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“What’s wrong with animals?” he asked. He craned his head and stared at the moon. “I’d rather sleep with the wolves most nights, anyway.”

“You don’t have to, that’s all.”

Wolf surveyed me, and it took everything in me not to back away from his intense stare.

“Fine, Huntress,” he started. “I won’t make you beg for me just yet, though I can’t say I haven’t pictured it.”

I rolled my eyes and turned away. “You don’t always have to be so—”

“Strong? Sexy? Alluring?”

“Arrogant.”

I grunted but kept walking, convincing myself I didn’t care whether he followed me.

But he fell into step beside me as I made my way back to the castle. His smug comments did not abate the entire way back to our bedroom. He even made a few more as I slipped in and out of the bathroom, and at least three as I lay in bed, willing myself to sleep.

But Wolf’s annoying, pompous remarks filled that dark, soul-numbing silence. And for that, I was grateful.

Chapter

Fourteen

“Historically, there have been four individuals who made it into The Golden City without bonding. Four. The choice to bond is extremely personal and is not required, but the odds will be against you if you decide to go at this alone.”

Even the mere mention of the magic bond made me sit up taller, made my instincts scream.

I didn’t want to think about it. I absolutely didn’t want anyone bonding with me, but I sure as all hells didn’t want to fight those odds.

Lanson’s knee brushed against mine. When I glanced at him, he was already looking at me, a soft smile playing on his lips.

“Today we will begin preparing for the final test—the Transcendent. All of you could pass, or none of you. The skills you’ll be learning over the next month will help you, but you’ll be pushed harder than you ever have. The Golden City is what it is because of the strength of those living within. If you are strong enough, if you are worthy enough, then you have nothing to worry about.”

Ryder and his friends whispered something amongst themselves and laughed.

Headmistress paused and gave them a death glare. “Many of you will view your classmates as competition. While we don’t encourage you to turn on each other, you’ll naturally be forced to fight one another during the Transcendent. This is simply to show which of you are worthy for admittance to The Golden City.”

“What exactly is the final challenge?” someone asked.

“That’s not something we can share with you. You’ll find out with everyone else as soon as the challenge begins.”

Silence filled the classroom. We hadn’t talked much about the Transcendent, but we all knew we were preparing for something big.

Something dangerous.

Deadly.

A shiver crawled down my spine, but I sat up straighter.

“Today, we’ll begin the training of summoning blood magic. Has anyone here learned of blood magic before?” Headmistress continued.

Ashlani’s hand flew into the air. “It is magic that can only be used when a blood offering is made to the goddess,” she answered.

My eyes shot to Headmistress. I knew an embarrassingly negligible amount about magic before I arrived, and I certainly did not know how to summon blood magic.

“That’s right. Some fae—or angels—can have more access to magic, depending on bloodlines. We can all access magic here in Moira, thanks to the archangels who blessed these lands. But where you’re all from, there is little to no use of magic. If any of you happened to descend from powerful fae, or the archangels themselves, you would likely have powerful blood that allowed you to pull more blood magic.

“Blood magic is much more powerful than natural magic. With blood, you’ll be able to fight. You’ll be able to summon the elements with only a thought. You’ll even be able to heal or kill if you’re strong enough, though those gifts are very rare. The limits to what you can do with blood magic are nonexistent, but be wary. With great ambition comes significant risk.”