My breath tightens in my chest the more we run. The mud sucks at our feet, making it more difficult to pick them up and drive through the heel.

But we don't stop. We fight the friction, determined to make it out of here, one way or another.

Hope springs back to life when I see the moon once again, telling me we're on the right path. I ignore the burning in my lungs and my muscles, even as we slow to a stumbling jog, keeping my mind only on escape.

And just like that, through the pain, we pass the last set of trees.

We both burst out of the clearing panting like we've been running for hours. Jace collapses on the floor gasping for breath and I place my hand on my knees and do the same too. I'm strangely lightheaded. Despite our gasping, it feels like there's not enough breath in the world to sustain us which is odd, because by my calculations we ran but a few steps.

We weren't that deep into the Dark Forest so it makes no sense that we should be this winded.

But weakness unlike any other has drained our muscles and our lungs of air.

We hear rustling and footsteps approaching us before a loud exclamation from Tia.

“Oh my God. They got the bird!”

I feel more than hear the heavy-footed Brute charging up to me and I try to back up but my body is too weak, so I fall over instead. This allows Brute to grab the bird, that still managed to remain perched on my shoulder, and grin victoriously. “Well, at least you’re not entirely useless, muzungu.”

Bastard. He can't even admit that he was wrong and I was right.

“Give that back,” Jace wheezes and he lurches toward Brute to grab it but then his arm swings weakly and he flops over on the grass.

Brute used his feet to shove him deeper into the ground, and I bark, “Hey!"

At which point he turns on me too.

Brute's eyes blaze viciously bright as he advances. A second wave of anger spirals through me, making me attempt to rise. I'm too mad to even be afraid or cautious. I don't care that I'm weak as a newborn baby, I'll fight him with everything I have.

Luckily, one of the twins, Peer, rushes forward and stands between us, laying a hand on Brute's chest.

Brute snarls, about to turn his wrath on the boy, but Peer stands firm pointing out, "We have the bird. We can’t afford to waste time fighting. We have to go turn it in.”

Brute glares at him and put his hand on the boy's shoulder to to shove him away. Then he leans down and gets in my face. "You got lucky this time Muzungu. But the next time you try to get in my way, you’re going to regret it.”

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a human being,” I spit back at him. "And it will be you who will regret getting in my way."

Anger burns in Brute's expression. For a second, I think he's going to ignore what Peer said and he's going to attack me anyway. For a second, I almost want him to, so I can try and bite his ear off.

But he doesn't hit me.

He steps back and tells the rest, “Let’s go hand in the damn bird.”

He turns and begins walking away. After a moment of pregnant hesitation, Tia turns to follow him and the twins as well.

Jace and I sit on the ground watching our team members' backs getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Then suddenly, one of the twins, Page, stops walking, turns, and jogs back to us.

“Are you two ok?” he asks when he reaches us. "You don’t look good.”

“We’re fine,” I say. “Just tired.”

"Oh." He glances back at the rest of the team, who continue without him. Longing sets on his features, so I add, “Go with them. We’ll catch up when we catch our breath.”

Relief shines through his expression but he still asks, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I say. "Thank you for coming to check on us though."

He nods and then scurries off to catch up to his twin. After that, I lean back on my hands releasing a loud sigh into the air.

“What happened in there?” Jace finally asks, voice quiet and contemplative. “I feel like I was on the verge of suffocation.”

“Me too,” I say between breaths. “I think….I’m not sure but I think the forest was trying to kill us.”

Jace blinks at me, then nods. “That’s fair. We probably deserve it.”

It's such an interesting thing to say because I feel the same way although I didn't notice until Jace put it in words. I do know that we had no business going in there and taking something that was not ours to take.

I think back to the bird and its longing cry and feel regret squeeze my chest.

“Did we do the right thing?” I ask.

Jace looks at the ground, randomly pushing a stone with his foot. It takes him some time to answer. “There’s always casualties in war. Sometimes you have to do things you don't like. But it’s important to realize the good outweighs the bad. By my calculations, those bird feathers are enough to make dozens of elixirs. That will save a lot of lives."

"Yes,” I tell myself. "We will save lives."

And then I nearly laugh at the irony. Because those elixirs will likely be restricted to only the highest members of society, beginning with the royal family, the Generals, the Chiefs, and then the rest of the King's entourage. If there's some left, then pureblooded Northerners are next in line. Whatever is left after that will then be sold to other villages for exorbitant profits.

People like Jace and I will likely be excluded from ever getting the elixir.

If any of us get seriously injured during these trials, those elixirs will most definitely not be used for us.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jace says and his expression holds the same pained realization that I just had. “But think about it a different way, think about what we’re working towards. Once we become Elite Soldiers, we’ll no longer be foreigners. We’ll be one of them.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I smile sadly at him, feeling wearier than I’ve ever felt in my life. “We’ll never be one of them.”

Eventually, Jace and I manage to gain enough energy to pick ourselves off the ground and start the trek back to the castle.

And by the time we get there about four or so teams are already there, scattered around the hall.

Wolf is leaning against the wall with a tense expression on his face, as Savannah speaks to him and gestures wildly in the air. He looks annoyed by whatever she's saying and the minute we walk in, his head swings to the door, like a dog sniffing out by smell.

My smell is better than my sight.

Our eyes lock together and something pulses in the air between us.

He lifts his back from the wall and leaves Savannah talking mid-sentence, striding towards me immediately. The air seems to move with him and, as he gets closer, it's like he brings a fresh breeze to us.

He stops before me. I inhale his warm woodsy scent, with a hint of something I cannot describe. I also smelled it in the Black Forest, but on Wolf, the scent is strangely soothing.

“You look like death,” he says to break the silence.

“I feel like death,” I say.

Wolf glances at Jace who gives him a quick wink, and says, “You look great as usual, Wolf. Absolutely incredible.”

Wolf ignores him and turns back to me.

“Your teammates said that you were resting.”

“I was,” I admit. He had asked about me?”

Wolf reaches out and puts his hand on the side of my head, probably to keep me in place as he sticks his nose in my neck.

I freeze awkwardly.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t move,” he says and his nose travels over my skin. I shiver but not out of fright, or even out of the shyness as we begin drawing eyes.

I shiver from the flush of desire that moves through my body thick and heady. A flush that runs from head to toe.

And then when his tongue come out, licking my neck, I no longer felt like death.

I feel more alive than ever.

A little sound escapes me but I'm not sure whether it's a moan or a sound of protest. And then over Wolf’s head, I meet the shocked eyes of the entire room.

Everyone is now staring at us.

Awareness rushes back with humiliating lucidity.

“I feel better now,” I squeak loudly, attempting to push Wolf's rock-solid shoulders away. “You can stop. Please.”

Wolf glances up and then steps back and then he runs his hand over my forehead again.

Then he nods to himself.

“You're okay," he says.

"Yeah, I told you that already," I say as my cheek burn, but Wolf is completely non-plussed.

“You should have seen him when we got here and you weren't here,” Savannah says, approaching behind Wolf. “He was about to come find you himself, but we were instructed to not leave and I was trying to convince the bonehead to stick to the rules.”

"I assured them you were fine,” Page also runs to us and smiles in relief. “So he didn’t need to worry anymore.”

Wolf doesn't say anything in response to their statements, and so I can't help but tease him.

I smile. “You were worried about me?”

An odd darkness spreads across his lower cheekbones.

It takes me a second to realize that Wolf is blushing.

“Are you blushing right now?” Savannah sounds similarly surprised and amused. Wolf doesn't respond, glancing away from both of us with a disgruntled expression.

“Do they expect to keep us waiting here all night?”

Wolf directs the question at the Prince who stands surrounded by his team and a smug-looking Brute. The latter is currently giving me a warning glare.

The Prince looks annoyed as his gaze rests on me. I raise an eyebrow at him. What's his problem now?

“I’m sure Tyne will be here soon,” he says loud enough to carry through the hall. "Adria.”

“Yes, your Highness?”

The deference in my tone seems to irritate him more. “Brute explained you were having some difficulty during the challenge. I wanted to know if you were okay.”

"I’m fine, your highness. Thank you for your concern.”

"You wouldn’t be so fine without Brute saving you,” Paisley mocks. “And finding the bird for you.”

I glance at Brute amused as his warning look intensifies. I suppose that was the story he told people. And he doesn't want me to contradict his heroic image.

I glance at the rest of my teammates standing awkwardly to the side and they look away. I suppose he threatened them into silence too.

Brute likely thinks he can do the same to me, but I merely smile. I'll play along but not because I'm scared of him. It's because I plan on holding it over his head for as long as possible.

“Yes,” I say. “We thank the heavens for Brute’s heroism.”

Jace snorts beside me. It appears he doesn't have any intention of keeping up Brute's lie.

On the contrary, he throws Brute a disgusted look. “Are you that pathetic that you would make up a story like that? It’s not enough that you left us behind but you also planned on taking the glory for something you didn’t do?”

Jace's voice is loud enough to reverberate in the hall and angrier than I've ever heard it. Instantly, everyone in the room is quiet and the tension is thick.

“Shut your mouth, bird boy,” Brute says “Show some respect.”

“You’re the one who needs to show respect.” Jace seems to have recovered most of his energy back, and then some. He points at Brute. “We both know that only reason you got that damn bird in the first place was because of Adria.”

“I said shut your mouth.” Brute tries to storm forward, but the Prince puts a hand on his chest, successfully restraining him. Everyone's eyes travel between me and Brute but I don't feel anyone’s gaze as deeply as I feel Wolf’s.

“I would very much like to hear this story,” Savannah says in the ensuing silence, watching me carefully. "Adria?"

I shrug, not knowing what to say.

Jace is not at all short for words though.

“Adria and I were the ones who went into The Dark Forest," Jace says. "We successfully captured the bird risking our lives in the process. Only for this ass to try to take credit for it."

“We went into the forest too,” Peer says defensively. “Don't make it seem like you were the only ones who did the work. We just worked in shifts and you were lucky enough to go when the bird was awake."

“Luck had nothing to do with it." Jace sounds even angrier, glaring at Peer now. "Adria told everyone that the bird only flew at night. But none of you believed her. You were all too scared, and left us to do the hard work. And then after, you had the gall to come present our victory as yours, knowing that it was far from a team effort."

“Wait, the bird only flies at night?” Savannah asks.

"Yes," a pretty, yellow-haired girl beside the Prince says. “Prince Caster said the same thing. They only fly at night. So we basically rested most of the afternoon and only entered the forest when it was evening time."

The prince and I meet each other’s gazes both clearly wondering how the other knew this fact.

“That makes sense,” Savannah mutters, then she shoots Wolf a sour look. “Although Wolf didn't tell us that. He insisted on going in by himself, spent hours in there, and then came out and said there were no birds in the forest and we were better off going back before dark, or the monsters would come out and chomp our flesh."

I glance at Wolf. His expression is completely blank, without guile, but I wonder briefly if he truly didn’t know that the Shrewk flew at night. It seems like something someone who spent a lot of time in the Dark Forest would know.

Then again, perhaps it wasn’t common knowledge.

Or perhaps Wolf had simply chosen not to capture the bird.

“How did you capture yours?” the blonde woman asks Jace, who still looks irritated.

“Adria had a great idea to lure it out of the Forest by mimicking its call," Jace says. "It worked.”

“So you didn't risk your life then?” she asks. "Because the forest wasn’t dangerous unless we–”

"The bird was too still too far in. I ran after it and...“ He frowns after that. “Well, I actually don’t know what happened after I ran in after it. All I know is that we got the bird and got out and then we felt like we couldn't breathe."

"Did you go in past the second quadrant?"

Jace glances at me. I shrug.

"I don't know," I say. "But probably not." I don't want to explain to everyone what happened after I ran in after Jace. That may be knowledge I'll need to use in the future.

“That must have been terrifying," the girl says. "The Prince's plan was safer.”

“My plan wouldn’t have worked without you," Prince says and she blushes, clearly not immune to Caster's charm.

"How did you get it?” Savannah asks him.

She shrugs. “I’m a pretty good climber and so I scaled up the tree to get a good vantage point. Then we waited until we heard the bird call. We threw out some slingshots to disturb the area where the bird was so it would take flight. And once it did, his majesty shot it with an arrow that he had attached to a string so he could drag the body back."

“Body?” An explicable sickening horror fills me. "You killed it?”

The prince raises an eyebrow. “The rules didn’t say we had to capture it alive.”

"You fool." I snarl. Sudden fury fills me and I take a step forward. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do but I know that this is the angriest I have been at Caster in a while. Despite all the heartbreak and his betrayal and everything I suffered, I never thought he would be that needlessly cruel.

I take another step and another, my fury giving me strength as I stare into his nonplussed gaze.

And realize that I'm about to punch a Prince.