‘Llin! I didn’t think you’d made it,’ I say, moving to hug her, only for her to step back out of my reach.

‘I nearly didn’t.’ She glances down at her arm and I see a chunk has been taken out of the top of it. Only a dire wolf could do that, which means the fact that she’s still standing is a freaking miracle.

‘It’s not as bad as it looks,’ she says. ‘Actually, I’m not sure about that. One of the priestesses gave me something when I got to the carriage, so maybe it is. I feel pretty chilled out about it.’

‘That’ll be the paparvy,’ I say. ‘We need to get you to the healers.’

‘I’ve got her,’ Jonas says, sidling up beside us and placing his hand at the base of her spine to stop her from tumbling forward.

‘I think Caz’ll like it.’ Llinos’s voice is unusually loud. ‘I think she’ll find a scar hot, right? Maybe I should show her now.’ As she tries to twist away from us, Jonas and I hold her in place.

‘Nope, absolutely not. You can see Caz later. Healers first.’

A wide grin crosses Llin’s face as she sways from side to side, and I’m not sure if she’s about to hug me or pass out. She does neither.

‘Guess what, Rosey?’ she slurs. ‘Tonight you get to wear your new dress, and Jonas is going to want to fuck you so badly when he sees you in it.’ Her grin remains in place as she twists to the other side, to where Jonas is propping her up, his cheeks now a deep shade of red. ‘Oh, hey Jonas.’ Llinos’s voice rises excitedly. ‘I’ve altered Rose’s dress, and she’s gonna look so hot that you’re⁠—’

‘Oh, I heard,’ he mutters, clearing his throat and avoiding my gaze. ‘Everyone heard. Please, let’s get you to the healers. Fast.’

As we carry her away between us, I try to ignore the way Kyor’s gaze burns a hole into my shoulder blades.

They’ve kept Llin in the healers all day, and Caroline is climbing the walls. When she last saw Llin it was at the very final moment of the trial, just before they were portated out of the clearing, and I’m willing to bet that the sight of Llin with her fresh bite is one that will stay with her for a long time.

‘Can you go down and check on her again?’ she asks me for the seventieth time as she paces our dorm. ‘They might have more news now.’

‘I was down there half an hour ago,’ I remind her again. ‘And she was fine.’

‘You said she was sleeping.’

‘She was. And that’s exactly what the healers said she should be doing.’ I place two hands on her shoulders, hoping to keep her still and not just because her pacing is making me dizzy. The last thing I want is for people from the floor below to come up to complain and find her here. I’m sure Caroline’s constant presence in the barracks is an open secret among many of the Rettlings, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be careful.

‘Right. You’re right. Sleeping is probably best.’

As she continues to nod, Caroline moves to sit on one of the beds, only to jump to her feet again when the door swings open. Though rather than speaking or even starting to pace again, she remains frozen to the spot, her lips tightly pressed together as Benny steps into the room.

‘Any news?’ I ask him.

He shakes his head. ‘They only plan on bringing the Wrohelm bodies back. Those from other cities will be sent directly home. Those that they can find, anyway.’

My chest throbs. Llinos was in the last of the carriages to return to the High Hold, and I was so concerned about her that I didn’t even think about Loch. We don’t know if he simply didn’t make it to the clearing in time or if he was killed. All we know is that he didn’t make it back.

‘I’m sorry,’ I offer, knowing it will never be enough. ‘Is there anything we can do?’

I hope that he’ll give Caroline a job to keep her distracted, but he shakes his head. ‘No, it’s fine. I’m just going to go for a walk.’

‘Want some company?’ I don’t expect the answer to be yes, but I want to offer all the same.

‘No, it’s good. I’m just going to jump into the shower first.’

When he comes back out, he’s dressed not in his fighting leathers or his ball attire, but in an ordinary shirt and trousers. It’s strange to see him dressed so casually, and I can’t imagine where he’s planning to go. Perhaps the temple?

I’ve already been to give Etta my thanks, and I fully intend on doing it several times over between now and the next trial. Whenever that will be.

An hour later, Caroline’s nagging becomes too much to bear and I head back to the healers, where, to my surprise, Llinos is awake.

‘She needs to stay off the wine at tomorrow’s ball,’ the healer tells me. ‘We’ve used magic on the wound, but she’s had a fair amount of paparvy seed to help with the pain.’

‘Got it,’ I tell him, though I’m not even sure she’ll want to go to the ball. She might prefer to stay in with Caroline. I, however, cannot wait. Tomorrow night, I get to have a proper conversation with Kay, and this time, I won’t waste it.

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Chapter 40

Caroline and Llin’s reunion is understandably tear-filled, and as such it’s several hours before Caroline eventually heads back to work. With her gone, Llin and I finalise my dress for tomorrow’s ball. Llin has been working on it for days, but I haven’t seen it. When she pulls out the finished article, I can’t help but gape.

It is phenomenal. Part dress, part work of art.

As planned, Llinos removed the centre section from the layers and layers of flowing black tulle of the skirt so that my leather fighting shorts, thigh sheath, and an edge of dagger are visible beneath. My ‘signature style,’ she calls it. And the top is even more unique. The satin plunging V-neck is pure elegance, while the black sleeves are wired open, looking almost like wings fluttering behind me. There’s no chance of me not standing out, that’s for sure.

At breakfast the next morning, Leilah finds me and tells me she’s spoken with Ruben and plans to share the scraps of food with the slums. I can’t thank her enough and the timing couldn’t be better as we’ll be able to make use of the undoubtedly vast amount of waste from the ball tonight. With surviving the second trial, helping the slums, and getting to see Kay twice, this week’s going to be tough to top.

That evening, Llinos continues to fuss over me, even once I’ve got the dress on.

‘See,’ she says in satisfaction. ‘It’s like a bat.’

As I stare at my reflection, that’s not what I see. I see something with far more gravitas. And the way the tulle is layered reminds me of … feathers, I realise.

‘It looks more like a bird than a bat,’ Caroline comments from the bunk she’s lying on.

‘It does,’ I agree. ‘A raven.’

A collective shudder rolls through the room, and my eyes lift towards the window as though expecting to see a raven waiting there. It’s with an odd sense of disappointment that I find the sill empty. I should be relieved, shouldn’t I? Ravens are an omen of bad luck after all.

The battle yard was close to empty this morning, and Kyor missed my training session with Zelle, making knots form in my stomach. There’s a good chance that he still blames me for the poisoning, and I probably should have explained the situation a little better, but what else was there to add? He wasn’t my target, and I stopped him from dying in the woods. It’s pretty straightforward.

As always, I returned to the dining hall for breakfast after my session with Zelle, and the vast room offered my table a stark opportunity to see just how many were lost in the second trial. Less than we expected, we agreed. Along with Elenor and Loch, Stefan the knight, Del from Galreck, and one of the Rowell Rettlings were the only ones who didn’t make it. With Jonas and Kyor included, the Wrohelm Rettlings are down to half their original number.