Page 15

There was a long pause where I wasn't sure if they would believe me or trust me. I didn’t totally blame them, if I was wrong, I’d be taking them hours out of the way. “Lead the way, love,” Thorne said with a smile, a sense of ease in his voice that made me relax a little. It felt really good to know that they trusted me.

I turned us due north, guiding us down the hill. We’d reach the northern edge of the lake, then follow it along the shore for a few hours, cutting east once we were past it. It felt strange to be the one leading, especially after watching them both navigate so expertly.

A few hours later, we spilled out onto lower ground just north of the large, uncrossable lake.

“Damn, Hollis,” Briar said, her voice low as she whistled. “You just saved us hours of backtracking.”

“Other muscles, I guess,” I said with a grin, glancing at her. She met my smile, and the warmth in her expression made me feel something flutter inside my chest.

“Alright, how’d you do that?” Thorne asked, meeting my gaze with an excited spark in his eyes. “How’d you remember the lake? We’re probably seventy miles away from the drop site at this point.”

I hesitated, then took a breath, reaching up to switch off my camera.

They followed suit, their cameras clicking off with a quiet sense of solidarity. It felt like a weight had lifted. No longer were we under the gaze of the cameras, with the world watching our every move.

I promised myself I’d keep my little ‘superpower’ to myself so I didn’t make myself a target. But somewhere between being chased by a bobcat and this moment, I grew to trust these two, and I found that I wanted to tell them.

“My memory is... really good,” I said, keeping it simple, even though I knew the truth was more complicated.

“Good…” Thorne repeated, furrowing his brow.

“Like eidetic?” Briar asked, her gaze sharp and inquisitive.

I nodded.

“That’s wicked,” Thorne exclaimed, clapping his hands together with a grin. “So what, you just saw the lake and remembered where it was?”

I shook my head. “Well.. sort of.”

Briar’s smirk grew, a knowing look crossing her features. “You made a map, didn’t you?” she said, her voice filled with impressed amusement.

I couldn’t help the small surge of pride that bloomed in my chest.

“I did,” I admitted, a quiet confidence settling in. “I mapped out the whole trip in my head while I was falling. It’s all right here.”

Thorne’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly. “You’re incredible.”

Briar chuckled, but there was a softness in her expression, a rare warmth that made my heart race just a little faster. “That’s impressive, Hollis. Really impressive.”

“Hell yeah it is. Who knows... maybe we actually stand a chance at winning this damn thing,” Thorne said, sauntering onward with that cocky swagger of his.

I tried to ignore how his use of the word “we” hit me. How it made my chest tighten in ways I wasn’t prepared to deal with. As we pressed forward, the weight of it stayed with me, but I kept my focus on the path ahead.

By the time nightfall came, we were working like a well-oiled machine. The tasks had become second nature. I gathered firewood, Briar ventured off to hunt, and Thorne set up the chutes between the trees, turning them into makeshift tents. If it weren’t for the fact that we were in the middle of the Reclamation Run, I might have even enjoyed myself. Being in nature, alongside them, it was a surprisingly peaceful feeling.

Briar had a deep reverence for the forest that I couldn’t help but admire. There was an artistry in the way she moved through the woods, as if the trees whispered to her and the breeze carried stories only she could understand. She taught me to listen to the birds, not just to hear them, but to decode their songs, to recognize their calls like a hidden language. She read the tracks of animals with that same kind of reverence. It was a deep thoughtful connection, a bond between her and the forest.

I watched her, captivated, and saw how she hummed to herself as she worked, her voice so quiet it was like a breeze among the leaves. It wasn’t something she did consciously, I don’t think. It was just a part of her, like breathing. The melody seemed to flow from her without effort, a soft tune that blended with the rustling of the trees and the distant calls of wildlife. It was as though the forest itself was making music, and she was simply giving voice to it. I began to realize that this was her art. Her gift was not only her connection to the land, but the way she could pull harmony from it, without even trying.

I found myself longing to hear her sing again. The night around the fire, I was captivated by the rawness of it, the emotion woven into every note. There was something so real, so genuine in the way she sang, it was beautiful.

Meanwhile, Thorne was a walking encyclopedia of the wilderness. He eagerly pointed out different species of plants and creatures, explaining their unique properties, and his enthusiasm was contagious. I had always been good at learning quickly, but Thorne’s mind, his knowledge, it was incredible. And in those moments when he let his expertise shine through, there was something undeniably beautiful about him.

The fire crackled between us, and I couldn’t help but notice how the flickering flames cast shadows across their matching, yet entirely different faces, how their dark eyes sparkled with excitement as they spoke and playfully teased each other. It was strange how, even in the middle of this chaotic trial, these small moments made everything feel like it was going to be alright.

My heart tightened at the thought of Ezra, a wave of missing him crashing over me. I forced myself not to let the fear take hold. The fear that he wasn’t okay. Briar had told me about the man from Ironclad who never even made it to the ground alive, and I pushed the image of Ezra meeting a similar fate out of my mind. But at night, when everything was quiet and we were all drifting to sleep, his face was the only thing I could think about.

A selfish part of me hoped he was still looking for me, but I also hoped he hadn’t stayed behind to do so. Maybe we’d run into him soon. We hadn’t encountered any other Challengers yet, but we had stumbled across a campsite earlier that day. The embers of the fire were still warm. Whoever it was had gotten ahead of us, but not by much.

I tried to convince myself it wasn’t Ezra to stop myself from using what Briar had taught me about following tracks and racing after him.

“If all goes right, we’ll probably reach Praxis by midday tomorrow,” I whispered, my eyes closed as I updated our location on my mental map.

“How desperate are we to get out of these woods?” Thorne asked, his gaze expectant.

“What are you suggesting?” Briar replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but I’m getting pretty tired of sleeping on the ground. Not that your company hasn’t been delightful,” he added, sending me a quick wink. I smiled back, appreciating how he always seemed to lift the mood with his words.

“You want to hike through the night?” Briar asked, cutting to the heart of her twin’s rambling.

I glanced between them.

“Maybe we’ll catch up to whoever’s ahead of us. It would be nice to have the train come more often. I hate how infrequently we can get to the Center, and you know you do too.”

“What’s the Center?” I asked.

Briar broke her gaze with Thorne and turned to me. “It’s like a trade hub in our Collective. We bring our hunts there to trade for food, supplies... trouble is, it’s a several days’ hike on foot.” She chuckled. “Not unlike this one.”

“The train would get us there in a few hours, tops,” Thorne said, a gleam of encouragement in his voice. And I saw it the moment it flashed in Briar eyes. Determination .

They were done just surviving the trial. Now they wanted to place.

I refused to hold them back. I was content keeping a steady, easy pace when I was sure none of us cared to win this trial. But now that they did, I wouldn’t give them a reason to blame me. I stood, grabbed my pack, and tossed over my shoulder, “Well, what are we waiting for, then?”

I heard them scramble behind me, cursing as they put out the fire and stamped it out. Their jogging footsteps quickly followed as they caught up.

“Alright, Hollis. Lead us to the finish line,” Briar remarked.

We pressed on through the night, with only the moon’s glow lighting our way. My eyes adjusted eventually, and with the Grey siblings at my side, the shadows didn’t seem as intimidating as they had when I was alone.

I really needed to thank them when we got back, or maybe before we did. Who knew what the next trial would bring, or if I’d even get the chance to see them again? The thought made my stomach clench, but I tried to push it down.

I had Ezra, and whatever was going on with the red-headed cameraman. I briefly wondered if he was the one receiving the feed attached to my chest. Was he listening in, watching over me, editing my journey into something Jax would be proud to see? For some reason, I trusted him to do that for me.

But the point was, I didn’t need two more sexy strangers confusing my mind or stirring up thoughts I didn’t need. And yet, they still did.

It must’ve been two or three a.m. when Briar's hand landed on my shoulder, freezing me in place. Her eyes scanned the darkened surroundings, her ear flicking, as if she were listening for something only she could hear. It was the familiar motion she made when she was hunting, but this time, a cold realization settled in my chest…we were the ones being hunted now.

She pressed a finger to her lips, signaling us to stay quiet, though I didn’t need the reminder. The air seemed to thicken with tension, my breath catching in my throat as fear slowly crept in. Thorne’s grip tightened around my hand, his fingers warm and strong, and before I could even process the comfort, he was pulling me back.

Briar didn’t move, her stance unwavering, her attention fixed ahead. Thorne guided me silently, leading me away from her, away from whatever danger lurked nearby. I wanted to call out to Briar, to urge her to join us, but the fear in my gut told me that if we made any noise now, it could make things worse, but it didn’t help the pull I felt the further we got from her. Thorne obviously trusted her to take care of herself in the face of whatever was out there, but worry clenched my heart.

When we reached a massive tree, Thorne pulled me behind it, his body shielding mine. He pressed me into the rough bark, the coolness of it seeping through my clothes, and then he caged me in, his chest coming flush with mine. My heart thundered in my chest, so loud I could barely hear anything else. Our faces were inches apart, our breaths mingling in the small space between us. His warm exhale brushed against my skin, sending a shiver down my spine.

We both tensed, listening, our bodies so close that I could feel the fear radiating from him. His muscles were tight. He was terrified. I could feel it in the slight shake on his body. The coil of his muscles. I lifted a hand, resting it on his chest and I could feel the quick beat of his pulse beneath my fingertips. His eyes locked on mine and I felt his fear slowly dissipate.

Thorne’s hand moved to the side of my face, cupping it gently. He wasn’t even aware of it, but the simple touch grounded me, slowing my racing heart. His thumb brushed softly against my cheek, and I let my eyes drift closed for a moment, finding a strange comfort in his closeness, in the heat of his body pressing against mine.

I focused on him, on the rhythm of our breaths, trying to block out the rest of the world, and the worry I felt for Briar. His eyes were dark, intent on me as we listened for his sister.

I could feel the heat of his body, his closeness starting to affect me in ways I didn’t expect. My chest ached with something deeper than just anxiety, and I found myself leaning in slightly, drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain.

“Okay, I think we’re clear,” Briar whispered-yelled, and Thorne and I exhaled simultaneously. I expected him to step back, but he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his hips forward and the evidence of how my closeness affected him was clear as it pressed against my stomach. His eyes flicked to my lips for just a brief moment, a glance so soft and fleeting that I almost missed it. Enough to send my heart into a frantic beat.

Thorne brought his hand up between the two of us, switching his camera off first, then doing the same to mine. My breath caught in my throat. Whatever he was about to say or do, he didn’t want an audience for it.

I could almost taste the air between us, the anticipation heavy and thick, and I wasn’t sure who moved first. But then, just as I thought he would lean in, a sudden movement tore him away from me. It was violent, sharp, and in an instant, I was left standing there, breathless and confused.

“Get the fuck off of her,” a voice growled, and a sob of relief broke free from my chest.

“Ezra!” I cried out, rushing forward. But before I could reach him, he had already pinned Thorne to the forest floor. Panic gripped me. “Stop, let him go, Ezra!” I shouted. The two men were locked in a furious struggle, rolling and fighting. “Ezra, stop, please!” I screamed again, my voice desperate, as Briar finally arrived and ripped him off of her brother.

Ezra was thrown back, but in a heartbeat, he surged forward again. I stepped in between them, raising my hand to press against his chest. His breath was ragged, his body tense with fury and anger. For a fleeting moment, a painful thought crossed my mind, that maybe he hated me for finding comfort in someone else.

The thought hit me harder than I cared to admit.

But then his eyes, those familiar, intense eyes, flicked from Thorne to me. And in them, I saw nothing but relief, admiration, and something softer, something caring. It melted the knot of panic in my chest.

“Ezra,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I rushed forward. Without a word, he pulled me into his arms, lifting me off the ground as if I weighed nothing at all. He held me tightly against his chest, his body steadying mine as I felt the weight of his relief too. He inhaled deeply, like he was trying to absorb every part of me, pressing a comforting kiss to the side of my neck.

His touch was grounding, and in that moment, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Ezra said, pulling his head back to look at me. His voice was rough, eyes scanning me with that familiar intensity. He looked just as worn as the rest of us, tired and dirty, but there were no signs of injury. A smile tugged at my lips as I met his gaze.

“I thought he was hurting you,” he added, his eyes darkening with anger as he glanced over my shoulder at Thorne and Briar.

I took a step back, shaking my head. “Not at all,” I replied, trying to steady my voice, turning to face the two men. “They helped me survive, Ezra.” I injected as much sincerity into my words as I could, hoping he’d understand. “They saved my life.”

Thorne and Briar exchanged a glance and nodded, soft smiles gracing their lips. I turned back to Ezra, watching as his eyes shifted between them, his expression unreadable at first, then softening as he processed what I said.

“Thank you for protecting her,” he whispered, his voice quieter now.

“We’d do it again,” Briar answered, taking a step closer to me, her presence a comfort.

“Yeah, I was actually using my body as a human shield when you so rudely interrupted,” Thorne teased, stepping forward and casually wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

I caught Ezra’s eyes, searching his face for any sign of discomfort or jealousy. He was quiet for a moment, then smirked.

“Yeah, well, if I was able to rip you off, you weren’t doing that good of a job,” Ezra shot back, but there was an edge of playful sarcasm in his voice that helped me relax. The last thing I needed was another fight to complicate things.

I had to remind myself we were still in the middle of this damn trial.

“We should keep going,” I said, stepping out from under Thorne’s arm, trying to focus on the task ahead. “We can reach city limits in a few hours if we pick up the pace.”

I began walking toward the direction of Praxis, trying to push all the conflicting emotions swirling inside me to the back of my mind.

Ezra was back, and the weight of the tension between Briar, Thorne, and me was thick in the air. Every touch, every look was making it harder to keep it together. I needed to focus, to get back to Praxis, before I did something I’d regret. Something reckless. Like indulging all three of them .

“Let’s catch our breath for a minute,” Briar suggested, brushing a sweaty strand of hair from her brow. “I could use a second to let my heart rate return to something that doesn’t feel like imminent death.”

“Yeah, I could go for a quick pit stop,” Thorne added, stretching his arms overhead with a grunt. “Ezra here body-slammed me into the dirt hard enough to knock the hunger right back into me. I’m craving some of that leftover squirrel from this morning.”

They peeled off toward a shaded patch beneath the trees and started prepping a small fire. Ezra and I lagged behind, and when our eyes met, the weight of everything finally caught up with me. I collapsed into his arms without hesitation, like I’d been waiting for permission to fall.

“You okay?” he murmured, his hands moving gently along my back, not searching for wounds, just reassurance.

I nodded against his chest. “Yeah. I promise. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“Yeah,” he said, brushing his knuckles across my cheek. “I do.”

His eyes flicked over my shoulder toward Briar and Thorne, and I saw a flash of distrust, and maybe jealousy in his gaze.

“They saved me, Ezra.”

His eyes flashed back to me, softening.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Briar called over her shoulder as she stacked kindling with Thorne. “She’s saved our asses more than once already too.”

Ezra glanced down at me, and there was pride written all over his face, unguarded and warm. “I don’t doubt it.”

His hand rose to cup my cheek, fingers brushing lightly against my jaw. For a moment, I wished he’d close the space between us and kiss me. Which was confusing. Or awful. Or both, because not even five minutes ago, I’d been wishing the same thing about Thorne. And then there was the way Briar’s humming always made me feel safe, or the look Zaffir gave me back at the cabin. I was starting to feel a lot of very confusing, very selfish things. And I needed to get myself under control before I ruined this tenuous but special alliance.

“Come have a seat,” Thorne called, voice easy but eyes watchful as he sat beside Briar and gestured toward the fire.

Ezra’s fingers slid naturally into mine, and I didn’t resist. I didn’t want to. When we sat down together, I could feel the weight of their gazes, not harsh or judging, just… noticing. Curious.

“So,” Thorne said, with a glance at our joined hands, “You two an item?”

My stomach twisted, and I felt the air rush out of me. I didn’t look at Ezra. I couldn’t. Would he be upset if he knew how I felt when Thorne grinned at me, or when Briar brushed her fingers against mine as she cleaned the blood from my skin? Would he still care for me if he knew I’d shared something raw and personal with Zaffir that no one else had ever seen? I wasn’t trying to collect hearts like trophies, I just didn’t know how to stop needing the way they made me feel.

“I’ll protect her,” Ezra said instead. His voice was steady, grounded. “I care about her, and I want her to survive this. That’s all that matters.”

I turned, and the intensity in his eyes made it hard to breathe.

“How convenient,” Thorne replied, not unkindly. “I feel the same way.”

The two of them locked eyes, and something unspoken passed between them.

“So we’re all in agreement then,” Briar said brightly, breaking the tension as she turned the meat over the fire .

I looked around at the three of them, the smoke curling between us in lazy spirals.

“Why?” The word tumbled out before I could stop it, raw and unfiltered.

Their heads turned toward me, eyes sharp with attention. I immediately regretted the interruption. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I just…why me? Why are you all so focused on protecting me? What did I do to deserve that?”

It wasn’t the time to question allies, not when loyalty was a rare commodity. But I couldn’t help it. Their care didn’t feel transactional. It felt real. And that terrified me more than it comforted me.

Briar was the first to speak, her voice soft but sure. “I can’t speak for the boys,” she said, shifting a little closer. Her eyes, green and steady, held mine without wavering. “But I’ve always been good at reading people. But you, Hollis…” She reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear, her fingers lingering for half a second too long. “You wear your heart on your sleeve. Brave, open, and beautiful. And I..” she paused, swallowing a lump in her throat. “I really like the person I see when I look at you. I trust her.”

I felt the sting behind my eyes before I could blink it away.

Ezra shifted on my other side, his leg brushing against mine. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you,” he said, his voice low, like it was meant only for me. “None of it was fair. But you’re still standing. You’re fighting for your brother. You’ve got this fire in you, Bex. The kind that makes people want to stand beside you.”

His fingers found mine where they rested on my lap, his touch warm and steady. “You fight like hell, and I don’t want you to have to fight alone.”

Then Thorne, sitting across from us with the firelight dancing in his eyes, leaned forward just slightly. “Remember what I said about the stars?” he asked.

I nodded. He had said they had a tendency to shine on the people who earned it.

“They’re shining on you,” he said. “And I don’t mean that in some poetic bullshit way. I mean it quite literally. You’ve got a way of making people sit up and pay attention. It’s rare. It’s worth protecting.” He smiled at me. “Also you’re pretty hot.”

The four of us broke into an incredulous chuckle, even Ezra. And it felt light, and comfortable. Then the laughter faded. There was a moment of quiet, filled only by the soft crackle of the fire and the sound of my own heart pounding against my ribs. The tears I’d tried to hold back slipped free, hot and silent.

“Thank you,” I whispered, voice thick. “All of you.”

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, trying to steady the emotions that swelled in my chest. “I don’t know why I deserve your support. But I’m not stupid enough to turn it away. Whatever happens, I’ve got your backs too.”

Briar gave me a slow, radiant smile and laid a hand on my knee. “Good. We’ll hold you to that.”

Thorne’s lips quirked into that charming, crooked smile of his. “I’d say we’re officially a team now. Let’s get matching tattoos!”

I chuckled and Briar playfully smacked his shoulder. Ezra didn’t speak, he just leaned closer, his thumb drawing gentle circles on the inside of my wrist. His eyes flicked to my lips for the briefest of seconds, and the breath caught in my throat.

A team?

I think I liked the sound of that.

My map was right. A fact I was ridiculously proud of. It felt like a validation of my usefulness. I was starting to think maybe I really did stand a chance in winning for my brother and getting him what he needed.

When we finally broke through the forest, the towering, gleaming golden gates of Praxis came into view. A girlish giggle bubbled out of me, the absurdity of it all hitting me at once. We were here. We made it.

I exchanged a look with Briar, Ezra, and Thorne, and in that instant, everything seemed to shift. The excitement between us was palpable, like we were all running on the same high-frequency adrenaline. Without another word, we took off, sprinting together toward the gates.

The closer we got, the louder the roar of the crowd became. I hadn’t even noticed they were there, waiting for us to arrive. I could hear them calling my name, our names, like they knew we were coming just from the cameras strapped to us.

We broke through the last few meters, and as we neared the threshold of the gates, I slowed. We came to a halt just ten feet from the line that marked the end of this trial, this chapter of our journey.

I looked over at Briar and Thorne, heart pounding in my chest. I’d gotten us here. But I couldn’t be the one to cross the line first.

“Go,” I urged, my voice steady despite the racing of my pulse. “You deserve it.”

They exchanged a silent glance, a conversation without words. Then, Briar took a step forward and grabbed my hand, her grip firm and warm. Her eyes were soft, full of understanding.

I caught Ezra out of the corner of my eye, and his quiet clearing of his throat didn’t go unnoticed. He stood beside me, waiting, his face unreadable.

“Together,” Briar whispered, squeezing my hand.

“And that leaves us, big guy,” Thorne said behind us, clapping a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. He sounded light, teasing. “I don’t suppose you wanna hold my hand too?”

I could practically hear the eye-roll in Ezra’s silence before he elbowed Thorne in the ribs. There was a brief moment of huffing, followed by the unmistakable sound of Thorne’s chuckling. “Okay, no hand-holding... Got it.”

The smile that tugged at my lips didn’t leave. Even in this crazy, intense moment, there was warmth between us, unexpected but undeniable.

Briar led us forward, her hand still holding mine, though I could tell she was trying to let me step over the line first. But I wasn’t going to let her have that. I nudged her just enough to make sure she crossed before me.

Her sneer, the kind that said I know what you did , was too late.

When we crossed the line, I felt the collective exhale of everything that had led up to this point. I scanned the crowd, the sea of faces cheering and clapping, but my eyes found Zaffir first.

There, at the edge of the crowd, he stood, his camera focused on us, his eyes shining with relief. He gave me a smile, and I returned it, unable to stop myself. His nod to me was reverent, thankful, proud.

The crowd erupted, their cheers deafening. And though I knew their applause was for surviving the horrors that they themselves put us through, I allowed myself to let it wash over me. I soaked in the sound, the praise, because we had earned it. It hadn’t been easy. But we made it. And that was something worth celebrating.