Page 50 of On Broken Bonds

He lets his gaze travel over the competitors.

“You should not assume we are watching your every waking moment. Even gods have responsibilities beyond this competition.”

A ripple of murmurs spreads through the crowd.

“However,” he continues, “whenever you reach one of our Trials, you will have our full attention. We will observe every team as they attempt to overcome the challenge we have set before you. Beyond that…” His mouth curves into a faint smile. “Should something particularly interesting occur, we may choose to watch.”

Valtor grins.

“So do try to keep things entertaining.”

A few of the gods laugh.

Eryndor sighs. “With that settled, we may begin the first Trial.”

“The first thing you must do is simple!” Valtor says, turning and walking to the side, so the valley below us is clear. It’s a good hundred yards down, and I can just make out some objects piled in the clearing below. “All you need to do is get down the cliff and gather the supplies you think you’ll require for the trials. Simple.”

My hands start to shake. The other teams jostle forward, trying to get a good look and figure out what’s down there. Thorian doesn’t even squint. Maybe his eyesight is good enough for him to see from here. I make a note to ask him about it later, to inform myself of what, exactly, his status as a demi-god means for us.

Obviously, I bring little to the table. The town doctor has always declared my vision just fine, everything in working order. But I doubt adequacy is going to come in handy if I’m cornered by one of the vampires, shifters, or berserkers.

“Simple,” Terranis grunts in agreement, before turning and hiding a mirthless grin.

I turn to Thorian, wondering if we should talk strategy, or determine which of the materials will be most useful for us to get.

But one look at his face tells me that despite what the gods are saying, this first task isn’t as simple as they might want to make it out to be. Of course there will always be a catch. I’ve heard plenty of people say the Trials are beyond difficult, and based on the description of these woods alone, it’s clear I should learn to be on my guard.

“What do you—?” I start to ask my partner, thinking we surely will have more time, but I’m cut off by the thundering boom of Valtor’s voice, raised several levels of volume to the point where my ears ring.

“The Trials have now begun!” he says, clapping his hands.

His words reverberate through my head and body, seeming to crackle in the air around us. It holds me completely still, paralyzing me with the fear of what I'm getting myself into.

I snap out of it when I feel a large, warm hand on my arm, and, through the ringing in my ears, faintly hear Thorian saying, “Move, Nyx!”

The other teams scramble over the edge of the cliff, and I stumble along toward it with my partner, realizing that even though the Trials have just begun, our team is already far behind.

How the hell am I going to save my sister?

16

Nyx

The moment I'm clinging to the side of the cliff with numb fingers and shaking arms, I realize how absurd this has all been. The wind tears at my clothes and hair, trying to pry me from the rock face. Every gust makes my stomach lurch. The cliff stretches endlessly beneath me, disappearing into a haze of gray stone and shadow. I make the mistake of looking down once and immediately regret it.

My hand slips. It’s a small thing, barely an inch.

Still, terror explodes through me.

My chest seizes. My fingers claw desperately for purchase. For one horrifying instant, I can almost feel myself falling. Feel the rush of air. The impact waiting below.

I press myself against the stone and force myself to breathe. All around me, the other competitors continue climbing down. Effortlessly.

Apparently, this is only hard for me.

A vampire several yards away practically descends the cliff like a spider. One of the shifters leaps between handholds that seem impossibly far apart. Even the human warriors move with practiced confidence, their bodies honed by years of training.

And then there's me. A noblewoman who, two weeks ago, would've considered climbing through the fields an athletic endeavor. Gods. I have no business being here.