Chapter 61 #4
“Then I'd better start breaking some ribs out there. I don't have any heroic deeds to seduce you with yet.”
It was a blessing everyone was blindfolded, because I must have been grinning like an idiot.
A brief silence passed between us, tinged with amusement, then Zion sent me a mental image through the bond.
I startled as it filled my mind—I'd never imagined we could do something like this.
The scene was something captured through his eyes, colored by his emotions: me in heels and a lab coat, walking through the corridors and smiling at Ambrose, who walked beside me holding a clipboard.
Zion's focus lingered on my walk, on the skin of my ankles exposed by my pants, on the strap of the heel circling my ankle.
He also lost himself in my smile and in the way my untamable hair moved around me.
For a moment I was speechless. Did Zion have a thing for my ankles?
“Is there anything sexier or more heroic than a woman in a lab coat saving lives?” he purred.
I bit my lower lip, still flustered by the image. Then I dug through my memories for a scene of Zion shirtless, drinking water after a workout. In it, I focused on the V of muscles near his waistband, on the bulge below, and on the veins standing out on his muscular arm.
“Naughty little thief,” I heard him think, and I blushed. While his image had focused on my smile and the way I walked, mine had zeroed in on the bulge in his pants. “I can play this game too. I have images of you from some excellent angles.”
But there was no time for more teasing—the truck stopped. Like flipping a switch, that sensation vanished, replaced by a chill running down my spine as the reality of the test sank in. I swallowed hard and heard one of the students being led outside.
“Breathe, Kyller. We'll start dropping them off at their positions.”
The truck started moving again and, after ten minutes, stopped once more. Zion would only leave my side to escort another student out. On the fourth stop, I felt his hands touch me—a clear signal to stand up. Then he guided us outside, and soon I felt the earth beneath my boots.
“When you hear the signal, remove the blindfold. When the barrier closes, begin the test,” he instructed.
He was worried too, but this was a general's voice, and all I could do was comply. There were cameras and listening devices everywhere, so we had to put on an act.
“Yes, sir,” I responded, my heart pounding in my chest. I felt a small device being placed in my hand—it must be the star.
“Good luck, my sunshine. I'll be waiting for you.” That's what he said in my mind at the same moment the shadows kissed my forehead. Then I heard the engine roar as the truck started moving again, leaving me to fend for myself.
Time seemed endless. I started breathing deeply, trying to count the minutes, but the tension of being blindfolded in the middle of the forest made me too anxious to manage that kind of patience, and my heart was beating too fast to use as a metronome for counting seconds.
Birds, crickets, and cicadas wove a wild song around me.
Even in the freezing weather, the forest seemed alive and cheerful, and from the light seeping through the gap in my blindfold, I could tell the sun had already risen on the horizon.
I had no idea how much time had passed when I considered sitting down to spare my legs from unnecessary fatigue. But then I heard a loud, blaring signal, like a horn. I removed the blindfold while trying to keep my breathing steady.
I squinted against the blinding brightness. Still, I took in my surroundings: in front of me stretched dense, wild forest, and behind me was a dirt road that disappeared among the trees. The snow lining its edges was already beginning to melt, but it still made everything bright and icy.
Then I felt it in my gut—a flash of power so strong and alive that it made the magical protection at home seem like a joke.
Soon, the ancient barrier began to materialize all around, slowly rising on the horizon like a glass dome.
It was the energy of centuries of stored blocking power, a shield cultivated by generations.
That barrier was impossible to break, and the elemental controlling it was stationed at the center of the test region.
At the end of the trial, he would absorb the barrier and store it in the royal vault for the next test, or for when the city needed protection against war—its true purpose.
Throughout the year, the blockers would deposit more power into it, increasing its energy.
Because it carried immeasurable weight, only a high-level blocker could lower it and absorb the power, transferring it to a sinil stone.
I watched in amazement as the structure stretched high and proud over the forest. Only then did I grasp the sheer size of the area. It was gigantic.
When the barrier was almost closed, I took a deep breath.
Its edges met with a soft clash that sent a tremor down my spine. I let out the breath.
It glowed blue, solidifying.
Then I ran.