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

Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

M y heart slams against my ribs and air cuts through my throat as I sprint right into the forest. All around me, the other nine contestants do the same. Dry twigs crunch underneath my boots as I run. But with every step, an overwhelming sense of panic and desperation clangs louder inside me.

I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.

I don’t know where I’m going or how to even begin to locate the stone altar with the three rings. I don’t even know why I’m running.

Trees and twisting branches flash past as I hurtle blindly into the woods. The other contestants quickly disappear from view as we all spread out. Out here, this close to the city, there is more space between the trees. But I know that the tangle of trees will only get thicker the farther in we get. How am I supposed to find anything in here?

Think .

Blades of grass rip from the ground as I suddenly dig my heels in and skid to a halt. Throwing out my hand, I catch myself on a brown tree trunk as I come to a complete stop. My heart pounds in my chest. I draw in a deep breath.

Think. Goddess damn it, I need to think.

I haven’t won a single trial by sheer force of power. I have gotten through them all because I’ve played it smart. I need to do the same thing now.

I panicked when Imar just abruptly called the start like that, and I started running because that felt like the right thing to do. It’s a race against the clock after all. Ten contestants and only three rings. But just dashing blindly through the forest is not a strategy. It’s a dumb reaction caused by stress.

My chest heaves, and my brain is still flickering with that lingering sense of alarm and panic and stress that flooded my entire system when Imar called the start. Pressing my palm against the rough bark of the tree, I close my eyes and just focus on breathing in and out.

I need to use my head. That’s how I’m going to win. Not by outrunning everyone else in a mad dash through the woods. By outsmarting them.

Once my heart has stopped slamming against my ribs and my brain has stopped spinning, I open my eyes again and take stock of my situation.

I’m never going to find that stone altar on my own. I don’t have the necessary skill set, knowledge, or magical ability for it. So who does?

My mind drifts back to that night during the commencement ball when I overheard a group of contestants gossip about Lavendera. One woman’s words echo in my mind.

I’ve heard that she actually lives out in the thorn forest.

Narrowing my eyes, I drum my fingers on the tree trunk while I consider that bit of gossip. If it’s true, then Lavendera will know these woods better than anyone. She also has tree magic. If anyone can find the stone altar with the rings, it’s her.

Hope surges through me.

Straightening, I whip my head from side to side, trying to catch sight of the brown-haired woman.

Only twisting trees stare back at me. Dark green vines and snaking branches filled with thorns curl around the trees and hang down from the boughs like vipers waiting to strike. And not a single contestant is in sight.

I blow out a sigh and then straighten my spine.

It’s fine. I can still figure this out.

Channeling my magic, I cast it out around me in all directions.

This is a trick that took me a lot of time to master. But it’s a very convenient use of my magic. By sending it flowing out around me like this, I can scan an area for people even though I can’t see them.

Well, technically, I can’t just scan for people since I can’t sense emotions as such. I can only manipulate them. So what I do is to push out with my magic with the intention of increasing or decreasing an emotion. And once my magic latches on to that spark of emotion inside someone’s chest, it creates a sort of tether which allows me to feel which direction they’re in. As long as I keep increasing or decreasing whatever emotion I latched on to, I will be able to feel where that person is at all times.

The only problem is of course that, if I can’t see them, I don’t know who I’m latching on to.

Since I figured that worry should be a rather normal emotion right now, I aimed for that when I threw out my magic.

Several purple sparks of worry flare up as my magic hits them. I turn in a circle, gazing out at the trees in all the directions where I can feel those purple sparks. It’s impossible to tell exactly how far away they are. And more importantly, I have no idea if one of those worried sparks belongs to Lavendera.

Scrunching up my eyebrows, I release them and instead try another emotion.

Stress.

Seven sparks appear.

I blow out a sigh and cut off the flow of my magic again.

This won’t work. I need something more specific. Some kind of emotion that I know belongs to Lavendera.

Leaves rustle above my head as a strong wind sweeps through the forest. I stare at the mass of trees before me as a suddenly overwhelming sense of hopelessness washes over me.

Because I have no fucking clue what goes on inside Lavendera’s head.

Half of the time, she is just staring at spots in the distance with a vacant expression in her eyes. The other half, she says the strangest things.

I have no idea if she is feeling angry or sad or confused or excited or indifferent. Or if she simply feels nothing at all.

“Shit,” I curse under my breath.

Flexing my hand, I try to dispel the flash of worry and stress that pulses through me. After shaking out my hand, I roll my shoulders back and then give my body a good shake too.

“Alright, come on,” I tell myself. “You can figure this out.”

Who else has abilities that are suited for finding something in the woods and also has a very clear and distinct emotion that I know will belong to them?

The memory of Alistair’s shockingly strong rage drifts through my mind. If I scanned for anger, I would no doubt be able to find Alistair. But he has fire magic. His chances of locating the rings are about as bad as mine.

Realization strikes like a lightning bolt.

Fenriel .

He has a hawk, for Mabona’s sake! That hawk can scout ahead for miles and see everything from above. If anyone is going to find the rings, it’s him.

A wide smile spreads across my lips.

Because Fenriel is also unique in another way. He is the only one among us who is always cheerful and excited.

Reaching for my magic, I throw it out in search of a glittering silver spark.

There .

Up ahead and a little to my left, one single spark of excitement burns inside the forest. And I know deep within my bones that it can only ever be Fenriel.

With hope now pulsing through me once more, I push off from the tree and sprint in that direction while I keep the steady stream of magic connected to Fenriel’s spark. I increase it only enough to retain the magic connection. Not enough to change his mood too much.

Once I feel the spark getting close, I slow down. A hint of long red hair becomes briefly visible through the foliage.

Relief washes through me. It is Fenriel.

He appears to be jogging, and I can’t overtake him, so I slow down to a jog as well.

And then, I simply follow him.

Hours pass by as I stalk Fenriel through the woods, always staying out of sight while still keeping my magic connected to him and boosting his excitement ever so slightly. It truly is a brilliant plan.

Apart from one thing.

Fenriel has the stamina of a fucking horse.

He keeps jogging at the same steady pace hour after hour. He has only stopped once, to drink from a brook we passed. I nearly inhaled the whole brook as I gulped down water while trying to refill my lungs at the same time. Then Fenriel took off again, so I had to cut my rest short and scramble after him.

We’ve passed some bushes with berries on them, and I don’t know if Fenriel picked some on the way to eat. But I didn’t dare to touch them. I have no idea if they’re poisonous or not.

So instead, I just follow Fenriel. Hour after hour as he jogs through the woods.

And Mabona’s fucking tits, my body is going to give out any second now.

I’m slim, just like everyone else in our city, since we’re only allowed such small amounts of food. However, I have no clue what Fenriel does for a living, but I spend most of my days sitting on a stool and gutting fish.

Being slim and being fit are not the same thing.

I’m so not used to jogging for hours on end. Just getting through that maze last week took everything I had. This… This is going to kill me.

My throat and lungs burn as I drag in desperate breaths, and my legs tremble with every step as I try to keep pace with Fenriel. He’s not even moving that fast. But it’s the continuous running without barely a moment of rest that is killing me. If he doesn’t stop for a break soon, I’m going to collapse.

Fenriel’s excitement spikes.

It’s so sudden, and so unexpected, that I actually gasp. That glittering silver spark in his chest flares up into a massive thrumming beacon.

And it was not my doing.

I stop moving. He does too.

There is only one reason why he would feel excitement that strong.

He has found the stone altar.

My chest heaves and my limbs tremble with exhaustion as I stand there on the grass, staring at the thick mass of trees ahead. Fenriel’s spark of excitement remains in place. I drag lungfuls of air into my body.

Then Fenriel takes off at a sprint.

My heart leaps into my throat.

Every muscle in my body is screaming at me to stop. To just sit down. To lie down and rest.

But I can’t. Because Fenriel has found the rings. And I need to get one of them.

Blocking out the pain and exhaustion that courses through my body like fire, I take off between the trees and sprint after Fenriel.

My heart slams so hard against my ribs that I think it’s going to shatter them and collapse my lungs. But I keep running. Branches whip past my face and a stray thorn slices into my cheek as I sprint past. Yanking up a hand, I impatiently wipe off the thin line of blood that appeared.

Anticipation courses through me.

There looks to be an opening up ahead.

Pushing my legs to go as fast as they can, I dash towards it, shoving branches and vines and thorns aside with my arms.

I crash through the trees and into a clearing.

Fenriel is standing next to a stone altar in the middle of the small clearing. His hawk Talon is perched on his shoulder, and there is a triumphant smile on his lips as he holds up one of the rings.

My gaze snaps down to the altar. Two gold rings remain there.

Hope surges through me.

I take a step forward right as someone else steps into the clearing.

Lavendera blinks when she sees me and Fenriel, and comes to a halt only two steps in. She cocks her head. I open my mouth to say something right as the sound of snapping branches comes from Lavendera’s side of the glen.

She doesn’t even turn around. But both Fenriel and I snap our gazes towards the noise.

My heart drops as Alistair, Isera, and Trevor sprint into the clearing.