Furious whispers broke out among some of the fae. But I, I was beaming at him.
“Quiet!” Dimitri yelled, his tawny skin flushing. “Despite this new development, the human recruits should be aware we will not be enforcing this new rule again, so don’t get used to the special treatment. And you won’t be able to cheat and use magic either,” he said, glaring at Cai.
“Yes, Dimitri,” Goldwyn said in an amused voice. “I think we’ve all grasped your point.”
Wilder quickly added, “Just remember if any of you, fae or human, try to sabotage another recruit, you’ll be immediately disqualified.”
“Dismissed.” Goldwyn clapped her hands.
Dimitri threw her a filthy look, clearly miffed he’d been denied a chance to bellow out more dire warnings. Most of the recruits dispersed but a few grouped off to talk to one another. Cai, Liora, and I included.
A familiar tingle in the air was preceded by Cai saying, “I can’t believe it. An endurance test—how boring. When I place a bet on facing a man-eating lion, I expect to get a man-eating lion.”
I humored him with a shallow chuckle and Liora smiled weakly.
Cai seemed to sense our lackluster enthusiasm. “We’ll be fine,” he said in a braced whisper. “You two know that, right?”
I shared a look with Liora. She seemed as nervous as I was. Nothing was certain.
“Li, your energy levels are already above average thanks to the binding,” Cai reasoned. He turned to me. “You won’t give up. You’re far too stubborn.”
I blew out a wobbly laugh and scanned his face. Not a hint of doubt.
“Serena, I think Wilder wants to speak with you,” Liora muttered from the corner of her mouth.
He’d stayed in the center of the sandpit; the other instructors had taken to the skies. Wilder caught my eye and gestured for me to join his side.
“We’ll see you in the food hall.” Liora took Cai’s arm and pulled him into a swift retreat.
I walked to where Wilder was standing. “What—”
He held up a hand, silencing me. “Recruits,” he shouted at the stragglers. “Leave the gossiping for the food hall or your barracks. Go, now!”
The few remaining members of my class left at a run. Wilder slid his eyes to me. “I needed to check you still know to come to our sessions.”
I blinked. “Training’s finished—”
“Yes,” he drawled. “Scheduled lessons have finished, but there’s still a month’s worth of training to catch up on. How d’you expect to hold your own if you don’t continue with an evening training regime?”
“I’m sure Cai and Liora—”
He stilled. “You’d rather learn from them?”
I was on dangerous ground. “No, I just didn’t think you’d want to continue, what with me being such a pain in the ass and all.”
Surprise shone in his eyes, and he gave me a rare smile. That had become our customary farewell since the biting incident. He called me a pain in the ass, and I thanked him. It seemed to defuse some of the tension and aggression spawned during our fighting.
But the smile faded all too fast. “We’re going to keep training because you need the practice.”
I winced as my confidence plunged. “An extra two hours of training won’t save me tomorrow.”
Wilder’s wings rustled at his back. As if uncomfortable. “No. It won’t.”
The blood turned to ice in my veins. Not what I needed to hear. Especially from him. “Maybe we should spare my battered body and give up now, then.”
I tried for a laugh—it came out sounding weak. I hated the self-pity in my voice. The lack of belief. There was nothing left to say, so I turned to leave.
“Serena Smith.” Wilder’s tone was pure dominance; it stopped me in my tracks. “You are not a coward, so don’t act like one. Turn around and face me.”
My stupid, traitorous, good-for-nothing body obeyed him.
His eyes were cold but intense. “Listen to me, Kovaysi.”
My mind stuttered over the last word. I wanted to ask what it meant, but the way he stepped closer urged me to hold my tongue. “I don’t think you’ll withdraw.” His back went rigid as he added, “But neither will the others. The humans are too desperate, and the fae too proud. The recruits who’ve failed in the past did so because they suffered injury or collapse. The instructors don’t like pulling people out, but we don’t have a choice if they can’t continue. So, while you might not give up …”
His head angled as if looking for the right words. I provided them. “My body might have different ideas?” I broke eye contact as despair squeezed my heart.
“Look at me, Kovaysi,” he said in a whisper.
I kept on staring at the stables to my right. “What does that mean?”
“Make it through all seven trials, and I’ll tell you.”
My gaze shifted to his and my breathing hitched a little. “You think that’s possible?”
“If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t insist on keeping up your training.” His eyes tightened with an emotion I couldn’t place as he said, “I wouldn’t have fought so hard for the fae to carry weighted bags.”
“Why would you do that?” A careful question.
He shrugged, as if to say, it was nothing. “It’s never sat well with me that the fae have advantages in the trials. But there’s always been opposition to making things fairer.” His nostrils flared. “To tell the truth, I gave up. You reminded me that it was still something worth fighting for.”
Emotion swelled inside my chest. “Thanks.”
A tiny curve of his lip had my insides melting. Damn him.
The grim warrior returned; his hands locked behind his body in a soldier’s stance. “Now, I’ll be generous and let you have the night off. Although, you should know exhaustion won’t be your biggest battle tomorrow. It will be dehydration. We do not allow recruits to use their canteens, so drink plenty of water beforehand.”
“What if the trial lasts for hours? Drinking lots of water might backfire pretty quick.”
Wilder cocked an eyebrow. “Then act as a warrior on the battlefield would—piss yourself and hope no one notices.”
A nerve induced giggle rushed out of me.
Wilder folded his arms. “You think I’m joking?”
I clamped down on the laughter itching to burst forth. “No. It’s okay, I get it. Pissing yourself is preferable to fainting from thirst.”
Wilder’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, good.”
“Any other tips?” A sincere plea. I needed all the help I could get.
A piercing gaze held mine. As if he sought answers. “First, I need to ask you a question about the night we came to blows.”
We. I hadn’t been the one to draw blood.
He closed the distance until we were sharing breath. His furtive looks made me believe this had everything to do with avoiding eavesdropping fae, and nothing to do with wanting to be closer to me. “I’ve been going over that night in my head, and the truth is you shouldn’t have been able to shove or pin me. Few fae can claim to have done what you did, and certainly no humans.”
Surely his pride wasn’t so injured that he couldn’t accept a human had got one over on him?
His brows lowered, his expression darkened. “I need you to tell me if you’ve been keeping anything back during training. Maybe a secret.”
I regarded him with growing alarm. “What are you talking about? You’ve seen me fight.”
“Exactly.” He fixed me with a hard stare. “I’ve memorized your movements, and the way you fought that night was something I haven’t seen before. It shouldn’t have been possible.”
I swallowed the panic surging to the surface. He was just guessing. “You said it yourself. I played dirty.”
He shook his head and exhaled a strained sigh. Obviously frustrated. “Serena, if there is something … it’s nothing you need to hide. At least not in this realm.”
Huh. “What are you talking about?”
Wilder’s eyes shuttered. “I didn’t taste magic in your blood, that’s true. But …” He rubbed the back of his neck and huffed, irritated. “I must’ve missed something, because it’s the only thing that makes sense.”