Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

The ways my life has changed over the last month are hard to grasp. I used to walk the academy halls with my head down, eyes on the floor so that I wouldn't accidentally make eye contact with anyone. Now I can't get from one class to the other without someone calling my name or coming up beside me to walk through the halls. It's a lot to get used to, but I'm not complaining.

Classmates have asked to see my hand and want to know how I broke through the compulsion, but I make it through the first half of the day without anyone else bringing up my confession from the night before. No one seems to really care like I thought they would. Or if they do they keep it to themselves. So I'm not as jumpy or paranoid as I walk to meet up with Ensley for lunch, even though it's something I've been dreading all day long. But there's a good chance we won't be eating lunch alone, so I figure that will put off the inquisition for a couple more hours. Ensley is a lot of things, but I know she won't embarrass me in front of Shayla and the others.

My mind is on Becks when someone grabs my arm and pulls me into an empty room. My brain doesn't process that it's Talon until he's turning to lock the door behind us. He twists back to me, and when I look into his blue-gray eyes something inside gives a little flip, but I tell myself it's the lingering effects of the compulsion and nothing more.

"Talon, I don't?—"

"You're not answering your phone," he says, and the look on his face brings me up short. I'm used to his easy smile, the teasing light in his eyes, but for the first time since I met him Talon's gaze is shuttered from me—completely blank and cold.

I lift my bandaged hand. "My parents took it away when I came home like this without a good enough excuse. I'm basically under house arrest and cut off from the world for the next couple weeks."

Talon nods and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that tracks. My parents would probably flip too."

I knit my brow, trying to figure out what's going on here. "Did you need something?"

"You need to fail out of the next trial," Talon says without a lead up, and it's so unexpected it takes a few moments to find my words.

"Wait . . . what?"

Talon shifts uncomfortably. His gaze is lasered over my shoulder rather than my face.

"Where is this coming from?" I ask.

"The last couple of trials are going to be even more dangerous, and I think it's for the best if you safely withdraw from Chaos." He still won't look me in the eye.

Defensiveness swirls in my chest, and I cross my arms. I don't know who Talon thinks he is, but he can't make this decision for me any more than Becks, Ensley, or anyone else can.

"No." My voice rings clear in the empty room.

Talon's gaze finally settles on me. There's a storm cloud of emotion swirling in his light eyes. "Locklyn, you don't understand."

Locklyn, not Freckles.

"No, you don't understand," I say, cutting off whatever else he might have been about to say and taking an aggressive step forward. "You don't get to tell me what to do in Chaos. Nobody does. I made the decision to enter the competition, and if I want to purposefully tank a trial or give it my all until the very end, that will also be my decision."

Removing his hands from his pockets, he crosses his arms over his chest, mirroring my stance. His fists are clenched and a muscle jumps in his jaw.

"There are things going on here that you don't know about. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Newsflash. Chaos has always been dangerous. There's always been a chance I could get hurt. Yesterday I did, yet I'm still here. I'm not purposefully throwing the next trial, and nothing you can say will convince me to."

His features pinch in annoyance. "Why not? It's not like you're going to win anyway, so what's the point?"

As soon as the words leave his mouth, regret flashes across his face.

I feel like I've just been hit by friendly fire. "We're done here."

I go to leave the room but Talon steps in my path. "Freckles," he starts, but I hold up a hand.

"I said we're done here."

Panic crosses his face. "Wait." When I try to step around him, he grabs my arms and hauls me into him. I press my hands against his chest to keep distance between us, but when I look up at him, unwelcome memories of the night before bombard me.

The feel of his muscles beneath my fingers.

His warm breath ghosting over my lips.

The way I craved his touch with an intensity I've never experienced before.

He reads my face with ease, and he parts his lips, his gaze dropping to my mouth.

The breath in my lungs stalls, and as he looks down at me I finally notice the dark smudges under his eyes and the ashen color of his skin. Something is going on with him, but I don't know what.

"During the last trial, they tried to compel me to kill you."

Shock vibrates from my chest outward, chasing away any lingering desires from the night before, turning the blood in my veins to slush.

Kill me .

Who would want to kill me? And why?

I sway a little on my feet, becoming a little lightheaded. Talon's grip on me tightens and he shifts closer. "Are you all right?"

My fingers start to tingle and go numb.

Kill me .

"But why?" I'm so confused.

Real concern shines in his eyes and his voice softens when he answers. "I think someone is poking for my weak spots. And they found one. You."

That sobers me. I push against Talon, and he releases me. I take a step back to clear my head.

"Why would anyone think that I'm a weak spot for you?"

Talon pulls off his knit cap and plows a hand through his hair, making the dark waves go every which way. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip while scrutinizing me, making up his mind about what he wants to say next. Finally, he lets out a long breath of air. "Probably because I helped you during the first trial and then went easy on you during the second."

My mouth quirks to the side. "Went easy on me. You knocked me out cold in that fight."

"Yes and no," he says mysteriously, and I narrow my eyes. "I used my powers to make you pass out," he explains. "I think that tipped them off to who I am and painted a target on my back, and in turn yours as well."

Used his powers? But creature magic was nullified in the cages, so how was that even possible? Is Talon so powerful that he fought the magic dampener? And tipped who off to what?

I take a long look at Talon. He isn't as antsy as he was before, but I start to wonder if I know him at all. I thought I was peeling back some of his layers, but what if everything has just been smoke and mirrors?

"What kind of creature are you?" I ask bluntly.

Talon pokes his tongue into his cheek and looks away for a second. "I can't tell you," he says.

I scoff. "Won't is different than can't."

He barks out a laugh that's devoid of real humor. "If you only knew," he says without really addressing my comment. "But I need you out of the competition so that you stay safe. I have to get Shadow Striker, but I don't want you to get hurt, or worse."

"Is getting the dagger for your father really that important?" I ask.

He tilts his head and shoots me a look. "I think we both know by now that I'm not looking for a kitschy gift for my dad."

I feel my eyes widen. Could Talon be after Shadow Striker for the same reason I am?

"Well then, why?" I challenge. "Explain to me why it's so important for you to get that dagger."

Talon clamps his mouth shut. I know I'm making him uncomfortable, but since it's apparently my life on the line, I need him to level with me once and for all.

With a sigh he relents. "That dagger has been in my family for generations. Someone stole it a few months back. We've been looking for it ever since. We got a lead it was in this area, so I came here to check it out. Our lead was right because it popped up as the Chaos prize. I entered the competition to get it back."

"You used to own Shadow Striker?"

"As much as any creature can own it," he says. "And I'll do whatever it takes to get it back."

I take a moment to mull over everything. Does Shadow Striker really belong to Talon, or is he lying to me? I look into his eyes and my gut says he's telling the truth, just not all of it.

"Why would someone steal the dagger just to give it away?"

A shadow crosses Talon's face, and before he even says anything I know it's going to be a lie.

He shrugs, and the movement looks too practiced. "How should I know that?"

I narrow my eyes at him. Even if he doesn't know for sure, I'll bet he has a theory, and I don't like that he won't tell me what it is. "You're not telling me everything."

Talon sighs and walks a few feet away to lean up against the wall. "None of that information really matters anyway. The important facts are that the thief knows who I am and that I'm here to get the dagger back and that they are going to try to use you against me in these last two trials. I don't want you to get hurt, least of all because of me."

He says he doesn't want me to get hurt, but I see through the layers of what he's not saying. If it's between me and that dagger, he'll pick the blade over me, letting me get hurt. I try not to be offended by that because the ugly truth is that if it came down to Talon or the blade I'd be tempted to pick the magical object over him as well.

Talon crosses his arms. His face is passive, but his eyes sharpen. "I know why you entered Chaos. And let me tell you, he's not worth it."

My stomach drops and I look away. "You don't know what you're talking about," I snap.

"Don't I?" he says, and then pushes away from the wall to stalk toward me. He only stops when he's standing right in front of me, close enough that I can see the silver flecks in his blue eyes. "Then let me tell you what I do know. If I had—" He snaps his mouth shut. His nostrils flare as he sucks in a breath.

If he had what? I wonder, but when he starts talking again he doesn't pick up where he left off.

"You shouldn't settle for someone who doesn't accept you for who you are. You need someone who sees you. Really sees you and recognizes that you are enough, more than enough, just the way you are. It's not magic that makes the creature powerful, it's the strength of their character and the depth of their soul, and you, Freckles, are the most powerful creature I've ever met. If that pathetic excuse for a dragon heir doesn't recognize how powerful, strong, and beautiful you are, he's not worth your time, let alone your life." His gaze skips over my face, his eyes softening. "You'd be a fool to change one thing about yourself. You're already perfect."

My breath catches and I'm frozen by his confession. No one has ever said something like that to me before. Not even Becks. My mind flutters like a hummingbird, moving far too quickly to figure out what part of that little speech to focus on first, but what keeps circulating are his last words.

You're already perfect.

I'm not perfect. Far from it, but no one really is. But that doesn't mean being called perfect just the way I am doesn't have a profound effect on me. Something shifts in my very core, but I don't know how to process that, or even if I should believe Talon. What if he's just feeding me lines to get me to abandon my quest for Shadow Striker?

I shake my head and tell myself to ignore everything Talon just said. He doesn't understand the situation or know anything about Becks and me. His words were pretty, but unreliable at best. And even so, they don't change anything. Becks still has an arranged life-mating hanging over his head. I'm not giving up that dagger.

Clearing my throat, I take a step back to get some space from the intensity of the situation. "Well, thanks for the warning about Chaos," I say. "I'll keep it in mind."

"So you'll safely fail the next trial?" he asks, his body tense.

I lick my lips and Talon's gaze flicks down before returning to my eyes. There's a bit of heat in his gaze that's too blatant to ignore.

"It means," I start as Talon hangs on my every word, "that I hear what you are saying, that someone might try to do something to me to distract you in the trials, and that I'll keep that in mind."

"Freckles—" Talon starts, but I hold a hand up.

"I said I'll keep it in mind," I say firmly. "I appreciate you telling me what you can, and now that I know I'll watch my back. But at the end of the day I don't expect you to protect me through these challenges. I can take care of myself."

After what Chaos has already put me through, I truly believe that now. I'm strong. I'm fierce. I've got this.

Talon looks frustrated with my response, but eventually he heaves a sigh and nods. "You need to know I will do whatever I have to do to get Shadow Striker. There's more at stake than you realize."

"I know," I say, truly understanding the message. He means that not only will he not be there to protect me if I need it, but that if I get in his way he'll figure out how to move me out of it.

We stand there staring at each other for several more silent moments. I'm not sure what Talon reads on my face, but looking at him now is like seeing a different person, one hardened by harsh realities I know nothing about. He doesn't look like a student to me anymore. I don't know how I didn't see it before, but even dressed in faded jeans, a t-shirt, and his signature knit cap, he looks like a warrior.

For the first time since entering Chaos it feels like I'm finally seeing Talon for what he truly is, the guy standing in the way of what I want. As much as I may be standing in Talon's way, he's standing in mine as well.

"I'd better get going," I say, gesturing toward the door. "Ensley will be looking for me." I skirt around Talon, but before I pass he stops me with a light touch on the back of my hand.

"Just for the record, Freckles, I wasn't saying that you wouldn't win because you weren't capable of doing so. In a lot of ways you're the strongest creature I've ever met, a true fighter. I said that you wouldn't win because there's no scenario where I don't win the dagger back. I have to, because failure in this situation isn't an option."

Talon looks at me like he wishes there was another way, another option, but there isn't and he's sorry for it.

His words take some of the sting out of his comment from earlier, so I nod, letting him know I accept his words for what they are, an apology.

Some of the tension leaves his face. "Will you promise to think about what I've said here?"

A strangled laugh rolls up my throat before I can squash it. As if I'll be able to think of much else.

"Yeah, I promise," I say, and then Talon follows me out into the busy hallway, where we run right into Becks.