26. Poppy
POPPY
I can't make myself look up.
I can't look across to where Vael stands.
The thought of him seeing some of the lowest moments of my life makes my stomach hurt.
My ex’s passive-aggressive gaslighting, my father's certainty that I was too stupid to do anything with myself, and that horrific malpractice nightmare Ken must have pulled straight out of my worst dreams...
it's all laid bare over a pit of literal lava.
A loud chime echoes from the ceiling.
"Time for the final verdict, contestants," Ken announces, his hologram materializing in the air between our pillars. "Identify the lie for each contestant to unlock the next trial or prepare for the worse. Choose wisely."
"The third scenario is a lie," I yell across the lava, my voice clear. "You didn't execute that commanding officer in his tent, Vael. You’re the most honorable man I’ve met, and you’ve showed me that time and time again."
Vael-Torin tracks my face, his brow softening as his long tail whips in the air behind him.
“Correct,” Ken crows, clapping his hands. “Now your turn, Vael-Torin.”
"The third scenario is a lie. Poppy would never fail someone in need, ever." He says it with real conviction, and I wish he was next to me so I could squeeze his hand.
Our columns lurch forward, and I let out a squeak, wobbling on my one heel. They hit the black embankment with a heavy crash, and I leap to safety the split second I can. Fuck these heels. Hopping, I take one off, then the other, and then toss them into the lava.
“Goodbye, preciouses,” I yell after them, the heat making my eyebrows feel singed.
Vael scoops me right up, his arms anchoring me against his chest. “You will hurt your feet.”
“Better my feet than falling into lava on some shitty heels.” I loved those heels, but the preciouses are gone now.
“I am proud of you, my mate,” Vael murmurs, brushing a talon across my jaw. “Those males wanted you to feel small, to keep you small, and instead you remained true to yourself and what you believed was right. You should be proud, too.”
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” I tell him, my gaze darting between his eyes. “I’m sorry for what you’ve had to endure.”
“I have you now,” he says simply. “What matters now is what we do next.”
He gives me a meaningful look, and I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what he’s driving at. We need to get the hell out of Dodge.
Somehow. I swallow hard, because I don’t have a plan for this.
I’ve had a plan almost my entire life, but now, when it matters most, I’m flying by the seat of my pants. Or, more accurately, the seat of Vael’s pants.
Whatever.
"We've made our choices, Ken," I call out, my fingers locking tightly into Vael's warm, scaled hand. "Open the damn door."
A mechanical groan sounds from the walls.
Ken doesn’t say anything, the eyes in his hologram glowing white, like whatever powers his thinking has momentarily vanished.
A narrow opening with red light strips appears, and there’s no doubt it’s the path Ken wants us to take next.
One more challenge down.
Across the lava, Zan and Lily are moving ahead. Zan favors his broken wing while Lily matches his pace, and then they disappear behind their own doors.
Thank fuck they made it through. I don’t know how I’m going to live with myself for what I’ve done to my friends.
First though, I have to make it out alive.