Kaia's POV
A scream tears through the forest behind me.
High-pitched. Terrified. Cut off abruptly.
Someone just died.
I run faster, my enhanced wolf senses screaming at me to move, hide, survive. The blood magic Daemon gave me burns through my veins, making everything sharper—I can hear heartbeats in the distance, smell individual scents on the wind, see in the darkness like it's daylight.
But it also means I can hear every detail of that candidate's death.
The guards don't kill quietly.
I splash into the river, following it north like Luna taught me. The cold water bites at my legs, but it'll hide my scent from the trackers.
Behind me, voices echo: Two candidates down. Eight remaining. Spread out and find the others.
Two dead already. We've barely been running ten minutes.
My wolf urges me forward, and I obey. Something feels different about her tonight—stronger, fiercer, like she's finally waking up after months of silence.
Or maybe it's the ancient magic flooding my system.
Either way, I'm faster than I've ever been. My body moves through the forest like I've trained here my whole life, dodging branches, leaping over roots, staying silent.
This shouldn't be possible for a Mixedblood.
But I don't have time to question it.
I run until my lungs burn, until the river curves north toward the mountain range. The caves should be close—Luna's map showed them right along this section.
Footsteps crash through the underbrush behind me.
Not guards. Too light, too quick.
Candidates.
She went this way! Seraphine's voice. I can smell her fear.
They're still hunting me. Even with guards eliminating candidates left and right, they're wasting time chasing me instead of hiding.
I must be a bigger threat than I realized.
The river deepens. I can't keep running through it—I'll slow down too much. I scramble up the bank and dive into the trees.
A massive oak looms ahead, its branches thick and high. My enhanced strength sends me climbing faster than I thought possible. I settle on a branch fifteen feet up, pressing flat against the trunk.
Below, three guards pass through the clearing.
Target spotted north of here, one reports into a communication device. Female, blonde. Moving toward the cliffs.
That's not me. Someone else is being hunted.
I hold my breath as they pass beneath my tree. They're so close I could reach down and touch them.
But they don't look up.
Guards are trained to track ground scent, not aerial hiding spots.
Thank the moon for small advantages.
When they're gone, I drop from the tree and keep moving north. The caves have to be close.
Another scream echoes—different direction this time. Male. Shocked.
Three candidates dead.
Seven of us left.
My chances of survival just got slightly better. Slightly.
Then I see it—a dark opening in the mountainside, partially hidden by vines. The caves.
I slip inside, moving carefully through the darkness. My enhanced vision helps, but it's still disorienting. The cave tunnels branch in multiple directions.
I choose the deepest path, moving until the entrance is just a distant pinprick of moonlight.
Then I curl up in a corner and wait.
Hours crawl by.
Outside, I hear intermittent sounds—guards calling to each other, branches breaking, once a candidate sobbing before being silenced.
Four dead now.
Six candidates remaining.
I check the moon's position through a crack in the cave wall. Still hours until dawn. I just have to stay hidden until then.
My wolf is restless, pacing inside my mind. The blood magic makes her stronger, but also more aggressive. She wants to fight, not hide.
We could take them, she growls.
We absolutely could not, I whisper back. We're alive because we're smart, not because we're strongest.
Mate is strongest. We should find mate.
Mate is the King who's supposed to be impartial. He can't help us right now.
But even as I say it, I feel the bond pulling me. Daemon is somewhere in this forest, probably watching from wherever Alpha Kings watch deadly trials.
Does he worry? Or does he trust the blood magic to keep me alive?
Footsteps outside the cave freeze my thoughts.
Heavy. Deliberate. Not guards—they move in groups and talk constantly.
This is someone alone. Someone confident.
A familiar scent drifts into the cave: storm and pine.
My heart stops.
I know you're in there. Daemon's voice echoes off the stone walls.
I press deeper into my corner, even though I know it's pointless. If he tracked me here, hiding won't help.
Come out, Kaia.
Are you eliminating me? My voice sounds small in the darkness.
No.
Then why are you here?
Footsteps move closer—he's entering the cave. Because four candidates are dead, and you need to understand something before dawn.
He appears in the tunnel, and even in the dim light, he's devastating. Power radiates from him, but there's something else too. Concern. Fear, even.
The other candidates aren't your only problem, he says quietly. The guards have been given special instructions about you.
My blood runs cold. What kind of instructions?
To eliminate you if they catch you. No capture. No questions. Just... elimination.
But that's not fair! The trial rules say
Someone on my council changed the rules. His jaw clenches. I just found out an hour ago. They want you dead, Kaia. Specifically you.
The cave walls seem to close in. Why?
Because of what you might be. What you might represent. He steps closer. Someone is very afraid of you remembering who you really are.
I don't even know who I am!
That's what makes you dangerous. His hand cups my face, and the mate bond flares between us. An enemy you know is manageable. But you? You're an unknown. A variable they can't control. So they've decided to eliminate the variable.
Tears burn my eyes. So I'm going to die no matter what. Even if I survive until dawn, they'll just kill me after.
No. His voice turns fierce. I won't let that happen
You can't protect me without showing favoritism
I don't care anymore. His silver eyes burn into mine. I spent ten years believing my mate was dead. I'm not losing you again because of politics and protocol.
Before I can respond, his head snaps toward the cave entrance.
They're coming, he whispers. Guards. Multiple. They tracked me here.
You led them to me?
I didn't— Understanding crosses his face. They're tracking the mate bond. The pull between us. They're using it to find you.
Horror floods my chest. Then you have to leave. Now. Before
I'm not leaving you to die.
You have to! I push against his chest. If you're here when they arrive, it proves favoritism. They'll use it against you. They'll say the trial is corrupt. You'll lose everything!
I don't care
I do! My voice breaks. I won't let you destroy yourself to save me. I've survived worse than guards and corrupt councils. I can survive this.
He stares at me like he's memorizing my face. You're stronger than I gave you credit for.
I'm a survivor. It's what I do best.
Voices echo outside the cave, guards, getting closer.
There's another tunnel, Daemon says quickly. Behind you, hidden by that rock formation. It leads to the northern cliffs. You can escape.
What about you?
I'll distract them. Make them think you went south. His hand tangles in my hair, pulling me close. Survive until dawn, Kaia. Win this trial. Prove you're worthy. Then I'll deal with whoever is trying to kill you.
Daemon—
He kisses me.
It's brief, desperate, burning with the mate bond and ten years of grief and hope I don't understand.
Then he's gone, running toward the cave entrance, his power exploding to draw the guards' attention.
I hear shouting, the sound of fighting.
I should help him. Should stay.
But he told me to survive.
So I run through the hidden tunnel, my heart breaking with every step, the taste of him still on my lips.
The tunnel opens onto a cliff overlooking the forest. Dawn is just starting to pink the horizon.
I made it.
I survived.
But the victory feels hollow when I can still hear fighting in the caves behind me.
Then a voice calls from below—Seraphine's, triumphant and vicious:
Found her! The Mixedblood's on the north cliff! Someone get up there before she—
The ledge beneath my feet crumbles.
I'm falling.
The cliff face rushes past, rocks and roots and certain death.
This is how I die—not in the trial, not by guards, but by falling off a cliff like a stupid girl who didn't check her footing.
My wolf screams.
Strong arms catch me mid-fall.
I slam into someone's chest, their grip crushing but secure. We hit the ground hard, rolling, but somehow I'm protected.
When we stop, I'm staring into Ryker's kind eyes.
Got you, he pants. Told the King I'd keep you safe.
Above us, Seraphine stares down from the cliff, her face twisted with rage.
And in the distance, a horn sounds.
Dawn has broken.
The trial is over.
I survived.
But as Ryker helps me stand, I see guards emerging from all directions—dozens of them, surrounding us.
And they're all looking at me.
Kaia Ashborne, the lead guard announces. You're under arrest for receiving illegal assistance during the trial. Punishment for cheating is immediate execution.
My blood turns to ice.
They're going to kill me anyway.
I survived the hunt.
But I'm still going to die.