Chapter Thirty-Three
Brigid
The forest looms before me, a wall of darkness that seems to pulse with malevolent energy. My heart hammers against my ribs as Dean Fiona ’ s voice cuts through the tense silence.
“ Welcome to your final Harrowing challenge, kiddos,” she announces, her usually jovial tone replaced by something harder. “ What lies beyond this treeline will test every skill you ’ ve learned at Grimstone. Some of you won ’ t make it back.”
Hearing it stated so bluntly makes my stomach churn.
“ You have one hour,” Fiona continues. “ Survive, and you pass. Die, and... well, at least you won ’ t have to worry about finals!” She laughs, but no one else does.
My fingers twitch, shadow magic frizzing beneath my skin. I want to run, to hide, to do anything but step into that forest. But I can ’ t. The Harrowing isn ’ t exactly a choice to be made.
“ Begin!”
Students surge forward, their faces a mix of resolution and terror. I force my legs to move, each step feeling like I ’ m wading through treacle.
As I cross the treeline, the air changes. It ’ s thicker, heavier, charged with an unearthly energy that makes my hair stand on end. My shadow magic tingles, more responsive than ever before.
I move cautiously, every sense on high alert. The forest floor is soft beneath my feet, muffling my steps. Branches reach out, snagging at my clothes. I push them aside, trying to ignore their purposeful impediment of my progress.
A twig snaps nearby. I whirl, hands raised, ready to unleash a blast of shadow. But it ’ s just another student, looking as spooked as I feel.
“ Shit,” he mutters. “ Don ’ t do that.”
I nod, not trusting my voice. We share a look of understanding before parting ways. There are no alliances here, not really. It ’ s everyone for themselves.
As I press deeper into the forest, I try to remember that I ’ m not the same scared girl who arrived at Grimstone Academy months ago. I ’ ve learned, trained, become stronger. Whatever this trial throws at me, I can handle it.
A rustle in the underbrush catches my attention. I freeze, calling forth my shadow magic. It responds eagerly, spiraling around my fingers like smoke. But there ’ s nothing there. Just a mouse, getting the hell out of dodge.
I brace myself, wondering what kind of nightmare the academy has conjured for us today.
But I ’ m not ready. Not really. Because nothing could have prepared me for what happens next.
The trees thin and the dead, brown grasses get taller as I realize there ’ s a giant lake in front of us.
The lake ’ s surface ripples, sending out concentric circles that shatter the mirror-like stillness. My breath catches in my throat as I watch, mesmerized by the beauty of it. The air grows colder, mist rising from the water in ghostly tendrils.
Suddenly, the ice at the lake ’ s edge explodes outward. Shards fly everywhere, forcing me to duck and cover my face. When I look up, my legs turn to jelly and I ’ m rooted to the spot.
Rising from the depths is a creature straight out of a nightmare. It ’ s massive, easily the size of a house, with slimy, iridescent scales that shimmer in the weak sunlight. But it ’ s the heads that make my heart stop. Not one, not two, but seven serpentine necks stretch towards the sky, each crowned with a head bristling with razor-sharp teeth.
“ Holy fuck,” someone whispers nearby. “ It ’ s a hydra.”
The beast ’ s multiple sets of eyes, glowing an otherworldly green, scan the shoreline. I can see other students frozen in terror, some already backing away. But there ’ s nowhere to run. The trees seem to shift, hemming us in like a cage. The forest at our backs feels more like a prison now than an escape. My mind races, searching for any scrap of knowledge about hydras from our mythical creatures class. Damn. Why didn ’ t I pay more attention?
A piercing shriek fills the air as one of the hydra ’ s heads darts forward, snatching a student in its jaws. A sickening crunch cuts the boy ’ s screams short.
That breaks the spell of terror. Students scatter; some try unsuccessfully to flee back into the woods, while others desperately try to circle the lake. I urge myself to go forward, diving behind a large boulder as another head snaps at the space I just vacated.
My heart pounds so hard I can barely hear anything else.
Think, Brigid.
I peek around the rock, assessing the situation. The hydra ’ s massive body is still half-submerged, giving it a limited range on land. But those necks are long and lightning-fast.
Then I see Laria across the clearing, her face twisted in an ugly sneer as she shoves past a smaller student, using him as a human shield. The hydra ’ s attention turns that way, giving me a moment to breathe.
A memory surfaces - something Lochan taught me during training. “ When faced with a superior opponent, don ’ t try to overpower them. Use their strength against them.”
Right. Easy for him to say when he ’ s not staring down seven sets of gnashing teeth.
I roll to avoid another strike, mud squelching beneath me. The hydra ’ s attacks are growing more frenzied, heads moving and striking with a speed that should be impossible for something that size. Some try to fight back with magic that seems to barely scratch the beast ’ s hide.
I ’ m about to make a run for it when movement catches my eye. Laria ’ s creeping up behind me. Should ’ ve known she ’ d try something.
“ Hey, freak,” she hisses, lunging forward. Her hands connect with my back, shoving hard. “ Why don ’ t you go play with your new friend?”
I stumble, nearly face planting into the muddy ground, but I stay vertical. The hydra ’ s closest head whips around, jaws gaping.
Fuck. No time to think.
Shadow magic surges through me, cool and familiar. I let it consume me, my body dissolving into inky darkness just as teeth snap shut where I stood a heartbeat ago.
Laria ’ s triumphant laugh cuts off in a choked gasp as she stumbles through my incorporeal form. She windmills her arms, trying to regain balance, but she ’ s too close to the hydra. One of its heads darts forward.
My solid form snaps back into place.
She whirls, eyes wide with terror as she comes face-to-face with certain death. Part of me wants to let her face the consequences of her actions. She tried to kill me, after all. But I can ’ t.I ’ m not a monster.
I ’ m not her.
I grab Laria ’ s arm, yanking her back. We both hit the ground hard as jaws snap shut inches from where she stood.
“ Get off me!” Laria sputters as she pushes herself up. She uses her vampire speed to run.
Multiple heads swivel towards me, eyes gleaming with hunger. I dive behind a fallen tree just as a head strikes, its teeth sinking into the wood, splinters flying everywhere.
I press my back against the fallen tree, my mind racing. The hydra ’ s heads writhe above me, searching for their prey. I can ’ t keep dodging forever. I need a plan.
My shadow magic pulses beneath my skin, eager to be unleashed. An idea forms, wild and desperate. If I can ’ t overpower the hydra, maybe I can outsmart it.
I close my eyes, reaching out with my magic. The shadows around me respond, turning into inky tendrils that slither across the ground. I shape them, willing them to form a net of darkness.
A familiar presence suddenly materializes beside me. Marius.
His obsidian eyes meet mine, a silent understanding passing between us.
If anyone had told me I ’ d be waking up in his arms this morning, I would have said they were insane. But he stayed all night with me, only slipping away in the early morning light. I don ’ t yet know what this is between us, but I know we ’ re linked in a way that is not just about our shadow magic. It ’ s unsettling, and potent, just like the darkness that runs under my skin.
“ I ’ ll distract it,” he says. “ You trap it.”
I nod. Marius steps out from behind our cover, his own shadows dancing around him. The hydra ’ s heads snap towards him, drawn by the display of magic.
Now ’ s my chance. I dart out, circling wide. My shadow net spreads before me, ready to spring.
Marius dances between the hydra ’ s striking heads, a blur of motion. His shadows lash out, stinging the beast ’ s eyes and confusing its attacks. It ’ s the opening I need.
I sprint forward, unleashing my net of shadows. It expands rapidly, enveloping the hydra ’ s gigantic form. The creature thrashes, its heads whipping wildly as it tries to break free. But my magic holds firm, constricting tighter with each movement.
“ Now, Brigid!” Marius shouts.
I focus all my energy, willing the shadows to solidify. The net transforms into unbreakable chains, binding the hydra ’ s heads together. It crashes to the ground with an earth-shaking thud, immobilized.
Panting, I stumble back. The forest falls spookily silent as the remaining students emerge from hiding. Dean Fiona materializes at the edge of the clearing, slow-clapping.
“ Well done, Ms. Ryan,” she says, her eyes gleaming. “ It seems you ’ ve exceeded expectations yet again.”
I nod weakly, exhaustion settling into my bones. Marius appears at my side, steadying me with a hand on my lower back, his contact welcome for once. Fiona notices and she narrows her eyes.
But I ’ m too exhausted to even try to imagine why.