Page 66 of The Ordeals
I blink up at him, lost for a moment, and it all falls away between us. My armour, the pretence. I allow a breath to escape my lungs and close my eyes, leaning into him. For a moment, as he holds me in the midst of the Ordeal of Lies, the truth I’ve been holding within myself bleeds out. I am nothing more than a fractured heart, than a tightly wound knot of fear, than a boat in a storm without shelter. I am myself completely, clinging to this moment, this space carved out for us in the middle of the dance floor as I risk looking up at him. And his answering vulnerability, the truth in his own heart leaves me breathless. He let me in. He let me hold him. Yet I didn’t trust him not to judge me, not to reject me for all that I am, all that I was. I couldn’t do the same for him. ‘I— Alden …’
Suddenly the dance concludes, the string quartet lowering their arms from their instruments, and I step away from him, shattering the moment between us. I clap politely as all eyes turn to the platform and the musicians, and when I glance back at him, I find he’s moved to the edge of the crowd. He’s listening intently to theprofessors standing next to him, then his head snaps up, eyes finding mine. He nods towards the door, indicating we should leave. I release a charged breath, reeling myself, all that I am, back in. We’re still in an Ordeal. I need to focus and stay alive.
When I meet him by the entrance, he murmurs in my ear, ‘Our code words are not in Keeper’s Hall. It’s a distraction. We need to search before the others all realise.’
I smile at him, nudging his arm. ‘The first deception of the Ordeal.’
He opens his mouth, as though about to say something then gives a small shake of his head and opens the door. ‘After you, DeWinter. Illusionists first.’
The clue to unlock the code word and who to give it to lingers in my mind as we hesitate in the courtyard, deciding where to hunt first.
Lies are cobwebs hung around the truth.
My mind keeps snagging on that one word:cobwebs. Such an odd choice of phrase for a clue. ‘Can you think of anywhere disused or dusty?’ I ask Alden, eyeing the many dark windows peering down at us, like pearlescent eyes in the gathered dark.
Alden crosses his arms, frowning at me. ‘Perhaps if you give me a little more to go on …’
I mirror him, crossing my arms as well, as I try to ignore the sharp cold of night brushing my exposed skin. ‘It’s probably time we actually act as partners, don’t you think? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.’
‘Agreed,’ he says.
I glance over my shoulder and whisper the clue on my invitation. He nods thoughtfully, and whispers his back.
Knowledge is the keystone.
Biting my lip, I begin walking to the nearest doorway, theentrance to Godolphin on my right. ‘May as well stay warm whilst we search—’
The heavy weight of fabric slips over my shoulders and back before I can finish my sentence. ‘There. No more shivering.’
I pull the suit jacket, warm from his body heat, around me and give him a nod of grateful thanks. ‘All right. I suppose we need to look for keystones, and the hidden places around the college.’
‘I have a place in mind …’
We walk through the dark corridors of Killmarth, every footfall echoing. Too loud … we’re too loud, too obvious. And the college is so silent, as though every scholar has been told to stay in their rooms tonight, to not disturb the Ordeal. I clutch the lapels of the suit jacket, tightening it around my body as the silk of my dress whispers around me in a scarlet hush.
It’s not until we reach the shady corner at the back of Fetlock that I discovered on my initial wanderings that I chuckle quietly. Of course. The chapel to the old gods.
‘Apparently it was constructed as part of the original castle, the residence of an ancient family of wealth and standing.’ He glances at me. ‘Long before it was a college for wielders.’
I step towards the depictions of the old gods: Argus and Gallant and Aline. There is a candle lit beneath Argus, a solitary candle, the wick barely burned down. It’s fresh, throwing flickering light over Argus, who looks crueller in the light of that pale flame. Alden moves away, searching each corner, eyeing the rows of short pews carved with strange sea folk and the scales of dread things roaming the skies. And yet … no cornerstone. No cobwebs or knowledge save for the old gods and their questionable wisdom.
‘This doesn’t feel right …’ I say, stepping towards the front of the chapel, the stained glass in the window appearing more menacing and otherworldly in the dark. ‘We’re not meant to be here.’
Alden sighs, straightening, and gives the chapel one last cursory sweep. ‘I agree.’ He runs his hand over the back of his neck. ‘And there’s no one else here, no one else hunting yet, and we can’t be so far off the trail. Maybe we shouldn’t have left Keeper’s Hall after all?’
‘No, I think you were right on that … It felt too staged. Clues and code words are whispered things, quiet things, puzzles we have to figure out …’ I gasp softly, looking at him. ‘The library.’
He nods, eyes flaring wide as he turns on his heel, heading for the door. ‘We could be the first this time, DeWinter. We really could.’
But as we make our way to the library, there are more hopefuls stalking the halls and corridors in pairs. Some slink through the shadows, some are arguing quietly, but some stop and watch as we pass, eyeing us warily. Alden reaches for my hand and, without thinking, I take it. There is no knowing how desperate a hopeful can be when faced with the possibility of death or exile. Each is intolerable. And as we pick up our pace, crossing through the final corridor with its shadowed alcoves, the braces holding my switchblade and wooden stake tighten around my thighs. Failure is not an option. Maybe once, I would have felt no remorse over using my blade on one of them. But now … now it would be a last resort, and I do not want anyone to target us.
The library is cut with shafts of silver moonlight, the soft air ruffled, as though we have disturbed its sound slumber. I indicate the first two rows of stacks and Alden nods, separating from me to peer down them, as I do the same with the other two. Both of mine are vacant, and when I glance at Alden, he shakes his head. I release a charged breath, there are no lurking masquiers awaiting us.
‘We need to look for anything that indicates this is the location of the most prominent words in our clues combined. Cobwebs, keystone …’
‘Knowledge,’ he says.
There’s a skittering sound, like footsteps on flagstone, and I frown. The library is entirely laid with wooden floorboards. ‘Let’s move, check for anything out of place, then loop and scan any prominent architectural features then—’
