Her fingers trembled slightly as she gripped her spear. She wanted to know. Needed to know. Maybe this would be the beginning, of no longer being a deadweight to Kaedros.
"I'm going next!" she said, just as Thalso wanted to speak.
Everyone turned to look at her, and she flushed but held her ground. Let them stare. She didn't care. She had to know if her pain had been worth it.
Chef snorted but said nothing, her dark eyes glittering with silent interest.
Thalso gave a nod, then turned his gaze back to Rauk.
"You did well," he said. "The shadow blades worked. Even better than I'd hoped."
He hadn't expected them to survive that long. He'd increased the duration each day as they endured until they'd gone the full seven days. Even he hadn't thought that was possible.
If shadow blades alone could do this, he thought, what will happen when they swallow the Stones?
He almost couldn't wait to find out.
