Chapter 84
Scarlett’s POV
I was panting, my chest heaving, sweat dripping down my neck. Ethan stood over me, his face covered in dust, his eyes glowing with a dark, satisfied smirk. He reached out and wiped a smudge of dirt from my forehead with his thumb. The touch was lingering—too long for a fake partner.
“Not bad, little partner,” he murmured, his voice dropping so low the crowd couldn’t hear. “But if you ignore my lead again, I’ll throw you out of the circle myself just to keep you from getting hurt p>
“You don’t care if I get hurt,” I snapped, pulling away from his touch. “You just don’t want to lose p>
The look of pride in his eyes vanished, replaced by that cold, stony mask. “Exactly,” he said, his voice flat. “Keep that in mind for the next round p>
We walked out of the ring, but as we did, I saw the other brothers.
Leo was standing by the water barrels. He was crushing a tin cup in his hand, his eyes fixed on the way Ethan had touched my face. He looked as if he wanted to kill someone. Leon was being forced to walk back into the ring with Elara. He caught my eye and looked at the bite mark on his lip, then at the dirt on my clothes. He looked disgusted—not at me, but at the fact that Ethan was the one getting to touch me.
The field was littered with couples who had failed. Sarah, Liam’s partner, was sitting on the grass crying because she had been pushed into the mud. Liam was standing over her, looking like he wanted to shift and run into the woods just to get away from her.
“Couples! Gather!” the Elder shouted. “The first cut is made. Thirty pairs are out. The rest of you… prepare for the Wall p>
I looked at the fifty-foot rock wall at the edge of the field. My hands were already shaking. I looked at Ethan, and for the first time today, he looked back at me without anger. He looked at me with a silent promise.
“The second trial is the Tethered Ascent,” the Elder announced, his voice echoing against the stone. “You will be bound at the waist by a single six-foot rope. If one falls, the other carries the weight. If the rope snaps, or if both of you touch the grass before reaching the summit, you are eliminated p>
I looked down at the heavy hemp rope the guards were bringing forward. Ethan stepped behind me without a word. I felt the heat of his body radiating against my back as he looped the rope around my waist. His fingers were quick and efficient, tying a knot that felt as secure as a shackle.
“Don’t look down, and don’t try to out-climb me,” he muttered, his breath ghosting over the shell of my ear. “We move in a rhythm. Left hand, right foot. My lead p>
“I know how to climb, Ethan,” I snapped, though my heart was hammering. “I used to scale the oaks behind my father’s house while you were busy learning how to bark orders p>
Ethan’s hands stilled for a second, tightening the knot just a bit more than necessary. “Your father’s oaks didn’t have fifty-foot drops onto solid rock, Scarlett. This isn’t a childhood game. This is the Gauntlet p>
I turned my head and saw the other pairs lining up. Liam looked like he was about to explode. He was paired with Camilla because Sarah had a broken arm. Camilla was already complaining about the grit under her fingernails, her face pale as she looked up at the cliff. Her sisters, Sienna and Bianca, were paired with elite warriors from the inner circle, looking equally out of place in their silk-lined tunics.
Then there was Leon. He was still tied to Elara. She wasn’t smirking or talking; she looked small, her face a mask of quiet, focused neutrality. She didn’t look at me. She didn’t look at anyone. She just stood there, waiting for Leon to finish the knot. Leon looked like a ghost, his eyes hollow as he stared at the rock. He hadn’t looked at me once since I’d bitten him, and the silence between them was like a wall of ice.
“Go!” the Elder roared.
The air was suddenly filled with the sound of boots scraping against stone and the grunts of exertion. Ethan didn’t wait. He lunged for the first handhold, his powerful back muscles rippling under his compression shirt. Because we were tethered, I was yanked forward. I had to scramble to find my own grip, my fingers digging into a cold, sharp crevice.
The first ten feet were easy. It was just a ladder of stone. But as we climbed higher, the wind began to swirl, pulling at my hair and making the rope between us dance.
“Steady,” Ethan called out from above me. He had found a stable ledge and was bracing himself. “Move up to the notch on your right. Now p>
I reached up, my muscles screaming. The rock was slick with moisture from a hidden spring. My fingers slipped, and for a terrifying second, I felt my body tilt backward into the empty air.
“Ethan!” I gasped.
I fell. Only for a foot. Then the rope snapped taut with a violent jerk that nearly knocked the wind out of me. I slammed back against the rock face, dangling over the drop. Above me, Ethan had his boots wedged into a crack, his arms wrapped around a jagged spur of stone. He was a human anchor, his face strained with the effort of holding my entire weight.
“I’ve got you!” he roared over the wind. His eyes were wide, his pupils flaring with a protective intensity that made my chest ache. “Grab the ledge, Scarlett! Dig in p>
I scrambled, my boots kicking against the limestone until I found a footing. I pulled myself back up, trembling, my chest heaving against his knees. We were stuck there for a moment, chest-to-knee.
“You okay?” he rasped.
“Yes,” I breathed, my face flushed with shame and adrenaline. “I’m okay p>
“Keep going. We’re losing time p>