Page 45 of First Ritual
On Sunday morning, the coven was as mixed as I’d experienced. Today, the divide was pronounced. Food tray in hand, I considered the distinct two groups in the cave chamber. They’d left an entire row of tables empty between them like some kind of a no-magus land.
Guess that was my spot.
I sat in the direct middle of the two groups. How ridiculous. Maybe more ridiculous than Wild beating up Huxley—the gay Huxley—over a simple kiss. If that’s what was behind their fight. I couldn’t think of any other reason why Corentin would glare at me so hatefully.
Surprisingly, the quad wasn’t sitting together this morning either. Sven and Corentin sat with Barrow, Winona, and a few more council members off to my right. Huxley and Wild sat with Varden, Opal, and the remaining council members to my left. Wild had his arm slung around the friend he’d attacked yesterday. While Huxley had been healed, Wild either hadn’t accepted healing or was barred from such relief as punishment. I’d seen Huxley’s damage yesterday, but Wild looked just as bad.
I rubbed my aching chest.
Varden caught my eye and beckoned me over.
Ugh. I did not want to get caught in Caves politics. I was already extra pissed this morning because Wild and Huxley’s fight had prevented me from meeting the coven children at lunch yesterday.
The councilman beckoned again. Leaving my food on the table for an excuse to return there, I joined Varden
“Bronte,” he said. “Please eat with us.” His gaze flicked to where I’d left my tray, and the tray appeared before me.
I fixed him with a dry look. “This isn’t a ploy, is it, sir?”
His eyes twinkled. “You are certainly of Rowaness’s line. And no. Not this time. The council has decided that as you are yet untested, you shall shadow our team for Caves this week.”
I held up both hands. “I’m still unsure if I’m okay with this.”
Wild’s laser focus was burning into my face from where he sat across the table.
Varden smiled. “I believe that experiencing Caves may help you to make an informed choice about whether you’ll remain with us. No tethers attached.”
The councilman’s idea wasn’t terrible. “The entire council agreed to this decision? The other side is okay with me shadowing your group?”
Opal chimed in, “Absolutely. You shadowing our team is a potential disadvantage. If you join the other team after testing, you could use what you learn against us.”
I tried to keep derision from my face. “I see. In that case, I accept your offer. It will help with my decision of whether to stay.” Any questions I had about the toll Caves may take would be answered. Not that my choice to transfer would change based on this. But if I did find my tether person amongst the children, I still wanted to know what I was in for with this game. This was my life after all.
Wild scraped back his seat and stalked away after my reply.
Huxley lifted a shoulder when everyone turned to him in question. “He’s in pain.”
I’m not sure I swallowed that bogus answer, but I couldn’t see anything in my words that would have angered him.
“I offered to heal Wild.” Sage, the motherly council member, fretted.
Birch shoveled oranges and loquats into his mouth. “He should feel the full effect of the blows he dealt Huxley. A mistake is only that if we feel the weight of its lesson.”
Note to self: Birch is a hard-ass.
The light in the chamber dimmed, and I quietened with everyone else.
Varden leaned closer. “Now both teams receive their mission.”
A black, glittering barrier wove upward from the ground in a line that followed the no-magus land where I’d been sitting. The other half of the coven disappeared along with the rest of the chamber. Completely.
I reached magic through my battle affinity to test the barrier. Silence. Obscurity. Powerful. Stronger than the barrier they used to protect the Buried Knolls—though this would require far more magic to keep active.
Varden stood, then arranged his heavy robes. “Good morning, Fertim.”
On my other side, Sage spoke low, “That’s the name of our team.”
“What does it mean?”