Chapter Forty-Four #2
“Just wear the damned thing, you lucky bitch,” Shadrie snapped playfully. “We need to get moving. You three already missed breakfast and the death toll, and I don’t want to find out if we end up on tomorrow’s for being late to our last trial.”
We hurried across campus, Zypher not leaving my side until we arrived at the cathedral.
He kissed me softly, wishing me luck before vanishing in the throngs of students back the way we’d come.
I let the crowd move me forward, one hand clutching Gabriel’s as the other reached for Shadrie.
The closer we got to the threshold, the more my gut screamed that something wasn’t right.
I tried to convince myself it was just my nerves, but the moment we finally stepped inside, the floor beneath us gave way.
My hands were ripped from Gabriel and Shadrie’s as the world spun out around me.
I landed with a thud on my backside, towering walls rising up on either side.
I pushed myself back to my feet and moved to study my surroundings. Grass covered the ground beneath me, the strange walls spanning every direction, the sharp corners in places signaling turns. I was still trying to sort out where I was when Dean Femirea’s voice boomed out.
“Welcome, First Years. Today marks the third and final trial—the Maze of Allegiance.” It sounded like she was standing right next to me, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Inside these walls, you will be tested not only on your skill and endurance, but on your choices. Loyalty and survival rarely walk hand in hand. Today, you must decide what matters most. Those of you who survive the maze and reach its center will advance to Second Year.”
“Fuck,” I hissed to myself.
The air felt charged, pulsing faintly with magic, and the silence pressed in thick enough to smother a scream.
I knew I had to move if I wanted to make it out of the maze, and I forced myself to cautiously start walking forward.
My hand trailed along the cool stone wall, and I’d nearly reached the first turn when a growl cut through the stillness.
My heart lurched. From the shadows, a beast I recognized from the packet Professor Sabelus had given us slithered toward me.
My mind raced as I tried to remember the weaknesses of the basilisk.
It hissed, the sound scraping down my spine like nails on stone, before lunging.
I flung my shield up, sapphire light sparking into existence around me.
The serpent slammed into it, scales screeching across the barrier.
The impact rattled my bones, but the bracelet I wore pulsed, feeding strength into the shield, thickening it.
“Fuck this,” I panted, sprinting around the writhing mass.
My feet thudded against the soft ground as I ran, taking corner after corner in my blind attempt to flee the monster. Around the time the hissing sound stopped, I realized I was as good as lost. Tilting my head back, I looked to the sky as if it could tell me where to go.
“Maybe I should have gone with Geordie to those classes when he got weirdly into navigating without a compass,” I muttered to myself.
“Bechora?” A familiar female voice called out. “Thank Selir, it is you.” Shadrie raced toward me from an opening in the maze to my left.
Relief flooded my system, causing me to sway on my feet. “Shadrie!”
She skidded to a halt in front of me, her hair askew, frost clinging to her sleeves where she’d clearly thrown up walls of ice to slow something down. Her chest heaved as she bent forward, catching her breath.
“I’m so fucking glad I found you. This maze is nuts. I ran into two different minotaurs and barely made it out alive,” she panted.
Before I could respond, a distant scream echoed through the maze, chilling the air between us. It was abruptly cut off, leaving only silence. Shadrie and I exchanged a look, both of our bodies tensing.
“Let’s not stick around to find out what did that,” I said, urging her forward.
We moved quickly but cautiously, taking turns that felt more like guesswork than strategy.
Once, a deep snarl rattled the walls just a few feet away, shadows shifting as some enormous beast prowled the other side.
Shadrie grabbed my wrist, tugging me faster.
We didn’t stop running until the sound faded.
The sun dipped below the towering walls as we wandered, trying to find our way to the center.
I was starting to think this trial would be the end of us when, finally, we stumbled into a clearing.
At its center rose a black stone altar, its surface pulsing with power.
Dean Femirea’s voice boomed above us, and a transparent copy of her materialized beside the stone.
“Illusion,” Shadrie muttered.
“Congratulations, First Years. You have reached the center of the maze. There is one final task before you can be transported to safety. You must choose—loyalty or survival.”
The stone hummed louder, the air pulsing around it. I could practically taste the threat building in it.
“They can’t be serious.” Shadrie’s voice hitched.
My stomach turned as the hum built further, raising the hairs on my arms. “They are.”
Shadrie’s fingers brushed mine. Her jaw was tight, but her eyes—bright with fear and resolve—locked on me. “Leave me, B. You have to. Everything we’ve found about what you are tells me you have to survive this, or we’re all screwed anyway. It has to be you.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I snapped, tears burning in my eyes. “No way in hell I’m sacrificing you.”
“I don’t want to die, B,” she shot back.
“But this test was pretty damned clear that it’s you or me.
” Shadrie paused, swallowing thickly. “The first trial… Those mirrors showed me things, B. I’m pretty sure it was what happens if you don’t make it out of this trial.
If I’m right, I’m dead anyway. At least this way I won’t have to suffer. ”
Power pulsed from the stone altar, the ground trembling beneath our feet.
“I can’t!” My shield flared instinctively as another wave of power crashed over us. “Neither one of us is dying here. You fucking hear me?”
Shadrie gave me a pleading look and took a step back.
I channeled strength to my legs and raced toward her, grabbing her shoulder before she could sacrifice herself.
The bracelet on my wrist heated against my skin, shooting searing pain through my arm.
My shield stretched in response until Shadrie was safely inside it with me.
The ground quaked, a violent rush of power exploding from the stone altar and blinding me with white light.
My legs buckled as it battered my shield.
As quickly as it happened, the light faded, taking the walls of the maze with it.
Shadrie pulled me to my feet and wrapped her arms around me as we took in the familiar sight of the cathedral.
“You stupid, stubborn bitch,” she whispered hoarsely, her voice breaking.
“You’re welcome,” I rasped back as I squeezed her tightly.
A throat clearing pulled our attention to the Dean standing on the dais with a soft smile. “You ladies have learned the most valuable lesson,” she spoke. “The options you’re presented aren’t always the only choices at hand.”
I blinked at her dumbly, fairly certain she’d just complimented us on not sacrificing the other and finding a way out for both of us.
I bit my tongue to keep from losing my temper and telling her exactly what I thought of the barbaric trial we’d just endured.
Dean Femirea waved her hand toward the pews, and I almost thought better of keeping my thoughts to myself.
“If you don’t mind taking a seat while we wait for the trial to come to an end.”
“Come on, B,” Shadrie said, tugging me off the dais.
My eyes stayed pinned to the dean, glaring daggers at her smiling face as Shadrie led me to an empty pew. We took our seats, my anger at the dean steadily rising. Students began to emerge from nothing at her side, some in worse shape than others.
With each new student that appeared, my rage twisted into worry for Gabriel and Miles.
The cathedral pews were half-filled when Miles finally appeared.
He was spattered in blood, his face ashen, and his hands trembling as he clutched his glasses between his fingers.
Shadrie slipped from her seat and grabbed his arm, gently leading him to sit with us.
Dread slowly spread through my body, causing my limbs to grow heavy with each new student that appeared.
Time seemed to tick by slowly as I waited for Gabriel to appear.
A gasp of relief ripped free when he popped into existence beside the dean.
His eyes blazed with murderous rage as they scanned the space.
Dean Femirea leaned to say something to him, but he stomped away before she could, his eyes finding me.
Tension melted from his entire body with each step toward me until he collapsed in the empty seat next to me.
His hand reached out and took mine as if to reassure himself I wasn’t a hallucination.
My entire focus moved to where our hands clasped together.
The low murmur of the Dean’s voice as more students emerged from the final trial faded into the background.
The only thought I could hold onto was that we’d survived.
My friends and my mate made it through the last trial.
I only needed to know Zypher made it through whatever trial he’d faced, and then I could breathe.
“Congratulations,” Dean Femirea’s voice rang out. “You have all survived the trials. When you step outside the cathedral, you will find your family waiting to greet you. Celebrate with them. Enjoy your victory. Each of you has proven you have what it takes to advance to Second Year at the academy.”
She shot us a final smile before sweeping forward from the dais and floating from the cathedral.