Empire of Flame and Thorns (Flame and Thorns #1)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

B risk morning winds whirl across the palace grounds, bringing with them the scent of damp soil and fallen leaves. It rained last night, and a few puddles still linger in the spots where the grass has been burnt off in patches. Swallowing down a wave of anxiousness, I flick a quick glance at the thirty-nine people who are going to compete in this trial with me.

Isera is standing at the edge of the group, her face an impassive mask as she simply waits for Imar and the other shifters to show up. In the middle of the crowd is Lavendera. Her face is turned up towards the overcast sky, but her eyes are distant and vacant. As if she has retreated far into her mind and is not really here. Fenriel stands a short distance from her, and when he notices my gaze, he gives me a smile and a small wave. I smile back.

Then my gaze snags on three people closer to the front of the group. Alistair and his two remaining friends. Tommen, with his enhanced strength, who now has an even bigger grudge against me after I made him run away in terror like that in the last trial. And Jeb, a slimy guy with brown hair and the ability to create light. All three of them slide their gazes to me.

But before they can say or do anything, Imar strides out onto the grass.

“Line up,” he shouts.

Clothes rustle and footsteps thud against the ground as we all quickly position ourselves in one long row, facing Imar.

Right as the last person falls into line, Empress Jessina and Emperor Bane stride across the grass. We all shift slightly, watching them as they close the distance to us.

“Have you forgotten how to greet your superiors?” Imar suddenly demands, his voice now laced with threats.

Annoyance slashes through me, but I still drop down on one knee and bow my head. The rest of the contestants do the same. Since the grass is still damp from the rain, it soaks the fabric of my pants. I grit my teeth as another pulse of irritation shoots through me.

The Icehearts stride across the damp grass, their garments rippling like liquid silver. They come to a halt in front of us, in the very middle, while eight more people approach.

While keeping my chin lowered, I glance towards them.

The eight clan leaders, Draven included, stride across the grass and then take up position on either side of their monarchs.

Silence falls over the palace grounds.

“Back when your Seelie Queen ruled,” Empress Jessina begins, her voice laced with disdain, “before we brought justice to your court, you used to lure humans here and play cruel games with them.” Raising an arm, she dramatically sweeps her hand out to motion at the massive hedge maze behind her. “You tormented them and made them run through this maze for sport.”

My brows furrow. We did?

I can imagine the Unseelie Court maybe doing something like that, but did we really do it too? Unfortunately, there is no way to know for certain, because we weren’t allowed to keep any of our history. When the shifters conquered us, they burned all of the history books. And since they killed everyone but the children, there was no one left to rewrite those books or even tell us about our history.

“And now,” Jessina Iceheart continues. Her pale gray eyes are full of wicked glee as she sweeps her gaze over our kneeling bodies. “Now, you will run through this maze to atone for your cruelty.”

Clenching my jaw, I squeeze my hand into a fist behind my back. I have never forced anyone to run through a hedge maze. I have nothing to atone for.

“In other words,” Imar picks up, his tone filled with smug amusement. “Welcome to the second part of the Atonement Trials.”

A ripple of anticipation pulses through parts of our group.

“You will be given a box with a glass egg inside,” Imar continues. “Your mission is to transport it through the maze without breaking it. Only the people who arrive at the finish line with an unbroken egg will move on to the next trial.”

On some unspoken signal, the eight clan leaders suddenly start moving towards the left side of our line. Reaching into pouches at their sides, they each pull out a small and very delicate-looking wooden box.

“These glass eggs are symbols of the precious mercy that we are offering you,” Emperor Bane announces. There is an arrogant tilt to his chin as he gazes out at us. “ If you are worthy enough to win it. So treat them accordingly.”

Maybe not symbols of how precious their so-called mercy is, but symbols of how fragile it is, at least.

Once the first eight people have received their boxes, the clan leaders move on to the next section of our row. After reaching into their pouches for another box that they hand over, they move to the next one. Which is my section.

Based on the way the clan leaders are positioned, Draven will be the one to hand me my box. Which I’m sure is no coincidence. He has probably been looking forward to having me kneeling in front of him all morning. Though after what he did for me last night, I’m not entirely certain of where we stand anymore. Maybe we have finally reached some sort of truce.

I raise my head as Draven comes to a halt in front of me.

He is already holding one of those delicate wooden boxes in his hands, but he doesn’t offer it to me since some of the other clan leaders aren’t in position yet. I search his face for any clues as to what he’s thinking.

His words from last night echo in my mind. This changes nothing.

Is that true? Has nothing changed?

There are no answers on his face. Only a completely blank mask as he holds my gaze.

The final clan leader moves into position.

As one, they all hold out the boxes towards the kneeling fae in front of them.

I keep my eyes on Draven as I reach up to take the offered box. His fingers brush against mine as he places it in my palms. That small touch sends a bolt of lightning through my veins.

His hands linger a second too long in mine as he holds my gaze. My heart stutters. Something has changed. It must have. Otherwise, why would he be looking at me like this? Is he really going to stop messing with me now? Am I actually going to be allowed to finish the Atonement Trials without his interference?

Right as a burst of hope pulses through my chest, Draven shatters those ridiculous thoughts with one devilish smile.

“Good luck,” he whispers so softly that only I can hear it.

The words should have been encouraging, but they are ruined and twisted into a threat by the absolutely villainous smirk on his lips.

My heart jerks at the sight of it, and worry snakes through my spine.

But all I can do is to remain on my knees with the box in my hands while Draven continues to the next section.

Once everyone has received a box, the clan leaders return to their positions on either side of the Icehearts.

Imar steps forward. “Get through the maze with your glass egg intact. Other than that, there are no rules. Understood?”

We nod in acknowledgement.

“Begin,” he shouts.

A jolt shoots through me, and I leap up from the ground. From the other end of our row, Isera summons a thick sheet of ice and encases her box in it. Several others who have some kind of elemental magic do the same. Since I have nothing with which to protect my box, I simply sprint towards the entrance to the maze.

The moment I start to move, a faint clinking sound comes from my box. I flick an alarmed glance down at it. But all around me people are dashing towards the opening between the hedges as well, so I can’t stop without making someone crash right into me.

So instead, I cut sideways while I run.

Once I’m through the opening, I press my back against the tall hedge that makes up the left wall. And then I open my box.

The world around me disappears as I look down at the thin pillow inside where the egg is supposed to rest.

Shards of glass stare back at me.

My mind spins with disbelief.

He gave me a broken egg. Draven Ryat gave me an egg that is already shattered.

Son of a bitch .

Snapping the box shut again, I look up towards where the shifters are standing on the grass a short distance from the entrance. My gaze locks immediately on Draven. He flashes me a wicked smirk.

If I go back there and try to convince them that the egg was already broken, they probably won’t believe me. It will only serve to get me eliminated.

I shoot a vicious glare at Draven, who just grins wider.

Asshole. Fucking asshole.

Shoving the box into my clothes, I whirl around and sprint after the others. Alright, so the egg is already broken. But I have the entire maze to figure out how to solve that.

I catch up to the rest of the group, but I remain at the back as we run between the tall hedges. No one has started attacking others yet. But I keep my distance anyway, just in case someone else figures out that it’s possible to limit the number of people who make it through this trial by deliberately shattering their glass eggs.

Booming wings suddenly echo through the cool morning air. I cast a glance over my shoulder to see two massive silver dragons climbing into the sky. My heart lurches as they fly after us.

Cries of alarm rise from the contestants in front of me, and everyone picks up speed.

The Icehearts draw closer at an alarming rate.

Gasps and ragged breathing rip through the air as we all sprint as fast as we can with the two dragons chasing us.

A low rumbling comes from behind.

I cast a panicked glance over my shoulder. Jessina, the slightly smaller of the two dragons, opens her massive jaws. Her sharp teeth glint in the gray light, and a pale shimmering begins at the back of her throat.

My stomach drops.

Oh Goddess above, is she actually going to kill us?

A roaring, rushing, crackling sound echoes through the maze.

I throw myself sideways, crashing into the hedge to my left, right before ice flames explode through the air.

Cries of terror rip from several contestants.

Thuds ring out as everyone throws themselves sideways or flat down on the ground.

Ice streams past above and before us. The crackling ice flames are so cold that they rip the air from my lungs when they pass by me. Pressing myself hard against the hedge wall, I gasp in desperate breaths.

The clinking and crackling sound of hardening ice fills the air.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I stare at the hedge corridor in front of me. The way forward is now blocked by a massive ice wall. It’s so tall that it reaches all the way up to the top of the hedges.

On the ground, the other contestants raise their heads to stare at it as well. None of us were hit by Jessina’s flames. But we are all trapped on this side of the wall now.

Wings boom from above as the two silver dragons circle above us, eagerly waiting to see how we are going to solve this problem.

I stagger to my feet. The others do the same.

For a few seconds, no one moves.

Then Isera starts sprinting towards the wall. Without breaking stride, she channels her magic and pulls the ice of the wall towards her, creating steps from it. They disappear after she has stepped on them so that no one else can follow.

Above us, Jessina and Bane let out a furious roar. It’s so loud, and so full of rage, that I flinch and have to press my palms to my ears.

Isera, however, pays them no mind. She just runs up the wall with confident steps.

Bane swoops down towards her. I hold my breath as he opens his mouth and roars at her again.

She reaches the top of the wall.

He snaps his lethal jaws shut right next to her. She doesn’t even flinch. Instead, she summons what looks like a slide on the other side, because she simply leans back and glides out of view.

On the ground, the rest of us stare at the now empty space atop the wall. Bane roars again and then climbs back into the sky to circle it with Jessina. The bursts of wind from his wings are so powerful that some of the closest contestants stumble back a step.

For a few seconds, no one moves.

Then we all lurch into motion.

Lavendera sprints forward next. But to my surprise, she isn’t aiming for the ice wall. My mouth drops open as she simply parts the hedge wall before her. With two quick steps, she’s through. Then the thick vegetation snaps back into an impenetrable wall.

“Oh, that’s so not fair,” Fenriel mutters a little to my left. Then he hands his small wooden box to his hawk. “Alright, come on, Talon.”

The hawk grabs the box in his talons, lets out a screeching call, and then flies towards the ice wall. Fenriel runs after him.

I give my head a firm shake to clear it and then start towards the wall as well.

Thankfully, the surface isn’t smooth. Instead, the ice flames hardened the way they hit, in uneven sections, which has created handholds in the ice.

Even though my egg is already broken, I check to make sure that the box sits securely inside my clothes before I reach for the first handhold. Next to me, on both sides, other contestants are doing the same.

A hiss rips from my throat as I grab hold of the chunk of ice. The coldness sears into my skin. Almost like iron. But at least this ice won’t block my powers and sap my energy.

Gritting my teeth against the coldness, I start pulling myself up the wall. I only make it a short distance before the woman next to me slips and falls back down. She hits the ground with a huff, and immediately checks her box. Since the distance wasn’t that great, it appears as though the fall didn’t cause her or the egg any damage.

However, before she can start back up the wall, a muscular guy with brown hair shoves her aside and takes her place. Tommen. Alistair’s friend and the guy who is determined to get revenge on me.

Shit .

I pick up the pace, trying to climb faster.

My hand slips on the next handhold. Sucking in a gasp, I grip the chunk of ice harder with my other hand and press myself against the wall. While cursing under my breath, I move my other hand back to the handhold, but this time much more carefully.

Unfortunately, being careful means going slowly, which gives Tommen a chance to catch up to me. I try to pretend that I don’t see him as he climbs up next to me. Hopefully, he is too focused on his own progress to mess with me.

I cast a quick glance in his direction.

And I’m immediately met by a vicious grin and a pair of glowing red and brown eyes.

While channeling his magic to get enhanced strength, he reaches up to the spot right above my handholds.

And then slams his fist into the wall.

Ice shatters in an explosion of flying shards.

A scream rips from my lungs as my handholds break off from the wall and I tumble down towards the ground. Twisting my body, I barely manage to get into a position where I won’t break my legs.

Pain pulses through my side and back as I crash down on the ground. Air explodes from my lungs.

I gasp in shock and pain.

For a few seconds, I just lie there on the damp grass and stare up at Tommen. He looks down at me and grins before starting up the wall again.

Fury crackles through my veins.

Pushing myself into a sitting position, I curl my fingers into the damp grass and channel my magic. Then I shove it towards the excited spark in Tommen’s chest.

Just as I predicted, there is a spark there. And it’s already massive after his little victory. I pour my magic into it.

Tommen starts climbing faster.

I increase his excitement even more, turning it from enthusiastic anticipation into a wild frenzy.

He climbs faster and faster, desperately eager to reach the top of the wall, until he’s moving at breakneck speed.

And then it happens. In his frenzy, he misses the next handhold.

I sit there on the damp grass with a vicious smile on my lips and watch as he plummets to the ground.

He hits it hard. On his side.

Smug victory pulses through my chest like golden sparkles as I’m rewarded with not only the sound of shattering glass, but also breaking wood. His entire box is now ruined beyond repair.

I grin at his shocked expression as he stares down at the splinters and shards on the ground.

Revenge really is sweet.