Page 31 of Blood of the Fallen
“You have a few days to prepare,” Chieftess Yura said, looking untroubled. “My only advice is that you rely on your instincts.”
Maybe because of the augury, I got the sense that she expected me to win, but what if I failed? What if I wasn’t the one Bethel had foretold? Would the Chieftess go back to wanting to slit my throat?
She stood, stretching to her full height and indicating an end to our conversation. Slowly, I rose to my feet, too, but couldn’t leave without telling her how I felt.
“I will do my best. I swore to myself that I would make the Academy pay, and I think leading the triad is the best way for me to accomplish that, but I’m not so sure I’m the person the augury talks about. I’m not so sure I can win.”
Despite my words, the Chieftess’s unworried expression stayed in place. She seemed to trust Bethel’s vision without question and her next words confirmed it.
“Rarely has an augury by any witch proceeded so flawlessly. Everything she predicted has happened exactly as she promised. I don’t doubt you will win, Sheela.”
I walked out of the wigwam feeling completely overwhelmed. If she’d intended to put the pressure on me, she had accomplished it.
My nerves as frayed as a live wire, I marched across the camp in search of Ila. I found her standing on Bethel’s shoulders, cutting blossoms off a basswood tree.
“Oh, hello,” she said, teetering precariously.
I frowned. “What are you two doing?”
“Bethel and I want to try a new stomach ache remedy using these.” Ila stuffed the blossoms inside a satchel that hung over her shoulder and held onto a tree branch as Bethel walked away. Ila dangled for a moment before dropping to the ground and agilely landing in a crouch.
“What areyoudoing?” Ila turned the question around.
“She just stopped to see Chieftess Yura,” Bethel announced.
“How do you know?” Was she some sort of Seer? Did she have the power to divine anything she wished?
“I was with Novuk when she summoned you.” She grinned.
“Oh.” I scratched the back of my neck.
Ila approached, appearing concerned. “Are you… all right?”
Despite my best efforts, I lost it. “No, I’m not all right!” I threw my hands up in the air. “This is crazy. There’s no way I’m…thatperson.” I stared pointedly at Bethel, daring her to contradict me.
She didn’t. She just reclined against the tree trunk, the many bangles around her wrists ringing gently as she played with a vial hanging from a thin rope around her neck.
The little bottle was filled with a red liquid, which caught my attention. “What is that?”
“Oh, this?” She held the vial up. “Nothing, just Kall, Maki, and Novuk’s blood.”
“What?!”
“It’s for the alpha rite.”
I frowned. “What is that?”
Bethel opened her mouth to explain, but Ila cut her off. “Once there is a winner for the trials, the Chieftess will perform a rite to seal the tetrad bond. Bethel already collected the triad’s blood and performed a special spell on it. ”
“I imagine, in the end, the rite will also involve the winner’s blood?” I asked.
Ila nodded.
“And final spell,” Bethel added.
“Well, I’m sure that won’t be me,” I said, my frustration returning.
Ila came closer, holding her hands up to pacify me. “There’s no need to panic.”
