The Frostblood Saga Omnibus by Elly Blake

Author:Elly Blake [Blake, Elly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / General *, Young Adult Fiction / Romance / General *, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Prejudice & Racism *, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Violence *
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

THE NEXT MORNING, I JOLTED AWAKE with a racing heart. The nightmare faded so quickly that I could only grasp pieces of it. I’d been wandering dark hallways, crying out Arcus’s name, and listening to him answer, each echoing repetition of my name coming from farther and farther away. I knew if I didn’t reach him in time, he’d be lost to me forever. And the arms that reached out from the walls would drag me down into the deep, never to surface again.

I poured a glass of water from the pitcher on my nightstand and drank in agitated gulps, waiting for my heart to quiet. The nightmare and my third trial were jumbled together in my thoughts, as if the first was a bad omen for the second. I reminded myself I wasn’t superstitious and dressed in my tunic and leggings, waiting for Kai to come to my door like usual.

When he didn’t appear, I went to his room and found it empty. I called his name, as if he might materialize out of the ether, but there was nothing but lingering traces of soap and sandalwood. I stared at the meticulously tidy room, feeling lost. Kai had been with me on the way to each trial. Had the masters separated us on purpose?

I tried to shake off worry as I traveled alone to the school, my midsection tying itself in knots. I concentrated on my breathing, swallowing past a lump of fear in my throat. After what Kai had told me about his third trial, I wondered if taking it myself was worth it. He seemed to regard his decision not to kill his friend as a failure, but I viewed it as a show of character. He’d refused to become a murderer just to pass the trials. In his place, I would have done the same. It was only afterward that the consequences—the loss of his family’s land and fortune—had made him doubt his choice. How would he fare this time?

If I failed the third trial, I’d have to leave Sudesia empty-handed. Even without the book, the knowledge of the masters could have helped me defeat the Minax; otherwise it would remain free. I had to weigh the cost of preserving my principles—following the path my mother and grandmother would have wanted me to take—against saving a kingdom.

I hoped the queen wouldn’t ask me to kill. I’d had to make that choice in the arena, and I didn’t want to make it again.

Master Dallr once again took me up the hill to the temple of Sud, where I said a brief prayer. Then I followed a somber procession of masters trudging on foot over the barren lava fields in the general direction of Sud, the belching volcanic monster named after the goddess of the south wind. I kept looking back as I walked, hoping to see Kai loping behind us to catch up. He didn’t appear.

We came to the ruin of walls, what might have once been a dwelling.

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