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I kept walking, my black combat boots crunching over the cold forest ground, until I found the familiar, secluded spot beside the narrow river.Thank the goddess.

Even with the ointment Lord had given me for my back, I needed the cold, refreshing water of the river to relax my muscles before my journey tomorrow.

The sun was still setting, but I didn’t care. Nobody else would dare to wander this far from Midgrave.

I dropped my bag and stripped off my leather jacket and boots, followed by my shirt and pants. I tossed everything into a pile until I stood in the forest with nothing but my underwear and chest wrap.

Those, I would leave on. Just in case.

I quickly knelt, sitting on the edge of the riverbank as I dipped my feet in first. It was cold, but I needed cold. I neededclarity. After telling Rummy about my new mission, a weight lifted from my shoulders. Now, I had nothing holding me back. This was really happening. I was about to leave my entire life behind to throw myself at the mercy of an elite academy.

Lord chose me for this. I wouldn’t disappoint him.

If I had to learn magic, if I had to pass special tests and become one of the elite, I would do it.

I had to admit, it sounded like an adventure. Something deep in my stomach flipped every time I thought about The Golden City, about what might be lurking inside.

The water ran at an easy pace down the stream, tumbling over rocks at the far end of the bank. This area was deep enough for me to bathe in when I needed it, which I appreciated, but not deep enough that I would have to swim. After rain, the river would only be as high as my chest.

Not knowing how to swim was foolish, I knew that, but taking time to learn such things was a luxury I didn’t have. Finding shallow portions of the river had become a skill of mine anyway.

With one push off my hands, I slid from the grassy ground of the riverbank and into the water, dunking beneath.

My bodily instincts were always the same: tensed muscles, frozen lungs. It was shocking to enter the uncomfortably coldwater, the icy underworld of the river. But after a few stunned seconds, I resurfaced, gasping for a breath.

The skin on my back screamed at the temperature until, slowly, the heat dissipated from the wounds.

Finally,I thought. A few minutes in this water would be enough to calm my body for tomorrow. The chill of the river combined with the ointment from Lord would make me almost as good as new.

And yet uncertainty still swarmed in my mind. Lord explained so much to me, adding details I could have never imagined. I’d barely even heard about The Golden City before two days ago, and now? It was all I could think about.

I was strong, yes. Lord made sure of that.

But elite?

It wasn’t only the fae of Midgrave that would fight with me for a chance to make it to The Golden City. It would be fae from all over Vaehatis, from kingdoms I didn’t even know existed. How was I supposed to compete against them? Be stronger thaneveryone?

I shook my head, ridding myself of those thoughts. It didn’t matter. Lord needed this from me, so it would be done. I would find a way to survive, to make it through the academy. I had no other option.

It sounded ridiculous; I knew that, but after everything Lord did for me, I would risk my life for him.

I cupped the freezing water in my hands and threw it over my mess of dark curls that were now plastered to my forehead and against my neck. I reached over my shoulders and brushed my fingertips across the wounds there. It wasn’t as painful as I expected, which was a good sign.

A twig snapped in the distance.

I froze.

Nobody ever wandered this far into the forest. Nobody fae, anyway. Nobody from Midgrave.

Another crack of a leaf echoed in the tense silence. My pointed ears instinctively flickered in the direction, and my already rapid heart sped up, pumping a lethal amount of adrenaline through my blood.

Someone lurked out there.

As quietly as possible, I crept to the edge of the river, keeping everything below my mouth hidden beneath the water.

My eyes scanned over the forest, landing on my clothes and bag in a pile by the river. Even if I was hidden, my clothes were not.

Dammit, Huntyr. You just had to go for a dip today.