Chapter 36

Thirty-Six

Just like the other trials, the area around the ruins is cloaked so the lights and sounds can't be heard until we pass through the invisible barrier. The atmosphere once inside the barrier reminds me of the first trial in Deepseat Caverns. Spectators are spread around the space, dancing and laughing. It feels like a party rather than a potential fight for my life.

I get stopped repeatedly on my way to where the other competitors are waiting on the edge of the ruins by creatures who want to wish me luck or let me know they're rooting for me. It's a surreal experience. Five weeks ago, when I walked into the caverns, these creatures didn't know who I was and wouldn't have given me a second look as I passed. Now I can't seem to make it twenty feet without someone stopping me. Somehow along the way I earned their respect and admiration, but for what? Making it through a competition? It all seems so hollow and unimportant. I'm still the same magicless creature I was all those weeks ago.

I never deserved the scorn I received from creatures like Jules or the other bullies at Nightlark. But on the same note I don't deserve all the fuss that's being made over me now either.

I'm suddenly weary. Weary of this competition. Weary of trying to fix everything in my life. Weary of all the energy I've put into trying to become someone other than who I really am.

I'm just me, and it's about time for me to understand that's enough.

I can't stop myself from looking for Becks, but I don't spot him anywhere, and soon enough I reach the other competitors. There's a small platform that Titus and the other three competitors I don't know well are standing on, but Talon is missing.

Before I step up to join the others, Ensley gives me a hug and tells me to be careful. I assure her I will, and then jump up onto the stage with the others. Titus gives me a chin nod, but the other competitors, Damon, Vivian, and Chase, just stare at me with calculated eyes. Despite the revelry going on, none of us are jovial. We know this last trial is going to be a fight, and we're all trying to mentally prepare for the battle.

I turn away from the spectators and survey the ruins, which are empty. The game master must have something in place to keep creatures from venturing into that area. Plants grow up between the cobblestone of what's left of the road that used to run down the middle of the settlement. The hollowed-out shells of shops and homes stand on either side. At the end of the road is what used to be a small cathedral. It was made of stone, so it's the most preserved of all the structures in the old settlement. From here I can see a slight glow emanating from within, but the rest of the ruins are dark and lifeless.

"Hey, Freckles, you ready?"

I turn, ignoring the flash of heat that shoots through my body when I find Talon standing casually next to me with his hands shoved in the pockets of his dark jeans.

I lower my voice. "Ready to run and hide behind you and Titus?"

He smiles, and I hate that it makes my stomach flip. "Good. You are."

It's just jitters , I tell myself. But I know it's a lie. Whether I like it or not, what happened between us today has changed things. He can act as nonchalant as he wants now, but that doesn't erase the fact that he spoke to me like a kiss between us was not only inevitable but would also mean something.

I shake off thoughts of what happened in the courtyard at lunch to focus on the here and now. Talon, Titus, and I have a loose plan for tonight, but that doesn't mean a number of things can't, and won't, go wrong, especially since I'm at such a disadvantage during this trial. But I'm not really worried about the other competitors, I'm worried about the mysterious game master who seems to be pulling all the strings from behind the scenes. If Talon is right, he's going to try to kill someone tonight, and if I'm not careful that creature will be me.

"Running a little late, don't you think?" I ask, looking at my watch and seeing it's mere minutes before the trial is scheduled to start.

Talon surveys the rowdy crowd, his face blanked of emotion. "I was trying to check out the ruins before the trial started. The whole area is warded and encased in a magical barrier. I couldn't get through. I think he's making sure once the trial starts no one can interfere."

"Do you really think this is going to be a fair fight?"

He shakes his head. "Not for one second."

A horn blasts and then the game master appears atop the closest ruin in a cloud of smoke. A toxic mix of fear and hatred rises in my chest toward the hooded figure for all the pain he's inflicted for his own selfish desires. I can't wait to see Talon beat him at his own game and claim the dagger back for his family.

The game master starts droning on about what an accomplishment it is for the six of us to have made it this far and how the winner will go down in infamy. It's all shallow words, a front for the deception he's running. I'm only half listening as I wait for him to lay out the rules of the last trial when my gaze snags on a familiar blond head.

Becks is standing off to the side, watching with his arms crossed over his chest. The moment my gaze connects with his I visibly jolt. Talon must notice, because the next thing I know he's leaning over to whisper in my ear.

"Do you need me to put on another show? Because I'm willing and available."

The blasé tone in his voice makes me bristle. Regardless of how necessary it was to break things off for good with Becks, feelings were still involved. Specifically Becks' and mine.

Becks' gaze narrows when Talon leans closer, and his face darkens, but he doesn't break eye contact.

"Careful, Freckles. Keep staring at your princeling like that and he might start to doubt the sincerity of our fake relationship."

He's right, but I can't look away.

"Now for the rules of this last trial," the game master says, and I'm finally able to tear my gaze from Becks.

The game master is angled toward the competitors now, his face a blurred shadow beneath his hood. "This is a battle of magical strength," he says, confirming Talon's theories. My stomach roils. Part of me was hoping Talon would be wrong about this trial and everything else, but it looks like he isn't. I catch Titus's attention flick toward Talon before he looks away. "One at a time you'll each be directed to a starting location in the ruins," the game master continues. "When the horn blares again, a free-for-all battle will begin. Your objective is to use your powers to take out your fellow competitors and then make your way to the cathedral at the end of the street. The competitor who makes it to the ruin first and captures the Blade of Power will be our Chaos champion."

Reaching into the folds of his clothes, he pulls out Shadow Striker. Talon stiffens next to me, his face as hard as stone and his eyes lasered in on the wavy bladed dagger. The game master's face is obscured but I'd bet money he's grinning back at us right now. A low growl comes from Talon's throat, and he starts forward, but I grab his arm and he halts. His muscles bunch beneath my hand, but he doesn't try to take another step.

"One other thing. I've hidden two magical objects somewhere in the ruins. Find one, and you'll find you have an advantage in this trial."

My interest piques with that news. I don't have magic, but maybe I can get a leg up by finding one of those objects. At least then I won't be as much of a liability for Talon and Titus.

But the game master isn't done. "In order to keep the location of each competitor secret until the trial begins, the ruins will be cloaked. They'll enter one at a time and follow the lights to their location. Good luck to each of you."

In another smoke explosion, the game master and Shadow Striker disappear; the area around the ruins goes dark and opaque, like the shadows have solidified. The competitors all glance at each other, waiting to see who's going to go first.

Titus steps forward. "I'll head in," he says, and doesn't wait for anyone to stop him and agree before jumping off the platform and walking right toward the ruins. The blackness swallows him immediately.

"Locklyn will go next," Talon says for me, and gives me a little nudge forward.

"I will?"

Talon leans over and pretends to kiss my cheek, but really whispers, "I want you to go between me and Titus in case our locations are close to each other." He pauses. "Good luck, love muffin," he says loud enough for those closest to us to hear, earning some scowls from the remaining competitors who now, no doubt, know that we're working together.

Grumbling under my breath I start for the end of the platform. Right before I step down I look for Becks, but he's gone. My heart drops. I just wanted to see him one more time. Just in case something goes horribly wrong.

My nerves start to take over as I walk the few short steps to the barrier. I push against it with my hand, but it doesn't let me through. I try it a couple more times and finally my hand sinks through. I can only assume it won't let a competitor in until the one before is hidden.

Taking a deep breath, I step forward and I'm on the other side by the time my foot touches the ground. There's a lighted purple path on the cracked cobblestone road leading forward. I follow the path about halfway down the street and then into one of the structures on the right. I have to duck and move vines out of the way to get inside the ruin, where I find the glowing purple circle I'm assuming I'm meant to stand in. Taking a deep breath, I enter the circle and wait as one by one the other competitors are led to their starting spots.

An eternity passes while I wait. Every minute that ticks away, my nerves fray a little more. I cast my gaze around the space to distract myself, learning every nook and cranny of the ruin. I miss it on my first sweep, but the second time I glance over the stones on the wall I notice a round indentation in one of the rocks. It's dark in the ruin. The roof is missing, but a tree has grown in the middle of the room and the branches cover a lot of the sky, blocking the moonlight. But when I look hard enough, I realize what it is: the Chaos, or rather Shadow Striker, emblem.

Is that where one of the magical objects is hidden?

I won't know until I look, but I have to wait for the trial to begin before I leave the purple circle. The moment the horn blasts, signaling all the competitors are in place and the trial has started, I rush over to the stone with the emblem and immediately notice there's no mortar around it. Reaching forward, I yank the stone free. Sitting in the now empty space is a gold cuff. I pull it out and fasten it around my wrist and forearm. And then . . .

Nothing happens.

Is it a dud or something? Hopefully its powers will show themselves sooner rather than later.

Shouts sound from outside the crumbling walls of the ruin. I'm trying to decide if I should join the fray or hunker down for as long as I can, when a body comes crashing through the entrance and smashes into the tree trunk in the middle of the room.

Titus scrambles to his feet and looks wildly at me. "Oh good, it's you. Stay out of Chase's path if you can. He has super strong wind magic."

"He just blasted you in here?" I ask with wide eyes, and Titus nods. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we'd better get out of here before someone comes looking for us."

With Titus going first to shield me, we leave the ruin. The rest of the competitors are battling it out in the middle of the street. Talon's back is to us as he holds off both Damon and Chase. With his arms moving rapidly, it looks like he's pulling shadows from around him and then flinging them at the pair. It's not a power I've ever seen before, and I'm awestruck for a moment.

"Stay down and out of the fray the best you can," Titus says, and then runs for Vivian, who's sneaking up on Talon while he's distracted with the other two.

She looks like she's getting ready to throw some sort of faelight ball of energy at Talon, but Titus swipes his leg out, taking her down before she can. They grapple on the ground, rolling a few times, until Titus comes out on top. Covering her eyes with his hands, he blasts her with white faelight, temporarily blinding her. She screams in outrage, trying to buck him off, but it's no use. Titus knows how to use his body and his magic in a fight, and I'm suddenly relieved I don't have to go up against him.

Titus jumps off Vivian, but even blinded she tries to get to her feet.

"You're out," he yells at her, "stay down."

"Never," she screams, and rushes him, but he easily sidesteps and then slams his fist against her temple, knocking her out. He peers down at her with a look of regret, but then shakes his head and takes off.

A roar of cheers fills the air. I look in the direction of the crowd, but the blackness is still doming the ruins, making it impossible to see the world beyond. The game master must have cameras hidden around here like he did before.

"Watch out!" someone screams, and I look up just in time to see a ball of fire whiz toward my face.

It's coming too fast. I throw up my arms in a feeble attempt to protect myself. Just before the fire reaches me it hits an invisible barrier and explodes, leaving me unscathed.

I look down at the cuff in shock, realizing it very well might have just saved my life.

When I glance up, Talon is sprinting toward me with a look of relief on his face. I see Chase behind him, running for cover. I guess wind magic isn't the only creature power Chase has.

Titus is farther down the road battling Damon, giving Talon and me a temporary reprieve.

"That blast was meant for me. Are you all right?" he asks, skidding to a halt in front of me. His eyes run from my head down to my toes and back up again in a quick sweep for injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to this," I say, holding up the cuff.

"You found one of the magical objects?"

I nod. "It was in the ruin."

"That's convenient," he says with a hint of suspicion.

"It is. But it just saved me from being barbecued, so I don't think I care."

"Good point." He checks over his shoulder and then says, "I'm going after that shifter. Stay behind me." I nod and we take off, rounding the back of one of the ruins. "He's over there," Talon says, pointing ahead.

I don't see anyone or any movement though. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I can see his magical aura."

"You can see that?" He nods, and I'm so confused. That's a fae trait, not a vampire one.

"Come on," he says and takes off.

I do what I can to keep up with him as he sprints ahead. He rounds a corner and I quickly follow, almost running into Talon's back because he's stopped short.

Sure enough, Chase is there. Sweat dampens his brow and his eyes are wild. "Stay back!" he warns, holding something up in front of him.

I get a quick look at it before Talon shoves me behind him. It's an enhancer. Another one of the magical objects the game master hid in the ruins. It's shaped like a horseshoe, with four different gems that amplify a creature's natural magic embedded into the metal. Enhancers are very rare and very expensive. I've only ever seen one in a museum.

"I'm giving you a chance to bow out on your own terms," Chase says, and Talon chuckles darkly.

"That's not going to happen."

"I'll use it. I will."

"Then do it," Talon says as he shifts his stance. I know what he's doing. He's getting ready to charge the dragon shifter.

I peek around Talon, and Chase's gaze tracks to me and then shifts back to Talon. "I don't want to hurt her," he says. "I know she's close with our heir. But I will if I have to."

The mention of Becks makes my heart squeeze.

"This is a lot of talk and not a lot of action," Talon says, sounding deceptively bored.

"I have to win this competition. You don't know what this will mean?—"

Talon jolts forward in the middle of Chase's sentence, moving so quickly he almost blurs, taking him off guard. Ducking, Talon plows into Chase's gut, sending him flying back onto the cobblestone street.

Chase lands hard, cracking his head against the stones. Sitting up, he touches the back of his head and his fingers come away coated in red. He tries to push to his feet, but Talon is already on him, delivering an uppercut followed by a cross to his temple that puts him out.

"Where's the enhancer?" I say, searching the stones around Chase but not seeing it anywhere.

"There," Talon says, pointing down the street to near where Titus and Damon are still trading magical blows.

Titus shoots a ball of white faelight at Damon, but he doesn't have time to dodge the streak of dark shadow magic that Damon fires off and takes a hit to the shoulder. When Titus falls backward from the hit, Damon advances on him, but then his gaze catches on the enhancer.

Oh no .

Talon and I take off, but Damon is closer and scoops it up. Immediately, he shoots shadows at Titus that cocoon him in a ball of darkness. I can hear Titus shouting from within the blackness, but I don't know what to do about it.

Talon doesn't hesitate, and matching shadows whip from his palms and shoot toward Damon, squeezing him like a vise, but with the enhancer he's too strong and quickly breaks free. Turning on Talon, he blasts him with a stream of dark magic. It hits Talon in the chest and sends him sailing right into me. We go down in a pile of limbs and roll until we come to a stop with me on top.

"Are you okay?" Talon asks, but before I can even nod Damon follows up with another blast.

I lift my arm to shield us, praying the cuff works like it did before, and it does because right before the magic hits us it explodes. When we look up, Damon hasn't waited to see if he finished us off. He's going for Titus again, who has broken free of his shadow cage and is flinging white faelight at the vampire.

Damon dodges the attacks, and then suddenly Titus falls to his knees, grabbing his head, his mouth open in a silent scream.

Horror washes through me. "What's he doing to him?"

"Compulsion," Talon says grimly, and I gasp, remembering what it was like to be under vampire compulsion. Titus is mentally strong. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have passed the compulsion trial, but he can't hope to break free while Damon has that enhancer.

Titus' back arches and he lets out a pain-filled bellow.

"He's hurting him," I cry, and Talon and I scramble to our feet.

Damon slowly walks toward Titus, his face expressionless, almost vacant.

"We've got to get that enhancer away from him."

"But how?"

Talon glances down at the cuff around my wrist, and I can read the indecision in his eyes. I can also guess what he's thinking.

"Let's do it," I say. "I'll distract him, and when he attacks me, come in behind him and get that enhancer."

He presses his lips together, not liking that plan, but we both know it's solid.

"He can't hurt me with this on," I remind him.

"We don't know that for sure."

"I'm willing to take the chance."

Finally he nods. "I'll loop around the other side. Wait about ten seconds and then get his attention."

Talon sprints away, blending into the ruins' shadows in moments. I cringe as I have to watch Titus go through whatever hellish torture Damon is putting him through. I've just counted out ten seconds when Titus' body goes limp, and he falls to the cobblestones.

"No!" I scream, and Damon's head whips toward me. Shadows ring him as he lifts his hands to launch an attack, shooting his dark magic right at me.

I lift my arm to thwart the attack and the magic explodes before it reaches me.

Damon's face skews with confusion until his gaze drops to my forearm, then understanding dawns.

"That's not going to protect you," he says, taking determined steps forward. "I can best you without using magic."

I stand my ground, loosening up my stance in case this comes down to a physical fight. Part of me is even hoping that it does because hand-to-hand combat is one of my strengths, but I don't get the chance before Talon appears seemingly out of nowhere and tackles Damon.

The pair hit the ground, and the first thing Talon does is rip the enhancer from Damon's hand and chuck it off to the side.

I don't wait to watch the battle but rather rush over to Titus. He's face down on the cobblestones, and when I flip him and try to wake him, it doesn't work. His chest rises and falls though, so at least I know he's still alive.

"Come on. This isn't over yet," Talon calls to me, and when I look over he's standing over an unconscious Damon. His hair is a little mussed, and he swipes at a trickle of blood on his lower lip, but he doesn't even look winded. The enhancer is now in his hand, and considering how powerful Talon already is, I can only imagine that he's virtually unstoppable now. I'm unsure if that gives me comfort or fills me with worry, but I don't have time to analyze my own feelings right now.

With one final look at Titus and the bodies of the other competitors scattered around the ruins, I get up and join him.

Talon is tense as we rush toward the crumbled cathedral that's glowing at the end of the cobblestone street. Even though the other Chaos competitors have been defeated, Talon's gaze is bright and alert as he scans the shadows, the enhancer clenched in one fist.

I stop when we reach the entrance to the ruin. A foreboding feeling crawls up my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake. I don't know why, but I don't want to go in there.

Talon brushes back a curtain of vines and starts to duck under them, stopping halfway when he realizes I'm not following him.

"Go on without me," I say. "You don't need me to claim the dagger."

He shakes his head. "Something doesn't feel right. I'm not about to let you out of my sight."

I can't disagree with Talon when I have the same instinct that something is off. Part of me screams not to go into that ruin, but the only way to end this living nightmare is in front of us. It's time we end this, and in truth I want to do that together, so rather than dig in my heels I follow him into the ruin.

The first thing I notice when we enter the cathedral is Shadow Striker, placed on a pedestal within a ring of white light at the back of the ruin. It sits there so innocently, representing everything I thought I needed—but no longer want. If Chaos was good for anything, it taught me I'm enough just as I am. If anyone can't accept me for my lack of magic, then that's their problem, not mine.

I follow Talon as he takes careful steps forward until he's standing right in front of the blade. He's close enough that all he has to do is reach out and take it and the dagger will be his, but he hesitates.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too easy," he says, and I choke on a laugh.

"Too easy? Do you not remember what we did to get here?"

He glances over at me, a frown on his face. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

He reaches for it, but when his hand breaches the ring of light the floor beneath our feet vibrates. Talon's eyes go wide, and he tries to snatch the blade, but his hand passes right through it as the floor gives way, and then we're falling.