Page 15 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)

My lungs burned after mile one. Thick phlegm and the taste of copper invaded my mouth, and no matter how often I spat, it always came back. Ichi, Ni, and the rest of the Tormentors were way ahead of us, and we barely heard someone call out mile two a few minutes later.

Two miles. Two freaking miles.

I wanted to give up .

Every breath felt like a battle. The air dried out my throat, making each inhale a struggle. My feet—encased in weatherproof boots—burned with the cold. My heart pounded in my chest, my lungs screamed for relief, and I was pretty sure death was near.

I wanted to quit. I wanted to cheat.

But I couldn’t.

My mom and Aspen were counting on me—even Oliver’s sister.

To lusceler or stop would be worse than any punishment. The raging storm inside my chest would consume me if I failed. If I gave up now, I’d be everything this kingdom thought I was—an unskilled liability placed in a squadron because the king said so, unable to rescue my loved ones.

I couldn’t stop. We couldn’t stop. Despite my legs begging to collapse, the light-headed dizziness threatening to overwhelm me, and our ragged breaths filling the air, we kept running.

Our pace slowed as we continued, and we lost sight of the Tormentors. Oliver fell back, looking like he was about to take a break.

I snatched his hand. “No stopping.” I regretted the breath I’d used for those two words. But they were as much for him as they were for me. The more we slowed, the more my body begged me to quit. If one of us stopped moving, I knew it’d be over.

He gave a weak nod.

The rhythmic crunch of our footsteps blended with the distant whisper of wind through the evergreens.

The landscape stretched endlessly before us.

With each bend in the road, I clung to hope that just around the corner would be a glimpse of the city—just one building, any sign of progress.

We’d be halfway done. But with each turn, my legs grew heavier, my vision hazier. My hope dwindled.

Ahead, a burly male with orange hair and his wiry, brown-haired companion rounded the corner. A flicker of relief sparked in my chest. We had to be close to the halfway point.

They ran toward us, their footsteps steady and sure. I opened my mouth to ask how far we had left, but before I could speak, the burly one shot a sly grin at his friend. They barreled into us without warning, knocking the wind from my lungs.

We slammed down onto the slushy gravel. Rocks and ice sliced open my palms, the gritty slop soaking my clothes as I slid.

“Suits you right, Hell-whores. Moira should kick your asses out,” the ginger said, grinning as he blasted us with water.

I gasped as the frigid liquid drenched my back, my muscles seizing against the cold.

His friend snickered, and they ran off, heading back toward the arena. I curled my nails into my palms. My Infernus raged in my veins, itching along my skin. Cracking ice and a low, seductive hum pressed at the edges of my mind, urging me to retaliate.

But what could I do?

If I used my Infernus against them, I’d only cause more issues. I couldn’t risk revealing myself. Besides, they were part of an elite squadron, nearly finished with a run we could barely manage. They’d already proven they could put us in our place.

“I fucking hate Powers and their elemental bullshit,” Oliver snapped and stood, gazing down at his drenched clothes with flaming green eyes. He flung the water and grime from his hands and glared at the two sprinting males like he wanted them to experience their worst fears.

I hissed as I pushed myself off the ground and joined Oliver, matching his glare as my body trembled.

The music of my Infernus still whispered in my ear.

Soaked through, shivering, sore, and unable to feel my toes, hands, or face, I let my purple flames coat my skin for a split second once they were out of sight.

Feeling slowly returned—and my split second turned into minutes. I didn’t want to let the warmth go.

“Come on,” Oliver said. “Before I break the rules and lusceler after those assholes.”

I glanced up at Oliver’s scowl and flaming eyes. “Thought you didn’t like to use those powers.”

“I don’t. But carrot-top just poked some old wounds I thought were buried.”

I raised a brow, and he rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you on our long-ass walk. We’re going to be last regardless.” Oliver sighed.

I knew he was right, yet my gut churned at the thought of walking. Our pace would earn us nothing but slow suffering in the cold—probably why I hadn’t let my Infernus go, despite the risks.

But we needed a break. After his explanation, we could run again.

He heaved a breath. “After my mother’s murder and my sister’s kidnapping, I developed a habit of drawing them in a journal.

Any memory I could drag up, I’d draw. That’s how I coped with their loss as I bounced between foster homes.

” He shoved his fists beneath his coat, burrowing them into his armpits.

“I never expected much from foster care, but after losing everyone I cared about, I thought I’d get some kind of reprieve.

It’s too bad the powers that be didn’t feel the same. ”

I squeezed his arm in support, but quickly snatched it back when ice began to crust his sweatshirt. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “My Infernus is keeping me warm.”

Oliver snorted, his teeth chattering. “My second foster home had a son named Forest. A big ole carrot-top, like that Power. One day, Forest—who already hated that I was eating their food, taking up his parents’ attention, and whatever else—found my journal.

I begged him to give it back. I told him I’d do anything.

And he said he would, in exchange for two things. ”

I didn’t like where this was going.

“The first, to pack up, leave, and never return. That one was easy.” He bowed his head, then continued, almost as if the next part hurt more than he wanted to admit. “The second, to lick the bottom of his boots. Said I was a ‘gay piece of shit’ and should know my place.”

I stopped in my tracks, understanding what his bowed head meant. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“That journal was everything to me, Lucy. Everything . I was so lost. And I was willing to do anything, even that… So I did. I licked his boots—which were smeared with dog shit—just to get it back.” He shook his head, his face a mask of disgust. “And while I puked on his bedroom floor, while he laughed at me, Forest pulled out a lighter and burned my journal to ash.”

I clenched my hands into fists, enraged. “Tell me something horrible happened to him. ”

Oliver’s voice softened. “Something horrible did happen to him.” He paused, his eyes distant. “I was so angry, I tapped into my powers and touched him. We both relived his greatest fear.”

His face twisted—drawn and haunted.

“You know what his greatest fear was, Lucy?”

“What?”

“Getting raped by his father.”

“What?” I whispered. “Why would he do that to you then? If his father…” Ugh, I couldn’t even say the word. It was difficult enough to think about when I was almost raped not long ago.

“Evil breeds evil.”

I wrapped my sopping arm around his waist, keeping my flaming hand away from him. “I’m so sorry, Oli.”

He sighed and leaned his shivering body into mine. “It was a long time ago. But I’ve got a thing against bullies now. Especially bullies with carrot-tops.”

The sound of crunching gravel and pounding feet had us pulling away from each other.

The rest of the Tormentors rounded the turn ahead.

I immediately dropped my Infernus, and the cold rushed back in.

The chilling wind brushed against my half-frozen clothes.

Numbness worked its way back through my toes, and goosebumps spread down my spine from my dripping hair. I shook just as much as Oliver did.

They cursed, spat, and kicked slush at us as they passed. No one blasted us with water this time, but their message was clear. We weren’t welcome here.

The only two who passed us amicably were Ichi and Ni.

Then came Moira.

She eyed us up and down, a slow smile spreading across her face.

“Maybe I’ll enjoy training you more than I thought.

” She pointed behind her. “You have two more miles until you turn around. I usually wait for my squad at the halfway point, but since you two are so special , I thought you could figure it out alone.” She smirked.

“Oh, and you’ve got thirty minutes to get back.

If you’re late, you’ll be our honorary targets.

Hope you don’t freeze to death before then. ”

With a flick of her wrist, she pulled up her fur-lined hood, effectively dismissing us. But I still caught the cunning, vile twinkle in her eye as she jogged away.

“I’ll owe you big time if you make her live her worst fear,” I stuttered, coating my body in my Infernus flames once it was safe again. My eyes felt heavy with the warmth, but I couldn’t stand the cold for one more second without my powers.

“If we could get away with it, I would,” he replied, hunching into himself. His lips were blue, and his cheeks had taken on a bruised shade of red.

“How are your toes and fingers, Oli?”

He gave me a weak wince. “What toes and fingers?”

I stared down the winding road, my frustration mounting. We hadn’t even made it halfway yet. But if we didn’t turn back soon, he’d become hypothermic. My mind screamed to keep going, to prove I could do this, but my body ached with every movement.

“Oli, we need to lusceler back. Running will take too long, and we need to get out of the cold.”

“What about what Moira said? Or Ichi and Ni, for that matter?”

“We are both frozen through, and only one of us has the power to stave off hypothermia. That is, until I pass out from exhaustion. Then we’ll both be left here to die.”

Even now, I could feel the weight of my powers pulling at my energy, my focus. I shouldn’t keep using them.

“That’s a little dramatic.”

I gestured to his shivering body and stiff clothing. “Your lips are blue. We’re luscelering back.”

“They’re going to think we’re weak.”

“News flash, Oliver, we are! They want us to die out here! Let’s not give them that satisfaction.”

He grumbled something under his breath, and then we luscelered. Our feet barely touched the muddy slush, although the wind pummeled our faces. My powers shielded me from the chill, not the wind. Tears stung my eyes from the force, and my vision blurred. But when I blinked, it didn’t clear.

A hazy hill loomed ahead, and Moira flickered in and out of my sight. That should concern me, but I couldn’t remember why. Sand weighed down my feet, slowly spreading through my body. When we reached the middle of the hill, my legs gave out, and I collapsed into the snow.

“Lucy!” Oliver shouted.

I tried to blink the dots from my vision, desperate to see him or the black bounding form behind him, but the dots only grew larger.

“Lucy!” Oliver stumbled back to me, his voice frantic as he grabbed my shoulder. “Hey, open your eyes.”

I felt him struggle to drag me against his quaking body, but it was useless. He was in no shape to help, and the world around me faded.

What was the King of Hell thinking, placing us in an elite squadron? What skills did he see in us that made him think we could ever be close to this caliber? Did he want the entirety of his military to know we didn’t belong?

Because we didn’t. We weren’t warriors.