Page 48 of This Shattered Star

Maverick’s entire body tensed, and before I could mention any healers, my woundburned.

He kept me upright as both of my legs failed me, the shock and pain finally besting me. “It’s alright,” he whispered over my hiss of protest. “I’ve got you. You’re alright.”

Blinking through the haze of tears, I peered down at my torn, charred skin. Itwrithed,piecing itself back together as though someone had taken to it a needle and thread. Once it was fully sealed, the angry redness surrounding the initial gash faded into a soft pink, without even a scar to remember it by.

“Can you stand?” he asked carefully as my breathing evened. His arms loosened just enough to allow me to test my weight, but remained in place lest I threaten to crumple.

It was like I’d never been hurt to begin with. “I can stand,” I answered, dumbfounded.

Despite my claims, I nearly stumbled as he released me and stepped back in one single movement.

He called for his guards to fetch me before I could process what he’d just done.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A secluded gloomy alcove sat hidden along the base of the tower, untouched by the glowing lights of the easternmost parts of the kingdom. The night markets were already in full swing, music and laughter carrying up the high hills surrounding the castle grounds.

One of the two guards pulled back a gaggle of ivy to reveal a near-decrepit door that I surely would’ve missed if I’d been on my own. With the turn of a copper key, it groaned on its hinges, opening wide enough for a person to slip through sideways.

Another turn, and I was locked inside the tower once more. The heavy snap of the lock falling back into place sent gooseflesh raising along my arms.Trapped.Until quarter past two, if Maverick was telling the truth.

The corridors were just as dark as before, the sconces lining the walls pitiful as their flames sputtered weakly. But it wasn’t the shadows lining the walls that sent a wave of unease rolling through my stomach.

The layout of the tower had changed.

I’d been able to catch a semblance of bearings before Strength. Had been able to memorize the pattern of the corridors that allowed Kodhan and I to find the staircase, and our rooms. But even more corridors had been added, veering in complete opposite directions often forking three or even four times.

A single grandfather clock, behemoth in size, sat tall and imposing along one of them, the sole indicator that I wasn’t going in circles. I picked up my pace while I walked past it, myunease worsening as it leered down at me. Needle-like hands spun faster than any normal clock’s would, pointing to missing numbers, spinning and spinning into oblivion.

I was nearly running by the time I turned the corner, and almost tripped when I beheld thirteen doors lined neatly along both walls. My jaw fell slack. All of the competitors’ rooms had been moved to the same floor. Everyone’s names were engraved on their doors. Mine included.

For someone so convinced I’d win the Starlight Trials, Maverick did a fantastic job of painting a glaring target on my back.

Every competitor who wanted to get rid of me would know exactly where to do it.

Theia’s room sat right next to mine, barely a reassurance. Brannon and Kodhan’s rooms were only a few doors past hers. If I was lucky, they would hear my screams through the stone walls.

I pressed an ear to Theia’s door. Nothing. Brannon’s room proved even quieter—almost like there wasn’t a room behind the door at all. With a sigh, I strained my ears next to Kodhan’s. It deepened into a groan when muffled words greeted me.

If there was one place I wanted to stay as far away as possible from, it was Kodhan’s room.

Despite myself, I rapped my knuckles twice against his door. I had nowhere else to go. And I couldn’t hate the man if I was dead.

The murmuring stopped.

Kodhan himself filled the threshold as the door swung open, his hard glare sending tiny speckles of heat down my body. Or perhaps it was his magic, rallied to strike in case of an ambush. But his eyes softened immediately at the sight of me, and he wordlessly pulled the door open wider for me to pass through.

It barely fell shut behind me before he gripped both my forearms, holding me in place.

“Let go.” I had little energy left to fight him. What I wanted to sound firm instead came out desperate.

He did no such thing, his eyes roving over every inch of me.Searching.“What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” I replied, meeting his stare in challenge while he studied my face. But no opposition lay there. Only frank assessment.

“The king doesn’t summon someone to his private study in front of the entire kingdom for nothing.”

I glared at him silently.