Page 176 of Their Rejected Queen

Then again, the bell’s low humming sound a vibration that sinks into my skin and scratches across my bones. It builds something inside my chest until my entire body is shaking.

The screens depict tons of portals opening all over the world. Various creatures dive through them.

Some have wings.

Most have teeth.

And then there’s a flash of the craggy black structure deep on Monster Isle, one with thorns all over it in the shape of curved spikes, that holds limp, bloody bodies on it. The material shimmers against the dim light as if it’s made of ancient rock with deep, blood-red veins.

My brow furrows.

That’s Arwan’s tower.

What’s it doing here?

And can anyone else see it?

A crackly sound rushes across the shoreline behind us, and the water steams in the air.

“Ladies!” the announcer yells cheerfully. “You get a ten-minute head start. Best make the most use of it!”

Ferra is the first to release a whoop before she runs through the invisible barrier.

I frown as the other girls follow her.

One by one, they disappear, and I wait to hear the sounds of their screams.

It’s more disconcerting when I’m only met with silence.

Sofia curls her fingers in mine. “I won’t leave you,” she whispers.

I give her a shaky nod. “We do this together,” I agree.

None of the other girls have paired up. It seems that all the candidates have decided to only look out for themselves. Whatever alliances were built have disintegrated over the past year, and I realize now that had been by design.

All the trials had paired us with our sponsors, teaching us to rely on them for survival.

Find your sponsors.