Chapter 22 #2
“Or a fight,” Ciara suggested with a shrug. “The king seems to love a good show; perhaps he’s looking for a brawl.”
Mara shifted behind me a little further, and Brisa only rolled her eyes.
“There’s no need for that,” Avalyn said. “I can agree that a vote would be a far more civilized choice than trying to fight for the last door. We can vote on who will stay behind. I’m amenable to the idea if everyone else is.”
“So long as I get the door I want, I’ll vote,” Ciara said, further claiming the blue one she was standing in front of.
“I’ll vote,” Mara said meekly, raising her hand while peering out from behind my shoulder.
“That makes a majority,” Brisa said, not giving me or Sybil a chance to share our thoughts. “On the count of three, everyone will point to the person that will stay behind. Whoever has the most fingers aimed at them will respectfully take last place.”
Nothing about this felt respectful, but I didn’t have much of an option, and I wasn’t going to waste my own vote.
“One…” Brisa shifted forward, as did the other girls until we formed a circle. “Two, three!”
Everyone pointed all at once, even Sybil. I chose to vote for Brisa, her smile glaring back at my outstretched finger as she directed her own vote back at me. She had seemed like the wisest choice to vote out, due to her confidence in the challenge, but apparently, no one else shared my sentiment.
Mara had voted for Sybil, which made sense considering the scare she had given us in the last event. Everyone else…had voted for me.
Guess they all hate me more than I thought.
“Pity,” Brisa smirked, her know-it-all tone like an irritating wind chime. “Looks like the unwanted princess is still unwanted.”
“Wait!” Mara stepped into the center of the group looking entirely distraught. “Why Diaspro? Shouldn’t someone more dangerous stay behind? Or someone with a higher score?”
She desperately looked around at the other competitors, hopelessly pleading for my life.
“You know my reason for voting,” Avalyn said, refusing to look at me. “It’s nothing personal.”
“Of course it’s personal,” Ciara scoffed, her long finger still pointed at me. “Don’t deny it, Avalyn. We all know who’s to blame for getting us in this mess.”
“You make a valid point.” Avalyn tapped a thumb to her chin, deciding to grace me with her deep-green glare. “It’s very personal.”
“I’ll keep my reason to myself,” Sybil said coldly. “You can use your imagination.”
There wasn’t much to imagine, other than her beady smile looking down at me as she tried to stab me in my sleep.
“My choice was purely strategical,” Brisa said proudly, even though no one asked her.
“Unlike the rest of you, I actually want to be here. Winning this competition means earning a place of power where my intelligence will be put to proper use, and only one of you has ever come close to beating me in a battle of the brains before.”
The first event?
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be honored or irritated that Brisa saw me as a proper threat, but right now I wasn’t pleased with the outcome it gave me.
A harsh knock rattled the entry door, causing a few of the girls to jump at the sudden sound.
“Time’s up,” the guard from earlier called from the other side. Sure enough, the last grain of sand was just now trickling to the bottom of the glass. I had lost. “Step through your chosen door now.”
The girls scrambled to claim a remaining door, and Mara, who had been halfway standing in front of the pink one, looked back at me with watery eyes. “Diaspro, I-I’m so sorry.”
“Just go, hurry!” I urged her forward, and her lip wobbled like a scolded child as she turned away to push open the door and step through.
Ciara burst through the blue door, just as she’d wanted to, and Avalyn took off through the red. I looked over at the brown door, expecting to see Sybil barging through it, but was surprised to find no one in front of it.
Wait—where’s Syb—
“Hey!” Brisa’s shrill scream made me whirl around just in time to see Sybil yank Brisa back by the arm and throw her ruthlessly to the ground. My jaw dropped as the sly cheat pushed open the grey door, giving Brisa a taunting wink as she stepped backwards through the opening with an innocent shrug.
“Thanks for picking the best door for me,” Sybil said, slamming the door behind her and leaving Brisa shaking with fury.
Brisa’s attention immediately shifted to the brown door, then to me, both of us sharing the same competitive thought as I immediately took off toward the remaining door. Brisa scrambled to get up off the floor, but she was at too much of a disadvantage after Sybil’s attack.
“Wait! That’s mine!” Brisa shouted, stretching out an arm that would never reach me as I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
“Sorry,” I said, closing the door behind me and pausing halfway. “I’m just being strategic.” And then I slammed the door shut.
She continued screaming on the other side, banging her fists on the door.
Never in my life would I have expected to be grateful to Sybil.
I let out a long sigh, my knees shaking a bit after the relief that came from not having points deducted from my score.
The only question that was left was if I had scored anything.
I turned back down the narrow hallway. It was dark and barely wide enough to walk through with what appeared to be temporary walls and a ceiling made of a flimsy wood.
It was likely that the entire room had been built to accommodate the unusual challenge, but all that mattered was what lay at the end of the hall I’d chosen.
I neared the end, my heart lifting as I saw the first glimpse of a tall figure waiting at the end. One that was too tall to be Cedric, too young to be the king, and who irritated me far too much to be Atlas.
“Hello, Lochlan.”