“Yeah, because Henri only lasted twenty minutes before conceding,” Adriana said, laughing.
“Only because I knew that you were way too stubborn to concede, and you were busy bleeding to death!” Henri shot back good-naturedly. “I didn’t want your death on my conscience.”
It was the type of easy banter that only came after years of friendship. Adriana rolled her eyes dramatically, and Henri turned to Allyra and whispered conspiratorially, “Between us, the guy that came third… He was a complete jerk. So—neither of us wanted to get stuck with him.”
Adriana sobered quickly and said seriously, “I won’t lie, it wasn’t exactly easy sailing. There’s no magic potion for friendship.”
Henri nodded. “It took us weeks before we spoke to each other, months before we became friends, and years before we trusted each other to watch our backs.”
“And the fact is, you don’t have years.” Adriana interjected. “Do something to trust him or you’re going to be out of here. Or dead.”
Allyra sighed and glanced at Jason again. “I know.”
* * *
Jason had left by the time she finished her dinner. Henri and Adriana had invited her back to their room to chat further, but Allyra had demurred, feeling exhausted after a long first day. She limped back to her own room, ready to get some sleep.
After her talk with Henri and Adriana, Allyra resolved to set her anger aside and at least trust Jason enough to leave her alone to sleep. Imagining what he might do to her was achieving nothing except to give her insomnia. And, if she was too tired to think or train, the other pairs were definitely going to get the message that she would be easy pickings. At least, that was, if they hadn’t already.
Filled with optimistic thoughts, Allyra felt positively angelic. Until—her door came into view. Allyra stopped dead in her tracks. There was a sock on the door handle. The universal do not disturb message. Understood by anyone and everyone.
Rage blossomed back into life within her. It burned so brightly Allyra thought she might actually burst into flames. Wrath threatened to consume her, and she struggled to pull her thoughts together. Taking a deep breath, Allyra waited for the red tide of fury to recede. Then, she contemplated storming into the room with righteous indignation and throwing out whoever Jason was amusing himself with. Perhaps it was time to finally have it out with Jason. And if it came to blows—well, so be it. She’d had enough of his underhanded taunts.
With the decision made, Allyra strode forward with determination and instantly regretted her decision. She winced as she put her full weight on her sprained ankle. Suddenly, she had two heartbeats—the one in her chest and the other pulsing out a rhythm of pain centered in her ankle, sending jolts of red-hot agony up her leg.
Perhaps discretion was the better part of valor.
The last thing she needed was to have a full-on fight with Jason. And lose it. It would only make her already precarious position even less secure.
Allyra tightened her jaw and then turned around abruptly, heading quickly toward the common room before she could change her mind again. She would read for a couple of hours, and then, sprained ankle or not, she was going to kick out Jason’s bedmate.
There was only one other occupant in the common room, sitting at a table, almost completely obscured by towers of books, his forehead furrowed in concentration. He had huge brown eyes hidden behind a pair of thick-framed reading glasses through which he blinked up at her as she walked farther into the room.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
She shrugged noncommittally, a little wary.
He grinned knowingly. “Or is it that you didn’t want to be anywhere near your partner after he dropped you from a great height?”
Allyra sighed. Had everyone seen that?
“Something like that,” she replied.
He shot her a sympathetic look. “My partner and I aren’t particularly fond of each other either.”
He gestured for her to take a seat and she hobbled over to join him.
“It’s Chi, by the way,” he said by way of introduction.
“Allyra,” she replied, looking at the piles of open books spread before him. “Are you studying?”
He nodded. “I have to.”
She turned to him questioningly.
Chi tilted his head and quirked a half-smile at her. He pointed to his slim and small-structured body. “As you can see, I didn’t get here by traditional means. I’m not the strongest, and I don’t have the most powerful Gift. I basically outsmarted everyone in the First and Second Trials. Then, as expected, I got thoroughly beaten in the Final Trial. My partner isn’t exactly excited to have me in his team. If I want to get anywhere in this competition, I have to study.”
The entire explanation had been delivered honestly without hesitation or embarrassment. Allyra warmed to his frankness and smiled. “Outsmarting everyone seems like a totally valid way to get here. I’ve always thought brains were better than brawn.”
Chi grinned. “Well, my partner would definitely disagree with you.”
“What are you studying?”
“Evanescence.”
Allyra raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t think that was something you could learn through reading.”
Chi looked shocked. “What are you saying?” he said with exaggerated horror. “Everything can be learnt through reading.” He continued more seriously. “But you’re probably right. I just figured that I could use as much information as possible to avoid killing myself when I finally try it.”
“If you’re worried about it, then why try it at all?” Allyra asked. “The Shadow Causeway makes it easy enough to travel between the colleges. And most people make do with airplanes, cars, and trains. I’m sure no one will judge you for sticking to more mundane forms of transportation.”
He smiled at her kindly. “It isn’t about traveling—it’s about
