We could hear their shouts and stomps from the castle as we walked down the tree-lined path towards our final Trial.
For the third time, we face what could be our final day.
At least for this Trial, we weren’t drugged before being dragged to a random location first. I awoke to a bang on my door followed by a note slipped underneath it, informing me that the final Trial will be held at the Bowl.
That left me no time to even speak to Paedyn, let alone think of her before I was being silently escorted out of the castle.
We have a live audience this time, and they roar when we step inside of the large arena. Imperials press in on every side, leading us to the rail overlooking the Pit several feet down. I hear a collective intake of breath from my fellow contestants, our gazes locked on what lies below us.
It’s a maze.
The entire sandy bottom of the Pit is covered in rows of intertwined hedges and plants. The walls are dense and tall, filling the entire bottom of the oval arena.
It’s enormous.
We are ushered down the wide steps descending towards the maze. I’m the last in the line of contestants, and when my feet sink slightly into the sand, we halt.
“Welcome, young Elites, to your final Trial.”
I turn my attention to the comfy glass box sitting at the bottom of the stands, decorated with its three cushioned seats. Kitt sits to the right, his eyes scanning the maze before they seem to land on me. I see his head tip slightly, silently wishing me good luck. After nodding slowly back at him, my eyes slide to where Mother looks elegant as always, legs crossed and face relaxed as she watches her husband standing at the edge of the rail, looking down at us as he speaks.
“Though you have all made it this far,” Father continues, Tealah projecting his voice beside him with a gentle hand on his shoulder, “there can only be one winner.”
The crowd cheers, the sound like a battle cry I’m all too familiar with.
“Your last Trial is spread out before you. A maze.” Cold amusement contorts his face. “Though nothing is a simple as it seems.”
Then the maze shifts.
I catch the movement out of the corner of my eye and whip my head towards it, watching as the walls of foliage fold and reform. The hedges twist in new directions, altering the paths and creating new ones.
Blooms.
I spot them now, dozens of figures standing along the edges of the maze, arms outstretched. They’ve created this Trial for us, and they now control it.
“In order to win this Trial, thus improving your chances of winning the entirety of the Purging Trials, you must be the first contestant to make it to the center of the shifting maze.” The king pauses. “But that is not all.”
There is always a catch.
“Not only do you have to be the first contestant to reach the middle, but you must also kill the person that awaits you there.”
Murmurs skitter across the crowd but Father’s booming voice cuts through them easily. “The person there is deserving of this punishment. They have committed crimes against the kingdom and will pay for them with their life.”
I’m not surprised. This way, the king will guarantee at least one kill to entertain the people during this Trial. I mentally shuffle through each prisoner I know to be rotting in our dungeons, wondering which sorry soul will meet its end today.
“May you all bring honor to your kingdom, your family, and yourself.”
The crowd echoes the king’s words as an Imperial leads each of us to a separate opening of the maze. My eyes dart across The Pit, scanning the Imperials and the contestants they are escorting.
And then I see her.
Silver hair pinned up, swaying with each stride. Twenty-eight freckles dotting her nose, though I can’t count them from here. Lips I have yet to truly taste pressing together, and ocean eyes crashing into mine.
I give her something then—a smile. One that is meant only for her.
There’s nothing I can say to her, no time to taunt her with teasing words if only to ensure she will stay alive long enough to punch me in the face when this is all over.
So I don’t say a thing.
I raise my hand and flick nothing but the air in front of me as I hold her gaze.
Plagues, the glowing grin she gives me is gorgeous.
She lifts her hand, flicks the air, and—
And then she’s gone.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Paedyn
Today is the day. In fact, today might be my last day.
The Imperial guides me to an opening near the other side of the maze, leaving me there to stare up at the looming walls of foliage that dare me to enter. Dare me to get lost within its twist and turns.
Just survive today. That’s all you have to do.
The sound of snapping twigs and twisting hedges from within the maze tells me that the paths are changing again. The maze is moving.
Movement to my left has my head swiveling towards a young girl, eyes glossy and unblinking as she stares at me with a hand raised above us, projecting what I hope is an emotionless expression onto one of the giant screens for all to see. There must be dozens of them patiently awaiting us in the maze, ready to broadcast the bloodshed.
I keep my face blank as I turn back to the opening of the maze in front of me, though I’m restless to race inside and get this over with.
Everything will change after today.
“Let the final Trial begin.”
I barely hear the king’s words echo through the arena before the cries of the crazed crowd drowns them out. I blink away my thoughts, blinking up at the opening before me and the walls awaiting.
And then I’m running.
As soon as I step into the maze, I’m smothered by the blanket of shadows. It’s dark and damp but I don’t slow my pace. I run through the path of plants and hedged walls, skidding to a stop when I’m faced with my first decision.
Left or right.
I don’t have the time to ponder my options, so I hang a left and am immediately faced with the same decision.
Right.
I run and run and—
Dead end.
I backtrack, turning left instead of right and pick up my pace despite my slight panting. I fall into a routine of random guessing, retracing my steps, and cursing. Lots and lots of cursing.
“Dammit!” I’m yelling at nothing but the sixth dead end I’ve had the pleasure of stumbling upon. I spin on my heel and head back the way I came, barely glancing at the Sight who just witnessed, and recorded, my little outburst. I huff, senses feeling dull in this damp maze. The cries of the crowd outside are muffled, muted by the layers of thick foliage separating me from them.
It’s eerily quiet in here, nothing but the sound of my pounding feet, pounding heart, and panting breaths filling the silence.
And then the maze shifts.
The path I’m standing in narrows, the hedges on either side of me press in.
I’m about to be squashed.
This is my nightmare. My most terrifying, claustrophobic nightmare.
I sprint for the end of the path where another one awaits, one that isn’t moving and won’t crush me if I make it there in time. My lungs are burning, my feet shifting in the sand with each stumbling step.
Twigs and leaves and thick greenery brush my shoulders on both sides, threatening to swallow me whole as they continue closing in. But I keep running towards my salvation, towards the path awaiting me only a few yards away.