Page 73 of This Shattered Star

“It doesn’t have to be like anything at all. These are the Starlight Trials. Only the strongest make it out alive—”

Kodhan’s voice rose above my own. “We have not acted out directly against the king. But my father has. And we have helped him.”

My lips parted in shock. It was the one part of me I failed to wrangle into submission.

He nodded, a sharp dip of his chin, ignoring the looks his friends shot him. I couldn’t decipher them, not when I was trapped in his prison of jade. He crossed his arms over his chest. And there went that muscle in his jaw.

The King’s General—his Second—a traitor to the crown. If Kodhan’s features hadn’t been filled with such conviction, I would’ve thought he was lying.

“If what you said about Courage is true, it would make sense—why the three of us were so quickly chosen, and without question. He must know about my father’s real motives. Or at least suspect them.”

“How could he possibly get away with being a traitor to the crown? The damned thing is nearly around his own…” I choked back a laugh as the answer revealed itself, as clear as the colored sky.

“Keep your enemies close,” Kodhan taunted, edging closer to me. His lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “But keep the crown closer.”

His sly comments against Maverick. The way his mood seemed to darken entirely when talking about him. All because of this.

And I’d failed to realize it sooner. Abysmally.

Theia’s head whipped towards the door. “Someone’s coming.”

We’d said too much. The walls were made of stone, but even those with the highest affinity for earth magic could coax it to sing.

Before any of us had the chance to move, the door slammed inwards, courtesy of a tidal wave that surged towards our feet, flooding the entirety of the room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The knee-high water didn’t have the chance to settle before Darion came bursting in behind it. By the murderous, unhinged gleam in his eyes, I knew that he was the bearer of the flood. Little flecks of blood marred his left cheek, and a quick glance at his crimson-stained hands proved that he’d been very, very busy.

“You’re all in one place. The gods are generous,” he crooned. His next step sent ripples from wall to wall. He laughed then, a crazed thing that had my hackles rising. “Shame, though, that you’re all awake. But I think hearing you all beg for mercy will be worth it.”

Fingers inching for the blade at my hip, I kept my eyes trained on him, anticipating the moment that he would either burst into flames, or at the very least be hurled into the wall by a gust of wind stronger than any wave he could conjure. But my palms slickened as seconds ticked on, and the moment never came. He cut a straight line towards me, unfazed by the small lake at his feet.

It didn’t take long to find out why. My heart plummeted, chained with an anchor of fear that brought it sinking through the floor.

Darion was drowning my allies on their own two feet. Water bubbled past their lips, each rise of their chest met with wet gurgles instead of air. Nothing was making it past the magic that held them hostage.

Theia gripped the base of her throat with both hands, coughing and sputtering while Brannon’s magic visibly foughtagainst Darion’s—toshovethe water from both their lungs. He dropped to his knees, vomiting wave after wave.

And Kodhan,stars, steam billowed from his lips each time he coughed. But that would kill him faster than drowning. He could shield himself from the heat of fire all he wished. Hot water and vapor, however, he would not be able to withstand.

“Let them go!” I cried, even though I knew it was futile.

Powerless.Weak, once again, when it mattered the most. They wouldn’t be able to last long, not like this.

“Seems like I’ve pulled a page out of Dreadmourne’s book.” Darion feigned indifference as he studied his crimson-stained fingers. His fingernails, still deeply caked with blood. “I can only imagine Leyah would appreciate this image.” A sinister smile broke across his cracked lips. “Andyou.” It took everything in me to force my shoulders back. Meet his stare head-on. I prayed that my mask of disinterest was enough to hide the turmoil ravaging my insides.

“This isn’t enough water to wash the stain of your existence away from the kingdom. But I know the gods will be watching when I force all of it down your throat. And only when you fight for your last, pathetic breath, I’ll tear your heart from your chest with my bare hands.”

I was never meant to live through these trials.I had no magic. I wasn’t like them.

But my eyes flickered back to Darion’s hands, stained red despite all his water. Like the blood he’d shed was a weight he could not rid himself of. A weight I knew far too well. Had carried, over and over, for years. And I would carry it again.

And again.

As much as it would take.

Iamlike them,I thought.And I am much, much faster.