22. Chapter 21 #3
“Will you two shut up?” Ezra shouted over his shoulder.
Liam cast a shield over their heads while Maeve glared at the back of Ezra’s head before reaching to the sky.
With her magic, the rain felt less like shards of glass cutting her.
He turned back to face her, water sliding down his skin and dripping from his long eyelashes as he pulled her back to him.
“Try to use your magic with mine, okay?”
She nodded, gripping his hand tight. She reached for her magic, drawing it out to form a shield.
As she did, his magic moved rapidly in time with hers, tingling at her skin and spinning faster and faster until they were completely encased.
The iridescent shield rippled as the rain pelted against it.
The sound was muffled, reminding her of sitting inside a car on a rainy summer day.
He smiled, and she couldn’t help but join him. Her body was lighter than before, as if their magic coming together lit something deep inside her.
“Ready to keep going?” he asked.
She nodded. Her steps were easier now, despite the path being soaked with rain. She squinted over at the moons, trying to make out how much time they had left, when Ezra came to an abrupt stop. Ivy snapped her gaze back and swallowed roughly. His back was almost pressed against Maeve’s.
“What’s going on?” Ivy asked.
But she didn’t need them to respond because the room answered instead.
A rumble shook the bridge beneath her feet.
A crack like lightning sounded around them.
Except there was nothing in the sky. Ivy looked slowly behind her, and her breath lodged in her throat.
A part of the crossing they had just walked on cracked and crumbled away, crashing into the water below.
“The water’s eroding the st—” Maeve started explaining.
Liam cut her off. “Who gives a shit? Run!”
Ivy watched as the two of them bolted. Her lips quivered, her heart was clawing its way out of her chest, and she looked to Ezra, hoping for reassurance, but for the first time since starting the exam, he was terrified.
“We have to run, Ivy,” he said, his voice trembling at the end.
She shook her head. “No, no, I can’t do it, I’ll f—”
“Yes, you can.” Both of his hands cupped her face, forcing her to stare straight into his eyes. “You’ve gotten this far. You can finish this.”
“What if I fall?”
“Then I will catch you.” He pushed a strand of her wet hair back from her face. “And if I don’t, I will fall in with you. I promise you that. But if we don’t move now, that will happen, okay?”
She nodded as another piece crumbled away behind them. He slid one hand to hers, clasping tightly, before turning around and running down the bridge. The stone fell away faster. Their shield flickered away as she lost her concentration on her spell, and the rain poured over them again.
“We’re almost there!” he shouted. “Liam got across!”
She smiled as she wept—her body, her mind, her entire being ready for this to be over—and her chest heaved for air as they continued running. Ezra skidded to a stop, and she watched in horror as a piece of the bridge buckled in front of him and fell into the wild waters below.
“You guys need to jump!” Maeve called out.
Ezra spun around carefully to face Ivy. “I’ll go first, okay? The distance isn’t far.”
“Ez, no, please, I can—”
“Yes, you can, Ivy. Remember my promise, okay?”
She nodded once, but her entire body shook as soon as his hand left hers. He turned away from her and, without hesitation, jumped across the gap.
She watched as he faced her, backing up to leave enough space for her to land, but staying close enough to the ledge to grab her. Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down.
Instead, Ivy steeled herself. She could do it. If not for herself, then for Briar. For her parents. They were the reasons she stood here to begin with, and if she failed…what would there be?
With one last inhale, she leaned back and launched herself forward to jump over the broken bridge. As her foot slipped on the landing, Ezra’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against his hard body. She clutched his shoulders as she steadied herself.
“I got you,” he whispered, squeezing her gently.
She stared up at him as she nearly sank into his embrace, and her breath caught in her throat as his warm scent enveloped her. “Thank you.”
He pulled away from her slowly, taking his hand in hers as they ran the rest of the way to the stairs leading to the island where Liam and Maeve had stepped off.
As soon as Ivy’s feet hit the sand, she was never happier to be on solid ground. But she could celebrate once they were out of this damn exam. She dropped her bag to the ground, unzipped it, and pulled out the orb.
As the others pulled theirs out, they all picked a pillar and, one by one, placed them on top. A click sounded from inside the stone, locking the orb into place, and the top of the pillar opened to drag the glass inside.
Once the orbs were gone, the rain ceased, the multiple moons faded away into a single crescent, and the water stilled. She turned around to face the moss-covered marble statue. It was of a woman in a simple, draped dress that hung from a circular clip at her shoulders and hugged her curves.
The pillars sank into the earth, and rivulets of water rushed into the statue, seeping into its skin.
The marble transformed before them. Its moss-mottled stone gave way to moonlit olive skin, her coiffed white hair transformed into lustrous black, the stiffly draped dress softened against the statue’s curves, and glowed silver.
“You have shown great courage crossing these treacherous waters,” the statue spoke in the same ethereal voice from her assessment.
Her head turned tightly as she looked at the four of them, who were standing together in front of her.
“I thank you for returning what was taken from me. You have completed the exam.”
The illusion flickered around them. The exam room peeked through for only a moment before it returned to the vast, still ocean. “What’s happening?” Liam asked.
Ivy turned back to the statue, whose eyes fixated on her. She stumbled backward, her heel teetering at the edge of the island. The statue’s eyes were a deep green—or so she thought. Now, as they stared her down, they were amber-brown. The same color as Briar’s.
“What the hell?” she whispered. She looked frantically at the others, but they only watched the statue absent-mindedly, as if they were in a trance.
“Ivy Heartwell,” the statue said, her voice slithering like a snake down Ivy’s spine.
“The dead three will rise anew, finding a world they no longer wish to exist. The Fates will not answer the call for help, as their magic is fragmented, and spread across unwilling souls who cannot wield it. For the first time in our history, the future is not in their hands.”
“And whose hands is it in?”
The statue cackled maniacally. “To know the future is to be driven mad by it. To know it would unravel the fabric of the world, sowing chaos and discord in even the most remote places. I will not subject you to it. All I ask is that you remember these words.”
The woman mutated back into marble, and before the illusion faded, she saw a pair of hands disappearing into the hedges.
Ivy exhaled shakily when they returned to the exam room, the statue’s words replaying over and over in her mind.
Before she could think too long on it, she spotted a blue envelope with her name on it.
She snatched it, hoping Liam wouldn’t see, but when she turned, he was staring at her slipping it into her bag.
Her shoulders tensed as he turned to the others to speak. “Did the statue talk to anyone else?” Liam asked.
Relief washed over her. What were the chances he thought nothing of it? “Uh, yeah, weird way to end the exam,” she muttered as the door clicked open, allowing them to leave.