Page 49 of This Shattered Star

He looked like he wanted to shake me. And that frank assessment took on a hint of something deadly.

“I will repeat myself only once, Eloise.What did he do?”

The low, menacing timbre of his voice held no room for arguing. Surely, it was the same one he used on those disloyal to the crown before he killed them.

But it was the blatant use of my name that surprised me. It was the first time I’d ever heard him use it.

“He healed my leg,” I admitted, still in awe of yet another facet of Maverick’s magic that proved just how powerful he was.

Brows drawing together, Kodhan took a step back, hands still wrapped firmly around my arms.

“By the stars,” Theia gasped, drawing my attention to where she sat at the foot of a bed identical to the first ones we’d been given.

Brannon’s whistle of amazement followed. He’d dragged the one small chair closer to the bed and propped an elbow atop the grey sheets. “Now we know why this was left in her room,” he mused, gesturing with a tilt of his head to the neatly folded pair of competitors’ pants perched near Theia’s lap. A replacement for my own ruined ones.

Kodhan stared at my leg for far too long before sneering, “Good to know that the king isn’t beyond favoritism.” Then he released me, only to begin pacing. Tension lined his broad shoulders.

“You know it’s not her fault, Kodhan,” Theia insisted.

“That doesn’t matter.”

Brannon shifted in his chair. “All thatmattersis that she is healed.”

“So this should just be overlooked as pure coincidence?” Kodhan laughed bitterly. “He said it himself. Discord is everywhere. He could be trying to prove a point.”

“And what, exactly, would he be trying to prove?” I cut in, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Do not act as if you don’t already know,” Kodhan replied, but there was a certain edge to his voice.

I fought hard to keep my face neutral. Maverick did as he pleased and shared little of his plans in similar fashion. All I knew was that a high number of traitors to the crown were set within this year’s trials. But Kodhan didn’t need to know that.

“Every direction is pointing towards the fact that I should kill you where you stand. Leave you in a pile of ashes so that the rest of us have a fighting chance.”

Fire suddenly erupted at my feet, close enough for the heat to caress the exposed, newly healed skin of my leg.

My sharp intake of breath rebounded across all four walls. “If you kill me now, you won’t have any clue as to which trial comes next.” The words were rushed. Slightly higher in pitch.

“He gave you another hint?” Brannon leaned forward in his seat, ignoring the fire at my feet entirely.

I glanced downwards pointedly. “He told me what it was.”

“It’s worse than we thought,” Kodhan murmured under his breath.

“Enough.”Theia shot up from the bed. Gave him a long, icy look that promised the kind of violence that even I tried to shy away from.

For a few moments, they glared at each other, a silent conversation passing between the two of them.

Was I missing something?I searched for possible answers in Brannon’s expression, who only shook his head subtly.

A clear reminder that I did not know these people. My faith in them could only go so far.

Finally, the fire at my feet receded.

Theia didn’t move an inch, settling her stare onto me instead—though it lost most of its chill. It didn’t stop a shiver from creeping down arms.

“Go ahead,” she encouraged, words still stiff with anger. “Tell us what the next trial is.”

“Courage.” Weariness settled heavily over my bones, its added weight drawing my shoulders forward. I glanced sideways at Kodhan, who’d wordlessly begun pacing again.Of course, he wouldn’t apologize.“And we have less than a day before it begins.”