Page 14 of Trial of Thorns
“Was he bad?”
“Yes. But that’s not why I did it.”
“Then why?”
“Because I had to.”
Rev
Despite my calm demeanoryesterday, the moment the sun set the anxiety surfaced.
I wasn’t able to relax for even a moment last night. My muscles continued to clench, and my head ached, keeping me awake for hours until I finally gave up on sleep and sat in the common room next to the roaring fire. I stared at the flickering red flame, sunken into my new favorite cushioned chair until dawn. I wonder if Brielle sent her comforting magic to the fire place to keep it going so strongly all night.
“Rev, you awake?” Rook waves a hand in front of my face.
I blink into focus. “What?”
“I’ve been talking to you for five minutes. You must have been sleeping with your eyes open.”
I shake the fog from my mind. “Yeah. Didn’t sleep much last night.”
“I told you, you should have taken a sleeping draft. You’ll be hurting during today’s challenge.”
“I’ll be fine,” I rub my face. I’ll be forced to run entirely on adrenaline and magic but I have no doubts in my ability.
I can’t keep up with that for all five challenges, but today, I’ll make it through just fine. “I’ll take you up on it for the next challenge.”
“Good.” He nods sharply. “And with any luck, that witch won’t be here to bother us anymore.”
I sigh.
“Anyway, as I was saying.” Rook plops onto the couch beside me. “How about a run? We have two hours before the banquet, and I wouldn’t mind starting off the day with a good workout.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“She came by not long ago,” Rook says lightly. “I gave her a good glare. I thought you were just ignoring her, but now I wonder if you were just too out of it to even notice.”
