Page 86 of Enchanted Shadows
“That should terrify me.” She laughed and we fell into a content silence. Nothing but the shadows between us.
Her voice sounded raspy as she whispered, “Goodnight, husband.”
“Goodnight, wife.”
CHAPTER 27
It was only a few hours later, in the early hours of the morning, when Miles knocked on my door as we agreed upon.
Kessara jolted awake, but I rolled out of bed, speaking to him quietly and then headed for my clothes.
“What’s wrong?” Kessara asked.
“Nothing. It’s time. For the trial.”
She looked to the window. “It’s not even close to morning.”
I tossed her a bag with training clothes. “Perk of being married to your general, you aren’t getting the rude awakening the others are about to have. But if you move it, you can help us hurry them along.”
She was moving without another word. Within fifteen minutes, we were walking in the forest back to the barracks.
“Do I need to do this without either Enchantment because that’s the way I started training?”
I gave my head a shake. She was nervous. I recognized it in her breathing. “No. Don’t overthink it. You are to utilize yourstrengths. So, I suspect you will need those Enchantments in addition to that cunning brain of yours.”
She opened her mouth as if to ask another question, but I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You’re going to be fine.”
“But you told us if we don’t pass, we are out?”
“Correct.” I stopped and turned her toward me gently. “Look at me. Do I look like I have any doubts you will pass? Do I look concerned?”
“No. You look as arrogant as ever.”
I felt my lips twitch. “Exactly. You are going to do this, Kess.” And because I knew she had a competitive streak, I added, “And if not, at least you slept with a winner.”
She groaned before pulling her hand away and hurrying toward the barracks.
Miles and Emric were standing together waiting on the women, so I headed for them. I was fairly certain all the groups would pass today. They had trained hard, but they needed to do this and pass for themselves.
“Ready?” Emric asked me.
“Yes. Just today and tomorrow left. Then training break.”
Miles added, “The maze is perfect. Enough to make them struggle. But not so difficult as to weed them out.”
I normally helped in the design with Team One, but this time I was going to have to take his word for it. I wondered if he fully understood the different strengths of the team. A team like no other because three of the five Enchantments of the realm were present on this team.
As the women all arrived, I began without delay. “This is your final trial. Fail, and you do not make it to the second session of training. Fail your fellow trainee, and they won’t either. This trial is designed to test your teamwork abilities and individual strengths both.”
“But what is it?” Sam whispered to Wren.
Wren shrugged.
“A maze,” I told them, just like I had any other time they’d asked. “If you would not interrupt and allow me to tell you, I will.” I paused intentionally. “In the meadow between the castle and the forest awaits your maze. You will go in groups of three, one group of four. You pass or fail it together. You have twenty minutes to get through it. The team with the best time will receive bragging rights and the right to sit out of our run later this morning. The fact that we are going to do this while it’s still dark is intentional and designed to further test you.” I glanced at my wife. “Most of you.”
The brat was pressing her lips together to keep from smiling.
“Let’s go. I will call out the first three names when we arrive, not giving you too much time to strategize.”
