Page 45

The logs snap and pop in such a quiet rhythm that it sounds like the steady heartbeat of the dim room itself. I sit before the hearth, relishing how it’s warmth envelops me and dispels the chill of the evening. In the quiet stillness, a profound sense of peace fills my heart.

“Awake at last. The sun has kissed the mountaintops twice since you closed your eyes,” Bahador teases as my three Izadeonian friends enter the communal hall.

He isn’t wrong. When Darian and I arrived at Jahanwatch yesterday, just before sunset, I went straight to bed. When I woke up a few hours ago, the sun was on the verge of setting again. I had a small bowl of soup in the kitchen and came straight here.

The Izadeonians sit in front of the fire, and suddenly, a flagon of wine and four cups appear in front of me.

“A toast to my lifesaver,” Darian proposes. “May she dream of warmer hearths and sweeter company.”

I laugh and take one of the goblets as the rich scent of dark, heady wine fills my nostrils. As I take a sip, my heart flutters in my chest. It’s hard to believe that I have survived long enough to savor this moment, surrounded by those who consider me a friend.

“By the Nine, that trial was a real arse-kicking! I heard we were supposed to ride boars, maybe wrestle one, not face a mountain full of those nasty beasts!” Bahador jokes.

Faelas snorts. “What else did you hear? That we’d be reciting a hundred verses backward? You must have been listening to old Eldrin too much.”

“Can’t say I miss the old drunkard,” Bahador says.

Darian’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “If we miss that old sod, we’ve been away from home for too long.”

His gaze shifts to the flickering flames, and I am caught by the play of light on his features. The fire casts him in gold and red. His eyes, normally a restless sea of blue, now reflect the fire’s heart, shimmering with a golden depth that draws me in.

The memory of his arms around me, the warmth of his breath on my cheek, the solid beat of his heart—it all rushes back, like a vivid, almost tangible presence. My skin prickles with a sudden heat, a blush that I can only hope the firelight hides.

When his gaze turns to me, I offer a small smile, which he returns. As always, his warm expression chases away the shadows in my heart.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, his voice as soft as the finest velvet, his eyes searching mine with a gentle concern that makes my chest tighten.

“I’m all right.” I pick at a loose thread on my sleeve, my cheeks still warm. “I’m sorry for how I acted that night.”

His warm smile deepens, the lines around his eyes crinkling deeper. “Don’t worry about it. Exhaustion and fear can get to anyone. I’m only here because of you, Arien. I won’t ever forget that.” He drowns his wine and turns his eyes back to the fire.

I feel a wave of relief. Bahador and Faelas are tactful enough not to pry.

“How many are left in the game?” I ask Bahador.

“Only eighteen,” he responds.

“What’s the rank?”

I know Darian, and I didn’t earn any position in the last trial. We were lucky to barely make it back at all.

“The Aramisi sorcerer is still on top,” Bahador says. “Faelas and one of the Jamshahi girls, Olanna, are next. Then it’s me and the other Jamshahi woman, Samira. Then it’s that nasty sorcerer, and you two are right after. ”

I release a sigh of relief. We are still in the first nine, even though we didn’t get any score in the last trial.

“Was everyone paired with the same partners from the second trial?” I wonder.

Faelas responds, “No. We were left with anyone who fought beside us in the arena if such an ally existed. That’s why you two were together, and Bahador and I were paired since we fought a group of Maravanians together.”

In response to my shocked face, Bahador says, “It seems these trials are testing our ability to forge relationships, and the connections become an advantage.”

“How do you know? Did that happen to others as well?”

Bahador nods. “Some participants ended up alone in the mountains, while others were grouped into teams of two or more if they had fought together in the arena. Guess who Lila was left with?”

I think for a moment before my eyes widen. “Zanyar?”

Bahador chuckles. “She said he didn’t say a word to her the whole time. And didn’t let her eat, sleep, or stop walking. But she got nine points, thanks to him. She was the first to get back with a gaggle of sorcerers, shortly before Faelas and me.”

“Is she all right?”

“Yes. She’s been sleeping for a day like you.”

Faelas suddenly leans forward slightly and changes the topic. “I was thinking, maybe we could try the plan we discussed last time. Tonight. An attempt on the Martyshyar wing.”

The Star , the Daevas, our scheme to infiltrate the Martyshyar wing… so much has happened in the past three days that it all feels like a distant memory.

Before I can respond, Darian shakes his head once. “No. We first need to find a different plan.”

“What different plan?” Faelas asks.

“One that doesn’t require sorcery,” Darian says firmly. Then, he looks directly into my eyes with an open but serious expression, and his gaze is heavy, unblinking, unyielding. “I cannot ask you to endanger yourself, not after we almost got caught last time.”

I feel a chill creeping into my heart as I realize the implications of his words. My stunned gaze shifts to Bahador and Faelas, who look equally shocked.

“How else can you enter the wing without sorcery?” I ask, blinking in confusion.

But Darian’s resolve seems unshaken. “We’ll find a way. This is not your fight, Arien. Your focus should be on the trials. Capture can lead to disqualification or, worse, imprisonment and interrogation. We should never have burdened you in the first place. It was a mistake I won’t allow to repeat.”

Faelas opens his mouth to object, but Darian’s stern gaze silences him immediately. “My decision is final.”

His voice carries the weight of the mountains. There’s no hint of anger or threat in it, just a resolute command that Faelas accepts without a word.

Darian then turns to me, and his eyes soften again. “We’re still allies in the trials, Arien. But the tasks that lie beyond this game are ours to face alone.”

His smile is warm, and genuine kindness dances in his eyes, but it doesn’t reach the growing chill that’s creeping through my heart. As I imagine a wall separating me from them, my fingers tighten around my cup, seeking a warmth that isn’t there.