Chapter Thirty-seven
illow’s brown eyes are wide with uncertainty, fear reflected in theirW depths. I know that look like I know my own heartbeat. That lovely face I’ve seen during every restless night I’ve spent in Aphelion. Frozen to the spot, I’m too afraid to move, worried she’ll also run away.
“Willow,” I whisper, her name hanging in the air like a white flag of surrender. Halo peels her head from my shoulder, our gazes clashing as we both finally understand. They’ve corralled the most important people in our lives together with the intention of putting them all in harm’s way. Marici has already succumbed, and I wonder what Tesni and Apricia are up against inside the maze.
Willow looks right through me, as though I’m not even here. I remember
the same strange look in Tristan’s eyes, too. Are these also illusions? Could an apparition manage to capture her very essence that way? But if Atlas
really intends to hurt them, I can’t take that chance.
“Willow,” I say louder, but she doesn’t react as she looks around, her eyes growing wider. Suddenly, she takes off at a full clip across the clearing and
plunges back into the hedges. “Willow!”
I have to go after her. I have to protect her. That has always been my job. I look at the sword I’ve left on the ground.
“Go,” Halo says. “Go after her.”
“I can’t leave you here.”
Halo drops to her knees, covering Marici’s body with hers. “I’m done here.
I’m not moving until they come find me.” She looks up. “Save your loved ones and then win this thing, so Aphelion isn’t left with Apricia as its queen.
You must do this, Lor. I know you’re the Final Tribute, but you’ve made it this far, and it’s time for you to change history and change this entire kingdom.”
“Are you sure?” My eyes search the place Willow fled, knowing she’s getting farther and farther away. Halo leans over Marici, grabbing the sword by its hilt and handing it to me.
“Go. Now. Please. Don’t let her death have been in vain.”
With a firm nod, I sprint away, following Willow’s trail. Of course, I’ve lost her, so I keep running, ignoring the shaking in my limbs and shoving
down a nauseating wave of light-headedness. I’ve barely eaten in days, and the brief feast at the maze’s entrance feels like hours ago. I’m sure the only reason I’m standing is due to all the training Gabriel forced upon me these past weeks. Though I’m still not sure why he ever bothered.
“Tristan!” I call, hoping it will force him to materialize. “Willow!” This
isn’t working, but I keep trying anyway, losing count of the minutes as I track every rustle and echoing hint of footsteps dragging me deeper and deeper into the maze. At the same time, I try to puzzle out the rules of this challenge.
Save our loved ones? Why weren’t we told what to do this time? And why did they move up the date?
Still running, I slow at the unmistakable sounds of whimpers followed by a snarl. Knowing I’m about to face yet another test, I alter my course, heading towards the sounds. I find myself at the mouth of what appears to be a dead end, greenery surrounding me on all sides, so overgrown it’s created a canopy of vines and leaves overhead.
Tesni is shielding the body of a young girl with dark skin, her long silver
hair in braids. She’s crying hysterically, fat tears sliding down her round cheeks. A quick assessment tells me this must be Tesni’s younger sister, or at least a cherished loved one.
They’re facing off against a creature covered in dark fur that towers at least twice their height. It looks like a cross between a wolf and a bear, with a humped back and a snout full of needle-sharp teeth. Standing on its hind legs, it has arms as thick as tree trunks, and the growl that pulls from its mouth rumbles so low the ground beneath my feet trembles.
“Get away from them!” I shout, holding up my shaking sword, the hilt slippery in my sweaty grip. My clothes are pasted to me now, making it harder to move, every step weighed down as though I’ve been encased in
cement.
“Lor, no!” Tesni says, not taking her eyes from the beast that now turns its giant head towards me. With eyes so dark they’re like bottomless wells, it focuses on me with the confident gleam of a predator that knows its prey doesn't present any threat. This is no rabid beast. There is an intelligence and
cunning in its expression. It lights up with delight at my approach, like I’m the gravy about to be poured over a thick slice of roasted beef.
“Run!” I shout at Tesni and her sister. “Get out of here.”
My command is futile, though, because we stand blocked by a dead end and there’s nowhere for them to go. Their only hope is for me to lead this
monster away.
“Come get me!” I yell, dancing on the balls of my feet. “You big, ugly monster. You’re just nothing but hair and muscles, aren’t you? Who let you out of your cage? Shouldn’t you be on all fours like the dog you are?”
The beast narrows its gaze as though it’s trying to decide if it’s just been insulted.
“Come and get me,” I snarl, spinning and bolting in the opposite direction.
Racing at top speed, I crash through the hedges, casting a glance over my shoulder. It’s taken my bait and lumbers down the narrow tunnel, moving with more speed than anything that large should have a right to. Fear makes my steps erratic, my ankles and knees stiff, and I hope I can hang on long enough to outrun him. I pray Tesni and her sister are taking this opportunity to get as far away from here as possible.
My arms and legs pumping, I check behind me to ensure the beast is still following, when it surprises me and breaks away, heading down another path.
Shit. I skid to a halt, wondering what’s drawn its attention. Is it Willow or Tristan? That thought spurs me on, terrified of what I’ll find.
Around corners, I chase the monster. But it’s faster than me, and it’s drawing away as my chest grows tighter and my legs become heavier, like I have anvils strapped to my ankles. Eventually, I lose sight of it, but it’s large and its body doesn’t quite fit through the tight tunnels, so I follow the rustling of the leaves, attempting to track it through the maze.
And then come more screams.
My eyes burn with unshed tears, the pressure building in my forehead.
This is the worst challenge yet. What do they want from us?
I take another turn and then another before I stumble into yet another courtyard filled with low flower boxes, blooming with color, and lined with a
low stone fence. It’s Tesni and her sister again, and my frustration pulls into a rock-hard pellet that sinks through my stomach. A sob heaves from my throat as the beast licks its chops where it corners the two Fae, who tremble and clutch at each other.
“Leave them alone!” I try again. “Come on, you overgrown mutt. Come here and get a bone.” It peers over its massive shoulder and this time I swear
it smirks, telling me it’s not falling for my shit again. It’s staying here for the easier prey.
Before I can react, it swipes out a massive arm and snags Tesni’s sister around the waist, trapping her in an enormous claw. “Kyri!” Tesni screams, grabbing Kyri’s arm, attempting to pull her back. But the beast is a hundred times stronger and easily yanks the girl out of Tesni’s grip, plucking her with the same ease as a petal off a rose. Kyri is shrieking so loud my ears throb.
Her short legs flail and kick as the monster steps back, hauling her over its shoulder.
“No!” I scream, lunging at the monster and swinging my sword, slicing a deep gash into the back of its leg. Blood blooms bright and red, soaking its
fur, and the beast roars, turning on me with spittle dripping down its fangs. It swipes out its other hand, catching me in the stomach, and sends me flying across the clearing.
Pain shoots through my arm and my head when I crash into one of the stone fences before collapsing to the ground in a heap. Blood stains my
vision as I groan and roll over. Peering through a crimson curtain, I see Tesni still trying to reach for her sister as the beast toys with her, darting in and out, a rumbling sort of snicker dragging from its snout.
Slowly, I push myself up, my wrenched shoulder screaming in protest.
Getting on to my hands and knees, a knifing jab of pain rips through my
center. I gag on the force of it, bile climbing up my throat. Looking down, I see my tunic is slick with blood where four long slashes have sliced through the fabric and my skin. It pumps out of me in a scarlet haze, and I sway in my crouched position, willing myself not to faint.
The beast roars, drawing my attention to where Tesni is still trying to free her sister.
“Put her down,” I shout weakly, but it’s no use. The beast tips its head, piercing me with one last look. Then it turns and bounds away, melting into the hedges to the sound of Tesni screaming at the top of her lungs. She follows the beast, leaving me where I’ve crumpled on the ground, breathing heavily and trying to gather my strength. I’m not done here. I have to find Willow and Tristan if they’re not already dead.
Time slips away as I blink, willing clarity into my consciousness. Then I feel gentle hands touching me and hear the rip of fabric. Tesni is wrapping a piece of her tunic around my midsection, her face dripping with snot and
tears.
“Your sister,” I whisper.
“She’s gone,” Tesni replies, her voice wooden as she wipes her nose with her remaining sleeve. “The beast was too fast. She’s gone. I’ve lost her.” Her voice splits apart on the last two words as I practically hear the rip of her heart shattering in her chest. She tears off one of my sleeves and continues wrapping me with makeshift bandages.
“The cuts don’t appear deep,” she says. “I think you might have hit your head, though.” She gingerly touches my temple, and I wince. Is that why I can’t seem to form a coherent thought?
“Lor!” someone screams in the distance, and that’s what I need to bring me back from the brink. “Lor!”
“Willow?” I sit up slowly, the world tilting and pain clattering through my torso.
“Lor!” the voice shouts again, and this time, there’s no doubt in my mind.
I clasp Tesni’s arm.
“I have to find her.”
Tesni nods and helps me to stand. “Perhaps it’s not too late for you.”
She hands me the sword that went flying when the beast tossed me and squeezes my hand. “Find them, Lor. Protect them. I think that’s the game.”
“Lor!”
I shake my head, grim resolve coalescing in my blood. This is the only thing that matters. Forget the contest. Forget my revenge. The only thing that has ever mattered are Tristan and Willow. If anything happens to them, there was no point to any of this.
I take a step, pain lancing through my midsection, but I breathe through it, drawing on the grit that flows in my veins. I can ignore this. I’ve spent half my life living on the edge of agony. Mired in a torment so bone-deep it nearly crushed me. Pain defined the rigid corners of my existence for so
many years, and those kinds of memories will never fade, no matter how many times I try to scrub them clean.
Pain is a language I know. A script I’ve written a thousand times.
Focusing only on my need to find Tristan and Willow, I keep walking, picking up my pace when Willow calls my name again. “I’m coming,” I
scream. “I’m coming!” I can’t let anything happen to her. Loping as fast as my wounds allow, I circle towards her voice, greenery whipping past my vision.
Surrounded by verdant tunnels, I scatter around corners, trying to keep up with my sister, praying to Zerra that I won’t lose her. When I turn into yet
another long corridor, the end stretches into darkness, where a figure moves in the distance.
Dark hair and a slight frame, wearing a grey tunic so tattered it’s only a memory of the color it used to be. I run faster, the slashes in my side throbbing, my bandages turning red. She’s running so fast it’s like something is chasing her. At the same time, I try to keep an eye on my surroundings,
anticipating an attack at any moment. I trust nothing.
“Willow!” I scream, knowing she won’t listen.
But then she slows down and looks over her shoulder, as if searching for the sound of my voice. “Willow!” I lob her name into the space between us like a bomb, hoping I can break through whatever barrier is keeping us apart.
She doesn’t stop, though, turning forward and speeding up again.
“Willow.” It’s then I finally crack, my soul breaking open and cleaving apart. Tears, ones long since buried, wet my cheeks as I chase desperately after her. Nothing will matter if she dies. None of this will have mattered if I cannot save her. We’re both running, the distance between us never changing. Why won’t she stop?
“Willow! Please stop.” I’m getting weaker, my bandages leaking blood, my temple throbbing, my throat dry, and my stomach cramping. “Willow.
Come back to me.”
We run and run as I slowly gain on her. The distance between us closes and I scream her name, but she still doesn’t turn. Ahead of her looms an
arched wooden door that stands in the middle of nothing. There are no walls and no building, just more green hedges tunneling in every direction.
Willow keeps running like the Lord of the Underworld is chasing her.
Stumbling, I try to keep up. Then she reaches the mysterious door, flings it open, and disappears through it before slamming it shut.
“Willow!” I’ve lost her. Momentum propels me into the solid surface, my shoulder crashing into it before I turn the handle. Locked. I pound at it, screaming at it to open. Using my sword, I hack at the wood, trying to break through. “Let me in! Willow! Let me in!”
I circle around it, tasting my salty river of tears. It looks the same on either side—just a doorway to nothing.
Using my entire body, I heave against it, gagging at the pain that splinters through my shoulder and my stomach. I’m barely coherent as I slam into the door over and over again.
Suddenly, it gives underneath me and bursts open. I plunge through, tripping and landing on my face, skidding against a smooth surface as agony shreds me to ribbons.
Panting with my eyes squeezed shut, I wait for the pain to subside, willing myself not to faint when suddenly thunderous applause breaks out, synchronized to the sound of hundreds of voices cheering, whoops and hollers arcing into the air and skewering me like hail.
Confusion, complete and utter confusion, forces my eyes open. My eyelids
stick together, congealed with blood and sweat and tears. Through the fog, I’m greeted by the sight of golden marble and a soaring glass ceiling open to a clear blue sky. I lift my head. I’m lying in the throne room, and Atlas stands over me with a beaming smile on his beautiful face.
