Page 54 of Rune Assassin

I attempted to sit up but Tegan grabbed my shoulders. “What are you doing?”

I gestured down at myself. “I’m attempting a sitting position and I could use a little help.And-” Tegan had opened his mouth to protest, “-I’m going to keep trying all day if I have to.” Tegan wasn’t too happy with me but he helped me prop myself against the pillows. I blinked against the bright sun and noticed it was descending toward the horizon. “Speaking of the day, what time is it?”

“Six in the afternoon. You’ve been out this entire time,” he told me.

My eyes widened and I whipped my head around hard enough to regret it. I winced and rubbed my temple where a throbbing pain erupted.

Tegan grasped my shoulders. “Don’t move too fast. It’s no small feat to have your mind invaded like that. Miles is still recovering.”

“I’m a little younger than Miles and I have a little more magic to deal with somebody else,” I reminded him as I adjusted my position. “Anyway, who won the last trial?”

“Cordelia,” he told me. “She swept the field with her scents and engulfed the crowds in a sweet perfume that made them forget all the other contestants.”

“And do we know who won the first one?” I asked him.

“Quinn was announced as the winner of that one,” he told me.

“And was any of them missing before the last trial?” I wondered.

He leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. “All of them were scattered around the area and only came together a few minutes before the trial.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temple. “So anybody could have done it?”

“Anybody,” he confirmed.

I sighed and opened my eyes. “So what are the plans now?”

“I ask around the vampire catacombs and find out who might know about Blackstone.”

My eyebrows crashed down. “You mean ‘we,’ don’t you?”

He shook his head. “You’ve been through enough today. You need rest more than I need help.”

“I fought off that guy’s magic once already and I can help you do it again,” I pointed out.

“And it left you in a coma for over six hours,” he countered.

“And I’m fine again,” I insisted as I tried to throw the covers off me. There was just one problem and I glared at him. “Get up so I can get up.”

“I’d rather have you sit here,” he insisted.

“And I’d rather be anywhere else but here, but we’re both stuck with what we don’t want,” I countered as I tugged on the sheets. “So get up so we can cause some trouble together.”

The corners of his lips twitched upward. “You might not want to get up when you hear where I’m going.”

I paused in my escape attempts and lifted an eyebrow. “Why? Where are you going?”

“The catacombs.”

My mouth dropped open. “Right now? Why not tomorrow during the day? Whoever I was talking to in the woods didn’t like the sun.”

He nodded. “Lusio announced the final trial will begin at midnight tonight and all contestants will go at the same time so we don’t have much time to figure out who’s trying to kill our benevolent host.”

I cocked my head to one side and twisted my face into confusion. “Do you know what they’re supposed to do?”

Tegan shook his head. “Lusio wouldn’t tell me and Clara has vanished.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Vanished? Kidnapped?”

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