21. Lira
21
LIRA
I squatted on the platform to lessen the jarring of my body as I waited for the quick drop into the nightmare gas. My entire body clenched, remembering the misery of the gas from last time.
Would the Unseelie be okay with every single prisoner dying? Where was the fun in that, especially with the course from hell right in front of us? Why go to all that trouble to let us die here—but that could be the point, to make it more shocking and impactful.
Maybe that was why Eldrin had proclaimed that any survivors could have a reduced sentence—he knew no one would survive to claim it. That sounded like something manipulative he would do.
The platform didn’t drop right away but, instead, creaked underneath our feet.
The other prisoners squatted as well. Lorne flinched, and his face twisted in agony as he tried to crouch like the rest of us. If he fell, he’d drag me down with him.
I’d bet Eldrin was enjoying himself thoroughly.
The anticipation of the drop had to be worse than actually experiencing it. I wished the damn thing would just go because, by how fast my heart was racing and how much sweat was pooling in my armpits, I was near cardiac arrest level … or was that even a thing being a fae? I didn’t fucking know anymore.
Something creaked into place underneath us, and the platform moved slowly.
This had to be a trick, so I remained in position, waiting. I didn’t want to stand too quickly and be tossed off, but maybe if the drop was high enough, it would be a more pleasant death than inhaling poisonous gas.
After a few beats, Rona stood and glanced around. “Moira, we need to move. The other platforms aren’t lowering. If we don’t hurry, we’ll be too low to reach the next one.”
My hands fisted, my nails digging into my palms. They didn’t plan on killing us all at once, but now I understood how they would force us to go through each obstacle course. We’d get to choose—die by gas or navigate the threat ahead, as long as we didn’t run out of time.
“Then we should not delay.” Moira straightened, pushing her dusky-colored hair out of her face and moving so the two of them stood side by side at the edge.
Rona jumped, but Moira froze, staring at the gas below. Rona landed on the other platform near the edge and gripped one of the metal pillars while holding on to one of the strings that ran to the end where all the axes swung.
The chain tightened, and Moira jerked slightly forward. Bran grabbed her arm, holding her back a second before she sailed over the edge.
There was no slack between them, and Rona gritted her teeth, holding on to the edge .
“What in the blasted fury are you doing?” Rona rasped. “I thought we were coming over together .”
Now, the distance between each pair made sense. We had to move somewhat together or risk dying. I’d bet Lorne and I didn’t make the first jump because I suspected he’d rather die than let the Unseelie watch him work with me. I could only hope I was wrong.
“I … I might fall.” She glanced down at the gas. “I don’t think I can do it.”
I blinked, and laughter bubbled out. A fae was scared of heights. I understood that her wings were chained and useless, but they all gave off such a tough and gruff persona that I hadn’t expected this . It was such a human fear.
“You’re going to die if you don’t,” Bran snapped. “So move, or I’ll make you.”
The other four pairs shuffled closer, all of them wary. The platform was about an inch lower than the other one, which wasn’t a huge distance, but we were going to run out of time.
“If you won’t jump, move out of the way so the rest of us can. I’ll help you over, Moira,” the darker-skinned man rasped as he took a few steps forward.
We were doing exactly what Eldrin had hoped—working against each other, which would lead to most, if not all, of us dying. Even though I knew they’d turn on me at the next opportunity, my hatred for Eldrin was stronger than anything else.
“Don’t look down.” My voice sounded raspy from dirt and trauma. I cleared it, the dirt like sandpaper against my throat. “Keep looking at Rona and pretend you aren’t high up … that you’re on the ground.”
Bran jerked his body toward me and sneered, “We don’t need your help. We won’t fall for your deception. ”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I forced them to remain still. “I’m not deceiving you. The fear of heights is really tied to the fear of falling. Since she can’t use her wings, she doesn’t have that security. Looking down makes it look like we’re higher up than we really are, so she needs to forget and pretend we’re on level ground and stop overthinking it. This is a common human fear, so it’s something I’m more familiar with than any of you.”
“Oh, now you’re comparing us to humans.” Lorne spat, his nose wrinkling.
Lovely. He’d remembered how to speak.
I much preferred his silence.
“In this instance, yes.” If they wanted me to coddle them, they’d be sorely disappointed. “But if everyone wants to die and turn on each other, then please continue.” I waved a hand, indicating I would stand back and watch. I hoped my condescending tone would motivate them to prove me wrong.
Moira lifted her chin. “I’m not fearful like humans.” She turned around and jumped over the ledge. The chain between her and Rona went slack, and Rona released her death grip on the metal.
Some of the tension eased from my shoulders, and I looked at Lorne. “Are you ready to go?” With only a two-foot distance, I hoped he wouldn’t struggle to reach the other platform. The lower we got, the harder it would be for him to get across.
“You aren’t crossing before us,” Bran said and patted the darker-skinned man’s shoulder. “Dougal, take a step now.”
The two of them moved in tandem and made it easily over the barrier as Moira and Rona crawled underneath the axes.
Another pair tried to get in front of us, but Lorne stepped up to them and shoved one of them off the platform. The man dropped from sight with a yell and the man he was chained to reached for my arm to help him not fall over. On instinct, I almost took his hand, but Lorne knocked my arm away, and the second man fell after the first.
“Don’t you dare get us both killed.” Lorne’s jaw clenched. “I don’t plan on dying today, not even while stuck with you. Do you understand?”
Two sickening thuds came from below just as I nodded. My stomach churned as I realized how close I’d come to dying … again.
“Ready?” He arched a brow.
I nodded. We were about four inches below the platform, and Dougal and Bran were crawling under the axes.
“Now!” he barked, and we stepped over in tandem.
When my foot hit the other platform, the weight on my shoulders lightened. Even though we hadn’t gotten far, I’d learned that Lorne was willing to work with me enough to survive. That counted for more than I’d expected.
Lorne had stepped forward with his hurt leg, leaving his healthy one to anchor him from behind. When his injured foot hit the second platform, the area around his eyes tightened in pain, and he dropped to his knee.
I moved to help him but stopped short. I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his people and ruin the marginal goodwill brewing between us.
Though I doubted we’d survive with his mangled leg, especially given the third obstacle we’d have to get over, which would push his leg to the max, I wanted to take it one trial at a time and not get ahead of myself.
“Move, or we’ll trample you,” the white-haired man called from behind us. “We’re not going to wait here to die. ”
Lorne moved in front of me, not bothering to get back up from where he’d fallen.
I understood why. He wanted to pretend he’d meant to drop since we needed to crawl anyway, and I wouldn’t bruise his pride.
He hunkered close to the ground and moved forward as an axe swung right above his back. As I dropped to my knees, I watched Moira and Rona hop to the next empty platform. From this vantage point, I noticed there were thirty axes we had to move under. Some swung lower than others. Great. I’d belly-crawl if that’s what it took to get through this thing. I could only hope it was enough for the super-low areas.
The chain yanked on me, and Lorne turned to glare and rasped, “Get moving, sunscorched.”
I dropped to my stomach, ready to move, but the next axe sliced into his shoulder as he faced forward again. He groaned, and guilt swirled through me. He’d gotten injured because I’d been too slow to follow. I couldn’t do that again, especially since we were hindered enough as it was.
I lay back down and moved my legs and arms forward. They were stiff from when I’d fought at the very beginning, but at least I wasn’t injured. As I moved through the dirt, the axes whooshed over me. At times, I could feel the air against the back of my neck, causing fear to choke me, but I pushed it away and continued my trek forward.
I wasn’t sure how long we had left, but it felt like I’d been crawling forever when the platform underneath us began to creak like the last one had before it lowered.
My ears rang, and I inhaled, taking in a deep breath of dirt. This whole course was timed, which meant that, even though we had two hours, we didn’t have time to dawdle.
The dirt irritated my throat and lungs, and my entire body convulsed into a coughing fit as I forced myself to move. I turned my head to the side to keep from getting more dirt in my face, and a sharp pain sliced across the tip of my ear.
I hissed, wanting to see what damage had been done, but I couldn’t risk moving and getting injured.
“Come on, wildling,” Lorne said coldly. “You’re at the end. You’re almost out.”
Those words were enough to get my panic under control and move out, but something grabbed my ankle and dragged me back.
I yelped, unable to swallow the noise, and tried to free my foot.
“I want it noted that I am the one who killed the Seelie princess,” the white-haired guy chuckled. “Make sure you scream loud and give them a good show.” He lifted my leg, making his intention known.
He wanted an axe to chop it off. The axe directly over me swung past, so I turned to my right. He had both hands on my right ankle, with his face looking up to watch me. Using the few seconds between axe swings, I kicked the dick in the nose, resulting in a sickening crunch.
He groaned, and his hold loosened on my ankle. I kicked both feet as hard as I could, and when he released me, I crawled forward as quickly as possible.
The sound of flesh tearing came from behind me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the metal poles marking the end, so I crawled until Lorne’s feet appeared beside me … nothing else. He had to be standing, so I pulled my legs underneath me and stood.
I spun around, wondering if the white-haired guy was right on me, but bile inched up my throat. The man’s head was cut up and bloody, and he lay limp on the ground. His partner was behind him, trying to shove him forward to get through.
The world shrank around me at the realization that I’d killed yet another person.
“We need to keep moving,” Lorne rasped, turning my attention to him. “Or we die. Though I’d love to see you fade into oblivion, I’d rather it not be while you’re chained to me.”
At least we were on the same side … for now.
Pushing away the horror, I focused on the task ahead. “Let’s go.”
We moved easily to the next platform, but the second obstacle course—a thin beam with swords sticking out from all around—had already begun descending.
We were taking too much time.
The other two groups had already made it to the caged steeple with the fire underneath. A sour taste filled my mouth. That one would be hard for Lorne, so we needed to reach it as soon as possible to give ourselves as much time as we could get.
Lorne must have realized the same thing because he moved up the stone steps and waved for me to follow.
He balanced on the thin piece of wood and waited. Growing up, I’d never been one for gymnastics, desiring to be out in the woods, swimming and kayaking. At this point, I wished I’d gotten familiar with the balance beam.
I tightened my core and stepped on, hoping like hell I could balance.
I held out my arms, helping to keep me centered, and took a step. My foot wobbled, and I swayed from side to side.
“Don’t overthink it!” Lorne barked. “Just focus on the end. Use your own advice. ”
A laugh lodged in my throat, but I swallowed it, not wanting to add more instability to my balance. I inched forward.
The two of us moved with caution, and each time he had to use his bad leg, he wobbled as well. I didn’t call him out on it—that wouldn’t help him since it wasn’t something he could fix.
When we got to the midway point, the platform jerked, and something clicked behind me. I started, and my foot wobbled on the beam, so I placed the other one down, forcing myself to center.
I turned and saw that a sword had shot a few inches upward.
Lorne continued, so I cleared my mind, needing to catch up before the chain strained between us. Keeping my eyes on the piece of wood in front of me, I tried to tune out the rest of the world.
At the end, I stepped onto the level platform and noticed we were six inches lower than the other platform.
That wasn’t a good sign. We were getting farther and farther behind.
Lorne and I glanced at each other, and no words were needed as we stepped onto the next empty platform. But when we looked at the towering wall of metal chains we had to climb up and down, icy tendrils of fear curled around my chest.
The two groups in front of us were moving at a much faster pace, but Rona and Moira were still making their way to the top, and Bran and Dougal were on their way down. The second group had taken the lead, but even they were moving slower than I’d expected.
Not wanting to insult Lorne, I tried to keep my tone light. “Are you ready?” Of all the challenges, this was the one likeliest to kill us. The climb would take both arm and leg strength to complete.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, telling me more with his curt reply than if he’d used more words.
We made our way onto the third platform and stood at the bottom, looking up. The incline was forty feet high, with a blazing fire underneath to make us sweat and overheat while we strained every muscle.
I decided to take the lead. He might need me to support some of his weight as he climbed, and we’d already wasted too much time. At least the platform hadn’t begun descending yet.
Taking a deep breath, I gripped the first chain to pull myself up, but the skin on my palm burned. I gasped and jerked away, stumbling back, and the heel of my foot missed the back of the platform.
My body tipped backward.