Page 37 of This Shattered Star

But Maverick was my opponent now. And as much as I wanted to be one step ahead of him, I knew he would always be five steps ahead of me.

We allowed two others to go ahead of us, their jittery movements betraying their nerves. One of them kept glancing longingly at the stone wall, where the last of the four climbed with ease. He shoved his ally forward when they hesitated before the invisible line marking shrouded blade from wood. Fear lined his features, but it warped quickly into poorly concealed jealousy.

I bit back a scoff. Jealousy and fear did not mix well. It would kill them both before the rest of the trials could.

They continued on with an admirable control of fire—far from sputtering flames. The mist quickly turned them into nothing more than shadowy figures surrounded in a soft orange glow.

“We’ll need to go all at once this time,” Kodhan decided. “Stay close to me. If I put fire at your feet, it’ll just make things worse. I need to keep the fire at head level.”

Starting at his fingertips, fire roared to life along his arms, making its way upwards until it swelled above his shoulder blades.

Almost like wings,I thought. If someone were to paint him in that moment, flames curling around him, bathing his silhouette in red-gold hues amidst the claiming dark, it would be far too easy to mistake him for anything other than a god. The colors above our heads shifted in the sky. It was almost as if they wereparting to welcome him among them. Like he belonged there, bold and breathtaking.

For the split second that followed, the heat that swirled low in my core had nothing to do with flame.

Completely unphased by the casual demonstration of power, Brannon nodded. “No arguing with that. I won’t bother trying to blow the mist away. The king knows exactly how many of us can control the wind. He would most likely bring it back tenfold. Although…” he trailed off, watching the two men ahead of us as they struggled to avoid the blades. One of them tripped but righted himself just before getting impaled through the stomach.

Another flash of movement caught my eye once more, this time close to the two men ahead. I hadn’t been mistaken. Something else was hidden on the platform.

Through the mist, at least a dozen round, glowing specks appeared.

“Shine some light over there,” I demanded, pointing towards the eerie specks.

Kodhan raised a brow. “Perhaps if you say please.”

“Just do it,” I snapped.Insufferable bastard.

Irritation flared behind his eyes, brighter than his magic. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t do it, just to spite me. But he obliged. With a lift of his flame-coated hand, he illuminated the first quarter of the platform.

A tremor shot down my spine, faster than any lightning strike.

They were not just specks. Those wereeyes.

Six beasts, born of shadows and fairytales and nightmares all at once crept towards the two men—still completely unaware of the fact that they were no longer alone on the platform. They whispered feverishly between themselves, directing the other where to move, when to breathe.

Though the beasts’ limbs, wolfish in stature, rippled with the light, their massive claws audibly scraped across the groundas they prowled, with maws peeled back to reveal jagged teeth dripping with froth.

“Do you think they would heelif we asked them to?” Theia asked, a tad breathless.

“Maybe we should try asking them to sit first,” Brannon offered.

They slunk across the platform with ease. They knew the sharp bits of metal wouldn’t hurt them.Nothingcould hurt them, not when they were insubstantial, incorporeal. The mist did not part for them. The mistbecamethem, like they were one and the same.

A low, heavy snarl sent another wave of terror down my spine, encasing it with a stiffness that spread to my chest, holding my lungs hostage.

Both competitors whirled towards the sound instantly. But the jealous one’s calf caught on one of the spikes, tearing both material and skin. He cried out, though was smart enough to keep still.

It was enough to trigger the beasts. Their rippling bodies soared through air and blade, teeth already clacking together. Prepared to feast.

But instead of sinking teeth into flesh and bone, the beasts crashed into an invisible wall—no,disintegratedinto it—only to reform once more. They attacked again and again, growling and snarling at the two competitors whose hands were now outstretched.

“A wall of wind,” Brannon scoffed. He crossed his arms defensively. “I already thought of that, obviously. I simply didn’t think it would work.”

Kodhan huffed, eyes rolling. “Obviously.”

Relentlessly, the beasts raged, pouncing right when the other failed. Shadows couldn’t tire, after all. And judging by the way both competitors’ arms shook as they continued across theplatform, gathering cuts and gashes along their legs like badges of war, they attacked with force. With all their attention centered on the magic keeping their air-shield intact, they’d almost completely given up on their fires, navigating the spikes blindly.

“Blocking is one of the first things you learn to do with air. If they’re struggling, it means those wolves are strong,” Brannon explained to me, grimly.