Chapter 12

Twelve

I can't make out the stars through the tree branches above me. I'm lying on the soggy ground for less than a minute before Becks is there, reaching for me and helping me to my feet. Uncontrollable shudders rack my frame, violent enough to make my teeth chatter as I come down from the adrenaline rush.

Becks crushes me against his chest, and I soak in his warmth.

I did it , I think to myself. Sure, I probably wouldn't be standing here if Talon hadn't helped me out, but I'd still made it through the first trial when other competitors hadn't.

A bubble of pride starts to swell in my chest until Becks' voice shattered it. "What were you thinking?" he snaps as he pulls away, his face reflecting a storm of emotions, all of them bad. "You could have been killed."

The warmth that had started to permeate my body immediately flees. I take a step back, wrapping my arms around myself.

Granted, what I did was rash, but the last thing I need right now is for Becks to throw it in my face.

"Come on," he says as he grabs my hand and starts to tug me through the crowd surrounding the hole I just climbed out of. "We need to figure out who is in charge of this and get you out of this mess."

Wait. What?

"Becks, stop." I plant my feet, but he's so strong it takes him a few beats to realize that he's dragging me behind him.

When he stops and turns back, I really look at him. His hair is disheveled like he's run his hands through it again and again, and his mouth is pinched into a straight line. As we stand there his gaze bounces over my face and then down my body, like he's looking for injuries. Admittedly, I'm a mess, but I'm relatively unharmed and in one piece, but there's a savage gleam in Becks' eyes that makes me think he's just barely holding on. I've never seen my friend like this before. Almost as if he's spooked. Or unhinged. Or both.

"You heard the rules," I say gently, knowing he's so close to snapping. "There's no way to withdraw from the competition now. I have to see it through."

Becks shakes his head. "No, there must be?—"

"I don't want to pull out of Chaos," I say firmly, stunning him into silence that then hangs between us, thick and uncomfortable.

"Locklyn, you can't be serious." The lines of concern on his face slowly morph into something else. Something darker and ugly. "It was just dumb luck you made it through this trial alive. You'll never make it through the rest of them, and I won't be there to save you."

The words hit me like daggers to the heart, and I flinch. There are certain realities about me that I've accepted, one being my magical weakness compared to other creatures. But Becks had never treated me as less than . . . until now.

Becks must have seen me flinch because he starts to backtrack. "I didn't mean it like that. You know I think you're capable, it's just that this is different. Competitors are going to get hurt before this is all said and done. Some already have. It was agony watching—" His voice breaks and he looks away, running an agitated hand through his hair before pinning me with a stare that sends shockwaves through me with its intensity. "Please don't ask me to sit back and watch you go through these trials."

The screens that rolled down from the cavern's ceiling . . .

I'd completely forgotten the trial was being broadcasted. How much had he seen? The cameras couldn't have shown everyone at once. Did he see what happened with Jules in the tunnel? I didn't think so or he'd really be losing it.

I don't know what to do. Part of me is seriously hurt by Becks' lack of confidence in me. In a few short sentences he validated every insecurity I've ever felt about myself. But I can clearly see that watching me battle through the first trial has cost him. The price is written all over his face. I might have been the one who was physically challenged in those caverns and tunnels, but the trial took a toll on Becks as well.

I open my mouth, to say what I'm not yet sure, when I'm tackled by Ensley. She bounces up and down, taking me along for the ride.

"That was seriously epic," she squeals before releasing me. "I mean, I can't believe you actually entered Chaos. We are going to have some serious words about what you were thinking, but oh my garsh, when you dropped the rod that was keeping that scaly beast away and it came swimming toward you, I thought my heart was going to explode."

I wince, realizing that Becks must have seen that as well. No wonder he'd lost it.

"Yeah, that was wicked," Konan says from behind Ensley. The rest of her bandmates, Canin, Holland, and Sol are behind him, and they look at me with respect in their eyes. It's a look I'm not used to being directed at me, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't feel good.

"Awesome job, Locklyn," someone calls, and when I look over a classmate waves at me before moving on.

This is going to take some getting used to.

Becks' frown deepens, but I turn away from him and toward Ensley's beaming face instead. At least one of my friends is proud of me, but then her smile dims. "What do you think the next trial is going to be?" she asks, and my stomach hollows.

I don't want to think about that. I'd rather ride the high of making it through the first round as long as possible.

"Who knows?" I say, trying to make my voice sound light rather than weighed down with worry.

A buzzer goes off and is trailed by a chorus of cheers and disappointed groans and I realize that must be the end of the time limit, meaning I'd made it out just in time. Did Talon?

I crane my neck to search for him through the mass of creatures still surrounding the hole, but it's useless. It's too dark and there are too many bodies. I hope he made it out in time. I'd feel awful if he failed because he helped me. But something in my mind whispers maybe it won't be the worst thing if he's disqualified. He's going to be a hard competitor to beat, and my desire for Shadow Striker has only grown since I stepped over that glowing yellow line.

"Let's get out of here," Becks says, and we all agree.

There's already a steady stream of party goers headed back to their cars. I don't know exactly where we are in Woodwind Forest, but Becks and Ensley seem to know where they are going. I follow along, each step harder than the last as exhaustion pulls at me, making my legs feel like they are made of lead. I don't even want to know what time it is. With any luck my parents are in bed asleep and come morning will have no idea what time I crept back into the apartment.

As we trek back to the cars, I receive a few more congratulations along the way. Becks is leading our small group and I watch his back as we jostle our way through the horde of creatures around us. The set of his shoulders is rigid, and I can't help feeling like he's purposefully not looking at me, but maybe that's for the best, because I don't know what to say to him to make things better between us. I can't tell him the real reason I entered was to win Shadow Striker so that we'd have a chance to be together. I'm not ready to face that truth with him, and I don't have any other explanation that he'll accept.

The trees have just started to thin when I finally recognize the terrain, but my attention catches on a figure up ahead and off to the side. When I swing my gaze back in that direction, it collides with Talon's, and sticks.

Leaned up against the trunk of a tree, he's half in the shadows. A touch of relief trickles through me that he made it out in time. I would have felt guilty if he hadn't. Bodies pass between us as I slow to hold his gaze, but it somehow feels like it's just the two of us. The moment stretches, testing the boundaries of time.

We don't break eye contact until I'm about to pass him, and then a hint of a smile lifts his mouth, and he gives me a small nod, respect shining from his eyes. I return the gesture and then the moment breaks as I'm swept away with the crowd. When I'm in my bed no more than an hour later, tossing and turning as I fight to fall asleep, it's the memory of Talon's face that lingers in my mind as I finally succumb to fitful rest.