the residual feeling of wielding his power in a blaze of uncontrolled fury last night. Maybe it was the coldness in his final response to me. Maybe it was the scent of him and campfire on my cloak and riding clothes as I shrugged them on in the tent.
Even with my first memory returned, I felt emptier than ever.
I made a show of going down to the water and returning to camp as if I had just bathed and dressed for the morning—and hadn’t just spent the night in Tristen’s tent. Callum was waiting for me by the time I had reached Rachelle’s tent.
“There you are,” Callum said. “Want a ride?” His tone and quirk of a smile was suggestive, but then he threw a thumb over his shoulder to indicate his saddled horse.
“I’d like that,” I said with a smile. Callum’s answering grin was so bright it hurt a bit. I felt a slither of guilt as he helped me pack the saddlebags and hoisted me onto his white horse.
He hugged me close as we rode through the cool morning, the others on the path in front of us as we brought up the back of the pack.
“How far until the temple?” I asked.
“Maybe a few hours, give or take the conditions of the trail,” he said. “We just need to make it through The Foggy Forest.”
“The Foggy Forest?”
“Just a dense stretch of fog and trees that look like withered witches’ hands. We’ll be fine,” Callum said, but it was a little too quickly for my liking. “Are you ready for the third trial?” Callum asked, changing the subject.
“Yes,” I said—a lie. My plan had failed last night. I hadn’t realized that absorbing Tristen’s powers would take them from him. Then again, it wasn’t like I had tested what I was capable of. I had probably taken Rachelle’s and Callum’s powers, too, they just hadn’t been in need of them after I had pulled their power from them. I would have to win in this next trial with my wits alone. No extra power would save me or my friends.
“You’re quiet today,” Callum noted.
I fixed my eyes ahead on the trail. About a mile ahead of us was Ajax and what was left of his cronies, climbing a steep mountain that lay between them and the temple. “I don’t think it was Ajax who emerged from that last trial.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think it was his double.”
Callum laughed. “That’s not possible.”
I bristled. “I know I’m right. Ajax has his other eye intact underneath the eye patch. But it’s… different now.”
Callum tensed. “Did you run into Ajax last night?”
“Just briefly. But he’s different. Be careful around him,” I warned.
“I think I’m supposed to be warning you about being careful.”
“I can look after myself,” I shot back.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t. Are you needing to let some anger out? Because I can help with that, you know,” he said, a teasing edge to his voice.
I massaged my fingers into my temples, suddenly feeling the weight of my exhaustion. “I’m sorry. I just… I just have a headache.”
“It’s okay to be nervous. We’ll get through this,” Callum said, and he squeezed my arm, pulling me closer to his strong chest. Callum was steady, never changing in his affection for me. Not like Tristen, who seemed to be warm one moment and cold and brooding the next.
I let Callum hold me against his body as we continued to ride, even as my mind drifted to the man who had his lips against mine the night before. The married man at that. Guilt clawed its way even deeper into my chest.