Page 34 of Tempest Rising

The silence stretched between us again, but it wasn’t thick with tension this time. It held something... less hostile. Something unfinished.

Mason stared hard at the ground, as though it held the answers he’d been looking for his entire life. His fists clenched and unclenched several times, like he was fighting a war inside his head, and for a moment, I almost thought he’d refuse again. That he’d go back into that pit and let Lady Seralina and all those people continue to pull his strings until there was nothing left of him—or his sister.

The seconds ticked by, the slow drip of water from the old-fashioned pipes echoing louder than it should in the stillness. Then, without lifting his gaze, Mason’s voice rumbled low and quiet, barely audible over the hum of distant fights.

“It’s a deal.”

He met my eyes, something cold and sharp flashing behind his stone-wall of stoicism. “We get my sister out first,” he said, his voice like the steady rumble of distant thunder. “And if this goes south, I won’t hesitate to burn it all down myself.”

“Agreed.” I didn’t hesitate. “Kali’s our priority.”

He didn’t trust me yet, not completely. But this was a start. It wasn't a promise—Mason wasn’t naive enough to give me promises—but it was enough.

The subtle buzz of my phone snapped me back to the present.

I blinked, pushing the memories into the shadows as I refocused on the dim corridor around me. The arena, Mason—the pressureof those days sat heavier than I'd realized. It had been a year, but the weight still clung to my chest, especially now that the web surrounding the Guild Trials felt just as heavy, just as ominous.

Ding.

The phone vibration was quick and precise, like a warning shot, something to tether me back from the deep dive into the past. Sliding it out of my pocket, I glanced at the notification, a single message sitting at the bottom of the screen.

Next Friday Night. The Ring.

I stared down at the message, my jaw tightening. Another fight. Another chance to get closer to the underground operation. This time, I'd figure out how to do it without putting Tess in danger. The underground ring wasn’t just a pit for bloodsport—it was a breeding ground for something far darker.

Without a second thought, I sent a couple of cryptic messages to some of my contacts, my fingers moving quickly over the screen.

Need an update on Kreel’s movements.

Keep your ears open for any mentions of the Guild Trials. My father’s involved.

As the messages sent, I turned toward the forgotten section of the library. It was time for my meeting with the shadowy figure who’d been helping me.

Chapter 14

Tess

"Your cat is going to miss the hell out of you, you know."

Mason’s low, teasing voice rumbled from behind me, breaking through my nervous thoughts. I barely had time to process the cool morning air biting against my skin before his words pulled a smile from my lips. I turned toward him, shaking my head slightly.

"Don't remind me," I sighed, adjusting the strap of my pack on my shoulder. "Pippa promised she'd check on him."

Mason's massive form leaned casually against the sturdy oak tree beside me, arms crossed, looking every bit the mountain he was. Despite the tension in the air around us, the way his dark eyes softened at my obvious concern for my cat made something warm coil in my chest.

"I’d be more surprised if he caused some chaos. He's such a chill cat." He stepped in front of me, barely looking down as he continued in his usual low tone, one that only I could really hear. "Then again, maybe he'll cause some mischief and prove me wrong."

I snorted, shaking my head more forcefully this time, trying to clear the nerves pooling at my stomach. "Yeah, right. Whiskey?Do anything but sleep?" I raised an eyebrow at him, the banter a relief from the worrying thoughts swirling in my head. That ball of tension in my chest loosened, if only a little. "Next, you’ll tell me that Kane actually has a secret talent for knitting."

"Maybe,” Mason replied without missing a beat. "Though he’d probably stab someone in the eye with the knitting needles."

That earned him a full laugh, one that probably caught some attention from the other applicants slowly gathering nearby. We weren’t the only ones who had arrived early for the Survival Challenge, but most of the others stayed quiet, keeping to themselves and their groups as they eyed the growing crowd warily.

The early morning mist clung to the edge of the forest surrounding the training grounds. The air had that same crisp, earthy bite that signaled the first days of autumn slipping in. I pulled my hood tighter over my brown hair, wishing it did more to keep the biting chill from seeping into my bones.

My eyes involuntarily darted to the tree line marking the boundary between the Guild’s grounds and the untamed wilderness beyond. In a few minutes, we would be dropped somewhere outthere—deep in the forest, cut off from these grounds and left to fight our way back. The weight of the challenge wasn’t lost on me.

This was wild.Uncontrolled.

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