Page 50 of Blood of the Fallen
She was facing the crowd again and giving me a strange look that stripped me bare, as if she’d just figured out some secret about me—something not even I was aware of. Desna inhaled loudly as if to speak, but a pointed look from the Chieftess had her sealing her mouth shut.
“The winner of the trial is Sheela Ashoona,” the Chieftess announced, shocking everyone with the news and the use of her family name for the first time, ever.
“Yes! I knew it!” Nirliq exclaimed. Her father shushed her and the girl hung her head, chastised.
Desna’s breathing was audible. I glanced at her sideways and saw her claws had unsheathed. “I. Got. Here. First,” she said between clenched teeth. “Iwon.”
“If the trial had been a race as everyone believed,” Chieftess Yura said, her tone calm, even gentle. “Yes, you would’ve been the winner, but the trial was meant to test something quite different.”
Desna’s mouth opened and closed. She wanted to argue further but couldn’t—not without knowing the true nature of the trial.
“We are pack,” the Chieftess said emphatically. “We have to take care of each other, especially our young.”
Suddenly, a second Nirliq appeared in the middle of the circle. My gaze bounced from the new one to the one standing by her father. How was it possible?
Next to the elders, Bethel snapped her fingers, and the new apparition vanished. She smirked, looking satisfied with her trick. The girl by the bluff had been nothing but a ghost. Nirliq had never been in danger. She hadn’t even been there!
The Chieftess cleared her throat. “The purpose of the trial was to determine the contender’s ability to put the pack before their own interests. Therefore, Sheela—who jumped to save a pack member that appeared to be in danger—is the winner of this second trial.” She inclined her head in my direction. “Congratulations.”
Murmurs of surprise went around those gathered.
“She still has a big heart,” I heard Ila say. She sounded quite emotional.
Tears pooled in my eyes, and I turned my face away to hide it.
A pair of little arms wrapped around me. “You saved me again?” Nirliq asked.
I peered at her pretty face and shrugged. “Not really.”
“It counts. It still counts!” she enthused, grabbing my hands and twirling me in a circle. She really liked doing that.
“This is an outrage!” Desna suddenly screamed. “It was a trick trial.”
The Chieftess angled her shoulder toward Desna, setting her jaw. “The trials come in many forms.”
“It was designed to give this weakling an advantage.” Desna pointed at me, looking as if she wanted to tear my head off. I pushed Nirliq behind me, worried Desna might lose it and attack.
Chieftess Yura’s eyebrows rose. “How so?”
Desna’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Finally, she hissed, “Because the weakling knew the nature of the competition.”
Everyone gasped, then lightning fast, the Chieftess took three strides and got right in Desna’s face.
“You’re accusing me of cheating, and I willnotstand by it.”
They stared at each other long and hard. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the two women faced off.
“There’s only one person here who might have cheated,” the Chieftess said. “Perhaps that’s the reason you fear others have done the same.”
Desna opened her mouth to respond, but as if on cue, Zenib limped into the circle, her bronze skin marred by several scrapes and trails of dry blood. She glowered at Desna, nostrils flaring as she seemed to dare her to deny the Chieftess’s claim.
For a moment, it seemed as if Desna would explode in a fit of anger. I imagined her shifting and attacking Chieftess Yura, Zenib, me, and even Nirliq, but somehow, she got her fury under control.
“My apologies,” she said. “I misspoke.” Rage barely under control, she twirled on her heel and stomped away.
It seemed impossible that she had actually apologized, effectively admitting being in the wrong, which made me realize, she might have a big temper, but she wasn’t stupid. She wanted to lead the triad as much as I did, and if she pushed this confrontation further, she might lose her chance to participate in the final trial, and therefore, her position as alpha.
As the dust settled behind Desna’s departure, Ila rushed in my direction and wrapped her arms around my neck.
