A shiver ran down Irene’s spine. As wrong as it might seem, Irene couldn’t help but feel as though this was a merciful ending compared to what might have awaited Thalia.
“Anyway!” Wesley clapped, an almost comical grin on his face. “Let’s keep moving, shall we? Plenty of other souls to interrogate. Next up, we’ll be attempting what I call a Mind Loop. It’s essentially a form of mind alteration that allows you to infiltrate their memories and force them into a living nightmare. It’s quite fun, actually…” Wesley’s voice faded as he ushered them forward,making his way deeper into the dungeons. The others followed, vanishing around the corner. Irene was moments from scurrying after them when she heard a breathy whisper behindher.
“Catherine…”
Irene froze. Her breath caught in her throat.
She turned, slowly. Thalia was still lying on the floor, her physical form fading, but her eyes had fluttered open…and she was staring straight at Irene.
“What did you say?”
The girl drew a shaky breath. It rattled in her chest.
“She’ll come…” Another breath. Thready and barely there. “They will…find you.”
Irene cursed. She didn’t have time for this. She squatted next to the iron bars, leaning in closer.
“That name,” she whispered. “What name did you just say?”
Thalia smiled and wheezed through cracked lips.
“I see…the war in you. Your heart…is split. Two sides…” Thalia’s eyes began to flutter closed as she whispered her last words. “I wonder…which…you will choose.” And then she was slipping away, the tiny sliver of life inside her extinguishing. Her body came apart, disintegrating piece by piece, breaking into swirling speckles of ash.
“No, no, no.”Irene lunged forward, trying to grab Thalia, to piece her back together, but it was too late. One second the girl was there, withering away in the cage, and the next, her entire self had come undone, nothing but a mass of swirling particles drifting in the air. Just like the other eliminated nominees.
Gone.
Destroyed.
Irene scrambled backward, nausea coiling around her throat, pushing herself away from the cage until her back hit the stonewall behind her. She let out a groan, rubbing her face with her palms.
Catherine.
The girl had said the name. She was sure of it.
But what were the odds that she was talking about the same Catherine who Masika had lost to the Demien Order all those years ago? The same Catherine who Masika had finally told Irene about during the second trial? But if itwasthe same person, that meant Catherine had left the Demien Order to join whatever this third coalition was that Thalia had been a part of.
And maybe…
No.
It was pointless to indulge in a future with Masika in it. To pretend that she’d ever see her friend again. It was nothing but a useless fantasy. A silly dream. And either way, what good would it be if Masika was around? She’d only admonish Irene for joining the Order. Hell, she’d probably despise her for it.
Wherever Masika was, it was best for her to stay as far away from Irene as possible.
13
OLIVIER
For a journey riddled with danger, Olivier had found the first few hours to be rather boring.
They’d walked for what felt like an eternity, trekking through the seemingly endless prairie, eyes set eastward. As dawn bled into early morning, Olivier could make out the dusty purple mountains in the distance, the barbed horizon of snowcapped peaks and craggy canyons. Every once in a while, a warm scent washed over him—crisp apples mixed with woodsmoke—but it would vanish before he could trace its origin, swirling away in the wind.
Eventually, a dense landscape of dark green materialized in the distance. Towering pine trees made up the looming forest ahead—the large expanse stretching as far as the eye could see. As soon as they entered the mouth of the forest, a strange chill trickled down Olivier’s limbs, a tingling in his spine.
Something was changing.
Whether it was him or the atmosphere, it was hard to tell.
