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Chapter Five

T he next evening, Rankor and I ate dinner with Kent in his chambers. It was a meticulous space, carefully organized and always tidy. He arranged the books alphabetically on the shelf, always pulled the duvet up to the headboard of the bed, and kept his laundry out of sight.

It was as if no one truly lived here, which only made it seem more like Kent.

“I still can’t believe you went between his legs.” Rankor shook his head as he bit into his turkey leg. “That is not what I taught you.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure you weren’t the only one disappointed in that maneuver.” I shrugged, leaning forward across the wooden table to grab the pitcher of ice water and fill my glass as I thought of my awkward conversation with Clay after my second trial.

“Still,” Kent said, taking the pitcher from me after I finished. “You’ve completed two of the three trials already. How are you feeling?”

I thought over his words, letting them sit heavily in my mind.

How was I feeling about it? Truthfully, it all felt a bit rushed.

I’d spent a year knowing that the trials were coming, and then in the weeks after Camilla’s imprisonment, my training had intensified tenfold.

I’d spent every day of the past two months studying, training, and practicing for hours upon hours .

I’d had plenty of time to come to terms with what was waiting for me on the other side of the trials, but I still hadn’t.

“I suppose I’m just focused on getting through the magic trial.”

Rankor whistled through his teeth. “I do not envy you having to go through that.”

I frowned. The magic trial was the one I knew the least about. Ryla helped me build my control over my powers, but only told me the magic trial wouldn’t be announced in advance. The trial’s surprise element would test my ability to use my powers spontaneously.

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

“Clay’s magic trial was brutal," Rankor said, wiping his hands and mouth with a napkin. "They tested his human form too. Chained him with iron and locked him in a burning building. He’s fireproof, of course, but he had to break the chains and get out before the building collapsed on him. Then the second he got out, one of Ciclopia’s beasts was waiting for him.

He had barely a second to recover, shift into his dragon form, and fight. ”

My heart clenched just at imagining him in that kind of danger.

Kent nodded as Rankor told the story. “He nearly lost a wing in the process.”

“And then there was Clara’s son,” Rankor continued, spearing a roasted carrot with his fork.

Kent’s attention suddenly snapped to Rankor, and he slapped him sharply on the shoulder. “Don’t tell her that!”

“Tell me what?”

The two men looked at me with matching sheepish expressions, forcing me to repeat my question.

Kent sighed heavily. “A few years ago, Clara’s son was set to take over her seat on the Council. Everyone thought it was guaranteed, but for his trial, they abandoned him in the middle of a desert. He died three days later. ”

Gods. I gasped, stomach falling so suddenly that I had to clutch my belly to be sure that it was still there. On some level, I knew the trials could be fatal but to actually hear how easily they could end lives...

“But don’t worry!” Rankor cried, holding his hands out towards me. “You’re like terrifyingly powerful. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

I’m not sure if that was the kind of compliment he thought it was. I pushed away my plate, suddenly losing my appetite.

For the next half hour, I let them carry the conversation while my thoughts lingered on Clara and her son.

The Dragon wouldn’t design a trial that could kill me, though?

He needed me to complete the Council. I was too valuable.

Right?

Unless...

Unless he’d saw Clay and I sneak off during my celebration dinner.

He’d made it very clear that he would prioritize his bloodline over a complete Council.

Oh, Gods.

My stomach churned, my skin prickling with cold . The room suddenly felt too small, too loud , my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I need to get out of here.

“I’m going to bed,” I announced too quickly, pushing back my chair with a screech.

Rankor and Kent both shot me looks of confusion.

“Okay?” Rankor drew out the word.

Kent stood, brushing off his pants as he did. “Let me walk you out.”

I nodded my thanks, and he guided me to the door with a respectful hand on the small of my back, stopping in the hallway once we were out of Rankor’s earshot.

“Don’t worry about the trial,” he said softly, rubbing a hand supportively along my shoulder. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Right. Yeah.” I forced a smile before backing away. “Thanks.”

“Thea,” he called after me sharply, and I turned back.

His expression was unreadable. Too careful. Too knowing.

“Is there anything else that has you upset? You seem off lately.”

A shiver ran down my spine. There was a myriad of things that had me upset, and I couldn’t talk to him about a single one.

I shook my head. “No, of course not. Just pre-trial jitters. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

N o.

I don’t want to be here.

Music seeped through the realm, dark and melodic. The same grating chords he always played. The melody was maddeningly short and repetitive. I hated it.

I hated his music.

I hated this place.

I hated him.

Did he know I was here? Did he know I was standing at the edge of his river? I didn’t even know how far his magic extended. Was he all-knowing here in this realm? It seemed ridiculous to think that I could avoid him here in the realm he had total dominion over.

In the distance, a low howl pierced the air, then another, and another. Hyrax’s three-headed hound howled for him, and panic overtook me. Spinning on my heel, I broke into a desperate sprint. I didn’t know where I was going; I just knew I couldn’ t stay here, couldn’t face him.

I couldn’t be the one to release him back into the Mortal Realm.

I wouldn’t be.

“Wake up!” I screamed desperately at myself.

S omething wasn’t right.

The air was too cold. A sharp chill bit at my skin.

Winter drafts had begun creeping over the mountains lately, but I always closed my windows before bed.

After this past year – after everything I’d been through – I had developed a careful ritual before bed.

One that included no unlocked doors and no open windows.

I reached for the blanket, still half-caught in the haze of sleep, but instead of finding the familiar weight of my quilt, my arm bumped into something hard. Solid. I opened my eyes, and absolute darkness filled my vision. I froze, breath stuttering in my throat, every nerve in my body on edge.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

I pushed at the space around me, frantic, and my fingers scraped against the smooth wood. Walls. A ceiling? No, it was too close for that. My chest tightened, my breaths shallow and sharp. This wasn’t my bed.

I was in a wooden box.

The box lurched suddenly, sending me crashing into the side. Pain flared in my shoulder as my body twisted uncomfortably in the tight space.

What in the name of the Gods was happening?

I blinked rapidly, desperate for even the faintest light to pierce the suffocating blackness, but there was nothing. No faint glow from a moonlit window. No flicker of a hallway torch. Only the crushing weight of dark and silence, pressing in on me.

I shoved against the wood above me, muscles straining, and it didn’t so much as budge. My mind raced, but circled back to one terrible, unshakeable possibility.

It wasn’t just a box.

It was a coffin.

Someone had locked me in a fucking coffin.

My magic surged, crackling hot and furious through my fingers. I clenched my jaw so tightly I thought my teeth might crack as dampness started seeping into the back of my nightgown as the coffin shifted again.

There was only one person in the kingdom who would dare to do this. Only one person was brazen enough, psychotic enough, to trap me here.

The Dragon.

Which meant only one thing.

This was my final trial.

The magic trial had begun.