CHAPTER 27
VAEL-TORIN
The stone corridorempties into an environment that makes no sense.
I blink, trying to get my bearings.
This is the strangest, most soulless space I’ve ever seen.
We are no longer in the lava pit, and for that, at least, I am grateful.
A winding black road stretches for miles before disappearing into a thick grey fog. On either side of the road are hundreds of identical, boxy structures with pitched roofs, small squares of too-bright green grass.
Small wooden signs hammered into the dirt read:FOR SALE
The air smells wrong.
Toxic. Unnatural.
"Oh, no," Poppy whispers beside me, her small hand tightening in mine. "No, no, no. It’s a suburban subdivision. It’s an architectural nightmare."
A lamppost above us clicks on, and we both flinch.
I spread my wings around Poppy. “Can’t be too careful,” I tell her. “Strength in mathematics.”
“Strength in mathematics,” she repeats, laughing a little.
Her laugh in this awful situation feels like a fucking treasure.
"Welcome to the Forever Home Test," Ken’s voice booms. "According to my database, eighty percent of human domestic partnerships dissolve during the psychological trauma of a home renovation. To escape this sector, you must successfully navigate the Open House Labyrinth. You will tour three distinct fixer-upper pods. To unlock the exit doors, you must make a unanimous design choice. Choose correctly, and the path opens. Choose poorly, and the house flipsyou."
Behind us, a steel security gate drops, sealing the road behind us, forcing us toward the door of the nearest structure.
"Stay close," I growl. "The defensive fortification of these structures is non-existent."
"It's drywall, Vael," she says. “Trust me, I know.”
We ascend the wooden steps of the porch, and each footfall is met with a loud creak that speaks to structural horrors beneath.
The front door swings open with an agonizing whine.
Poppy’s grip tightens on my hand.
The interior is dim, joyless.
The floorboards are warped, covered in some kind of peeling plastic.
The walls shudder, and a digital neon display flickers to life on the far wall.
PROTOCOL: LIVING ROOM
•Option A:Install Modern Farmhouse Shiplap.
•Option B:Expose the Industrial Structural Brick.
•CRITICAL TIME LIMIT:01:30
A horrible grinding noise begins, and it doesn’t take me long to see what’s happening.
