Page 88 of Wrath

“Why did he enter a trial on his own? Without you?” Bash’s eyes flicked back and forth across my own, as if he could find an answer in the cerulean depths.

“Are you sure he did?” I countered, but he ignored me.

“What if we got this all wrong?” Bash’s voice turned low, and I half wondered if he was speaking to himself more than to me. He released me and began to pace, repeatedly forking his fingers through the already messy strands of his hair. “What if you’re not the one being tested to rule?”

“We’re all being tested to rule,” I told him, confused. “Everybody who joins looks to us as the leaders.”

A revelation that still made me immensely uncomfortable.

“I thought this before,” Bash confessed, pivoting on his heel to face me. “During my trial, I had to save you, remember?”

“Nooo. Not at all,” I drawled sarcastically.

He ignored me. “I could choose to hurt you, use my magic, and rescue you quickly. But I chose to do it by hand instead.”

“I was there, if you don’t recall.” Subconsciously, I rubbed at my wrist, where I swore I could still feel phantom pain reverberating down the length of my arms.

“And with Jax, he was driven by bloodlust and had to choose whether his love for you was stronger than his need for blood.”

“Okay?” I arched a brow, wondering where he was going with this.

“And Killian had to choose whether or not he would cheat on you with a beautiful woman.”

My right eye began to twitch. “Are you trying to make me stabby?”

“Look…what I’m trying to say is…” He expelled a harsh breath and took a step closer to me. “What if these trials aren’t designed to see if we’re fit rulers? What if they’re designed to see if we’re fit…mates?”

I stared at him in disbelief, even as a flurry of goose bumps skittered across my skin.

“What?”

“Think about it, Z. You’re not being tested.Weare. And our tests always revolve around you. What if Lilith is creating these trials to see if we’re good enough to be your mates? To rule beside you?”

His earnest eyes held mine captive. I couldn’t look away.

His words made sense in a strange, demented way.

But I didn’t want to believe it.

What would be the point?

It wasn’t as if my so-called “mother” gave a shit about me. Why would she want to test my mates?

Something dark and insidious clawed at my insides. I tried to put a name to the emotion sinking its talons into me but couldn’t come up with one.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

But it was true, wasn’t it? I’d never actually been tested. I was just a pawn in all of the previous trials.

Did that mean I wasn’t meant to rule? I should’ve felt relief over the prospect, but instead, the weight in my chest grew heavier, making it hard to breathe.

Bash gave my shoulders one last squeeze before releasing me, spinning me around, and slapping my butt. I gave him a mock-offended look over my shoulder, but he simply smiled cheekily—a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Go find Devlin. See what happened.”

Without another word, I hurried out of the tent.

Where, oh where, would I find a genie who wanted to be left alone?

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