“I, Tenstar, present myself for Timalah’smaturous trial,” the first person says, nodding up at me before jumping into the hole.
With every person jumping in, my heart sinks even further. Once upon a time, before meeting Miles, I would have felt proud that so many people wished to win my hand. I’m a worthy warrior, desirable among his people. But now I just miss my golden mate.
Ghenie gives me a sad look before stepping off of the platform and making his way to the opening. He picks up the cover but freezes, his antennae twitching as he looks out through the crowd. That’s when I notice the crowd parting. There are whispers and murmurs and within me, I sense a wave of awe and disbelief coming from my brothers.
There, just barely, I can make out a golden head of hair running towards the center of town. My heart jumps, skipping a beat at the sight. Miles runs full out, my blade in his hand.
“Wait!” Miles calls out when he sees Ghenie holding the covering. Without missing a beat, Miles sprints forward. Hope rises up within me and it takes everything inside me not to callout to him. Miles only has eyes for the task at hand. Without ever looking up at me, Miles finishes his run into the square, he dives down, feet first, sliding down into the hole.
The crowd is silent for a moment before letting out a cheer, a joyous noise filled with clapping and whistling and warmth. They could all feel my bone deep relief. Ghenie shakes his head and gives a warm chuckle as he puts the covering on the entrance. He turns to face me, his voice raising for all to hear.
“May the ancestors bring two souls together!”
That’s my cue. I take only a moment tofeelbefore turning away from the crowd and heading to the West, letting that feeling in my gut lead me. I run through the length of town until the feeling beneath my feet changes from gravel to grass. I keep running until my lungs burn and sweat drips from my brow. Until grass changes to sand.
Here. I can feel it. This is where I’m supposed to be. I step out onto the beach, letting the salty air soothe me.
“Please, Miles,” I whisper, looking out at the water and watching the waves crash. I know this area and when my mate comes out to meet me, I know exactly where we can hide away for our first official mating. But for now, all I can do is wait and hope.
Chapter Ten
Miles
“Fuck,” I grit out as I hit the ground. The slide I just pulled off looked cool as hell but fuck, I have gravel burn on my ass and thigh now. The pain only adds to my adrenaline.
I stand up quickly and look around, my eyes wide. My heart is beating wildly against the inside of my ribs as I get my bearings, still unsure that I’ve actually just jumped into the underbelly of the city. If this is what it takes to win Timalah, then this is what I’m going to do. For us.
I look around, waiting a moment until my eyes adjust to the darkness. From what I can tell, I’m in a stone, circular room. There are eight openings all around me. Timalah says he trusts this passage, he trusts his ancestors to lead us together and I hold onto that faith, hoping like hell he’s right. There’s a tug in my belly and I tentatively follow it into the mouth of the Eastern entrance.
The walls and ceiling and ground are all made of stone. There’s a rumbling and I freeze. The ground beneath my feet shakesand I cry out, leaning against the wall as the ground I stand on is jarred into motion. The section I’m standing on slides to my left and I grip onto the vines growing on the wall I’m plastered against.
“Fuck,” I grit out when everything comes to a halting stop. My legs are shaky and off-balanced as I move forward out of this tunnel, staring at the maze in front of me made of vines and moss and stone. There are openings all around, I just have to pick the right ones to lead me to mymatron.
My mate. Letting myself think that has my stomach quivering with excitement. Timalah is my mate and I’m going to do this fucking trial and win myLayperry. I will fight tooth and nail until I can’t fight anymore if that’s what it takes.
I pick an opening and run through, trying not to second guess every single decision I make. I take a deep breath as I walk, taking in the scent of the undercity. It’s muddy and musky and dark. I grip Timalah’s knife a little tighter as I hear something move, my heart picking up speed. I don’t know what the fuck to expect but I prepare myself for anything. My skin feels like it’s crawling and my heart leaps as something scurries across the ground in front of me.
A set of bright red eyes open in front of me, standing right in the path I was about to take. Whatever this might be is much larger than me. Thankfully, the ground begins to shake once more and the tunnel I’m in shifts to the left. For a split second I wonder if I’ll ever see the sun again. Did I leave Earth for an opportunity to learn only to be trapped below a city navigating moving tunnels for the rest of my life? The only thing keeping me from completely unraveling is the knife in my hand and the knowledge that eventually, Iwillfind my way out of here.
As soon as the tunnel stops moving I stumble out, only to jump back as the opening I was moving towards slams shut. “Jesus Christ,” I hiss, almost falling on my ass. I squint at the openingonly a moment before moving to my left. Using Timalah’s knife, I cut away some vines, finding a new opening. I have to hunch slightly as I walk but there’s something about it that fills me with excitement, a rightness in my heart. Is this the feeling Timalah tried to explain to me? Is this the ancestors guiding my path?
“Is this you showing me the way?” I say to no one, my voice echoing against the stone all around me.
I don’t get an answer in return so I keep walking.
Something scurries up the wall in front of me, looking down at me from the ceiling. I slow my steps and raise my knife. The thing on the ceiling reminds me of the biggest fucking bug I’ve ever seen with huge pincers instead of a mouth. I crouch, just as Timalah showed me, holding the blade up. We stare at each other for a long moment. Part of me thinks I should just turn around and go a different way but the bigger part of me holds my ground. It’s a good thing too because the creature jumps down.
Its pincers open wide, a hiss ringing through the air. My fight or flight instinct takes over and like hell am I running, not when I have so much tofightfor. The swiping motion Timalah taught me comes in handy. My blade finds its home in the creature's throat. Green goo spews out as it gurgles its last breath. I shove the bug away, stepping over its twitching body and continuing on my way.
My hands shake as I try to wipe the green sludge off. I know what happens next. I have a high amount of adrenaline running through my veins, making me run a little fast, jump a little higher. But soon enough, that adrenaline will be running out and I’ll end up crashing. Fuck. I need to get to an exit before that happens.
A tiny ray of light shines ahead of me and I run full out, hoping like hell it’s my ticket out of these tunnels and into Timalah’s arms. Iachefor him in the most desperate way, I need him as much as I need the air I’m breathing. The light is coming fromabove me and I’m thankful for my strength and my height, using it to my advantage.
Sliding my blade into my belt, I get a running start and leap as high as I can, my fingers digging into a ledge as I heft myself up. Overhead, there’s a small opening, the sun shining through. I shoulder my way through, uncaring that dirt and grime are falling onto my head and shoulders. At this point, really what’s a little dirt?
I crawl out of the ground. Once on my hands and knees, my fingers dig into fresh, soft grass. I have a moment of bone deep relief as I suck in a sharp breath, getting fresh air in my lungs instead of the musky smell of the undercity. I look around, finding myself outside of town near the beach. My eyes scan the beach until I see a figure sitting in the sand. My breath catches in my throat and tears prickle my eyes. Emotion hits me so fast I’m dizzy with it, threatening to keep me on my knees.
“Fuck,” I breathe as my head grows light. “Thank you,” I whisper. If the ancestors are real, I need them to know I’m grateful, and that I promise not to waste this chance they’ve given me.
