Chapter 60
Ashley
no longer will we wallow and wade,
in waters of sorrow and pity.
Aiden’s pissed at me again, but what’s new?
He’s been muttering under his breath ever since we left the clearing.
How I can’t just follow the rules. When I point out that, technically, Eira didn’t either, he finally shuts up.
We don’t walk far before Kaed raises his hand slightly.
Silence. And then— “Duck,” he roars, just as a dagger flies through the air, embedding itself in a tree.
Figures in purple tunics, maybe thirty or forty of them, come pouring out of the jungle from every direction, faces covered with cloth masks.
Before I can even blink, Kaed throws the dagger back, burying it deep into the heart of the nearest attacker.
Onyx smoke coils towards me, gently caressing my skin, and nudges me behind a boulder, the sweet smell of his magic surrounding me.
I struggle against it before flashbacks remind me how pointless the effort is.
I can help, I know I can. It’s my trial too.
My pulse flares as violent ropes of black lash out from Kaed’s back, curling around the throat of a male, dragging him backward before he can land a strike on Aiden, who plunges his sword into someone’s chest without a thought.
I have to force myself to remember it isn’t real.
Cook clumsily dodges a strike with a small smile.
He’s loving this. He slides the sword from his belt and drives the blade into his attacker’s skull with a horrible cracking sound, before stepping away to trip up another one.
Arrows fly through the air, landing in a line around me.
Recognition draws faintly on Aiden’s face before his eyes lock on mine.
He throws himself over me before a deafening blast hits.
My ears ring as fluid rains down, searing my skin.
I hiss in pain, and so does he. Hopefully, Aiden has won his part in the trial by choosing to do the right thing.
The smoke binding me has dissipated and the arrows have left craters in the ground.
The blast has knocked Eira off her feet, her body lying lifelessly on the dirt.
Maybe he was supposed to have saved her instead.
“Eira!” I shout, but Aiden’s already there, defending her body from the onslaught of attackers.
He fights like a gentleman, as if he’s painting instead of killing.
More masked fae pour out from nowhere. I need to do something.
Anything. I can’t break this one too. My heart slams against my ribs as I crawl away from the boulder, trying to think about what I know and not how I feel.
I summoned the black flames before; I can channel my months of training. You asked for it, Ashley.
My fingers fumble for my sword. How impractical to have it on my back, that’s the last time I copy Kaed.
A flurry of purple robes lunge at me, but I’m ready for the fuckers.
I throw a blast of heat out of my left hand, my power meeting its mark.
One attacker sizzles midair, robes and flesh crumbling to dust. My right hand thrusts the blade up into the other, like Kaed taught me, catching him just below the ribs.
I have to push a lot harder than I thought.
Crunching through meat, bone and gristle.
Thick hot liquid pours onto my hands as he splutters, turning the pink butterfly hilt red.
His body jerks and I shove him back with my foot.
On second thought, I don’t think I’m built for this.
Bile rises in my throat as the final attacker falls.
Eira has come to and is clearly okay since she’s pushing Aiden’s hands off her, muttering something about “I had him.” Kaed weaves around the bodies, making straight for me.
The warmth of his hands on my back soothes me as my breakfast makes an appearance.
Cook, though still a little winded, manages to frown at my vomit disapprovingly before something catches his eye.
“Look!” He points to a door standing alone in the middle of the forest. “We did it!