Chapter 40 #2
The hourglass instantly flips around, and I try to ignore it, restarting the counts in my head.
One, two, three, four, jump, five, six, seven, jump—oof—eight, nine, ten, jump, eleven…
I squeal when I accidentally move too far forward on the platform before it’s time, and a blade comes down in front of me, only just missing me.
Warriors in the crowd laugh, but I do my best to block out the noise.
Continuing with my counts, I move quickly as I make my way forward, and then I’m almost at the place where Satine is hanging.
She can see me from this position, but when she stares at me, there’s no hope in her eyes.
Her gaze drops to the spikes below her as her hands start to slip.
Craning my neck, I peer at the hourglass. The sand is draining at a terrifying rate, and I don’t have long left. I hesitate, eyeing the blades in front of me and the platforms that lead to the other side.
“Don’t you dare, Shade,” Knox tells me. “There isn’t enough time to save her.”
I know he’s right, and I should listen. But then again, I’ve never been good at that skill. Listening, that is. At least, that’s what my foster parents used to tell me. I push the memory of them away. Now isn’t the time, and if I’m about to die, the last thing I want is to be thinking about them.
As the blade in front of me swings to the side, I jump forward, landing on Satine’s platform.
Quickly, I drop to my knees, leaning forward and grabbing Satine’s hand just as her fingers and shadows slip from the stone.
She stares up at me in surprise, but she doesn’t waste any time.
My shadows reach out, winding around her torso, and helping me as I pull her up, using as much strength as I can muster.
Satine grapples for the stone as it comes closer, helping to climb as well.
Neither of us speaks. There’s no time for that. The moment she’s upright, Satine doesn’t wait for me. She rushes forward, dodging between the last blades until she’s jumping from the last platform and onto the safety of the stationary platform on the other side of the obstacle.
I rush after her, even as I hear my mates’ worried cries. I’m not going to make it. Those extra seconds to get Satine left me with not enough time to get across. I’m not as nimble as Satine is, and I hesitate when I get my counts muddled.
The final grain of sand falls as my boots land on the last floating platform.
“Jump!” Thane roars in my ears as the platform beneath me starts shifting to the side. I kick off, throwing myself into the air, but I don’t have enough time to push off properly.
I try to use my shadows to reach out for the stationary platform that’s ahead of me, but I’m so exhausted, and despite being with Knox the night before, my magic still feels weak. I still feel…broken. My shadows reach out, trying to grab for it, but the stationary platform is too far.
Images of my past flicker in my mind as the next seconds in the air feel like an eternity.
Memories of finally making enough money from that fast-food restaurant, so I could rent my own shitty apartment and start buying used books of my own.
Memories of creating a version of the bedroom I now see in my dreams.
As the ground falls away, I feel like it’s a reflection of who I am right now. Because I feel like I’m in free-fall, finally discovering who I was, while still trying to figure out who I am now.
When I fall lower, my stomach feels like it has left me, and the crowd goes quiet.
“Reach, Shade!” Knox demands, and the desperation in his words have me searching inside myself for more power.
My shadows stretch out even more as I try to grab hold of the stationary platform.
I’m so close. I just need another foot of length.
Come on. I can do this. More power flows through my academy ring, zapping through my body, and my shadows reach the edge of the stationary platform, but I’m falling too fast. I can’t grip it in time, and as my shadows slip away, my heart stutters. I’m not going to make it. I won’t—
Satine appears on the edge of the stationary platform, and she has used shadows to tie herself to it.
More of her shadows shoot out, and they twist and lock with mine.
She grunts at the pull of my weight as our shadows snap tight, stopping my descent, and I slam against the smooth side of the pit, dangling above the spikes.
Yelping, my heart is hammering furiously in my ears, as I grip tight to my shadows.
Oh gosh. I’m not dead. How am I not dead?
Satine slowly pulls on the shadows as if they’re a rope, and I’m lifted into the air.
“Some help would be nice!” she snaps at me, her face red as she concentrates.
I force back the sob that had been about to break free, and I nod rapidly, turning to the wall and starting to walk up the side as she lifts me.
When I’m close to the top, Satine reaches out her hand and yanks me onto the platform. I collapse to my hands and knees, gasping and clutching at my heart, because I have no idea how I survived that without having a heart attack.
“Alive. I’m still alive,” I gasp, blinking back tears. Damn, I could really use some chocolate right now.
It’s only when my breathing calms a little, that I realize Satine is still behind me, and she’s watching me silently, standing with her hands on her hips. I thought she would have run off by now. In fact, I’m shocked she came back for me at all.
“Why do you do that?” she asks, and for once there’s no cruel edge to her voice, only an underlying note of confusion.
My entire body hurts, and I wish I could lie down and refuse to move, but something tells me the queen’s punishment for insolence wouldn’t be nearly as fun as Thane’s methods of discipline.
I frown, not sure what Satine is asking about. “Do what?”
She shuffles uncomfortably on her feet. “Why do you keep saving me? When I’m always horrible to you.”
Oh. I shrug and wave my hand dismissively. “What’s a little stabbing and mean words between friends.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m serious, Shade. The first time you saved me I thought it must have been poor judgement on your part, but now…” she trails off, shaking her head. “I just don’t understand you.”
I shrug again. “Neither do I,” I say, and I mean it too, because my head is pounding and it’s such a confusing mess in there right now.
She lets out a frustrated hiss and turns from me impatiently.
Before she leaves, I add, “You needed help.”
She twists her head back. “What?”
“You needed help, so I helped you,” I explain.
Her brows lower. “You make it sound simple, but it’s not. Not here. Not if you want to survive, anyway.” There’s a haunted look in her eyes when she says it, but it’s gone a moment later.
“I guess it is to me,” I say. “Thanks, by the way.”
She regards me for a moment, still looking puzzled by my answer, but then her expression hardens and the Satine I’m used to comes back to the surface. “Don’t think this makes us friends, Token,” she snarls. “I’ll still kill you if I need to.” Then she turns, sprinting to the next obstacle.
Thane’s rumbling growl begins to sound in my ears, but I speak before he can.
“Don’t say it,” I tell him. “Yes, I almost died. Yes, I should have listened to you. No, I can’t promise that I’ll listen next time. Yes, I would still save her again if I had a do-over. I couldn’t just leave her there, okay?”
The growling stops. “I was going to say…are you all right, my mate?” Thane asks, and I can feel his smile through his words.
“Oh.” I blow out a long breath. “Not really.”
“Good,” he replies. “Remind me to punish you later.”
I grin, my gaze sliding to the ceremonial box. “I look forward to it, daddy.”
Raith’s dark chuckle is devoid of warmth. “My monster almost fuckin’ took over so he could save you. Get your ass movin’, sunshine, before the queen decides to give you more motivation.”
And that has me jogging after Satine.