by Alex Lidell
Following Arisha’s gaze, I note the one table covered with satin linens in the Academy’s red and gold hues, in contrast to the white and gold of the other settings. There, standing behind their chairs as they wait for Sage’s introduction, Han’s Prowess athletes are in their rich red parade uniforms instead of court dress. Tye’s lithe and proud silhouette draws the eyes of every female in the room, just as Princess Katita’s golden hair and perfect curves draw the males’. Beside each other, they look like a stunning royal tapestry.
Delightful.
“They must be under—” I shut my mouth. Tye hasn’t met a rule he didn’t break on principle, so the choice to ignore me might well be his. Which stings even more.
Before I can say anything more, Headmaster Sage stands up and taps a fork against his crystal goblet, the melodic chime bringing the violins and voices to a sudden halt.
With his small frame and hunched shoulders, the standing Sage is little taller than the sitting River—who I catch moving his chair back slightly to try to keep from upstaging the headmaster. Sometimes I wish River’s courtesy was just a little more selective.
As if feeling my gaze on him, River glances over, the gray eyes I’ve not seen since that day in his study piercing right into my soul. One bloody glance and my insides melt. I’m just starting to wonder what exactly this will do to our study sessions, which will resume with the normal schedule, when Sage interrupts my thoughts.
“My lords and ladies of the Great Falls Academy. It is my pleasure to welcome you back from the Ostera holidays to the final stretch of this academic year,” Sage announces, the hall’s acoustics amplifying his croaking voice.
I try to distract myself from sudden thoughts of the coming intimate tutoring sessions by taking a slow sip of wine.
“Before I release you to your dinner,” continues Sage, “allow me to be the first to share the Academy’s proud news. With the assistance of Master Han—the new Prowess coach whom some of you may have already met—and our distinguished athletes, the Academy has petitioned the Prowess commission to hold this year’s Trials competition right here at Great Falls itself.”
My hand freezes halfway back down to the table, tightening dangerously around the crystal goblet.
Sage pauses, the previously silent room suddenly abuzz with excited scents and darting whispers. Cadets shift about, grabbing each other’s shoulders and near knocking down plates in their enthusiasm, their lives suddenly a hundred times more exciting than they were only a second ago. All but the actual Prowess athletes, who stand at attention at their places.
Against the room’s sudden spike of energy, the deafening silence in my head is that much starker, a cold panic seeping into my veins. Despite both Arisha’s and Gavriel’s untiring efforts, we’ve made zero progress in halting the wards’ deterioration, much less in coming up with a way to rebuild what was already broken. My killing off Mors’s vile creatures seeping into Great Falls’ woods was never meant as a solution, only some stitching to buy time until we conjure a fix or else Lunos sends aid.
And now the Prowess Trials, the single event gathering the continent’s rulers in one place, is coming to Great Falls. The very heart of the cracking wards’ spreading web and the Night Guards’ hunting ground. Bloody ever-loving stars.
The initial weakness in the wards may be natural deterioration, but I’ve no doubt the Night Guard has been picking at the cut. Widening it for their plans, which all center here. And now Sage wants to host a convention of mice in the middle of a snake pit.
My heart quickens, the smell of food suddenly turning nauseating. If the Trials come here, people are going to die. I can barely keep the occasional aberrations at bay, let alone hold off a full and inevitable Night Guard assault. And even if I stood a chance, I can’t be everywhere at once. Stars, the very Academy might be compromised already. My eyes flicker to Han, whose pale eyes look calmly satisfied.
The very worst part is that this whole mess is our fault. I have to bite back a scream of frustration. The Academy was never even supposed to have a Trials athlete. Not until the veil spun the story for Tye—
Whap!
A small rap of pain bites my shin, cutting off my spiraling thoughts midstream. Turning, I find Arisha forcing a smile though her clenched teeth. “You are happy about this,” she mutters. “You aren’t thinking what I know you are. We are all normal and happy.”
Right. Taking a deep breath, I force a smile onto my face just as Sage raises his arms to call for silence once more.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm and support as we show the continent the true glory of our prestigious Academy.” The self-satisfaction in Sage’s voice thick enough to spread on bread, his bald head gleaming brighter than ever under the vast chandeliers. “While the Prowess Committee has not yet confirmed our request, I have full confidence that we will be victorious—both in the hosting of the trial and the subsequent unquestionable victory.” Despite calling for silence a moment earlier, Sage pauses again for the cheers and applause, speaking only when the last of the voices has died down. “To this end, we are changing the end-of-year exams.”
This time, the general fidgeting has a more cautious tone.
“Our royal visitors, understandably, will expect to see more than just the athletes. They will wish to inspect the quality of instruction Great Falls offers.” A new streak of ice enters Sage’s voice. “The final exams will thus be held orally, during the Prowess Trials’ opening, allowing our esteemed guests to observe the students in action. I expect each of you to bring honor to the Academy and yourselves with your performance. Anyone unable or unwilling to pledge that should withdraw from our rolls now.”
River’s gaze flickers to me for a moment before returning to Sage, and my already churning stomach sinks like lead. Instead of keeping a low profile with the humans, I will now be humiliating myself in front of the mortals’ greatest leaders—and taking the Academy’s reputation down along with it.
Sage raises his glass, his eyes alight with satisfaction. “The next two months will be grueling for both our athletes and nonathletes alike. Yet, I am certain we are all of one mind— Great Falls is the premier Academy on the continent, and we welcome the chance to remind the world as to why. With that, let me wish you a good meal and a good night’s sleep before classes resume in the morning.”
The Great Hall explodes in applause, the walls magnifying each clap as obediently as they did Sage’s voice. Beneath the noise, I sink into my chair, my mouth bone-dry.
“I imagine there will be a few people packing up shortly. It is the responsible thing to do.” The high voice from across the table hits me so squarely between the eyes that I can’t very well pretend I don’t hear it. Vivian—one of Katita’s beautiful hangers-on until the princess joined Han’s team and became sequestered with the rest of them—cuts her gaze to her companions before returning her attention to me. “Is that how you interpreted Master Sage’s words as well, Lady Leralynn?”
I give Vivian an icy smile. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure the headmaster didn’t mean you.”
The girl’s cheeks color, but I turn to my food without waiting for a response. I’ve greater problems to worry about than Viv—such as how in the hell to stop the Prowess Trials from happening.
3
Lera
“We are not going to stop the Prowess Trials from happening,” Arisha says from behind a stack of books as she strides out from the bowels of the library, her muffled voice echoing softly against the high-domed ceiling.
Peeling away from the wall, Coal uses his good arm to grab the volumes from her. Gavriel doesn’t look up from his study of a text on ancient fae magics. Without having to discuss it, the four of us found our way here at quarter past curfew, the meeting time having become habitual over the past week. Even Coal’s presence is no longer a surprise, though we’ve not quite worked out how much of the truth we can discuss around him without setting off the veil he wears.
“I was
fine with them, sir.” Arisha frowns at her departing treasure. So long as she doesn’t look at Coal, my friend is not shy about challenging him at these meetings—and I’ve a notion that keeping from spooking Arisha is one of the reasons the male never invites himself to the table. “Nothing was falling.”
“Yet.” Coal sets the books down, the pain tightening his jaw so subtle that I’m certain no one but me noticed. “Nothing was falling, yet.”
“I—”Arisha’s foot catches the carpet, and she hops about to regain her balance. Coal watches her with a raised brow. Ignoring him, she sits down and pulls the manuscripts toward her. For the past week, our guild meetings have focused on narrowing down the zero point of the wards’ weakness—which, based on the travel pattern of Mors’s rodents and my Ostera mishap, Arisha and Gavriel now believe lies in the Gloom beneath the Great Falls mountain range. Today, however, the whole conversation is shifting to the new looming disaster.
“I’ve gone through the headmaster’s journals for the past decade, and Sage has been maneuvering for the Academy to host the Prowess Trials all that time. Which also explains why the amu—” Arisha clears her throat and gives me a meaningful look. “Why Sage recruited Tyelor. We are seeing a manifestation of what the headmaster has been trying to achieve for a long time, not a brand-new reality that just came to mind from nowhere. Which makes sense.”
The veil dresses up reality; it doesn’t actually change it. Yes, I got it, Arisha.
“All right, so Sage has always been hell-bent on the Trials happening here.” I tap the table. “That doesn’t change the fact that inviting every mortal royal to an area infested with magical human-mauling beasts could be tantamount to inviting them to death. At the very least, any extra outside scrutiny to the Great Falls area could expose the extent of the magical threat building right outside these walls. Why would Sage risk that?”
“Because the headmaster doesn’t believe there is a real magical threat, remember?” Arisha says. “Or if he does, he won’t admit it. The Academy’s reputation is too important to him. The moment he whispers about a problem, his precious royal students will be flooding back to their palaces faster than he can say, ‘Don’t slam the door on your way out.’”
I feel my jaw crack under the strain of my clenching. If I’m not careful, I’m going to lose a tooth. More time. I need more time to both figure out what’s going on here and bring back my males’ memories so we can defeat it together. All the world’s royals in one place will be a great temptation indeed, and we’re not ready to defend the Academy from whoever—or whatever—takes the bait. I spin to Coal. “What does River have to say about all this?”
Having retreated from Arisha, Coal is back to leaning against the wall, his good arm crossed over the injured limb. If his dark mood were visible, the male would have wisps of blackness trailing about him. Or maybe that’s my own. I’ve not had a decent night’s sleep since before the dungeon, and it’s hard not to feel all those sleepless hours every time I look at the scowling male.
“He doesn’t like it, but again, his only grounds for argument is the threat of magic,” says Coal. “Which Sage already shut down a month ago, when River wanted to send the royal students home. And, your brew of secrets here aside, to the outside world, things have the appearance of getting better.”
“In other words, my putting downs sclices is actually working against us now.” I shake my head. “Brilliant.”
“What about the Night Guard’s presence?” says Arisha, blue eyes trained on me as if she can pretend Coal doesn’t exist. “That is new.”
“I discussed the dark fae with the deputy headmaster after Leralynn ran into them,” Gavriel says, looking up for the first time. In his worn olive-green robes, he practically sinks into the shadows. “Commander River and I have an understanding that my sources of information are not to be asked after, but my exemplary track record in providing facts has earned me a certain—”
“Uncle Gavriel,” Arisha says gently. “What did River say?”
“The deputy headmaster is already taking every safety precaution he is able to. There is nothing more to be done without proof.”
“Fine.” Standing, I head for the large wooden chest where we keep my spare set of leather armor and weapons. “If River and Sage need proof that the Academy is under imminent bloody threat, I’m going to get proof.”
Coal’s scent spikes dangerously before I’m halfway across the room. “How?” he says. “By wandering the woods by yourself in hopes a Night Guard fae tries to kill you?”
“If I have to.”
Coal snorts with no hint of humor. “So long as the proof you are after is your own dead body, it’s as solid a plan as I’ve ever heard.”
I twist toward him, my blood starting to simmer. A week ago, Coal didn’t know the Protector’s Guild even existed—now he wants to stop me from the outings I’ve been taking for weeks. “You have a better idea?”
“We start by you not getting dead and go from there.” Coal’s muscles shift sinuously as he rises to his full height and steps away from the wall and toward the wooden chest, as if he could physically bar me from opening it. “Wait a few days, and we will go together. There is little to be lost by holding off that long.”
“What bloody world do you live in, Coal? You won’t be capable of so much as wiping your arse with that arm in a few days. And you are the one who got yourself into that mess to begin with.”
“Lera—” Arisha starts to say.
“No. Coal can keep his votes of no confidence to himself.” My gaze snaps back to the male. “I was patrolling by myself for a month before you came along. And I will keep doing it.”
Coal’s eyes darken as I speak, and now his lips pull back, showing the sharp canines my amulet tries to tell me aren’t there. “Like hell you will.”
“Exactly. Like hell I will.” My words escape through clenched teeth, the flame of frustration that started with sleepless nights and fed on Sage’s death-trapping stupidity shifting into a full-on bonfire. I step toward Coal until we’re nose to nose. “You were invited to the guild to help, not to order me about. As for what you are actually capable of just now—that would be an extra dead body at best and a liability at worst.”
Coal’s furious body heat washes over me. I don’t know who’s he angrier at: me for pointing out the obvious, or himself for still being injured. In the corner of my narrowing vision, Arisha throws her arms protectively around her precious manuscripts, while Gavriel inconspicuously gathers up his china teapot.
“Get out of my way,” I say simply.
“Master Coal—” Gavriel starts, probably feeling the brittleness of every single thousand-year-old book page surrounding us. One breath could blow them to dust, let alone two raging immortals. “Tempers seem to be—”
Coal slams the heel of his palm on the tabletop. “Go out alone tonight, Cadet, and I’ll ensure you regret it.” His eyes are blue lightning, and I have no doubt he means every word.
Unfortunately, so do I.
Nothing.
I’ve patrolled every inch of the forest around Great Falls, north to the great thundering waterfall itself and south to the borders of the village, and all I’ve found is a big fat nothing.
Normally, I’d have stumbled upon a herd of Yocklols at least, maybe a few slobbering sclices, or a rippling shadow that speaks to something lurking in the forbidding gloom. Normally, I’d have had a perfectly reasonable shot at stunning or killing something to drag back and drop at River’s feet.
But not tonight. Just silent woods, soft leaves underfoot, and the warm weight of Shade’s wolf at my side.
It’s almost as if they knew I was coming.
As dark night lightens to a silvery gray, the huge wall of the Academy comes into view. I curse softly, scaring an owl from its roost. I don’t resent the night of missed sleep—I needed a break from Coal’s dark, bloodstained memories anyway—but I do resent what I just risked for this big fat nothing.
; Fortunately, I don’t think Coal spotted me going out—which I judge mostly by the fact that no blond bastard tried to tackle me as I left. Much as it grates me to appear to have appeased the overbearing male, I’ve enough wits to know that a physical confrontation with Coal wouldn’t end well for either of us. So I was beyond careful when I snuck out my window and across the grounds, keeping to only the deepest shadows, grateful for the slim crescent moon as I climbed the stone wall. And I’ll take the same precautions now. I know how to remain hidden. For all the good it did me tonight.
Shade pants lightly and presses against my leg—a warning. A guardsman paces across the top of the wall in front of us with torch in hand, silhouetted against the lightening sky. The tunnel it is.
And then a long day of acting completely normal around Coal—and plotting my next move to get River the proof he needs. To do something.
4
Lera
“What in the name of all the stars is this nonsense?” Stopping a few paces short of the training corral for the morning class, Arisha watches Coal spin-kick a post, each blow shaking the wood. The male’s left arm is bound tightly to his shirtless body, the other up in defense. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the warrior had simply taken one arm out of action for training purposes. Certainly, Coal gives no evidence of feeling the agony that must shoot down his bones with every vibration.
His muscles dance under his damp skin, sculpted to perfection. I’d enjoy the view if I didn’t see fury in every twitch. If I didn’t know the idiot was doing greater damage each time he struck.