Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
“Strike,” he demands, his fingers sliding down my stomach and slipping under my waistband. “Or someone might think I’m taking it easy on you.” He nips my bottom lip.
“Easy is the opposite of what I want from you.” Power rises, humming through me with insistent demand, and I lift my right hand, aiming my palm toward the sky of the open amphitheater.
Xaden vanishes from behind me a second before I release the strike.
Light flashes, illuminating the arena as lightning streaks upward, through the barrier of the wards and into the clouds above, and I hear the other cadets’ collective gasps before the darkness descends again.
“You’re astounding,” he says, already one of the shadows.
“Why only me?” I ask, turning endlessly to find him.
“You need to be able to find me.” Shadows rush against my skin, and less than a breath later, they’re gone, leaving me stumbling near the front of the mat, staring at Xaden’s retreating back as he climbs the stairs. “Class is over. I expect you all to come prepared next session,” he says over his shoulder.
“Why only me?” I repeat, more than aware of the other cadets staring as I find my balance, studying me as if hoping to discover a mark, since Xaden walked away unscathed. “Xaden!”
He doesn’t so much as pause his ascent. “Because you’re the only one capable of killing me.”
• • •
“And then there’s Violet,” Ridoc says the next afternoon, waving his mug of ale as we sit at the corner table of the Six Talons pub in Chantara. “Scaring off the professor with a lightning strike. He got the fuck out of there and left her stumbling around in the dark.”
Sawyer laughs. Really, truly laughs, and I don’t care if it’s from his second mug of ale or if Amari herself dragged it out of him, I’m just relieved to hear it. For a second, it feels like we have him back, like we’re all…us.
The door opens across the room, and snow blows in before someone manages to shut it against the insistent wind. The noisy pub is crowded with villagers and cadets looking for a Saturday escape. I spotted Dain at the bar earlier, trying his luck with a second-year healer, and Ridoc has already fought off three separate attempts to pilfer the three chairs we’ve saved across the table for the fliers.
The group of us visited a few temples after lunch, but the fliers have been gone for hours worshipping. If they’re not back soon, we’ll miss the last wagons back to campus.
“Riorson had my own dagger at my throat,” Rhi says, shaking her head like she still can’t believe it. “I always knew he was powerful, but I never realized he could…” She drifts off.
“Kill everyone in the room without getting up from his seat?” I finish for her, lifting my lavender lemonade to take a sip. And he thinks I need to know how to kill him.
The normally sweet drink tastes bitter in my throat.
Maybe he slipped on the border, but he isn’t gone. One mistake does not equal losing your entire soul.
“Exactly.” She nods. “Have you always known that?”
“Yep.” I set my mug down. “Well, not always, but definitely after he busted into my room and killed Oren and the others during our first year.”
“What are we discussing?” Cat asks, setting a mug down on the table and taking the seat directly across from me. She shrugs out of her snow-covered jacket as Maren and Trager do the same.
“Riorson’s ability to wipe out…well…everyone,” Ridoc answers, taking his coat off Maren’s seat as Sawyer moves his crutches to lean them against the wall behind him.
“Ah.” Maren settles in next to Cat and looks her way. “That’s…kind of new, right?”
Cat stares down into her mug. “He wasn’t as powerful when we—” She cuts herself off and takes a drink.
“Our signets can grow,” I say to fill the awkward silence. “We spend our lives honing them and figuring out our limits. A third-year is way more powerful than a first, just like a colonel can wipe the floor magically with a lieutenant.”
“And he never scares you.” Cat stares at me over the table. “That’s what you said yesterday. He never scares you.”
“I get scared for him, but I haven’t been scared of him since Threshing.” I run my finger along the top of my mug.
“Because your lives are connected.” She tilts her head, like she’s trying to understand.
“Because he’d never hurt me.” I take another drink. “He had his reasons for wanting me dead, and instead taught me how to strike a death blow on the mat—and that was way before Threshing.”
“Speaking of signets, I’m starting to worry.” Rhi quickly changes the subject. “Sloane is a siphon. Avalynn began wielding fire last week, and Baylor has manifested farsight.”
Like Liam.
“But Lynx and Aaric haven’t manifested yet, and the clock is ticking,” Rhi finishes.