Page 44 of Unbound

The rest of the training session passes in a blur of sparring matches and drills. With the challenge matches over, the immediate threat of death is gone.

Still, I can feel Malakai's attention never wavering, his gaze a constant pressure between my shoulder blades. More than once, I catch Serena watching from the fire affinities, her fire-marked hands clenching and unclenching like she's imagining them around my throat.

By the time we're dismissed, my nerves are raw, stretched thin by the constant vigilance. The brief victory against Davrin feels hollow now, overwhelmed by the knowledge that I've only made my situation more precarious. Malakai will see our survival as a personal insult. If we weren’t already at the top of his hit list, we will be now.

"Weapons away, first-year waters," Blackstone calls. "And for those who haven't yet heard, the water trial begins at dawn two days from now. Report to the eastern shore of Mirror Lake. Wear something suitable for swimming. No weapons will be necessary."

A chorus of nervous whispers erupts around us. Mirror Lake is the vast body of water at the edge of campus, its depths rumored to be bottomless in places. What kind of trial awaits us there?

I see other combat instructors relaying similar messages to the other affinities. The airs burst into nervous whispers. The fires look to Raith, who only nods and seems to calm them. The earths take the news with stoic acceptance.

"Mirror Lake?" Beck joins us as we exit the room, his sandy hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. "That can't be good."

"Why not?" I ask, though I'm already certain I won't like the answer.

"Tucker talked about it once before they—" Beck says, lowering his voice. "Apparently, there's some kind of beast that lives in it. He said students get eaten every year by the thing. Swallowed whole."

"If the monster eats me, I hope I give it indigestion. I’ve been told I’m very spicy," Mireen says with a too-bright smile that earns a confused stare from Beck. I'm starting to get used to her macabre sense of humor—maybe to even appreciate the touch of lightness it brings in otherwise dark moments.

I can see why people who are surrounded by death would make a habit of it.

Ambrose appears on my other side, still sweaty from exertion.

"Tell Beck he's full of it, please," I say to Ambrose. “He says there’s a monster in the lake that eats students. Swallows them whole.”

"She's right, Beck," Ambrose says. "It doesn't swallow them whole. It drags them to its lair in the deepest section of the lake. At least that’s what I heard."

"Thank you both for that incredibly comforting information," I mutter. My insides go tight at the thought of the lake. At the question of what could be waiting in its depths. The similarity to my recurring nightmare isn’t lost on me, either, but I try my best not to think on it.

We part ways to clean up before classes, but as I turn toward the water tower, a hand grips my arm, pulling me into the shadow of a stone archway. I whirl, ready to fight, only to find myself face to face with Raith.

In the darkness, his eyes catch what little light remains, reflecting it with an unnerving focus that makes me wonder if he can see straight into my thoughts. "What did you do in there?" he demands, voice low and rough. Even from the brief touch, I feel a hint of the fire essence I pulled from him, dancing and twisting within me with the promise of power.

"In where?" I ask, hoping the innocent act might work.

His grip tightens slightly. "Don't. I saw what happened with Davrin. The stone moved."

Fear grips my heart. It claws up my throat like a living thing, threatening to choke me. If Raith noticed, who else might have? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit." His eyes search mine, looking for lies. "You pulled energy from the stone. I felt it. Just like you pulled fire from me that first day. You need to be far more cautious. Anybody could’ve seen.”

The revelation hits me like a punch to the gut. He felt it? How? And why does he care if people see?

Before I can respond, his expression shifts, something like reluctant concern flashing across his features. "Malakai has friends among the third-years who help with the trial. They'll likely tell him where everybody enters the lake. That means he'll know where to find you."

I blink, thrown by the warning. "Why tell me this? How do you even know for that matter?"

He turns to leave, but I catch his wrist, the contact sending another surge of warmth into my body. "Why are you helping me?" I press.

His jaw tightens, eyes dropping to where my fingers circle his wrist. "Maybe I'm just saving you for later," he says finally, the words held together by tension and something unspoken. The electricity between us is practically visible, crackling in the air like static.

I don't believe him for a moment, but he pulls free and strides away before I can push him for more.

All I'm left with is the warm memory of where our skin touched. That, and the knowledge that Malakai is probably going to use the trial to hunt me down and kill me. Unfortunately for him, I'm starting to see I'm not nearly as defenseless as he thinks.

And if he wants to come after me when I'm literally surrounded by water? Well… I might actually have a chance to make him regret it. A dangerous smile forms on my face—for once, I don’t feel like prey waiting to be slaughtered. I might finally have teeth of my own.

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