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They all nodded. Riven insisted on being paired off with me and the other three grouped together.
“Alright, you guys stay focused and pay attention to traps. If something seems off, it probably is.” The countdown ticked off the last few seconds. My eyes found Cassius right before they disappeared from our sight. An opening appeared on the wall of the maze in front of us. No other teams were around us, just like the king said. The group of three went to the right and we went to the left. It was so quiet it gave me chills as we walked quickly but cautiously.
Riven walked slightly behind me which I didn’t like. Sensing he was purposely trying to follow me; I slowed my pace only for him to mirror my actions. Obviously, he wanted me to lead so any traps would get me first. It was a clever tactic, but I hated others walking behind me.
“Did you hear that?” he whispered, but I hadn’t heard anything. I shook my head and kept walking. “We should wait a minute," he suggested. "I thought I heard someone nearby.”
“We don’t have the luxury of waiting to see what it is. “We can handle whatever is waiting for us,” I said confidently.
This answer irritated him, and he glared at me before brushing past me, shoulder-checking me on the way by. I opened my mouth to tell him off but thought better of it. We didn’t need to be distracted or alert others to where we were. He took a few steps, but I pulled him back quickly.
The ground where he was walking fell away and he started sliding into the dark pit. I pulled on him, but he was heavier than I was, so I was dragged towards the crumbling ground. What was I doing?
My fire mist exploded around us and lifted him with ease out of the hole. I laid on my back, completely out of breath, next to him.
“Thanks,” he said with a snappy voice. What the hell was his problem?
“Next time I can just let you die if you want to keep being an asshole.” I glared.
We stood up and backtracked to take another way we passed up earlier. The black walls of the maze only made everything harder to see. We walked in silence for what seemed like hours but was likely less than one. We hadn’t come across any other traps, so I knew it was only a matter of time.
Riven refused to say anything when I asked him which way he would like to try, so I stopped asking and just went with my gut. Where the hell was Wisp? They would be helpful right now. We both paused when we heard footsteps approaching somewhere in front of us. When we turned the corner, a member from another group was walking by himself. Before I could say anything, Riven had thrown a dagger, killing the man.
“What the fuck?” I hissed. “Why did you do that?”
“Don’t be so weak, Thea. It’s pathetic,” he spoke as he passed me to grab the dagger from the man lying dead. “Don’t pretend like you care about anyone but yourself. We all know you’re a monster.” He wiped the blood onto his long sleeve before putting it back in its sheath.
“What is your problem? I didn’t ask you to come with me.”
He ignored me and kept walking. When he stepped forward a loud clicking noise alerted us before all four walls started closing in on us.
“Great,” I muttered. We walked to the walls, pressing and pushing against them to hopefully stop the walls from closing in on us. Nothing was working.
Fear gripped my chest as the walls continued closing in on us. I tried pushing against a different section of the wall when I heard a clicking noise, and it seemed like it froze the walls. I looked at the ground where my foot was pressed. I lifted my foot, and the walls began moving again.
“It’s some sort of pressure plate or button,” I yelled to Riven before I grabbed the arm of the dead man and dragged him to the hidden button. His body weight was enough to stop the walls from moving anymore. After a long moment, a part of the wall opened, allowing us to leave the death trap. I peeked out of the doorway and then cautiously walked through the door, only to be met with an arrow whizzing by my head before embedding itself into the wall. I released a shaky breath and thanked the gods I wasn’t two inches to the left.
Riven took a cautious step forward and nothing happened. The maze split into two directions and Riven led us right even though I wished to go left. Riven was confident and he walked without caution, almost as if he knew where the traps were.
When we turned the corner, a wall rose up behind us, refusing to let us leave the way we came.
This couldn’t be good.
I grabbed Riven when he went to walk, but he shrugged my hand away.
“Riven, this seems like we should take it slower,” I cautioned.
“It’s fine.”
When he stepped forward, though, several giant axes swung like pendulums from one side of the walkway to the other. Great. He lifted his hand to use his magic, but nothing happened. I watched him try again, but again nothing.
“It’s not true metal.” He sighed. “Try burning them.”
With determined steps, I moved towards them and unleashed my fire magic, only to find that nothing happened—no damage had been inflicted at all. They still swung in tandem like they had when they first appeared.
“I guess we will have to go through.” I sighed.
“After you.” Riven scoffed.
