The Elemental Trial Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  If you enjoyed the Elemental Trial…

  29. Chapter one

  30. Chapter two

  About J.A. Armitage

  About Claire Luana

  Also by J.A. Armitage

  Also by Claire Luana

  The Elemental Trial

  Copyright © 2019 by Claire Luana and J.A. Armitage

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  ISBN: 978-1-948947-73-2 (Paperback)

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  ISBN: 978-1-948947-72-5 (Ebook)

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  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author.

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  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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  Cover Design: Covers by Juan

  Created with Vellum

  1

  I sat on the floor, holding a potted fern, talking to a magic bunny. No, the Fantastic Faerie Race hadn’t driven me completely insane. Though, there were still two more trials that could claim that distinguished honor.

  I closed my eyes again, blowing out a long breath. I had no idea what time it was; my room in Hennington House didn’t have a clock, and my phone was across the room. I thought it was morning. In my mind’s eye, I saw the etheric rabbit that represented my magic—my power over the element of earth. In the past few hours of my pathetic efforts, the rabbit had grown much more comfortable with me, which seemed weird because it was all in my head. Wasn’t it?

  The plant was nestled between my crossed legs. I was trying to move the dirt inside the pot using my magic. I needed the bunny’s help for that, which thus far, had not been forthcoming. Orin had told me that when he was a kid, he’d used magic by imagining the different elements as pets. It had worked for me in the dragon’s lair on Emerald Mountain at the end of the last trial. I needed to be able to recreate it at will. Hence, plant. Hence, bunny. “Come on,” I coaxed. “Look at this wonderful dirt! So fragrant and full of nutrients. Don’t you want to move it? Let’s move it together.”

  I knew I should be sleeping, but I’d given up on that after about three hours of tossing and turning. My mind, assaulted by flashbacks of my days over the Hedge, refused to shut down to allow me to get some much-needed rest. And I did need it. I wouldn’t have the luxury of a warm comforter or a soft mattress for long. The FFR had allowed us two nights back in Wales to recuperate before we were to be thrown back into Faerwild and into the second trial of the race.

  It wasn’t as though I wasn’t tired—on the contrary, I was completely exhausted. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Zee’s unblinking stare gazing up to the sky, or a swarm of piranha-like Red Caps trying to eat Duncan and Yael alive. Being trapped in an endless magic cave with no end in sight. Being chased by a panther. Being chased by an ancient tree-like faerie king. Being chased—and caught—by a dragon. And then, there was Cass’s letter. If I was going to be honest with myself, it wasn’t the danger of the next trial that had my mind whirring—it was the letter that Cass had written to Genevieve, and folded into the shape of a flower just the way she used to send messages to me when we were little. A pang of jealousy cut me as I thought of the note again. It meant she was alive—which was the part I was concentrating on…but that knowledge brought another question. Why hadn’t she tried to contact me? Two years had passed without a word.

  The bunny started to hop away as my mind wandered. “Wait!” I said to it, gesturing it back. “I’m sorry. You’re such a pretty bunny.” It turned and hopped back towards me in my mind, its little nose quivering. It was adorable. It sniffed my proffered hand, and then—to my shock, it hopped into my arms. I let out a gasp of delight, stroking its soft fur. “Should we move some dirt?” I swear its little nose quivered in affirmation. I focused on the plant, pulling the power through the rabbit in my mind, and channeling it into the dirt. I just wanted to raise it into the air slightly. I cracked one eye to peek and gasped as I saw that the dirt around the fern’s base was, in fact, floating ever so slightly.

  A knock sounded on the door, and I yelped in surprise. The bunny leapt from my mental arms and dirt flew everywhere. I closed my eyes as it rained down on me. I sighed.

  The knock sounded again. “Just a minute,” I called. I opened my eyes, brushing dirt off my face and lashes. I had exploded the potted fern. “Great,” I grumbled, standing and shaking off the dirt and bits of plant as best I could.

  I swung open the door and, to my surprise, found Ben standing there. I hadn’t seen him since we left Faerwild. All the camera people had traveled back to the human realm separately from the contestants. Emotions welled in me, surprising me with their intensity. Ben had been there for the hardest week of my life, and it was only now that we were both out, both safe, that I realized just how much his presence had comforted me.

  “Hi, Jacq,” he said awkwardly as I flung myself into his arms.

  “It’s so good to see you.”

  He held me tightly and the stress I’d been feeling since we returned to Hennington House melted away. Orin was my partner in the FFR, but Ben was my friend.

  “Come in,” I invited, untangling myself from him. “When did you get here?”

  “We left Faerwild just before the contestants did, but the producers took us all out for a meal and put us up for a night in a trendy hotel in Cardiff. Jacq…” He looked me up and down and surveyed the detritus in the room. “Did you know you’re covered in dirt?”

  “It’s a long story.” I brushed my face off again and pulled my hair from its ponytail, doing my best to shake it out.

  “I won’t ask.” He grinned.

  “I think that’s best.”

  “You all healed up? Ready for round two?”

  “Hell, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I haven’t even been able to sleep. It’s all churning in my head. I keep remembering the endless cave and the Erl-king chasing us, and just as I think I’m on the edge of sleep, the dragon pops into my head, and I’m wide awake again.”

  Ben plopped himself on the bed, a serious expression on his face. “I’m sorry. I can imagine. I was safe the whole time, thanks to all the protective enchantments they put on me, but there were times I nearly shit myself out of fear. I’m not so sure you should go back in.”

  I looked across at him in surprise. “I’ve got to go back in. You know that.”

  “Why? Seriously, why do you have to go back in? There’s no law that says you have to. It’s only a stupid TV show. Is it about the money? Because I’m not sure any amount of money is worth risking your life for.”

  He spoke so earnestly I could feel myself being swayed. He had a point—Genevieve and Zee had never made it back from Faerwild. But I wasn’t doing it for the money. I was doing it fo
r something much more precious. The Faerie king’s Boon. I needed to win to get Cass back, and if I didn’t win, I fully intended to stay in Faerwild until I found her. One way or another, I was leaving the faerie realm with my sister.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t articulate any of this to Ben. He didn’t know about Cass, or at least, he didn’t know more than the few bits he overheard when I was telling Orin. He definitely didn’t know that I had a letter from Cass hidden right under where he was sitting. No one knew about it but me. Not even Orin.

  “Think of everything I could do with a million dollars,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. “I’d never have to work again...or you know, living in L.A., I could buy a few cups of coffee!”

  Ben laughed at the joke before growing serious again. “I thought it would be fun, you know, a bit of a laugh, a bit of danger…but it’s not what I expected at all. They are paying me really well, but...”

  “But?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “I knew I’d be safe in there, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional stress. There were so many times I wanted to jump in and save you, but I knew that if I did, you’d be disqualified and then you’d hate me forever.”

  “Are you thinking of quitting?” I asked. I tried to keep the panic from my voice at the thought of being in there without him. Though we’d been able to say so little, he’d been a comforting presence every step of the way.

  Ben shook his head. “There’s no way I’d let you go in there alone.”

  Relief flooded me. I scooted closer to him and hugged him again. “You’re a good friend, Ben. I’m glad you’re my camera guy.”

  “Me too.”

  “Feel free to sneak me more protein bars at any time,” I said. Suddenly, I had realized how close we were, sitting side by side on the bed. I pushed to my feet.

  “Noted.” He stood as well.

  “Is that why you came to see me?” I asked. “Just to chat and tell me I’m a colossal idiot if I go back over the Hedge?”

  “Actually, no. And I don’t think you’re a colossal idiot. You’re just braver than any person has a right to be.”

  “That’s what Orin said,” I grumbled.

  “The guy does know a few things,” Ben said grudgingly. “But I came to get you. There’s a breakfast meeting in the dining hall in ten minutes.”

  Breakfast? I must have been working on my magic longer than I thought. I grabbed my thin jacket from a chair where I’d thrown it, beckoned Ben, and together we headed out the door, leaving the mess of dirt and fern behind.

  The dining room was packed, leaving very little room to sit down. At the front of the room stood Gabe, Evaline, and unfortunately, Patricia. She regarded me with a sickening smile on her face as I searched the tables to find a place to sit. Ben had settled down near the back with the other camera people.

  I, on the other hand, would have to pick my way through the crowded room until I found a seat. And then I saw him. Orin. My heart leapt as I saw he had an empty chair next to him. As I made my way around the tables, I reflected on how much things had changed since I’d left Hennington House the first time. Before entering the race, I’d have sat literally anywhere to avoid the empty space next to Orin. Now, I was glad that he’d saved me a seat. Like it or not, Orin had become my only ally in the FFR, and he was the closest thing I had to a friend in Faerwild. He gave me a smile as I eased myself into the chair beside him.

  “Welcome, everyone, and to our contestants, welcome back,” Gabe said, his arms crossed and his feet spread as though he was about to send us into training. “I know you’re all hungry and waiting for your breakfast, so I’ll keep this brief. I want to let you know how proud I am of you all. I couldn’t go into Faerwild, but you can bet I watched every second of it on TV. You all worked so hard to come through, and I know you’ll kill it in the next trial. Of course, not everyone made it through. Yael and Duncan used their rings to get out as you know. They’re both back home with their families, and last I heard, they were negotiating sponsorship deals with advertisers. That’s what you can expect when you come back through. You won’t have seen the coverage, but the FFR is huge over here. Ratings have skyrocketed and like it or not, you guys are famous the world over.”

  I swallowed hard at this news. Despite wanting to work in movies, fame had never been a motivating factor for me. In fact, I’d like to remain as anonymous as possible. I guess that was a pipe dream. Looking around me, I saw that most of the other contestants were practically salivating at the thought of it. When I glanced back at Orin, he grimaced. Maybe we were more alike than I thought.

  “Of course, Yael and Duncan aren’t the only team we’re missing today. You all know what happened to Genevieve and Zee. It was a tragic accident and the...” I didn’t hear the rest of Gabe’s sentence because rage filled my head, its dull roar drowning out his words. Yes, Genevieve and Zee had died, but I was convinced it wasn’t an accident at all. I wanted to stand up and shout the truth to everyone—their rings had been disabled. They’d been robbed of the chance to do what Duncan and Yael did and get out when they were in danger. There would be no lucrative media contracts for Genevieve and Zee. They were gone.

  It was only when I felt Orin’s hand on my arm that I realized I was shaking.

  “You okay?” he whispered, but I didn’t reply. I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep my cool.

  “You have one full day and night to yourselves before you go back into Faerwild for the Elemental Trial, and I suggest you use it to rest. We haven’t set a schedule for you beyond mealtimes, but none of you are allowed to leave the grounds of Hennington House. Tomorrow after breakfast, we need you all packed and ready to go back over the Hedge.”

  A chain of wait staff burdened with dishes were filing into the room, filling the air with the smell of bacon and eggs. Gabe, knowing he couldn’t compete with breakfast, gave us a little bow and headed to a table in the corner along with Evaline and a number of FFR staff.

  I stood to join the line to get breakfast, but as I did, I noticed Patricia sneaking out of the room. She looked like she was in a hurry. I hustled through the tables, battling the people all going in the opposite direction to get breakfast. I needed to find out what she was up to. I didn’t have a shred of evidence that Patricia had anything to do with Gen and Zee’s deaths, but my gut told me something was off about that woman. The secret meetings with Niall, the rose and thistle earrings she wore that just happened to be the same symbol as one I saw on the box in the dragon’s lair. I was determined to discover what she was hiding—and I had only a day and night to do so.

  Unfortunately, it took me so long to get through the crowd of hungry people that by the time I got to the door, she was already gone.

  2

  I ate until my stomach stretched, and then, I went back for thirds. Orin, on his second helping of pancakes, raised an eyebrow at my plate covered in fluffy eggs, hash browns, and sausage.

  “I’m never taking food for granted again,” I said.

  “We do need to stock up for another week of eating grass and tree bark,” Orin said, drowning his pancakes with syrup.

  My phone buzzed in my jacket pocket, and my brow furrowed. It was the third time since I’d come down to breakfast.

  “You going to get that?” Orin asked.

  “I’m avoiding them.”

  “Who’s them?”

  “My parents,” I said around a bite of sausage.

  “Have you talked to them since you’ve been back?”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t bring myself to face them. I knew I needed to tell them about Cass, but I didn’t know exactly what there was to tell. Hey Mom, Dad, I think your long-lost daughter is alive and neck-deep in some mysterious faerie conspiracy… it sounded crazy.

  “I know it’s none of my business.” A pained look flashed across Orin’s handsome face. “But…if I could talk to my parents, I definitely wouldn’t miss the chance.”

  I recoiled. “You can’t even talk to them?�
��

  He shook his head, looking over his shoulder at Tristam before leaning in. “The king doesn’t allow anyone into his palace without a royal invitation. And they’re not allowed out.”

  I glared at Tristam, who at that moment was a fine stand-in for the king. “Dicks.” I sighed and pushed to my feet. Orin was right. And besides, I didn’t think I could physically fit the food on my plate into my body. I’d overestimated. “I’ll go call them.”

  “Good girl,” Orin said.

  I grabbed my mug of coffee and walked into the hallway. A cameraperson was standing in the corner, stationed to catch any of us coming out of the dining room. I cut to the left, into the study where Niall once slurred his secrets to me. Not that they had made any sense. Ario and Molly were stationed in the two tall chairs by the fire, leaning in to talk in hushed tones. They turned to look at me as I entered, and I held up my hands.

  “Occupied,” Molly said, sickly sweetly. I noticed her bubble gum pink hair had changed to bright blue. When she’d had time to re-dye it, I had no idea. My hair definitely wasn’t my top priority right now.

  “Sorry.” I turned on my heel and pushed deeper into the house, searching for a corner away from prying eyes or blinking red lights. Finally, I found a little pantry, filled with shelves heavy-laden with potatoes and jars of pickles and peaches. I sagged against the dusty shelves, wiggling my nose to fight the tickle that threatened a sneeze.