Page 14 of Ironhold, Trial Three

I feel something touch the edges of my mind. It feels like when Ravenna is trying to control me, only different. Rather than wrapping around me and trying to push me down, to overwhelm my being, this force seems to be helping me, drawing power up from inside me, boosting the little that I have access to with the dampener.

I stare at Vesper, realizing that he has access to mind magic.

“You’re like her,” I say. “Like Ravenna.”

Vesper looks a little annoyed. “Our powers are opposites. She can control others, belittle them, push down their consciousness until they do what she wishes. My gift is for boosting the powers of others with my mind. Like this.”

He puts a hand on my shoulder. I feel power rolling through me now, easy for me to access even with the dampener in place.

With that power, I am able to reach out. I can feel the minds of the shadow cats, and I grasp them, sliding inside, taking control. I'm surprised to find that I have missed this. I have missed having this much power at my fingertips. I have been so weak and so helpless, but in this moment I am neither. I whisper to the shadow cats.

“You don't want to hunt us. Go back.”

They stand there staring at me for a moment or two, golden eyes locked onto me. One by one, they slip back into the shadows that they had come out of, disappearing from view, leaving the way clear for the two of us.

“That should be enough,” Vesper says. He lets go of my shoulder, nods to me, and then walks on through the chamber.

I stand there for a moment to try to make sense of what has just happened. I had power in the seconds when Vesper was near me, but now I can feel it draining away, leaving me as restrictedas before. I realize that my control over the shadow cats will be failing, and it won't be long before they come back looking for food.

I hurry after Vesper before that happens, heading for the exit to the maze.

Chapter Nine

The sound of the crowd hits me as I exit the maze. After its silence, the noise is almost overwhelming. Some of the crowd cheering as I appear, obviously celebrating the fact that I have survived this first trial.

Others are booing and jeering.

“Why didn't you fight them?” a voice calls out. “We didn't pay to see you tame cats!”

There are other jeers and calls on a similar theme. It's obvious not everyone there appreciates the way I succeeded. I try to imagine what it must have looked like to the watching crowd. I passed through the maze, avoiding the traps and moving cautiously. I didn't fight any of the beasts within. My only moment of combat was with Malira, and that was brief, thanks to Vesper.

Yet, others are still cheering. I try to focus on those rather than on the ones who dislike the way I've succeeded. I try to tell myself that it shouldn't matter at all how the crowd are reacting. I'm not Alaric, who lives for the reactions of the crowd and the glory to be found in the colosseum. But it does seem to make a difference to me, not least because I know it is vital to Lady Elara's plan that the crowd sees me as a hero.

I see her sitting in her box. She looks pleased, nodding my way. If this is anything like the other games in which I have participated, she will have put considerable bets on me. I have earned her a lot of money in my past few seasons.

For now, I ignore all of that, focusing on the fact that I'm still alive, on the feeling of the sun on my face. I look around and find that Vesper and I are not the first to make it out of the maze.

Alaric is there, lounging on one of the arena walls as if he is simply enjoying the day. The crowd seem to like that. I wantto run to him and throw my arms around him, grateful that he has made it through safely, but I know I can't. Whatever our relationship back at Ironhold, here it is important that I do not show too much of a connection to him. There is too much of a risk that the organizers of the games might try to use it against us. It is better to keep apart for now and simply be grateful that he appears unharmed.

Iamgrateful for that. I know the nature of the arena is that either of us might be hurt or killed at any moment, but I still feel as though it would tear out my heart if something were to happen to Alaric.

There are two figures near him I am much less happy to see. Vex stands there as if it is only natural that he has succeeded in the trial. He doesn't play up to the crowd the way Alaric does, but instead merely absorbs the adulation as if it is his right.

Ravenna stands not far from Alaric, deliberately close enough to him that I suspect that it is to worry me. She appears unscathed, although she is cleaning blood off her knife. She looks at me while she does it and smiles. There is a promise of pain there in that smile.

Malira is the next to emerge from the maze. The wound on her side is bleeding, but she seems to have suffered no other injuries. She glares at me and takes a step forward, before seeming to realize that out here such an attack would not be tolerated. She thrusts her weapon into the dirt instead, walking over to where Vex stands while the crowd cheers. There is no jeering when it comes to her. She has given them what they want. She has given them blood and violence.

One by one, the other gladiators emerge, or most of them at least. I have already seen that at least one is dead in the maze, fallen for the entertainment of the crowd. It's hard to think about that, especially with how close to dying in some of the traps I came.

Time stretches on, and they come out, emerging into the sunlight, but one does not. At least not yet. Rowan is still in there, and the longer this goes on the more I'm worried for him. I'm surprised by how much worry I feel for him when he has been distant ever since we argued in the previous games. He doesn't like what I am and can do. He looks at me like an outsider.

But I still can't help feeling a thread of fear running through me at the thought that something might have happened to him. There are so many dangers in the maze, and while he is a skilled gladiator, able to manipulate the earth and sense every movement upon it near him, that doesn't make him invulnerable.

Having to stand here and wait like this is killing me. Ordinarily, in the colosseum, we fight and then we return to the spaces beneath it, but in this case we are made to wait out in full view of the watching crowds. They are still roaring their appreciation for everything that takes place within the maze, and I know I need to see what's going on. I borrow the vision of a bird again, looking down into the maze from above, trying to find Rowan.

I see him fighting the shadow cats. He is the last gladiator still standing within the maze. The others left in there are all dead or dying, creatures already feasting on their flesh. But Rowan is not dead. He is using his shield to hold the shadow cats off, attacking them with his sword, trying to clear a path through them.

One of them jumps out of his shadow at him, but it seems Rowan is ready for the move. Clearly, he has seen them fight before, perhaps when he has watched some of my bouts. He is able to reverse his sword and strike the beast down, creating enough room for him to run for the exit. Another of the cats slashes at him with its claws as he passes, making Rowanstumble, as blood opens up on his side, but he keeps going. He does not stop.

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