Page 39 of Faerie Trials

A pit yawned wide inside of me and I did my best to pay attention to Bronwen afterwards, when all I really wanted to do was bolt off.

“I mean, we did what we could with the patrols. We kept our eyes open. I’m not sure exactly what happened to make the murderer stop doing his or her thing, but I’m grateful,” she was saying.

“I am too.” Our footsteps fell into rhythm. “Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with you. I just have a lot of other things going on and I could use the extra time to practice my incantations.” I’d told Bronwen about the Trials and about my piss-poor attempts to work my way through past examples.

She patted me on the head. A stretch for her, considering how short she was. “You’ll make it through the semester. I have faith. And you know I’m always here if you need to talk.”

We walked closer to the Fae Academy for Halflings sister school, the campus empty and the old stones illuminated by the moon. I thought about how it would feel to take my classes there instead of at Elite. Surely the courses would be easier than the ones I took and not the advanced levels of proficiency expected at Elite. They were training little Fae magic masters at Elite.

It also would have been much nicer to be surrounded by different people. Like Flora, the half-elf I’d met when I didn’t know my way around. She’d beensupernice. Might have been a good friend if I’d gotten lucky enough to be enrolled with her.

A stupid dream.

Plus, then I’d have to deal with Persephone on a daily basis. Nope. Although if given the choice between Persephone and Coral, well, it was a tough call. Both of them were after my man and thought I was lower than something disgusting found under a rock.

I’d gone to school with my fair share of jerks but at least I’d gotten rid of one of them. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I wish I felt the same way you did about the whole thing.”

“It’s kind of crazy how the king feels the need to test students at one particular school for the Seven High Values but not the other. I mean, I get wanting to have a graduating class with integrity, but these Trials kill people. What kind of monarch promotes violence among kids? And clearly shows preferential treatment for one class over the other?”

“You consider the Trials preferential treatment?” I asked her.

Bronwen shrugged, her coat moving with her. “No, I mean, if he’s going with the whole violence among kids thing, shouldn’t he at least make it equal? Halflings have just as much right to compete as anyone else. Although I think the whole thing is stupid.”

We weren’t exactly kids anymore; most of us at Elite were between 18 and 22 years of age. But I didn’t correct Bronwen. “I take it you don’t care much for the Trials themselves.”

She shrugged again, obviously hesitant to voice her true opinion. “‘I’ve been here long enough to see a few years of them,” she said at last. “And I’ve heard Selene talking about them. I think it’s distasteful and dangerous. It’s obscene. Putting kids in danger doesn’t show you how valuable they are to society. It’s just a ridiculous tradition.”

“Some might compare it to our coming of age rank determinations in the pack,” I offered. “You might not remember the alpha games we played in the woods.”

“Kinda. Sorta. Not really. It seems like the Elder Council in Faerie takes personal delight in making the Trials nearly impossible for normal people to pass. And of course all the school officials are on board.” Bronwen held up a fist. “Yeah, great, kill our kids for sport! The ones who make it through will be productive members of society,” she said in an affected tone.

“I didn’t realize the Council was in charge of putting together the list of Trials.” Although it made sense. They’d struck me as the sadistic sort, the kind who might get perverse pleasure out of torturing others.

“I think so, anyway. They have the most knowledge of magic in this world. It makes sense.”

It did.

We continued our walk in silence, neither one of us willing to break it to speak again, both of us lost in our own minds. Too bad fate had other ideas.

A bloodcurdling scream ricocheted off the walls surrounding the academy courtyard. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

I didn’t need to look at Bronwen to see her body tense. Her nose lifted into the air. My wolf stirred for the first time tonight and I bared my teeth. The two of us bolted into action. I was a step behind Bronwen, pumping my arms to move faster, climbing the stairs toward the courtyard with the snow muffling our footsteps.

A second scream ripped through the air.

Oh God,please don’t let us be too late.

I wasn’t sure what the two of us could do or what we’d face. I only knew we were close enough to dosomething. Walking away would go against everything I believed in. The screeches grew louder the closer we got to the school and when I rounded the corner, I stopped dead.

Big.

The half-shifter was in wolf form and bigger than any I’d seen before. The warrior form between human and wolf was naturally strong; it was the shape most often used for fighting because of its sheer brutality. Black hair stood out at all ends, covering yards of muscle. Between the melding of human and wolf, I couldn’t tell who it was. I’d never shifted into half form before and I couldn’t help the stark admiration for it.

Until I saw just who was being attacked.

Juno Ians was cornered, flashing in and out of corporeal form in an attempt to get away from the shifter, but it was too fast for her. No matter what magic she threw at it, the power bounced off the creature, disintegrating into nothing.

It rounded on her, jaw dropped and teeth glistening when it roared.

---