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ADONE
My mate was in trouble, and I would help her even if it was forbidden. As mouths opened in a wide ring around her, creating a barrier she wouldn’t be able to cross, others popped open in between, tightening the circle.
She gulped and looked up at me. “I’m not sure what to do.” Hopping from one foot to another, she evaded the smaller mouths widening beneath her. “I’ve got to do something soon, though.” Fierce concentration filled her face. “Fuck it. Nothing and no one is going to keep me away from you, Adone.” She lifted her voice. “You hear that, Universal Council? Get ready for another loss, because I’m not letting something as stupid as a bridge full of mouths stop me from finding my happily ever after with my mate.”
“Now there is a strong female,” Burmoot said with the tone of a proud parent. “You chose well, Adone.”
But I hadn’t chosen her. The Universal Council had, though I knew the demes played a role in making sure she entered my life. I vaguely remember my mother saying fate would do that for those most deserving.
Perhaps I was finally receiving my reward for the tragedy that had stalked me for most of my life.
She was everything to me, and I was nothing without her.
After sucking in a deep breath, Summer slammed her heel down on the corner of one of the mouths. She must’ve pinched its lip with its teeth, because the entire bridge shuddered, and the mouth opened further to wail.
While the opening swayed and screamed, she jumped onto the bottom row of teeth. She grabbed onto the platform structure and climbed, reaching the top at the same time as me.
The sun slid away, leaving behind a cooler, welcome night.
We grinned and hugged each other, jumping around on the platform.
“Two,” she said, then shouted. “Two down. Two tests, baby. We did it. Only one left to go!”
I lifted her and spun her around while Tumbles rolled back and forth nearby, cooing.
“Well done,” Burmoot said with intense satisfaction. “Congratulations to you both.”
The monitors flew by us, cutting it so close, I felt their passage. They kept going, shooting into the sky, and zipping through an open hatch that thudded closed behind them.
The Universal Council and those betting against us would not be cheering our success. This test may have been relatively easy, but the final one would provide the biggest challenge.
“Your respite awaits.” Burmoot swept his hand toward the ground.
A hatch mounted on the sandy surface below us opened, revealing a dark chamber.
