Jaded Series (Books 1-2)

Thrust. Pull. Keep the forward grip loose enough. Thrust into horizontal swipe. Over shoulder to realign for another thrust.

Jin mindlessly went through the spear forms in the front yard as the sun rose in the eerily grim forest. Mist curled around her feet this early, but the sweat rolling down her back made it obvious that the chill air wasn't affecting her as much as she wanted.

She had barely slept last night, but her mind simply refused to quiet down. Basima had actually kissed her, which quickly turned into touching that she made sure remained under the covers. While she had had a couple of girlfriends before trying to move past her impossible crush on Phoenix, those had been rather short-lived, and she had never gotten that far with any of them before.

It had definitely helped confirm her sexuality for her, and it was difficult to keep her mind from replaying the experience over and over again. She eventually gave up after waking up for the third time and came out here to burn off the excess energy.

Exercise routines had always helped her calm down and ground her emotions, letting her focus on the clear repetition and physical exhaustion wear down her anxiety or anger. It cleared her mind so she could focus on the more pertinent pieces one at a time instead of getting overwhelmed by it all.

Thrust. Circle to disarm. Pull. Twirl for the AOE. Pull. Hop into downward thrust. Vertical swipe up to split.

"Jin! Come look!" Basima's voice interrupted her almost trance-like state.

With heavy breaths at the exertion, she paused and leaned against her spear as she turned to look at the woman who had so quickly claimed her heart. She was wearing the same dress as last night, but the makeup was lessened to just lipstick, and her hair was down today.

Beside her on the porch was Liraz, wearing a cute yellow dress that hung loosely but fell to her ankles and had short sleeves. She also had two matching bows tied into her odd blue hair that glistened like opaque slime in the dawn light.

"You're adorable, Li," Jin called out to them with a grin.

Liraz looked away shyly and clutched that little slime cushion closer to her chest, but Jin managed to catch the softly spoken "thanks" that she gave.

Jin redirected her gaze back to Basima and asked, "Is it time for breakfast, or did you want to practice more of the martial forms?"

The most wicked smile she had ever seen on Basima's face appeared as she replied, "There are more fun ways to get some exercise if you want to go back upstairs."

She didn't stop the blush flooding her cheeks that time, especially after last night when she realized that Basima liked seeing her reactions. After swallowing a few times, she managed to say, "Let's keep that to the night hours; otherwise, I'll never get anything else done."

Basima laughed but thankfully didn't argue. Jin didn't think she would have been able to resist the temptation if she had asked a second time. "I can go see if Kar is awake yet, but we can—"

The look of terror that suddenly crossed Basima's face as she cut off her words and pulled Liraz closer to her had Jin instantly on alert. Spinning in place to try and find the threat Basima had seen.

It didn't take even a second for her to spot the group of people partially obscured in the mist, but it was definitely humans moving near them.

Adrenaline flooded her system in an instant as she prepared to attack as soon as they made a sign of hostility or crossed the barrier into their territory. Attacking first felt like a grave mistake when she was outnumbered ten to one. The numbers were what made her heart sink in realization of which group this had to have been.

"We've been at this for days, Antoni!" one of the people called out. "Are you sure we're not going in circles?"

"Of course we're going in circles," another snapped back. "It's a fucking circular tower floor, dumbass."

"Shut it, Dannie," another gruffer voice said from the front of the group. "Nawal, are you sure your map is accurate?"

"Considering how many times we've made a complete circle at this point, I definitely am. I was a bit fuzzy on this area, and the closer we're getting to the center, but you were the one who said we needed to focus on finding all the Sect Bases before looking for the boss," a woman replied that Jin could fully make out now.

The stranger glanced around in confusion, but her gaze seemed to just slide over Jin from her position a few yards away. The leader moved closer to her to look at the parchment in her hands. He was wearing a heavy-looking steel chestplate that glinted in the few beams of sunlight peeking through the trees, but still had the basic Sliksilk clothing on under it. Apparently, the Fighter had already been spending their points to get some armor pieces.

Jin actually recognized the man as the Fighter who had gone first and been Blessed by the Lion god. He had been the one topping the leaderboards with her.

Antoni looked up and around the area again but his gaze also seemed to slide over her, unseeing them. "There's nothing but trees everywhere. Are you certain we didn't get turned around?"

Nawal huffed in annoyance and closed what Jin assumed was a map. "I'm certain, but we still have a lot of this zone to cover. Our cabin is on the opposite side, and it took a whole day just to circle over here. If you would just let us walk through the middle—"

"I'm not risking us running into the boss yet," he growled out, cutting off her words. "I may want the points, but preemptively attacking whatever it is will definitely kill some of us. While I know I'm worth half of this lot, I'm not going to just throw away the extra damage."

"I told you we should have asked the Lovers to loan us a healer," another woman said as she walked up to the pair, crossing her arms over the leather chestplate she wore.

"And I told you that we may eventually, Jilani," Antoni retorted. "Right now, they'd just be dead weight while we scout."

"Unless any of us gets ambushed by one of those Caerbannogs," she replied with a flat look.

"If those dumb bunnies manage to get the jump on one of us, they deserve the death. Either way, a healer at this level can't mend a decapitation. For now we focus on the points, find more of those damn Trials, and gear up enough before planning our attack on the floor boss. I'm not going to be as reckless as last Season's Lead Fighter."

"Tell that to the tree you mauled," Jilani muttered.

Antoni leveled a glare at her. "I took my frustration out on the tree precisely to avoid ordering Fighters to their deaths." He turned to the others in the group briefly before scanning the area and pointing off to Jin's right. "Let's head toward the center for another mile before circling back. We need to rest tonight after moving through last night. I'm not going to risk a second night without sleep."

"Shouldn't have risked the first night," Jilani grumbled as she began to turn to follow. "We're not Crystal Casters yet that can easily handle a night before—" She cut herself off and paused to look around again, sniffing the air for a moment before asking, "Does anyone else smell cider and cookies?"

"I believe that's your stomach thinking, Ji," one of the other men called over with a laugh. "Demir's been doing a decent job with the monster meat, but I'm hoping we can trade the Workers for some actual baked goods soon."

"Maybe, but I swear I'm smelling cookies…"

"It could be a monster lure," another man said, gesturing for Jilani to follow them. "Come on. You know Antoni's going to get pissy if you fall behind."

Jilani shook her head as if clearing the scent and moving again to follow after as she muttered, "Well, Antoni can just suck my fat—"

Alim's hand on her arm made Jin nearly trigger her [Leap] with how tense she had been that entire time she watched the group of Fighters talk.

"Sorry. I should have added scent to the wards, but I don't know that one," he signed apologetically. "I only managed to add sight and sound. Good to know it's working."

"We would have all been dead if they hadn't," she signed back after reigning in her surprise. "Once again, you've saved us."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He shook his head. "If she had tried to follow the scent and walked through the barrier, we would have been equally dead. We got lucky."

She nodded and asked, "Should we skip the armor and get that ritual book then?"

"No. They probably won't be back for a while if it takes them that long just to get here, and they now think this area is clear. I didn't catch everything they said about the boss, though."

"They're just waiting to gear up and gain more powers before approaching it. It sounded like they've also found other Trials, but I'm not sure if we should risk hunting for them and running into that group. They outnumber us almost two-to-one."

"We might have to if we don't want to get killed on the second-floor ascent," he pointed out. "We're not strong enough as we currently are. Unless you can manage to loot more Aspects, there isn't any other way to gain them before the boss."

Jin gave a heavy sigh but nodded her understanding. If they wanted to survive, they would need to keep taking risks.

Alim gestured back toward the cabin as he signed, "Come on. Let's go make some breakfast and strategize."

"What the fuck? Did you really need to kill Cinnamon?" Blossom shouted at Pax as he stood over the unmoving body of the barely clothed woman who had been washing in the pond outside the Lovers' cabin. He had been kind enough to drag her out of the water before getting blood everywhere.

"I bet he's that traitor Whisper that's been on a murder spree in here," one of the others spoke up. That man had longer black hair that framed a thin face with sharper angles. A crowd was starting to gather now as the Lovers who had been inside joined to see what Blossom was screaming about.

One of the women with long brown hair gasped. "Is he gonna kill us all?"

"He didn't kill all the Speakers for some reason."

"Maybe they chased him off? They do outnumber him," another man said, this one with short blonde hair and a handsome face that was softer than the first.

Pax eyed the group, weighing his options. He still had quite a few left on his list to assassinate as soon as possible, but Cinnamon had been the only Lover listed. Not only had she suspected the rebels among the Champions, but she had been the impetus for multiple raids on suspected rebel safehouses, claiming she had been attacked by the occupants without ever having even met them.

Most of the Lovers weren't sympathetic to the nobles, but some were just ambitious enough to trade the lives of their Sect members for a chance at preferential treatment.

It sickened Pax to see that level of greed, but it was difficult to balance that with the amount of blood staining his own hands. Wasn't he just as greedy for a better life for himself if he was more than willing to slaughter anyone who stood in his way?

There were four blondes left among the seven Lovers, now all gathered and staring at him with a mixture of expressions. Unfortunately, hair color was all he had been given to go off of for his rebel contact among them.

He was too exposed now to risk calling them out, not unless he really was willing to murder the rest of them. Blossom was the only person he recognized from the Pleasure Sect, and he was fairly certain she wasn't on his side. She had been aiming for Petal's position as Sect Leader, and from the information he could recall on her, she was hoping that proving herself in the Tower would give her the edge over the man who had transferred from the Speakers years ago.

Blossom crossed her arms over her chest as he stood there silently and prompted him, "Well? Are you planning to kill us like the traitor Hale says you are?"

"Maybe he's hoping to get some free points with a quick lay first?" one of the women with long blonde hair said, and he mentally crossed that one off his list of possible contacts for the way her eyes roved over his body and her intentions clear as day to his [Truesight]. She wasn't trying to deceive anyone with her suggestion at the moment.

He wasn't sure how she could possibly want to do anything with him at the moment since he knew he looked like a complete mess after almost two weeks of hunting in this cursed forest. The silver of his Sliksilk gear was barely visible through the dirt and blood stains. Sadly, some of it was even his own when he had been caught by a pack of brushwolves when trying to fill his water flask at one of the streams. Their keen sense of smell had almost killed him.

Pax had been lucky to find one of the Trials of the Aspects, where he could take refuge inside to get some rest and obtain another Aspect for himself. The parkour event of the first room had been child's play for him, but the timed maze of the second half had been a decent challenge.

"I'm doing okay in the point department," he finally said, trying to appear more casual as he walked back over to the pond. "I just came for Cinnamon, but if any of you want to join her, I will happily assist you in crossing the Veil."

"I think we'll pass," said the raven-haired man called Hale. "Are you going to leave now?"

Pax got the worst of the blood and grime off his hands in the natural bath before splashing some of the water on his face. The sweat mixing with the dirt was getting irritating, but he couldn't risk an actual bath, especially with the Lovers standing there watching him. Despite them seemingly being non-combative, he knew they had killed some monsters that first day just to reach the cabin, so they weren't completely helpless, and he had no idea what Aspects they had bonded.

He took his time to answer, not wanting to look at all rushed or bothered by his audience. Most of the other Sects were raised to fear the Whispers, especially the slips like him that were in the business of assassination.

"Do you have any food?" he asked as though contemplating staying for dinner.

"You know we've been using points to buy the Weekly Rations," Blossom retorted with narrowed eyes. Her aura lighting up as truthful once again to his sight. "If you're so flush with points, perhaps you should do the same?"

Pax scoffed and stood to gesture at his lower half. "Do you have any idea how expensive these boots and pants were? I'm about out of the rations I bought early on."

"How did you manage to get them both in black?" the blonde man asked with a smirk, and Pax wondered if the smile was a subtle sign that he was the rebel in their midst.

"What's your name?"

"Rayyan," he answered without hesitation or a hint of deceit.

"Well, Rayyan, apparently Rabbit wasn't pissed at me for choosing Chameleon over them, and I managed to get Dark-Attuned options each time," Pax explained with a grin. He bent to wet his hands again and ran them through his own golden-blonde hair to try and tame it back out of his eyes. Looking over the mostly anxious group once more, he asked, "So, have all of you just been banging for the last two weeks to rack up the points and wait for the boss kill announcement?"

"Basically," Blossom answered, though she didn't seem pleased about having to talk more to him.

"Meet any other Sects in here yet?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Planning to track them down and murder them all, too?"

Pax gave a placating smile. "My lovely Blossom, I'm merely trying to make conversation and find out if you'll all be safe without me here to protect you from the beasts that roam in the dark."

"So far, you're the most dangerous beast we've run into."

"Ouch. Point taken," he said, but was unsatisfied by the flicker of deception in her aura. With a pointed look, he spoke a subtle threat, "Well, this beast might be satisfied with just that first meal if his questions are answered."

Blossom scowled at him but caved a moment later after looking back at Cinnamon's unrecognizable face. "The Fighters have stopped by a few times. A few of them to… release some stress, but Antoni's made it pretty clear that he'll want us to assist with the floor boss when they're ready."

"Did he mention a timeline for that?"

She shook her head. "Not an exact one, but he seemed adamant about leaving the first floor halfway through the time limit."

"Six weeks is fairly average," Pax replied with a shrug. "He won't be breaking any records in either direction, but I'm surprised he's not rushing. The reports I've read on him paint him as… temperamental."

"Considering he slapped Muffin here for speaking out of turn, I'd say he's plenty temperamental," Blossom snarled, gesturing with a nod toward the smaller brunette beside her. "He's an arrogant bastard, but he doesn't seem like a complete idiot either."

"Maybe I'll go pay him a visit for you all then," Pax thoughtfully said, scratching at the stubble on his cheeks that was growing more than he normally liked. He needed to find an actual knife or cough up the stupidly expensive points for the shop weapon.

Blossom looked between him and Cinnamon for a long time before she finally asked him, "What did she do to deserve a visit from a slip?"

He observed her carefully before stating simply, "She caused the deaths of a lot of innocent people seeking refuge from cruelty."

Murmurs broke out among the group, and the woman he had already crossed off his list of contacts muttered to the others, "He's one of those rebel trouble-makers."

"What do you know about those rumors, Sheila?" Rayyan surprised him by retorting. "You act like you actually know what they're trying to do."

"I know they've been making a mess of our district more than others," she snapped. "You have any idea how much heat my Coterie got when one of them painted their stupid message on the side of our shop?"

Pax remained quiet as he watched the group arguing amongst themselves, taking note of who fell on which side of the line and those who remained silent. Eventually, he raised a hand and interjected, "Unless you have someone you want to request I take out in exchange for some points or a bar of soap, I'm going to get on my way now. Plenty more murders to commit, you know?"

Blossom actually rolled her eyes at him, and he could stop the smirk it tugged from his lips. "It's not like they're leaving the tower any time soon," she pointed out. Hesitation crossed her face for a moment before she added, "I'll give you a bar of soap now, though, if you'll add Jilani to that list. She's Antoni's second."

He raised a questioning brow. "You don't want to add Slaptoni to the list instead?"

"That guy's a prick, but Jilani…" She shivered at some kind of memory before turning to pull a different woman forward from the back of the group. Blossom whispered something to a shorter, lithe woman before brushing back the purple hair that was covering the right half of her face. A nasty wound ran vertically across the eye that had been completely removed from the socket.

Pax felt his jaw drop at the sight despite knowing he shouldn't, but what Blossom was implying…

"That bitch is a ruthless sadist," Blossom confirmed. "Abzu is a painter, and when Jilani didn't like what she made here, she took her eye as… punishment," she spat out, letting the hair fall back to cover the poor artist's face. "She deserves to hear the Whispers in the dark."

His face hardened at the information. With a curt nod, Pax promised, "Consider her at the top of the list now."