Page 44 of This Shattered Star

I turned in a slow circle. “Where are you?” I muttered.There.

Time crawled to a near standstill.

He grasped for his throat; face blotched with red. And he wasn’t alone. One of the two competitors from the platform of shadow-beasts stood just out of reaching distance, one arm outstretched, fingers twitching as if he was squeezing something I couldn’t see.

Kodhan’s lungs. He was strangling him without even touching him.

Two thoughts occurred at once.

I had more than enough reasons to let him die. The satisfaction of letting his threats die with him would be more than worth it. But he’d also saved my life, and more than once. He’d taken hits meant for me. Had put me in a position where I’d been protected long enough to get this far. Kodhan was the reason I still lived.

I could make out the slightest sheen on his forehead. Everyone who wielded magic had their limits. I’d made sure to study them enough to know when a person met theirs.

To know the enemy.

And Kodhan was approaching his.

His short grunt of pain was soft, but it reached my ears anyway.

A familiar calm washed over me then. Filling my limbs with the same fluid sureness I honed night after night. Name after name. My heart slowed into a steady rhythm,each beat hammering a thick wax seal over fate.

The surrounding cacophony of discord eddied until the only sound encasing me was the pounding in my ears, steadying every step I took towards the man whose fingers continued to squeeze mid-air.

He didn’t notice Kodhan’s eyes settle on me over his shoulder, too focused and pleased at the idea that he would eliminate one of the strongest competitors—the Second’s son.

If I’d learned one thing after taking so many lives, it was that if played correctly, death would sing to its bearer. And, stars, did it sing beautifully.

My next movements were precise, rehearsed so many times that my body acted of its own accord.

Metal sang against flesh, tearing along the base of the man’s throat. His surprised intake of breath wavered—warped by his torn windpipe. Blood splashed, raining onto the dirt in a soft pitter-patter.

A dark tide kept coming. Continued to wash away every thought threatening swallow me whole. Just as I’d practiced. Just as I’d ordered it, time and time again.

It crashed and raged against my ribcage while the man slumped to the ground at my feet. The final note.

Kodhan swallowed heavy mouthfuls of air, running a hand across his chest as if to make sure his lungs were still in place. He cleared his throat to speak, but I held up a hand, stopping him.

“Save your breath.” Taking one step back, a small line of blood followed me in small rivulets dripping from his blade. “Now we’re almost even.” The words were as hollow as I felt.

“Enough.”

Chaos stilled at the order. Grunts of effort hesitantly ceased, while the heavy crackle of magic in the air faded, parting like grey clouds after heavy rain.

Bodies slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Pain. Resignation. Some faces carried all three.

Two of them would never rise. A third lay at the feet of another man adjacent to Kodhan and I, their neck twisted at an awkward angle. At least their death had been quick.

I repressed a shudder at the morbid look of satisfaction their killer wore. One of the first few competitors to make it through the obstacles.

And Kodhan had just flayed one of his allies.

The man noticed quickly enough. And the promise of death written across his face as his eyes settled onmeaccusingly left a lump of lead lodged within my stomach. I forced my expression into neutrality. Lifted my chin. It was up to her not to attack me. There were others to choose from—all without a flame-wieldingSecond’s son bent on having the privilege of killing me at their backs. She had it coming.

Maverick gestured widely to the lot of us, his smile a lot more promising than the one he’d worn a few moments ago. “Congratulations to all thirteen of you. You have successfully completed Strength.”

The breath that escaped from my lips loosened the tension wracking my shoulders.

Banners dropped from above, peppered with confetti and streamers of blue, white, and gold. The audience had gotten the entertainment they came for. Reveled in our bloodshed. Wagers on who would die first would be cashed out, and more would be made for the second trial.