Page 192 of The Ascended
"Well done, both of you," he said, his golden eyes crinkling at the corners. "They even deceived us. It wasn’t until we were swept here that any of the Legends realized this was the third trial. The last time I saw you, Marx, you didn’t look so great. Good thing you two have each other."
A laugh nearly escaped me at that. If he only knew how close I'd come to surrendering completely, how the illusion had nearly consumed me before the warning came.
"Marx," Aelix continued, "might I have a word?"
Marx squeezed my arm once before releasing me and allowing Aelix to lead her away, leaving me standing awkwardly before Xül and Nyvora. The silence stretched.
"I should create a portal," Xül finally said, still not meeting my eyes. "The hour grows late."
He turned to go, and I moved instinctively to follow him.
I had taken only one step when vice-like fingers clampedaround my elbow, nails digging into my skin. Nyvora leaned close, her breath hot against my ear.
"You pathetic, delusional little mortal," she hissed, her voice pitched low enough that only I could hear. "Did you truly believe he would want you? That you could compete with me? You’re repulsive to him.”
I tried to pull away, but her grip only tightened, those thorn-like nails breaking skin.
"I might not have been able to see you throwing yourself at my fiancé," she continued, "but I heard every word you said to him. Every desperate, shameful plea. We all did."
My heart stuttered, her words penetrating the haze of humiliation that clouded my thoughts.She couldn't see...?
"The illusions were private," she confirmed, reading the question in my expression. "But sound carries across the viewing portals. We heard everything, even if we could only see you writhing against thin air like a cat in heat."
Relief crashed through me so powerfully my knees nearly buckled. They hadn't seen Olinthar's body. Hadn't seen me standing over his corpse with a bloodied starblade.
"If you ever approach him again," Nyvora was saying, "I will ensure you fail the final trial in ways so spectacular they'll tell stories of your humiliation for centuries."
A cold clarity replaced my fear.
I twisted in her grip, breaking her hold. My own hand shot out, fingers wrapping around her wrist.
"Careful, Nyvora," I said, my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart.
Her eyes widened, surprise flickering across her perfect features before hardening into contempt.
I released her with a small shove, "If Xül truly found me as repulsive as you claim, why would you need to threaten me at all?"
The barb struck home. Fury bloomed across her face, color rising beneath her golden skin.
"You know nothing," she spat.
"Perhaps," I agreed, a reckless smile touching my lips. "But I know fear when I smell it. And right now, Nyvora, you reek."
I turned away to end the conversation but she was at my back in a second.
“The only reason I haven't killed you myself is because it would be unsightly to take out the contestant of my future betrothed.”
I ignored her, following the path Xül had taken toward the edge of the terrace. My heart hammered against my ribs, adrenaline singing through my veins. I had likely just made another powerful enemy even more determined to see me fail.
Xül waited at the portal. Without hesitation, I stepped through.
And then I was back at the Bone Spire. I headed straight for my room, my gaze fixed on the stone floor ahead, afraid that looking back at him would shatter what little composure I had left. The familiar staircase seemed endless tonight, each step requiring more effort than the last, until finally my chamber door materialized at the corridor's end. I slipped inside, turning the lock with trembling fingers before my legs gave out completely. As I slid down against the cold wood, the tears I'd been holding back broke free at last, falling silently in the darkness of a room that had never felt so empty.
Chapter 46
Thatcher
I couldn't force a smile.Not even the manufactured one I'd perfected since arriving in this godsforsaken realm. My body felt hollowed out, scraped clean of everything but the raw, festering shame that had taken root during the trial.
