Page 59 of Trial of Thorns
Rev
The next week is fairlyuneventful. Brielle has scarcely talked to me in days, but that wasn’t overly uncharacteristic for everyone after that challenge. I swear, the emotional challenge was more draining than the physical one. So, I didn’t push her, but it’s been days, and she still hasn’t looked me in the eye. Our next challenge is only two days away, and it’s important she and I are on the same page.
I spent most of my family time asking questions about Reahgan. About his character and what he was like. He was nearly twenty years older than me, and I idolized him. I thought he was good through and through, but I’m still not sure what to make of that vision. Was it real? Was it a trick?
Nothing my parents tell me adds up with the vision.
“Why are you asking this all of the sudden?” my mother asks one night at dinner.
“I just want to remember him,” I say. The lie drops in my stomach like iron. But I can’t tell her the truth. I won’t. Especially because I don’t know if it’s real or not.
***
ISLOUCH ON THE CUSHIONEDchair by the dim fire in the champions’ common room. “Brielle still won’t talk to me,” I tell Rook.
“Yeah, she’s been weird since that last trial.”
“The next one is in two days. We’re in a good position, three against two, now that Caspian is gone, but if Brielle won’t even talk to me...”
Rook leans forward, looking me right in the eye. “She’s fine. She’s with us, I promise. It’s just... weird for her. You know?”
“No.” I say. “I mean yes but no. Did she tell you what she had to face in that challenge?”
“She had to go back and face your brother. Her mate. I don’t know exactly what she saw, but can’t you imagine how awkward that would be? To see him. To be reminded. And then come back to you?”
I purse my lips. “Okay, yes.” I mean, it’s not like we have some sweeping romance but still. It had been ten years since she’d seen him, and she didn’t even know him. So just those few minutes may have been the reminder she didn’t need.
“You’ve talked to her, though? She’s on board for the trial? I hear talk that it’s a long one.”
“Yeah, we got a message this afternoon to pack for a several-day challenge.”
I sigh.
“But yes, I’ve talked with her, and I’ll talk to her again before the trial. It’ll be fine. One of us is going to win this. It’s a sure thing.”
“I hope you’re right.”
