Page 98 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

Jun is the one to break the silence. “Can you tell us about the trial?”

He shifts back to the topic, moving past Caldwell’s mother, and it feels unceremonious. Sadly, it’s also necessary. We don’t have much time.

“Prepare physically. Eat well and work together even if they try to tear you apart.” The smile fades from Professor Connolly’s lips. “I cannot assist you physically, I’m afraid. They will supply you with weapons. But this trial has led to injuries and even a few fatalities. Go with your wits about you, and trust no one.”

Panic grips my throat. “We’re… we’re actually fighting?”

I suppose my hope of a weight lifting competition was foolish.

“Shit,” Jun mutters.

“Then therehavebeen student deaths in these trials?” Tobey leans in, their eyes widening. “You really can’t help or tell us… anything?”

“I wish I could,” Professor Connolly says. “The trials change each year. The physical trial usually involves a fight of sorts. One year, the students fought each other. Another year, they fought the professors. It changes every time.”

I rub my temples. “I will not fight my father.”

Or Jun, but I keep the thought to myself.

Jun grins. “I would love to fight mine.”

“The most important thing,” Professor Connolly says, bringing our attention back to her, “is to keep one another safe. You have something the others do not. It’s a genuine bond—one that can take you to the top if you use it.”

Jun and I freeze, exchanging a look.

“It’s not…” I say, my palms sweating. “It’s not genuine. We’re partners—but not that kind of partner, and…”

Hell. I reallymuststop talking.

Jun’s gaze moves away from me.

Professor Connolly clicks her tongue. “I have seen you work together since you were freshmen. That is years and years of sharing a stage. You’re silly if you don’t think that’s a bond.”

I suppose it is, but more than anything, I’m grateful she doesn’t know about the other ways we’ve bonded. “Thank you for your help, Professor. We won’t let you down.”

“You never have,” Professor Connolly says.

“Not even with my latest performances?” I smile wryly.

“No. The casting was a wake-up call for you, and you took it. But this is more important. Come to me with information afterthe next trial, and I will be as proud of you as I have always been.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jun and I arrive at the second trial together, and there’s an edge that wasn’t there before. Rather than being dressed in our best, we’re clad in simple, dark workout clothes. Jun wears fingerless leather gloves and a matching jacket.

He’s handsome, but there’s no time to linger on the thought. No time to trace his chiseled jawline with my eyes and fall into his crimson gaze… no matter how much I want to.

As we walk through the gymnasium, Jun’s vast, intimidating presence attracts wary looks. The crowd has thinned since the first meeting, but there’s still plenty of competition. Twenty students in total, some grouped and others alone.

Jun and I stand close together, with one of his wings wrapped around me.

When the gymnasium door slams shut, the click feels final.

The three professors stand at the front of the room, all in a line.

“If you’ve made it this far, congratulations,” Professor Stark says. There’s nothing particularly congratulatory about her flat tone.

“Today is the physical trial,” my father says. “Of the three trials, this is the most dangerous. If you do not think you cansuccessfully pass this trial, this is your opportunity to leave. If you walk through those doors, you forfeit your position in l'Ordre de la Chasse Amère.”