Page 28 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King

She leaped onto her circle across from us and near the shadow wolves, where Yuki and Malron already stood inserting a crystal. Their platform lit up a vivid green.

Deallan sneered in my direction and crossed her arms in challenge.

A dark-haired fae hurried toward the platforms, the pink light in her medallion shining bright for all to see. Her hands trembled and she bit her lip. Her attention landed on Siray, and she took a step toward her.

“Go ahead,” Siray spat. “Try to join us. I’d love to kill you.”

The honey-gold-haired fae hesitated, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she stopped a few paces away.

My hands balled into fists and my human nails dug into my palms, breaking the skin and stinging. I would not let this happen. I wouldn’t let them crush me or anyone else. I would be like my sister, and not like these awful beings.

“Here!” I waved a hand desperate to get her attention. “Aelir! Get her!”

Dropping her hand from mine, Aelir scrambled to the edge of the circle, the trembling of her limbs matched by the shake in her voice. “Myantha, come join us!”

Myantha’s eyes were dark and afraid as she hurried to our platform. “You sure?”

“I can’t swear we’ll live, but at least we’ll have a chance if we work together.” I gestured to the open circle, showing we had plenty of room.

She bit her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes. “But you don’t even know me.”

I wanted to laugh, to cry, toscreamat how ridiculous all of this was. I doubted the contestants would acting like this only in the trial. It might be bringing out more of that side in them, but the maliciousness was already in them. “You’re still a person and deserve to live. I’m all about teamwork and surviving together.”

A harsh voice came from behind us. “Trying to die?”

I spun around to find Rhielle standing there, her bold pink hair wild. A few smaller bears had joined the large one.

“No, I’m trying to form a pack of people who won’t turn on each other.” I placed a hand on my hip, hoping she’d think I wasn’t doubting every life choice I’d made until now. Even if I was. “Are you in?”

“A pack?” Aelir scratched her ear.

Of course they wouldn’t know what a pack was. I sighed. We didn’t have time to waste, but they needed to understand the concept. “Think of it as a family that protects each other as much as they do themselves.” It was more than that, but I suspected the concept would take more time for them to understand. There was no doubt I’d give my life for Ember’s if the situation ever called for it.

“If I remember right, you were going to shove my face into that pudding last night.” Sarcasm laced each of Rhielle’s words. “Now you’re determined to throw your life away instead?”

The ground shook, and more serpents, wolves, eagles, and dragons arrived, all half size of the originals. The new arrivals made me flinch, but that didn’t alter my strategy. “I’m not throwing anything away. I want to build relationships that make us all stronger by working together.”

“You aren’t worried about being weak.” She crossed her arms and rolled her shoulders back. Her disc still glowed purple, highlighting the shadowy wolf etched in its surface and a reminder of her power.

“I don’t want to die.” I forced the words past my lips. “But I won’t abandon people just because theirmagicdoesn’t seem powerful. Strength comes from more than one source, and just because they don’t wield strong magic doesn’t mean they don’t have something to contribute.”

After a moment, she stepped toward the edge of the circle and grinned. “Well, if the odds are stacked against us, I’d rather go out with that then.” She then turned her left hand over, revealing one of the smaller crystals nestled in her palm. Stooping down, she put the crystal into the platform. It slipped into place with a softshoop. The light flared pink, but brighter than before.

Aelir and Myantha hit the back of their hands together like a backwards high five.

More girls arrived, and my heart tightened. Two in particular appeared insecure and unsure of where to go, rubbing their arms and treading with hesitant steps.

“Velessa. Thalira. Come join us.” Aelir waved them over, sounding like some of her fear had subsided. “We’re open to anyone who needs a place to go.”

They dashed over but stopped short a few feet away from the platform.

A few fae flew over my head, going for the crystals above us. Guard eagles darted, fighting them off, but I didn’t have time to watch and turned back to Velessa and Thalira.

I placed a hand on my waist. “Are you in? Because we need a plan with everyone on board.”

They exchanged a look, and then Thalira nodded. “Yes.”

Both women stepped onto the circle, and the light brightened to soft teal, but it still wasn’t enough. We needed to be purple.

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