Page 41 of This Shattered Star

“You want me to let you go? Fine.”

Kodhan’s grip on my collar loosened, but he hadn’t pulled me back. I careened forward, a scream pushing past my lips, but he caught me again just before my feet could slip.

“I’ll kill you,” I gasped, trying and failing to reach above my head in attempts to grab onto his wrist. “I will fuckingkillyou.”

“Tell me you’ll jump.”

My hatred for him grew tenfold. I never thought I’d hate someone as much as I hated Diana, but Kodhan was about to tie in at close second.

“It doesn’t look like I have a choice,” I snarled, and was instantly yanked backwards like I weighed absolutely nothing.

My momentum sent me flying backwards, but fury countered any pain erupting along my leg as I rightened myself. Unsheathing his dagger, I charged at him, uncaring for the fact that he could flay me on the spot.

Theia looked like she wanted to join in, her murderous expression impressive, but Brannon wrapped an arm around her waist. He whispered something into her ear, though his sharp glare was fixed entirely on his friend. I didn’t bother listening to her response.

I swiped low, aiming for Kodhan’s stomach. But my anger made me sloppy. My movements were nowhere near clean, and he took it to his advantage.

He stepped forward instead of dodging, blocking my attack with a swing of his own. His knuckles connected with my arm, hard enough that my fingers spasmed, dropping the blade.

So I went for his nose instead.

To my outrage, he caught my fist before it could connect. His hand was drastically larger than my own, his fingers caging the entirety of my hand.

He advanced again, bringing our chests flush against one another. I knew that tactic all too well. The closer your opponent was, the harder it was to catch anything vital. And the harder it was to defend yourself.

“Are you quite finished?” he asked quietly, his breath intermingling with mine.

Chest heaving, I contemplated spitting in his face. “Never.”

His lips twitched upwards. “Good.” He pushed my hand away from his face, then turned to Brannon, dismissing me entirely. As if I hadn’t just attempted to butcher him. “We’re ready.”

“We can jump together,” Brannon offered me, giving Kodhan one final hard look before holding out his hand. “If you fall, I fall.”

“Fine.” I bent to retrieve the dagger, then laced my fingers into his, gripping his hand tightly enough that my bones groaned in protest. He couldn’t let go even if he tried.

When I looked up at him, he nodded firmly. “I won’t drop you.”

He didn’t count down or bother asking if I was ready. He took off, trusting I would follow his cue. Our feet hammered into the platform, his efforts to match my pace evident as I faltered every time my right leg struggled to pump me forward.

A gentle, encouraging wind pushed at my back, and then we were airborne.

My feet kept swinging, but nothing met the soles of my boots. The wind at my back turned into something solid, like a phantom wall slamming into us hard enough to keep us moving. It only lasted seconds, but in that moment, feet dangling, suspended mid-air, it felt like an entire lifetime.

I didn’t dare glance at what lay below. All I could focus on was our conjoined hands, and my silent begging for him not to let go.

He held fast, even as we both collapsed onto solid ground. Held as I watched him push Theia and Kodhan across the gap, too.

I began to pull my hand from his, a tremble building in my fingers courtesy of my frayed nerves. Still, he did not let go. He tightened his hold and smiled. “We made it.”

The roar of the crowd suddenly rushed back into my ears, like I’d been submerged under water and finally breached the surface.

We made it.

I’d completed an entire trial.

Courage and Wit loomed—but my heart still beat. I still stood a chance.

Instead of smothering my growing smile, I let it bloom until my cheeks hurt. Let Diana see that I’d proved her wrong, justonce. Wouldkeepproving her wrong until she wouldn’t be in any place to doubt me ever again.