Page 1 of Blood of the Fallen
CHAPTER 1
Theyhadstrippedmenaked and tied me to a tree. My buckskin clothes lay discarded in a pile, torn and trampled.
I trembled from the cold, but mostly from fear.
This was Val’s fault. He abducted me from the pack so they could kill me.
Captain Silex stood in front of me. Five of her guards—those Lux Academy faithful protectors that I’d once trusted—stood behind her, forming a semicircle, watching me. A couple of them held torches that illuminated the small forest clearing where they’d made camp as they searched for me.
Val stood back, his face pale, his right hand wrapped tightly in bloody strips of fabric. He’d told me I would pay for mutilating his hand. He’d made good on his promise. There was only hatred in his steel-blue eyes—not an ounce of sympathy or regard for my nudity. It was ridiculous to expect even a shred of concern from him. I had cut his finger off and joined the pack that killed Magistrate Magnus, his mentor.
In his eyes, I was nothing but a traitor, and my claims about the true nature of the Lux Academy were nothing but lies.
Beyond the clearing, the cold night was filled with the usual nocturnal sounds of nature: a hooting owl, the rustle of leaves as the wind blew, the gentle scampering of rodents as they searched for food… a peaceful tune for a pleasant night of sleep. Funny how quickly I had gotten used to slumbering the way thewildlingsdid.
But within the boundaries of the camp, within the tight circle of men and women that surrounded me, it was a different story. There was nothing peaceful about their stances, their agitated breaths, or the loathing in their eyes.
I winced as a stab of pain lanced down my spine. Rough bark scraped against my back and rear. I tried to move to relieve the tension that made me feel as if my back would split in two, but it was impossible. The ropes that bound me were tight, skillfully bound, impossible to escape. I’d received the same lessons my captors had and knew as many expert knots as they did. There was no getting away.
Captain Silex turned to one of her guards and took the torch from his hands. Slowly, she walked to the pile of discarded clothes and set them on fire. The supple hides ignited instantly, filling the air with a sharp scent and casting a menacing glow over her cruel face, which had always seemed stalwart before, but now I knew better.
“You have betrayed us,” she said, her eyes reflecting the flames as she stared at the burning garments. “I have never, in all my years at the Academy, witnessed such utter disloyalty. All that we taught you, all that we did for you, counted for nothing.”
Pushing away my shame and fear, I met her gaze. “How do you sleep at night?” I asked, my voice dripping with contempt.
I glanced over her shoulder and scanned the guards’ faces. Two of them had been there the night I clawed my way out of the mass grave where they’d dumped me along with my friends. I met their gazes too, my expression accusing. They knew this was a charade. I had never betrayed the Academy.
The Academy had betrayed me.
Finally, my gaze met Val’s. He had been my friend ever since I could remember, and yet, the loathing in his eyes was just as strong as that of the guards.
“You turned into one of them,” Captain Silex continued as if I hadn’t said anything.
“Iamone of them,” I shot back, truly believing it for the first time.
The captain shook her head and threw a knowing glance toward Val as if saying,do you see?
My once friend’s mouth twisted in disgust.
“You stole me, stole all of us,” I spat. “And then, when you can’t control our power, you kill us.”
“The way we killed you?” she asked, a satisfied smile tipping her lips. “We wished you farewell. Gave you all you would need to succeed elsewhere. But instead, you came looking for the wildlings? Did you do it out of spite? Because you weren’t good enough to become an apprentice?”
I shook my head at her lies. It was useless to argue.
“Ungrateful. Misguided. Stupid,” Captain Silex enunciated every word, adding a heavy dose of revulsion to every syllable. “We came looking for you because we were willing to help you, but look at how you’ve repaid us. You joined our enemy. You mutilated your friend.” She gestured toward Val, who slowly hid his bandaged hand behind his back.
“You killed Magistrate Magnus.”
I hadn’t killed the magistrate. The triad had, but I doubted my objections would make a difference.
“You turned into one of them,” she added between clenched teeth as if that was the worst of the crimes she’d listed.
One of the guards who had chased me when I ran from the Academy stepped forward. “She laid a curse on us,” he said, his voice trembling, his expression flashing with fear.
Murderers! I hope wildlings devour your entrails. I hope the Light seeps out of you and darkness eats your worthless, lying souls.That was what I’d told them when they had me trapped up a tree.
“She’s a witch,” the second guard who had been there said. “There’s only one way to kill them.”
