CHAPTER FOUR
Frigid air bit at my skin like a starved beast presented with its final meal.
I jolted upright, breathing small clouds into the air as I fought to steady my heart’s thunderous beating. Hundreds of tiny goosebumps lined my arms, while angry red welts splattered across the exposed parts of me that weren’t covered by my dress.
My dress that would allow me to freeze to death if I didn’t replace it with something warmer.
A quick assessment of the hearth to my left proved just how long I’d been unconscious for.
Not even a lick of smoke curled from the charred wood lying in its center.
Frost crusted along the surface of the lone mirror propped against the wall.
A chair squat next to it. And a closed door waited near the hearth.
Without hesitation, I shot towards the neatly folded black material sitting on the chair. Warmer clothes. A competitor’s ensemble. Matching boots peeked out from underneath.
I gripped the front of my dress’ bodice with both hands and tore, having neither the patience nor the dexterity to undo the laces across my back. The whine of ripping silk was comforting, despite the destruction of its value.
Wealth wouldn’t protect me here.
Neither would the new clothing, I realized, while I slipped it on.
A perfect fit, but the material was thinner than I’d hoped.
A skin-tight vest went over a plain undershirt, padded around the chest and stomach in feeble attempts to protect vital organs.
But that wouldn’t matter. Anyone who wanted to kill me could do it with enough force.
The pants were looser, thankfully allowing the right amount of freedom to move.
And the boots were light enough not to make any noise when I walked.
My breath fogged the mirror as I hovered in front of it, fastening the tiny buttons along the vest. A pathetic mimicry of real armor, bits of silver metal covered my shoulders and forearms in layers, reminding me of a serpent’s scales. Utterly useless.
At least the cold went from limb-numbing to only slightly irritating.
Swallowing one last steadying breath, I reached for the door’s handle, the bronze like ice to the touch. Unlocked. A small miracle.
The surrounding corridor seemed empty save for lit torches nailed along the bricks of stone, barely casting enough light to see properly. Silence greeted my ears, save for the crackling fire of the torches, and a faint, steady ticking.
I slowly stepped out of the room, door clicking shut quietly behind me.
Other doors nearby remained firmly closed. But I knew better. Magic worked in wonderous ways. If someone wanted to know if anything so much as breathed in this corridor, they would find a way.
I crept onward, silent as death. Held my breath for as long as I could. Saving it lest I encounter someone mastering air magic.
Courage. Wit. Strength. The countless possibilities of each trial swirled in endless circles of chaos in my mind. Perhaps Maverick had dropped us into Wit, using our confusion and sense of solitude as obstacles.
Death hurts more than fear, I reminded myself.
The ticking noise increased in volume the closer I came to the end of the corridor that veered left. I slowed, muscles tensing. Although the temperature was significantly warmer here compared to that room, goosebumps reappeared along my arms.
Something was off.
Around that corner, something other than myself filled the pocket of emptiness stretching between these walls.
Death hurts more than fear.
I lunged forward, cranking my fist backwards only to swing it just as quickly. Hit first, think after.
Immediately, I was roughly thrown face-first against the same wall. Heavy weight pressed into my back, preventing me from moving.
My arms were pinned above me. I couldn’t throw my head back as that was pressed onto the wall, too. Rough stone scraped against my cheek, inducing nothing but pain the more I tried to move.
“We must stop meeting like this.”
The words cut through the stifling silence. Followed by traces of smoke and ash.
Anger swiftly erupted in my chest. Perhaps Maverick had added a new trial of patience. One that I was already failing miserably at.
“It would almost appear as though you’ve never been taught the proper way to greet a lady,” I remarked, then gave one good shove against the wall. The small distance granted me the ability to bring my arms down, and free reign to jab my elbow into the stomach pressed against me.
The hands holding my wrists slackened. Whirling, I tore them free. Reveled in the sight of Kodhan’s struggle to take his next breath.
“I’m sure you can find ways to practice if you manage to survive. Finding a willing lady, however… Well.” I gave him a pointed once-over. “For you, the task might prove to be quite difficult. Perhaps one more title will grace you with something worthy enough to impress them with.”
He massaged his abdomen before raising a single brow. “I know very well how to greet a lady. But I suppose that’s not the most impressive, is it? Not quite.” Kodhan took one step forward. “Should she wish it, I know exactly how to make a woman writhe under my touch.”
I went to take an instinctive step away from him, but my back thumped against the wall.
He trailed a single knuckle down the slope of my jaw. Used it to follow my swallow. A small smile played at his mouth as he toyed with first button of my vest. “And I know how to make her beg for it. For more. I’d say that is impressive.”
Heat trickled down my spine, pooling low in my stomach. None of it was courtesy of his magic. No, it was all mine.
His eyes dropped to my cheeks, flushed scarlet. My parted lips. I found myself wanting to drink up the fire blazing in them.
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed instead, shoving his wrist away. Then shoved him away.
I welcomed the cool air against my skin, flooding the space where he’d stood. Allowed it to clear the sudden haze of insanity I’d been overtaken with.
“Ever.”
Neither of us spoke for several beats. It was then that I noticed his chest rising and falling at a far more rapid pace than usual.
He wore clothing similar to mine. Though his truly looked like something one wore to battle.
Or rather, he was the one who transformed it.
His strength was all but emphasized in the thinner material, the broadness of his shoulders and corded muscles in his arms stretching it taught every time he moved. When he breathed.
I thought he’d exuded violence in that alley. But that was nothing compared to now. His entire body seemed poised to strike at anything that dared move the wrong way.
Which entirely contradicted the gentleness he’d used when he’d run his finger across my skin.
He seemed to battle against what sat on the edge of his tongue. But instead of voicing it, his face regained its stony, indifferent mask. “You nearly broke my rib.”
“Good.”
“Unbefitting wishes coming from one of my allies.”
I scoffed. “We are hardly allies.”
“In order to complete all three trials together, we must be.”
“So you claim. But that will change when you tire of my presence.”
“You’re of better use to me alive than dead.”
“Until you decide that I’m not.”
His answering silence was all the confirmation I needed.
The laugh that escaped me was hollow. “I don’t care. Maybe I’ll find a way to kill you first. I’m sure Brannon and Theia won’t mind.” Matching his stony expression, I added, “Speaking of Theia, I’m going to find her. Maybe she’ll help me do it, if I ask nicely.”
I turned on my heel before Kodhan could open his insufferable mouth. Made it all but three steps before he grabbed my wrist, tugging just hard enough to halt my fourth.
My eyes snapped down to his hand, to his hip—the poorly concealed hilt of the very same blade he’d held against my throat in that alley.
He might’ve held my wrist, but my arm was free to do whatever it pleased.
I braced it across his chest, and roughly pushed him back against the wall, the sound of his body hitting stone a dull thud.
I wasted no time slipping my wrist out of his loosened grip, only to reach for his weapon.
“Pretty blade,” I crooned, examining the way it glinted as I angled it along his jugular. It barely took any effort to pierce his skin. “A waste for it to belong to the likes of you.”
A tiny bead of crimson raced down his throat.
“Quite sharp, too. How easy would it be to tear your throat open, I wonder?”
His uneven breathing filled the surrounding silence. I glanced up from his neck, but it wasn’t fear I found in his unblinking stare.
Something heavier swirled there. It filled each and every one of my limbs with heat. As if he’d used his magic to pump fire through my veins, igniting me like a match.
My entire world was suddenly replaced with hues of jade.
Nothing else but him.
“There are those fangs,” he ground out.
My grip on his blade slackened, easing its touch against his throat.
My reply was a mere wisp of an exhale. “Careful. I bite.”
I watched his tongue dart to wet his lips. “What fun is there in being careful?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
A sharp exhale left him then. I could’ve sworn I felt his gaze shift to my own lips.
“Is that why I found you killing a man in cold blood?”
With a grimace, I finally stepped away from him. The heat circulating in my blood dissipated, leaving me bereft of all warmth. An unforgiving chill settled in its place. One that almost had my teeth chattering.
“Come, now. There’s no shame in a little bloodshed. But I want to know how you managed to do it without so much as a scratch on your part. Especially without any magic.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“No, you don’t.” He didn’t move from the wall despite the wide berth I gave him. “But if you want a better chance at surviving the trials, you will. Not just for my sake, but for Brannon and Theia’s as well. We cannot coordinate our physical strengths and weaknesses if we don’t know what they are.”
I hated that he was right. And I hated Maverick for causing this mess in the first place.