Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
I shoot her a look.
She smirks, then lowers her eyes. “Sorry. But you know I’m right. In spirit at least.”
All I can do is nod my head, because she is right. I've just painted an even bigger target on my back. And now the bull's-eye is bright red.
"That was quite the display," a familiar voice comments.
Bastian stands nearby, observing the training session with arms casually folded across his chest. His legacy uniform is immaculate as always, making our sweat-stained training clothes look even more pitiful by comparison.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, immediately suspicious. Other than the instructors, he's the only non-offering in the whole room.
"Observing," he replies smoothly. "As I told you. It's one of my assignments here."
His eyes drop briefly to my left hand, then back to my face. "I see you've been doing your reading. That's good."
With that cryptic note, he walks away.
"Okay," Mireen says, tilting her head. "What was that about?"
I shrug, aiming for nonchalance and probably missing by a mile. "Legacy business, I guess?"
The rest of the training session passes in a blur of sparring matches and drills. With the challenge matches over, the immediate threat of death is gone.
Still, I can feel Malakai's attention never wavering, his gaze a constant pressure between my shoulder blades. More than once, I catch Serena watching from the fire affinities, her fire-marked hands clenching and unclenching like she's imagining them around my throat.
By the time we're dismissed, my nerves are raw, stretched thin by the constant vigilance. The brief victory against Davrin feels hollow now, overwhelmed by the knowledge that I've only made my situation more precarious. Malakai will see our survival as a personal insult. If we weren’t already at the top of his hit list, we will be now.
"Weapons away, first-year waters," Blackstone calls. "And for those who haven't yet heard, the water trial begins at dawn two days from now. Report to the eastern shore of Mirror Lake. Wear something suitable for swimming. No weapons will be necessary."
A chorus of nervous whispers erupts around us. Mirror Lake is the vast body of water at the edge of campus, its depths rumored to be bottomless in places. What kind of trial awaits us there?
I see other combat instructors relaying similar messages to the other affinities. The airs burst into nervous whispers. The fires look to Raith, who only nods and seems to calm them. The earths take the news with stoic acceptance.
"Mirror Lake?" Beck joins us as we exit the room, his sandy hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. "That can't be good."
"Why not?" I ask, though I'm already certain I won't like the answer.
"Tucker talked about it once before they—" Beck says, lowering his voice. "Apparently, there's some kind of beast that lives in it. He said students get eaten every year by the thing. Swallowed whole."
"If the monster eats me, I hope I give it indigestion. I’ve been told I’m very spicy," Mireen says with a too-bright smile that earns a confused stare from Beck. I'm starting to get used to her macabre sense of humor—maybe to even appreciate the touch of lightness it brings in otherwise dark moments.
I can see why people who are surrounded by death would make a habit of it.
Ambrose appears on my other side, still sweaty from exertion.
"Tell Beck he's full of it, please," I say to Ambrose. “He says there’s a monster in the lake that eats students. Swallows them whole.”
"She's right, Beck," Ambrose says. "It doesn't swallow them whole. It drags them to its lair in the deepest section of the lake. At least that’s what I heard."
"Thank you both for that incredibly comforting information," I mutter. My insides go tight at the thought of the lake. At the question of what could be waiting in its depths. The similarity to my recurring nightmare isn’t lost on me, either, but I try my best not to think on it.
We part ways to clean up before classes, but as I turn toward the water tower, a hand grips my arm, pulling me into the shadow of a stone archway. I whirl, ready to fight, only to find myself face to face with Raith.
In the darkness, his eyes catch what little light remains, reflecting it with an unnerving focus that makes me wonder if he can see straight into my thoughts. "What did you do in there?" he demands, voice low and rough. Even from the brief touch, I feel a hint of the fire essence I pulled from him, dancing and twisting within me with the promise of power.
"In where?" I ask, hoping the innocent act might work.
His grip tightens slightly. "Don't. I saw what happened with Davrin. The stone moved."
Fear grips my heart. It claws up my throat like a living thing, threatening to choke me. If Raith noticed, who else might have? "I don't know what you're talking about."