Page 69 of Deception

Using the power of illusion to wrap a warm cardigan around my torso, I shake my head at my absentmindedness. My shorts lengthen into pants, blocking my chilled skin from the increasing wind.

I inhale a deep breath, steeling myself before continuing forward. Ensuring my barrier is wrapped tightly around my skin still. My footsteps quicken, needing to get past the ominous looking canopy, needing to feel the warm press of sunlight on my skin. Breathe the fresh, chill air without the feeling of being confined pressing into me.

The weight on my chest lifts, and my heart lightens as the rays of sun wash over me. I spare a single moment to adjust to the warm glow before continuing on.

I’d be able to relax in the sun as soon as this is over, I remind myself, this is just a projection, and although the trees may be clearing, I’m not out of the metaphorical woods just yet.

A high-pitched scream pierces my ears, jerking me from my thoughts. I dart my gaze around the sparse tree-lined path, searching for the source and my sneakers slam onto the dirt path, making dust billow in my wake. A pair of frantically kicking legs are pinned beneath a fallen tree trunk.

I skid to a stop beside the girl. Her tiny arms wildly beating against the bark, trying to escape with all her might. My body moves automatically at the sight, and I crouch down next to the small child, panic gripping around my heart like a vise. She can’t be more than five, judging by her size. I take a calming breath to help me think clearly.

The girl’s limbs don’t stop their flailing as I ease beside her to inspect her injuries. I bite my lip. What to do first? If I don’t get the tree off her, it could crush her internal organs. But if I move the tree too soon, her body could go into shock or something, right? I shake my head, examining her for any external wounds first before hovering my hand above her chest. I reach out with my powers, searching for how serious her injuries are.

I grimace at what I find, the adrenaline pumping through this girl’s body is the only reason she hasn’t passed out from the pain yet. I have mere seconds to make a decision.

I switch the focus of my power, keeping the healing in one palm while I push my strength into the other.

Not wasting another moment, I grip the underside of the trunk, lifting it a few inches away from her skin. Immediately, I push the healing power into her, repairing her internal organs first. I grimace at the swath of bruised skin and jagged gashes stitching together before my eyes once her organs have repaired.

I focus on healing the rest of her wounds, making sure I don’t miss anything. I take one last sweep over her body, feeling the cold weight of exhaustion press down on me as I hold the trunk aloft.

Satisfied I’ve healed every wound I can, I grip the tree with both hands, the rough bark biting into the smooth skin of my palms. Channeling my strength, I heave the trunk away, watching it fly a few feet through the air to land with a thud in the middle of the path. The impact shakes the ground around us.

I sigh a breath of relief and glance back to the girl, making sure she’s still alright. I reach out to check over her again, only for my hand to fall through where she sat only moments before.

I blink, searching around the thinning forest for any sign of her. My brows furrow as they come up with nothing.

My chest lightens as the forest fades from around me. The projection lifts to reveal the training room in its place. The beam of light still emanating from the crystal subsides, leaving me standing alone in the small circle. Apparently, I never moved from my spot.

I glance around the silent room, finding the shocked faces of the council staring back at me, along with the outraged faces of my father and my four gods. However, only one set of eyes still hold their usual calculating look. Helene gazes back at me, not surprised in the least by anything she saw in the projection.

“You rigged it against her. None of the students had nearly as dangerous tasks,” Mateo roars, standing abruptly from his seat. His hands clench at his sides as he storms towards the front row.

Maximus stands along with him, but he doesn’t hold the same disbelief, clearly knowing the council would take whatever advantage possible. He gives me an approving nod, his eyes softening as he takes me in. Silently communicating that he knew I could defeat whatever they placed in my path.

“No other student has the power she possesses,” Helene responds calmly, sliding up from her place perched on the edge of her seat. “Besides, she passed, it just goes to show the immense energy she bears.”

She waves off his concern, yet I see the brief hesitation in her gaze, coupled with a devious glint. One side of her lip tilts just before a silent wind whips around me.

Black smoke billows up from the ground, flowing around my body. Freezing my limbs firmly in place. Mateo and Maximus automatically dart towards me. Only to be thrown back a moment later as the black smoke spreads. Their bodies smash back against the chairs from the force. I attempt to move, to go to them, but the black smoke curls even tighter around my limbs.

The power contained in it crackles like electricity, forming a wall around them, caging them in. Adrian and Kyros rush to beat against the wall, Adrian’s powers lashing out at the smoke to no avail. My father throws power after power at the wall, desperately trying to break the barrier separating us, but his attempts fail too.

The wall of smoke billows to the ceiling, creating an impenetrable barrier between me and the others. My lungs expand, greedily taking in air as the smoke unfurls from my chest and limbs. I shake out my arms, the feeling slowly returning to them. Despite the smoke dissipating from around my body, I can’t shake the feeling that this threat is far from over. A weight settles in my stomach and an ominous chill washes over me. I swallow the bile that rises in my throat, willing my vision to focus.

My heart thunders as the shadows press at my back, the electricity within it sparking against my skin. My gaze darts around the room, and the shadows move around me, turning me to face in the opposite direction.

A ball of smoke forms a few feet away, the smoke grows and grows, forming a thick band of shadows with blue light glowing at its center. The smoke swirls around it as though a storm brews within.

Muffled shouts come from the other side of the barrier, and I strain to hear their words over the growing wind whipping around me. The shadows at my back push me forward, and I tune out the shouts, unable to make out the words over the violent whistling piercing my ears. A dark figure appears on the other side of the blue, glowing center and I blink, narrowing my sight to make out the person.

My blood freezes in my veins as his face comes into focus—Titus. The dark blue clears, becoming the same shade as the shallow crystal ocean, allowing me to see him clearly. Roars sound behind me, but all I can focus on is my heart jackhammering against my ribs, and the fear spiking within me, turning my limbs numb.

He observes me coldly, his expression gleaming brighter with triumph at every inch the shadows move me towards him. He doesn’t step through the wavering blue film separating him from the smoke-covered room. Instead, he waits patiently, a maniacal grin splitting his lips.

I look over the blue surface, my mind struggling to piece together what’s happening right now with the fear chilling my bones. The only way for him to move me to another realm would be through a portal. My mind pulls up the image of Adrian creating the portal during the Ascension. We didn’t cover that in our lessons, but his power should be able to close the portal, and with the thick black fog acting as an electrified barrier between us—it would be my only shot.

I dig my heels in, knowing it won’t do much, but hoping it will give me a few extra seconds at least. Closing my eyes, I focus on the power in my center, knowing I’ll need to wield a greater amount than ever before if I want to close this thing. I push down the weary feeling in my bones. I’ve already expended so much of my physical stamina during the trial. I pull the power to my palms, focusing on the portal. Mimicking the same energy that sparks within me when I create something with illusion, I suck the power from the portal, hoping that taking power away will force it to close.

My eyes blink open in surprise as I feel it working. My energy pulls at the portal, causing it to fade, and shrink, inch by agonizing inch.

Titus roars in outrage behind the vanishing blue veil. His mouth moves, spittle flying, but the sound of his words doesn’t hit my ears, as it’s overpowered by the whistle of the wind. A cold sweat breaks on my brow, but I push through, intent on seeing the portal vanish completely before I close my eyes and get some much needed rest. My muscles scream in protest, and I vaguely notice my legs shaking from the strain.

Pain pulses through my knees as they finally give out beneath me, my body crumbling to the hardwood floor without any way to support itself. The black smoke dissipates from behind me, swallowed up by the shrinking portal. The wind disappears along with it, just as the circle collapses in on itself. Leaving behind the crisp white walls of the training room.

My ears ring from the absence of the piercing wind, unable to make out any other sounds as my vision slowly dims. Blackness swallows me whole, and I relax into the abyss, my mind accepting the warm embrace of darkness as my eyelids flutter closed. Masculine hands wrap around me, clutching me against a solid broad chest just as my body gives out. Catching me before my head thumps against the hard floor. My consciousness fades, and I take comfort in the fact my guys and my father are safe now.

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