Page 60 of Faerie Trials

“Yup.”

I didn’t feel clever at all. And I wasn’t sure how we’d handle this problem. The task this time? We had to find a way to cross from the castle to the mountain peaks on the other side of the valley without ever touching the ground, without the use of modern technology—so no ATVs or off-road vehicles—and without using the four elements in any of our spell work. And speed was a huge factor.

Mike and I were trying to find alternative ways to animate an inanimate object to carry us. So far we’d found a few things but even with the two of us combined, we couldn’t channel enough power to get the suits of armor in the castle to move ten feet, let alone cross an entire forest.

“So what do you think?” he tried again.

“I’m sorry. Can you go over it one more time? I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.”

Mike sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Well, we were talking about breaking out the oldTotalisto boost our powers to get the spell to work, but you said you didn’t want to take any chances of getting caught cheating. I understand where you’re coming from, after what happened with the last one.”

Had I said that? I pinched the bridge of my nose, my nerves jittery. I hadn’t taken the brain boost powder since before the first Trial because I’d terrified myself over memory loss. Now I knew I’d been right to stop because I’d gone too far, and I was having withdrawals. My brain was foggier than usual, and I felt more tired today than I did before I’d started taking the stuff.

I’d needed to stop for a number of reasons, truth be told. Not only had I lost too much memory and time, but the bureau was watching me annoyingly closely, as were the palace guards. The king had not been joking when he said there were eyes on me at all times. I felt them now more than ever.

Glancing up, I noticed the two guards at the entrance of the palace library even now, standing just out of sight and watching Mike and me study like I was some kind of criminal. Even though I’d had nothing to do with the murders of any of the people who had died, outside of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We’ve already been over it a few times. You need to pay attention,” Mike said, playfully tweaking my nose.

“I’mtrying,” I snapped and swatted his hand away. And instantly felt bad about it. I softened my tone. “Believe me, I’m trying. And we aren’t going to use theTotalisfor the Trials. There are too many people from the Elder Council around and they’ll recognize the signature of its magic.”

“Maybe you can use your cognitive manipulation to convince them otherwise.” This accompanied by a wink and a smile hotter than the desert.

Ha, if only he knew. My cognitive manipulation hadn’t been good enough to get a replica of theImperiumacross the border into this world.

If the bureau agents knew aboutthat…

“I’m still not sure why you needed to cheat to get through the mortal academy, anyway,” I said. Partly to take the focus off of me. Partly because I really wanted to know. “I mean, you’re a prince! You shouldn’t have needed an artifact to make it through the lottery.”

That was what they’d called it: a lottery. Like we were somehow supposed to feel lucky for working hard enough to make it to the next semester. Maybe Headmaster Leaves and the rest of the faculty should talk to the council here.

Nah, I didn’t want things to be harder for any future halflings.

Mike’s expression went stony. “Why I needed the Totalis isn’t the point. We’re trying to figure out a way to beat this Trial without killing ourselves, Tavi. And we have an ace in the hole with the artifact. It’s something no one else has.”

Ooh, a little sensitive. He didn’t want to answer me. My last comment must have gotten under his skin.

“But you’ve never said why you need it,” I said.

“Because I didn’t think it was important!”

“It was important enough that Roman decided he needed to kill for you.”

Good going, Tavi, I thought as Mike instantly shut down. I should not have mentioned his friend Roman. Or questioned why Mike had had such a hard time making it through the cullings.

“Low blow. It’s not fair of you to say that,” Mike said almost in a whisper. He slowly closed the book in front of him. “It makes me feel like you don’t trust me.”

How could I let him know? At the core, I didn’t trust myself, either. I was about to keel over, my brain was fried, and the rest of me on edge from my interviews with the bureau. Not to mention, oh yeah, the half-shifter killer on the loose and the canyonful of secrets I had to keep.

“Mike, it’s not about trust. I was just wondering why you had the need to use an artifact to boost your magic in the first place. And I notice you’ve still never given me a good answer.”

He wasn’t about to, either. Frowning, he pushed away from the table and took the book we’d been reading for research with him, pressing it to his chest. No longer willing to look at me. “I’m going to go take a walk.”

“You’re just walking out?” I matched his tone of voice. He didn’t like it.

“Get some sleep, okay? We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

His footsteps echoed on his way out and the doors to the library swung closed behind him, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence. I let my head drop to the table with a loudthunkthat did nothing to wake me up.

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