“Glad to see you’re still here,” I admit in a hushed tone.
“Glad to be here,” Mayline responds.
I give Mallory a quick hug before she moves to stand next to Finnley, and our attention is back on Professor Lyric.
He pulls out a parchment from the sleeve of his robe and proceeds to read from it. “Today, you will face your biggest obstacle of Asylamation. You’ve made it thus far, and for that, congratulations.” He raises his squinty gaze from the words and lets it fall over us before continuing. “The winning streak for many will end here. You’ll no longer depend on just yourself for victory, but your partner as well. Rather, you place as a Veil or Noctryn, you must know how to work as a unit, or you won’t survive the atrocities that wait for you outside of the academy,” he advises. “You must have eyes in front of you, to the sides, and behind you. To do this, you need team members. You need to be able to trust your fellow soldiers with your life.”
I’m not sure I trust anyone with my life, let alone people I barely know. But if I wanted anyone in this courtyard at my back, it’s the man beside me. Things are about to get messy, and he’s the definition of composure and confidence.
Regardless of what we face, this will, without a doubt, be the hardest challenge because we must depend on our teammate and not just ourselves. Almost every prospect standing in this courtyard is self-reliant and headstrong, or they wouldn’t even be here in the first place. They would have joined the healers or the librarians in their academies. They certainly wouldn’t have enrolled at Kintoira to become soldiers. Or they would have simply remained civilians, not working for the realm at all. Complacent to let others take care of them and protect them from the enemies chomping at the gates.
And there are many.
Mayline stiffens at my side, rolling her shoulders back as if she is about to go to war. I don’t know if this is going to be more ofan internal war or an outright physical one, but it certainly feels like warfare, nonetheless.
“You must cross the finish line together, or you forfeit, and you’ll be forced to try again until you cross as a pair.” The corners of his mouth pull up in a sinister smile. “Also, I should not fail to mention, before you enter, you will have a malediction placed upon you that dictates if your partner perishes during the trial, then so too shall you,” he finishes in a malicious tone that makes my skin crawl.
I slowly turn my head and look at Finnley.
His hazel eyes meet mine. “I’ve got you,” he mouths.
After a curt nod, I turn back toward the battlements.
Professor Lyric hands the parchment off to the other professor before clapping his hands together in quick succession. I hope he claps hard enough that he falls off his little stool.
“And last, I will be watching to be sure there is no cheating. I will be your judge, and what I determine will be law. If I say you’re cheating, you are cheating.” He narrows his eyes into devious little slits. “You may not add marks or leave breadcrumbs. This trial will be accomplished through sheer intellect and problem-solving. If you cheat, you start over.” Rubbing his hands together, he gleefully finishes his speech. “The walls never stop moving and the obstacles have teeth, so it would be unwise to start over,” he adds. “Or get lost. Good luck!”
He hops off his stool, his head now barely taller than the battlement wall, and walks off with the other professor scrambling after him.
A sharp tug on my braid pulls my head back, and steely eyes meet mine.
“We got this, Nori,” Finnley declares with determination oozing from every fiber of his being. “Remember, we’ll die one day, but today is not that day,” he echoes back to me.
I gulp and offer up a weak smile before he drops my braid, and my head falls forward.
The walls never stop moving.
Don’t leave breadcrumbs… why would we try to leave a trail?
And why are the walls moving… what walls?
I bite my lip, trying to work out what it all means. Voices surround us, growing in volume as everyone else does the same.
It has walls. We can’t leave breadcrumbs. And getting lost is a very real possibility.
Oh shit…
I smack myself in the forehead for being so daft.
It’s a maze.
I spin around and grip Finnley’s forearm. “Finnley, I think I know what it is,” I breathe, my nails digging into the cords beneath my fingers. “It’s a maze. We have to survive whatever is in the maze!”
I can see the moment the wheels start spinning in his head.
“That should be simple enough, except for the moving wall part. And the teeth part,” Mallory jokes, coming to stand beside me.
“The teeth part is what I’m most looking forward to,” Mayline sarcastically retorts. Her round facial features are relaxed, and her hooded eyes are closed while she gently massages her temples. Even when trying to be extremely relaxed, her lithe frame stands straight and disciplined.
