“What happens if we lie?”
Analisa hummed, staring up at the inscription with that faraway look in her eyes. “If the truth is the way through…then lies will keep us trapped.”
Dina groaned. “I donotlike the sound of that.”
“It’s fine,” Catherine snapped, craning her neck from side to side. “We just…speak the truth. Should be easy enough.” She cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “I…I’m most afraid of…” Her voice trailed off. Olivier’s entire body tensed, as if bracing for impact, but then Catherine let out a resigned sigh and whispered, “I’m most afraid of disappointing the ones I love.”
Silence stretched by. A collective breath held.
And then the door in front of them creaked open, unveiling another room.
Catherine let out a low huff of air, shoulders slumping in relief, though Olivier didn’t miss the way her eyes momentarily drifted to Masika…the charged moment sparking between them. But it didn’t last long. Dina let out a dramatic sigh and sauntered into the next room, the tension between Catherine and Masika instantly dissolving as the rest of the group followed suit.
The next room wasn’t anything special. It looked exactly like the one they had just left behind, though perhaps even smaller. There was, however, a different inscription etched upon the nextdoor.
Analisa Cardenas…What Are You Most Afraid Of?
“Looks like it’s forcing us to take turns,” Dina grumbled.
Olivier’s chest tightened. He desperately hoped that wasn’t the case. The last thing he wanted to do was speakhisfears out loud…to expose his darkest secrets. The mere thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Analisa stepped forward and mulled the words over for a prolonged moment. She blinked up at the inscription, a dazed look in her eyes.
“I am most afraid of”—she gnawed on the inside of her cheek before continuing—“the knowledge that there are some pains, some losses, which I cannot fix. Some wounds that cannot be mended by a healer’s hand.”
A tense beat of silence. A brief moment of doubt.
And then the door was opening, leading them into the next room.
It went on like this for the next few minutes. A name written. A fear spoken out loud. Dina’s admission had rattled Olivier, mainly because he hadn’t been expecting it. He didn’t know the silver-haired girl well, but given her self-assured, brusque demeanor, he’d expected her fear to be something banal, if not obvious. But it appeared there was more to the silver-haired girl than Olivier had originally thought.
“I fear…” Dina had whispered, hands nervously fidgeting with her daggers. “I fear the person I could have become, had I not left the Demien Order to join the Resistance. The person Ialmostbecame.”
Masika went up next, though truthfully, her fear hadn’t surprised Olivier all that much. He understood Masika well, had grown familiar with her anxious tendencies.
“My biggest fear is my own mind,” Masika had admitted with a slight wince. “I’m afraid of losing myself to the anxiety…and never resurfacing.” As the words left her lips, Olivier reached out his hand and gave her an affirming squeeze on the wrist, which Masika returned with a thankful smile.
The following room was dedicated to Emilio.
Olivier held his breath. Tension pinched Emilio’s shoulders as he read the words out loud.
Emilio Córdova…What Are You Most Afraid Of?
Emilio let out a low chuckle. “How much time do we have?”
Olivier dug his nails into the palms of his hands, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around Emilio. He knew this was Emilio’s personal form of hell, and he wished, more than anything, that there was a way to relieve him from any further torment.
But before Olivier could even begin to figure out how he might do that, Emilio straightened his shoulders and let out a steadying breath. He kept his chin high and eyes trained on the door as he began to speak.
“I’m afraid of…everything.” Emilio’s voice wavered, but he continued. “I’m afraid of pain and loss and not knowing what waits for me on the Other Side. But above all that, what I’mmostafraid of…is knowing that I now have something…someone…I care more about than myself. Someone I can lose.”
Olivier’s breath hitched in his throat as the door gently creaked open. Emilio glanced over his shoulder, his gaze meeting Olivier’s.
As the others made their way into the next room, Olivier scurried forward, grabbing Emilio by the hand before he could cross through.
“Someone you can lose?” Olivier whispered. He didn’t miss thetrail of goose bumps running down Emilio’s neck as the words left his lips. “Do you mind elaborating on who thatsomeonemightbe?”
Emilio bit back a smile, blushing.
