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“Be safe, Seren.”
Grabbing hold of the chain, I use it to pull the dark creature along. With one last nod to Ryuu, I turn to head to the palace, forcing myself not to glance back and knowing that if I do, I won’t ever want to go back.
Once I’m far enough away and with no prying eyes, I shadow to the cavern and find a place to hide the dark creature until it is time.
Once it is tightly secured with the extra iron chains Ryuu gave me and hidden, I move back through the caverns, the gods chamber, and up the tunnel to the entrance in the cell.
Pushing the brick to close it, I stop for a moment and listen for any sounds. Finding none, I head to my cell and undo the cloaked body of dirt before sitting down and letting my mind drift to thoughts of today.
The third and final trial starts soon. A trial meant to test our powers. Powers I have not used in so long that I am beginning to forget the warmth of them.
But seeing my mother, Jarek, and Ryuu today helped. It fills me with a warmth that only fuels the quiet rage now burning throughout my veins.
There is more at stake now. More lives that count on me. I need to get through this trial and be in the top three, no matter the cost.
There is no other choice.
CHAPTER 20
The guards are not shocked to see me healed. Instead, they are angry that a healer has slipped in and apparently helped me. I go along with their assumptions, threats, and vows that no other healers will be allowed near me, until finally they bring me up into the palace to the next trial.
But instead of heading toward the arena, we move through the palace to the outside where the rest of the competitors are. The guards leave me there with a vicious warning I instantly ignore to focus on Alderic and his little speech. I glance around and note not all competitors are here, and even some who were not seriously injured are missing.
“For the final test in the competition, we have decided to do things a little differently. Please follow me,” Alderic says.
We move along a long, open pathway that encases most of the side of the palace. Just when I think we’re about to stop, we are brought through another entrance and led through a guard watch station, though this one is far more capable looking than those that are placed in the Sidus town.
With passing glares and looks of disgust from the guards there, I move on past them and out to the side of the mountain, following a jagged stepway of large stones.
The tension is thick in the air as we move in silence farther from the palace to a carved pathway around the mountain, the edge not railed off. Should you fall, you fall to your death.
The competitors around me grow more and more uneasy the longer we move into the mountains and away from the palace grounds.
We move around a huge rock, and that is when I see what they have planned for us today. Or at least the opening of it.
A colossal structure, made from the mountain rock itself, sits before us. It looks like the start of a stone maze with a wide opening and no way else around it.
Alderic and his group of guards come to a stop. He turns to us with a wide smile on his face. A smile I have no trust in.
“As you can see, we have decided to change things up. The final trial will not be in the arena, and instead, placed here.” Alderic shares a look with the guards. “The guards have been gracious enough to allow you to use their training ground and obstacle course.”
Training ground…From my viewpoint, all I can see is the entrance to what looks to be a maze. But for them to have something so grand to potentially grow their skills and still not use it to help those in need fills me with disbelief.
It is a waste of a structure. No advantages have come from it for the Sidus, and the only benefit I can see is it adding to the grandeur of the palace.
I knew the Caligo guards were trained and somewhat skilled. But it is detestable to think they have an entire training ground to grow those skills and yet still sit back and watch as the Sidus die.
My stomach churns as the lieutenant and Levon arrive, moving up beside Alderic as if they were always there.
“A few rules to note,” Alderic continues, his eyes wide with anticipation, making my churning stomach drop. “As this is a trial to test your powers, no weapons will be given; you are to rely on your abilities alone.”
A few smug expressions slide my way, but I ignore them to listen to whatever else they have planned for today, knowing that they will have something up their sleeves. The last two trials alone confirm it when they tried to break me. I doubt today will be any different.
In fact, I’m expecting it to be worse.
“There will be no pairs today. You will each go into the maze alone and face each obstacle. There is only one entrance, and it is the same exit you see behind me.” Alderic points at the wide stone entrance before turning back to us.
“Once you enter, you will need to pass through each obstacle to move on. If you attempt to turn back, you will forfeit immediately. That isifthe obstacles have not already killed you.”
