Page 44 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

I made it.

I survived the first trial.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Pain pulses through my body with every step as I limp back out of the arena and into the corridor that we came in through. I keep one arm wrapped around my fractured ribs and the other hand sliding along the wall for support. Blood still coats my forearm, dripping faintly on the floor as I move slowly down the hall.

Before we were allowed to leave, Imar told us that we now have three days to rest and heal and to let our magic recover before the next trial. As fae, we thankfully all have increased healing speed. I’m not sure how it works for the dragon shifters, but compared to humans, we heal remarkably fast. And since I’m pretty certain that my ribs are only partially fractured rather than completely broken, three days should be enough time for them to heal. Especially here where I have practically unlimited access to food. Healing consumes a lot of energy, which requires a lot of food. Which is probably another reason why the shifters have never allowed us to have too much of it. But for the first time in my life, I have an abundance of food just waiting for me.

I suck in a sharp hiss between my clenched teeth as a rough hand suddenly grabs me by the shoulder and yanks me around. Since I don’t have enough strength left to stop it, I can donothing except let myself be spun around. My back hits the wall of the corridor with a thud. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I look up to meet the gaze of my newest attacker.

Alistair Geller looms before me. Rage burns in his orange and green eyes as he buries his fist in my collar, trapping me against the wall.

“You’ve made an enemy of me now, Soulstealer,” he growls in my face.

I furrow my brows in what I hope is believable confusion. “What? Why? We never even faced each other during this trial.”

“Don’t you fucking dare deny it.”

With that mask of bewilderment on my face, I just continue looking up at him.

“Jeb saw what you did.” He clenches his jaw and tightens his grip on my collar. “You manipulated my emotions. Made me go on a rampage like a fucking animal.”

Aw, crap.

Since there is no point in trying to deny it further, I raise my chin defiantly instead.

“You made an enemy of me first.” I shoot him a pointed glare. “When you had your friend poison me.”

“If any of you had any proof of that, those fucking asshole shifters would already have killed us.”

“It doesn’t matter that I can’t prove it. It’s still true. You know it, and so do I. So I’d say that this makes us even.”

“Even?” A vicious laugh rips from his chest. “Oh, we’re far from even.”

With one hand still buried in the collar of my shirt, he raises his other while his eyes start to glow. Fire flares to life in his palm.

My heart leaps into my throat.

I try to pry his fingers off my collar so that I can escape, but he keeps me in an iron grip.

“You wanted me to use my fire magic for your benefit?” The flames reflect in his eyes as he moves his burning hand closer to my face. “How about I use itonyou instead? The shifters will never know. They’ll just think that you got burned by my flames during the trial.”

I struggle hard against his grip, fighting against his hold on me as he brings the flames towards my cheek. But I’m too weak and injured, too drained from the lingering poison and the exhaustion of the trial, to compete with his strength. Heat from the fire washes over my skin. A desperate noise escapes my throat. The flames are almost on my cheek now. A little closer and my skin will start to blister.

Alistair lets out a yelp.

I start in surprise as he is suddenly yanked backwards by a set of twisting branches.

“Are you deaf?” Lavendera demands as she strides up the hall towards us. “They said no fighting outside of the trials.”

Relief washes through me.

The other half of our group, the ones who had been standing on the other side of the arena when Imar told us that we could leave, have finally caught up with us. Several of the other contestants cast curious glances between me and Alistair, but they continue past us without stopping. Lavendera stops, though.

Standing with her hands on her hips, she glares at Alistair.

Alistair manages to untangle himself from the branches she used to yank him away from me. Fury still pulses in his eyes as he whirls towards her.

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