Page 64 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

My shriek echoes all around as I tumble off the side into the darkness.

The fall is blessedly short. Bracing for the agony of impact, I’m overjoyed when a soft substance breaks my landing. Like a thick, fetid stew, the mush slurps me beneath the surface. As my head slips under, another scream rings out, but I’m too busy trying not to suffocate to worry about the source. My feet touch the bottom, and with a hard push, I surface, spitting and trying not to puke.

The smell. It’s ungodsly.

Gagging, I swipe at a piece of hair clinging to my lips, desperate to keep the foulness coating the strand out of my mouth. From my spot beneath the bridges, there’s enough light to make out a staircase built into the earth. I dog paddle in that direction, flinging noxious mud with each stroke.

Something splatters and spits behind me. “Lark? Is that you?”

At the sound of Olive’s voice, my initial tension dissipates. “Yup, it’s me. Any idea what this stuff is?”

A cough. “Don’t ask.”

“Right,” I mutter.

I paddle until the pit becomes shallow enough for me to walk, and then I wait for Olive to catch up. When she does, we head for the staircase, heaving identical sighs of relief once we reach salvation. As I grab for the bottom step to haul myself out, the sludge starts churning and yanking at my legs.

What fresh godsforsaken horror is this?

My fingernails scrabble with the hard-packed dirt to find purchase but fail. In desperation, I lunge for a tree root, managing to curl my hand around it before the pit drags me back in.

Behind me, Olive’s scream abruptly cuts off. Ice trickles down my spine.

“Olive?” Nothing. “Olive!” Still nothing.

Rotating my grip, I turn to confront the gurgling sludge. No Olive. A small whirlpool spins near the spot I saw her last, though, so I stretch my legs toward it.

Seconds pass with no sign of my friend. My fear explodes into full-blown panic. I’m about to release my grip and dive in to find her when a hand coils around my boot. Somehow, I recruit muscles I didn’t realize I had to drag her back to safety. Gasping, she pulls herself onto the first step, rolls her head to the side, and vomits. Afterward, she curls on her side and pants.

For at least a minute, my heart thrashes like a wild animal trapped in my chest. When I can finally speak, I hiss, “Kinneck has lost his godsforsaken mind. Is hetryingto drown us?”

Olive coughs. “That part wasn’t Kinneck. That was one of our lovely peers using earth magic.”

That’s when I hear it. The muffled laughter coming from the top of the stairs. “So now they’re cool with murdering you too?”

She pushes herself to her knees, then her feet. “They wouldn’t have let it go that far. Probably.”

The tone of her voice echoes my doubt. “Can’t say I’m feeling especially reassured. And there’s nothing we can do about it?”

“Not really. Going to Torno or Bigley will only drive them to do worse…and get sneakier. We just need to hope they lose interest soon and move on to something else.”

“Or we could fight back.”

Olive releases a watery laugh. “We could, but that might just piss them off even more. Not to pick on you or anything, but your magic doesn’t seem strong enough to be a threat.”

Not now. But it could be.

When we emerge into the sunlight, the color of the substance coating us like a second skin becomes clear. Brown. It’s brown and smells like the wrong side of a cow. By the heavens, please tell me I’m not covered in?—

“Fertilized mud!” Kinneck hollers. “Now you all know what to avoid today in the pit.”

I scrunch up my nose. So shit, basically. We’re covered head to toe in shit. My best friend almostdrownedin shit. What a perfect way to kick off the rest of the day.

Chapter Twenty-Two

After the dragon-dung debacle, Abel pulls Olive and me aside and uses his water magic to remove the worst of it. Not enough for Instructor Scalor, though, who scrunches up her freckled nose and sends us off to shower before we rejoin the class. Olive’s quieter than usual. The attack shook her—more than she wants to admit. I shudder to imagine what might have happened if I hadn’t been there.

As much as I hate to admit, maybe Thorne has a point. Maybe suppressing my magic is the wrong choice. I’m afraid of what could happen if my fire burns out of control, but if I learned to tame my elemental ability, I could better defend myself and those I care about. Mother was always adamant that I take the remedy, but she’s not here, and I can’t let her dictate every decision in my life.

---