Leisa’s skin tingled and her stomach roiled, like it wanted to jump out of her throat. This would be her final test. But she didn’t want to be a mage now, even if Lady Casen agreed to take her to the Hall. Leisa wanted to forget about adventure and return to Nalandor and continue her duties as a handmaiden.

She searched for Serin along the edges of the bowl. He had left nearly an hour ago to scout for anything that might sound an alarm, or worse, attack them.

Where is he?

As if the lady mage had read her mind she said, “He will return soon. Be calm.”

“I am calm.” A lie. She tried to banish the fear, but Leisa was terrified. She was surprised her voice was as steady as it was.

A scurrying of grass came from behind. Leisa jerked around, heart skipping a beat, but it was only Serin moving up the hill to join them once again.

“I searched the perimeter of the entire basin and there’s nothing out there.”

Gorkis regarded him. “Are you sure?”

Serin nodded to the burly man. But why would those creatures—Saval, Naikal had called them—need to post sentries? This was not the regular world. What else in the Blackwood would want to attack monsters? They were monster, right? She’d been to afraid to ask, or maybe simply too sheepish to ask an obviousu question.

Maybe there are bigger monsters, Leisa told herself.

She had heard that the Saval had wings and fangs the size of a man’s forearm. She’d even heard stories of them taking people away in the middle of the night, like they’d taken Jalen—at least that was what the lady mage thought. But she had always thought those were just bedtime stories.

People were always taken from villages near the dark forest. It turned out, the stories were true. Lord Birtran had said so. Maybe those winged fellbeasts were the bigger monsters. They certainly sounded much more threatening than those little wretches they’d battled with.

She shuddered.

Did the winged ones kill before hauling people off into the forest, or did they take them kicking and screaming? What did they do with you once they had you inside their lair? Leisa had heard the monsters only ate meat. But those were pieces of the stories. Just because they took people away in the night like people said, did not mean the other things were true. But why else would they take people into their lairs? She shuttered again, muttering a curse.

The lady mage gave her a look. Turning to Serin, she told him to lead the way.

The bowl of the rocky hollow was steep and slippery, but there were plenty of cracks and small outcroppings to make the climb easy enough. No Blackwoods grew here. Too much thick rock.

What was most ominous was that she couldn’t see the sky for the rainclouds overhead. Leisa wanted to see the sky. She couldn’t help searching the edges of the hollow where that thick grass met black rock. Serin said he checked the entire area, but still imagined one of those monsters appearing to snatch her into that crag.

The crag we’re going to climb into, she thought with a shiver. Gods, why was I so stupid to ask Sorela to let me along with her?

Gingerly, Leisa stepped near the edge. Her heart pumped a little faster and her breathing became more rapid. She wanted to get a look, to dispel her fear. Small streams of water trickled into the dark crag, disappearing into blackness, only the sounds of water hitting rock came back.

Serin ruffled through his bag, pulled out a small lamp that he fastened to one of his straps. He did the same for Sorela and Leisa as the men-at-arms lit their torches.

Everyone stood still, looking at one another apprehensively. Leisa recognized what was on their faces—even the lady mage.

Fear.

Serin seemed to shake himself before grasping the thick coil of rope. He found a large rock, and tied one end to it before dropping the coil into the abiss before them.

Gods, gods, gods—why did I want to come? She moved to carress her sword hilt, and noticed how badly her hands were shaking. She shivered as well, against the cold wet rain. It was hot in the Blackwood, but was cold here where the trees didn’t grow.

The handmaiden suspected that the only reason the rain was rain at all was because of the heat of the blackwood—otherwise all the water around them would be ice and snow!

Gods—she couldn’t see a thing. “How do we climb in the dark? These lamps aren’t very efficient.”

Serin took a torch out of his bag, lit it by touching it with Gorkis’ torch. He leaned over the edge and dropped it. A moment later it thumped against the bottom.

Leisa swallowed, trying to force the knot in her throat to go down as she tried to make out the material below the dim orange light. Were those bones? She couldn’t say, the torch didn’t light a very large area.

Serin took a deep breath, told the four men-at-arms to keep a watch. “Gorkis and Jasen, follow after the lady mage.”

“I’m coming,” Liesa said.

Serin raised an eyebrow. “It’s no place for a girl such as—“

“No,” Sorela said, breaking in. “She comes.”

Serin paused. “Very well,” he conceded, then the strong-armed Serafe took hold of the rope and began to repel down, seemingly without a care or a fear.

I wish I had that strength, Liesa thought, noticing the Sorela, too, had steeled herself as hard as Serin.