Page 13 of Spirit Trials (The Spirit Kingdoms #1)

I take in his words. “If the competitors from other kingdoms have a spirit animal, they will be jaguars and dragons?”

“Not necessarily. The kingdom you’re born into doesn’t necessarily determine your spirit animal. You can be from the Jaguar Kingdom and have a wolf spirit animal.”

“Really? If that happens, then do they come live here because that’s what their animal is?”

“Yes. Whatever your spirit animal is, you live in that kingdom. The Wolf Kingdom is the largest and produces the most spirit animals. The Jaguar Kingdom is about half our size, and the Dragon Kingdom is pretty small.”

I think about what he’s saying. “So, at any time during the trials, the other contestants spirit animals will show up and help them,” I say it more to myself than him. “What am I dealing with for the spirit jaguars and dragons? You already told me about the spirit wolves.”

“Jags have a really strong bite and an ability to jump incredibly high. They can climb; don’t try to outclimb a jag. They’re also fast.”

“Faster than wolves?” I ask.

“Yes, but wolves have longer endurance. If a jaguar is chasing you and it’s close, you can’t outrun it and you can’t outclimb it.”

I frown. “So, there’s no way to escape it?”

“The best thing to do is to stay out of their way.”

“You’re still talking about a human, though, right?” I ask. “Like an actual jaguar won’t be chasing me through the woods, right?”

“The spirit animals themselves are actual animals. They will manifest and help their human counterpart when they’re needed.

So, yes. You will face spirit jaguars that won’t hesitate to rip you to shreds if they view you as a threat to the person they’re bonded to.

Don’t underestimate their human counterpart, either. ”

“So, I could face down a wolf or a jag.” Dread fills me as I remember. “And dragons. What do I do if I encounter a dragon?”

“You don’t need to worry about dragons. The last time a dragon spirit animal manifested was over a hundred years ago.”

“Humor me.”

“Dragons are big and fierce. Stay away from them. Oh, and they breathe fire.”

I stare at him, slack-jawed. “They breathe fire? That would have been good to know before now.”

“You’re not going to face a dragon.”

“But I could.”

“Farrah—”

Before he can reprimand me again, I ask, “Was that thing we fought in the woods a part of the dragon kingdom? The Guivre?”

“They used to be a part of the Dragon Kingdom, but a group of them splintered off and formed their own kingdom. They chose not to honor the customs and treaties of our kingdoms and tried to take over; so, the gryphons cursed them. Now they are the abomination that they are—half serpent, half dragon,” Rysden explains.

I frown. “What’s a gryphon?”

“They’re part eagle and part lion. Their head and wings and talons are an eagle’s; their body and hind legs are lion. They are the most magical being in our world and as such act as ruling authorities.”

I try to put all this together. “Okay, so gryphons are in charge. The Guivres used to be dragons but are cursed now. Will the Guivres send contestants?”

“No,” he says sharply. “They’re cursed. As such, they don’t have spirit animals. They are straight-up animals.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When the gryphons cursed their race, they changed the Guivre into their corporal form. They've been stuck that way ever since.”

“So, the Guivre you guys killed...that’s how they all are?”

“Yes. That’s why we track them and kill them. They’re a danger to all the kingdoms.”

I pause a moment as a few pieces click together. “That’s why we didn’t come straight here. You were tracking that Guivre that destroyed my village.”

He nods solemnly. “I’m sorry we didn’t get it before it got your village; we’d been tracking it for a while.”

I take all that in. Not wanting to think about that horrific day, I move on. “Why did the gryhpons curse them and make them that way?”

“Because as humans with a spirit animal, they would have continued to populate.”

“They can’t...you know...as animals?”

His look is intense. “They can, but most don’t. They’re wild and driven by their blood lust. They don’t really think about mating or repopulating.”

“Why are they blind?”

“That was part of the curse. Dragons are greedy and desire all types of treasure—jewels, riches, shiny things. For the ones that broke away from the Dragon Kingdom, intent on doing evil, the gryphons took away their sight.”

“That’s sad,” I can’t help but say.

“Don’t feel bad for them; they’d rip you apart and feast on your blood if they could.”

I grimace. “Wow, thanks for that visual.”

“Don’t ever underestimate a Guivre; it could cost you your life.”

“I’ve got it,” I say dryly.

“I’m serious; If you ever come across a Guivre, don’t engage. Run.”

I don’t really know how to take him right now, so I go for levity. “Look at you and me. We’re actually having a conversation.”

He doesn’t smile. “You don’t believe any of those things the tailor said, right?”

The sudden change in conversation throws me for a loop. “What?”

He takes a step closer. “What the tailor said about you, about your body.” Instant heat hits my cheeks again. I can’t believe he’s bringing this back up. It was embarrassing enough the first time. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Okaaay,” I say cutting him off. “Thanks for the pep talk; I’m going to head to my room.” I leave him in his room and head to my mine, never looking back.

The next morning, I’m downstairs early. I thought maybe one of the other guys would train me, but it’s Rysden that comes down first.

“Let’s get started. Grab a knife.”

“How come I never get to work with a bow?” I ask.

“You know how to shoot a bow just fine. It’s my job to prepare you with other weapons besides a bow. Now, grab a knife and let’s go.” He seems to be in a mood this morning, so I do as he says. “Now, come at me. And no holding back this time. You’re almost out of time.”

“I’m not going to fight you with a knife.”

Suddenly, he’s behind me with a knife to my throat. “This is serious, Farrah,” he says in my ear. “It’s not a game. You’re going to get killed out there.”

Anger begins to build within me. “I know it’s not a game.”

“Then get out of this hold.” I am very conscious of the knife at my throat.

“You have a knife at my throat,” I point out. “There’s no getting out of that.”

“Yes, there is. Let me show you. Hold your knife to my throat.”

I roll my eyes. “I can’t even reach you.” He bends, so that his head is lower.

“Put your knife to my throat from behind.” I do as he says.

“Now watch.” He grabs hold of my arm holding the knife.

“Pull down with all your strength and at the same time, twist your body, spinning out of the hold. Continue the momentum by pinning your opponent’s arm behind their back.

” He demonstrates on me, and I wince at the movement but don’t say anything. He lets go. “Your turn.”

A moment later, he’s behind me again with his knife at my throat.

I grab the hand holding the knife to my throat and pull it down and away from my neck and twist my body at the same time, coming up and under his arm.

I try to twist his arm behind his back, but he anticipates it and moves out of my hold.

Then before I can process what to do next, he takes my feet out from under me. I blink and try to catch my breath.

“You’re dead.”

I glare at him and climb to my feet. “Again.” He puts a knife to my throat, and we go through the same movement with the same results.

I blow out a frustrated breath and stand to my feet again.

“Again.” We go through it all again. I push the hand holding the knife away from my throat and down and twist and use my momentum to try to pin his arm behind his back.

Of course, he’s ready for it and doesn’t let me.

He tries to take me down, but this time, I’m ready for him.

Because I’m still holding his hand, I yank him down with me.

I land hard on my back, and he lands right on top of me.

I grunt as his weight pushes me against the ground.

He shifts and takes some of his weight on his forearms. I look up and make the mistake of meeting his eyes.

They’re darker than they were before, and I don’t like the look in his eyes.

Panicking, I push him off me. He easily gets to his feet, but I ignore the hand he puts out to help me up.

I take several steps away and try to still my racing heart.

I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look over at him.

I’m feeling really unsettled right about now.

“You know I’d never hurt you, right?” he asks in a low voice.

“No, of course not. You just kidnap me and threaten my family on the regular. Of course, I wouldn’t think you’d hurt me.” My words sound harsh, even to my own ears. I feel the mood shift.

“Again.” He’s back to hard trainer again, and I’ve never been so grateful.

He comes at me, and I go on the defensive.

We go at it over and over and over again, and he never stops barking out commands.

When he finally lets us take a break for water, I wipe the sweat from my forehead.

“Why are you so intense about hand-to-hand combat? I thought you’d be more worried about me surviving the trials themselves.

We’re not going to be sparring out in the woods. ”

His dark gaze meets mine. “The trials are a big deal, and most of the competitors train their entire lives for it. Nobody wants to take the chance that their spirit animal won’t show, and they will be banished. So, every person there will work to win the trials because—”

“Winning means they can stay in the kingdom,” I fill in for him.

“Right, and it’s a lot of money. They will be fierce. They will come at you when you least expect it, especially if they see that you’re an actual threat to them winning. Believe me, they’ll take notice of you.”

I don’t say anything in response, because honestly that’s the closest thing to a compliment I’ve gotten from him.

I really don’t want him to open his mouth and say something to ruin it.

He destroys me the rest of the day; the worst is the ice baths he makes me endure.

I can’t stand them. Second worst is swimming in the freezing water until I feel like my weighted limbs will take me to the bottom of the lake.

Finally, I get a reprieve to go get ready for the night.

When I get to my room, the first thing I do is start a hot bath.

I’m in the middle of soaking when somebody knocks on the door.

I have no plans of getting out of here until the water turns cold.

I ignore whoever it is; they’ll have to come back later.

But when they knock again and again, I drag myself up out of the bathtub and wrap a towel around me.

I whip the door open. “This had better be important.” Two girls stand in front of me with expressions of shock on their face.

“Uh,” I clutch the towel tighter around myself. “Can I help you?”

The taller of the two seems to recover first. “Yes, Miss Farrah, we are here to help you.”

I blink. First, because I’ve never been addressed as Miss in my entire life. Second, because what ? “I’m sorry. Who are you and why do I need your help?”

The two girls glance at each other, and I feel like I’m missing something. “We were sent here to help you get ready for tonight...for the dinner.” For the first time, I notice that both of them are laden down with baskets.

“Oh, sorry. Okay, um, come in.” I glance around the hallway once more and then close the door behind them. Without asking, I’m sure this is Rysden’s doing. They put everything they’re carrying down on the bed.

Then the tall one takes control. “I see you’ve just come from the bathing chambers, but you will need to head back that way.” She starts walking there, like she’s been in my room a hundred times. For all I know, maybe she has.

“But I just took a bath.”

“Yes, but not with all the products that we brought.”

Products? “ Listen, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I think I’ve got this.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “We are being paid to do a job, and we would like to collect the funds for this job. So, if you would be a little more accommodating, that would be much appreciated.”

Feeling appropriately put in my place, I sigh.

“Okay. Tell me what I have to do.” Tess and Rita, as I later learn their names to be, go to work on me.

And boy, do they work on me. It takes hours.

They scrub my hair, feet, nails, and body.

They work on my hair for an embarrassingly long time, even asking if they can cut off the dead ends.

I try to relax; I really do. But I’m just not used to be being touched so much and being pampered.

They leave no part of me untouched, even going as far as to add color to my lips and product to my face.

I’m not really looking forward to seeing myself in the mirror; I’m scared that I’m going to look like a.

..well, I don’t know what. But not me. I’m relieved when they finally finish and declare it’s time for me to get dressed.