Page 73 of The First Trial
Enid scoffed, disgusted by their customs. ‘That’s terrible. Why the fuck would you do that just because a girl told him no?’
He merely shrugged, unbothered by her distaste for their culture. ‘It’s just the way we do things. It’s worked well so far. Only couples that challenge one another can truly find happiness. Otherwise, they stagnate. With a Prime and their mate, they need the motivation to constantly better themselves, or they get lax and can’t lead us the way we deserve.’
‘That… sounds surprisingly reasonable,’ I reluctantly admitted, earning a huff from Enid and a grunt from Oz.
‘We shouldn’t be discussing this,’ Oz argued. ‘She doesn’t know. How do you think she’ll feel if everyone knows before her?’
He had a point, but I was taken aback by his tone. He was suddenly unusually defensive of June, and I couldn’t make it make sense. I still hadn’t figured out their connection, but it was clear as day that he cared about her, and her him. And now that I had seen them interact, it was obvious that it was far from romantic. It was puzzling, to say the least, because they communicated without actually communicating, but they behaved as if they were sharing information in a way only the two of them could understand. If anything, I’d say his feelingsfor her were protective. Brotherly. And yet, he rarely ever looked at her.
It was utterly baffling. Until recently, I’d never even noticed they had any sort of relationship. I just wished that I could talk to him about it without him shutting down on me. It was strange and completely out of character for him. He told me everything, so why was this different?
I wasn’t given any more time to ponder that avenue of thought, however, because that was when the trees finally crested the lip of the valley, holding their flailing quarry in the air for us all to see. I also wasn’t surprised to find the blue and yellow one leading the charge, waving around two particularly rabid Fae and one silently seething Angel.
It didn’t escape my notice that it had picked the last two men from my visions. And an extra, but I didn’t care about him, especially after he’d tried (and failed) to shame Juniper and Phenex about their relationship. I may have been jealous, but I didn’t wish for her to face undue judgment and injustice simply because of who she chose to be with.
The tree, clearly thinking it was doing her a favour, dropped all three of them at Juniper’s feet, and we all quickly rose to form a protective barrier between her and them.
‘It’s fine,’ she tried to object, but none of us were having it.
The fairer-featured Fae said something to the other one, and they stood with their arms crossed, surly expressions on their faces. The Angel, however, huffed in annoyance and immediately strode away to join his friends.
‘Master Evander,’ Elvina greeted the fairer one, though her head lowered in submission and her entire demeanour changed. She was no longer the little spitfire that stuck up for herself, but a timid, scared little thing waiting for a berating.
‘Elvina,’ he greeted back, his voice smooth though his tone was cold. I couldn’t understand anything else he said, but I could understand Elvina.
‘We suspect that we need all five races to activate the portal.’
His nostril flared as he inhaled, and he closed his eyes, centring himself before he spoke again. I still couldn’t understand him, but he didn’t seem completely closed off from her theory. Unlike his friend.
I had a feeling he was going to be a problem, just like the angels.
‘We have you to test the theory, Elvina,’ Juniper said. ‘We just need to snag ourselves an Angel, and then we can show these small-minded asshats that we know what we’re talking about.’
I snorted, and she turned a brilliant smile on me that stole my breath and crushed my heart in one fell swoop.
No. Stop that. She’s not yours.
‘I can go grab one,’ I offered, and I immediately regretted it. Everyone turned to cast sceptical looks my way, and I hated that they thought I was incapable. But just because my Affinity was mind-based and not physical, like Juniper and Oz, didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of snagging myself a gods-damned Angel.
Determined, I lifted my chin and stormed over to where the winged beings had congregated. Without overthinking it, I let my frustration, my heartbreak, my fear, and my rage,everything,push me forward, and I grabbed onto the closest one’s arm. It was a woman, and she obviously didn’t want me touching her, but I levelled her with my best no-nonsense glare and dragged her along behind me.
‘Come on, then,’ I said, refusing to let go of her, no matter how hard she tried to pry me off. I didn’t want to be touching her, either, but this was necessary for our survival, damn it. Couldn’t they just pull their heads out of their asses andcooperatealready?
‘Right, um, quickly, then,’ Oz said, already helping Juniper scoop up the unconscious snake. All of us made a connection by holding on to someone else, and, as one, we stepped forward.
The portal rippled, its power surging as it encompassed us, and I felt its chilling power as it pulled us in.
Thankfully, it was quick. There was no transition period. One moment, we were in the trials, and the next, we were back in the quad, the Daemon’s building looming over us on one side with Aurora Academy on the other.
But what greeted us wasn’t an empty field, but a stand-off between the races. Older Witches and Warlocks stood in front of the academy, while visibly older Daemons stood sentry in front of theirs. Fae in white robes had stationed themselves by the trees, and a single Angel hovered above us all, sneering down at everyone like we were nothing more than a disruption to his day.
One woman broke formation, her pale skin and black hair well-known throughout the Covens. In her hands, she held a book. It looked old, with a worn leather cover and discoloured pages, and I wondered what information it held.
June let go of Phenex’s hand to step forward, shock and relief clear on her face, until it crumpled into concern. ‘Mother?’
‘You have a lot of explaining to do, Juniper,’ she said, gesturing to the book, and Juniper’s face fell. Not just hers. Oz’s complexion paled, and he looked like he was about to faint.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked him, but he merely pursed his lips and shook his head.
‘I-’ June began, but suddenly keeled over, hacking up blood, much like she had that day Enid and I had caught her in Oz’s room, only far more violently. She couldn’t breathe and soon collapsed to her knees. High Priestess Olwyn, alarmed, rushed to her daughter’s aid, but it was no use. Juniper was already unconscious, blood pooling around her head as it streamed from every orifice.
My heart dropped, and the Angel used the distraction to tear herself from my grip when Oz and Phenex released twin wails of pure, unadulterated grief.
No. It couldn’t be.
But there was no mistaking what we were seeing.
Juniper looked… dead.
To be continued…
