by G. Bailey
Scott scratches his trimmed beard, his eyes pressed on me. “Things will never be the same as that again. Even when I do get you out of here, I’ll never teach at the academy again.”
Now my heart does a stupid little dance in my chest. “Why not?”
The ground starts to tremble, scattering the sand underneath our boots.
“Because the only place I want to be is at your side. Wherever you decide to go, I’ll go.” He pauses for a moment, then looks down and to the side, flashing me a wink. “Besides, I doubt the new headmistress will hire me back after seducing one of my students.”
“Naughty professor,” I grin at him. “Okay, I tell you what. You can stay at my side for the rest of eternity so long as you let me bake that cake with you.”
He returns the grin, making my pulse speed up. He’s so damn sexy. “Can you cook, Izora?”
“No, but I would like to learn.”
“Then I will teach you. There’s something beautiful about cooking delicious food with the one you love. It’s why I enjoy cooking so much. It brings people together and creates memories that will last a lifetime. It’s why I started doing it after so many years fighting in the war.”
“You fought in the Sans Enfant war?” I gasp, but I’m not totally surprised. He looks every bit the alpha military man.
“For six years,” he answers, his expression hardening. “I’ve seen our lands spilled with too much blood. I try to avoid it now if possible.”
I love how badass and yet sweet Scott is. It’s the perfect, lethal combination. I smile up at him, however, it fades once I look ahead. A nest of humongous plants slither across the dead-end wall, snapping the air around them with razor-sharp teeth.
“Uhh, I think we’ve got a problem.”
Scott follows my gaze and mutters under his breath. “Dead end. Damn it!”
“That’s not the only thing,” I say, watching the wall of plants claw towards us. It takes me a moment to realise they’re not clawing but rather the maze is narrowing, pushing the plants in our direction. They snap and hiss like rabid animals, and I really don’t fancy getting swallowed by one. At least not until I’ve tried that cake. Oh and killed Eva, of course. “I think we should run.”
He takes my hand and nods. “Good plan!”
And then we’re off, running through the maze with the same urgency I usually feel during the Blood Trials.
The walls close in on us and the screams from trapped inmates being crushed is harrowing to my ears.
I grip Scott’s hand as tightly as I can and run with him through the endless stone hedges. The sun is stifling in the auburn sky, beating down upon us with the wrath of a cracked whip. Despite the futility of it, I try to use my wings and find myself panicking when they don’t work. It’s not like I didn’t know, but now that I really know, I’m starting to worry about how the hell we’re going to get out of here.
“This way,” Scott says, leading me into a wider pathway.
I glance over my shoulder, and at the bottom of the path we just escaped the plants spit out acid that disintegrates a couple of inmates. Their entire bodies dissolve into thin air, yet the plants suck at the venom residue as if they’re still there. A shudder wracks through me and I grip Scott’s hand tighter.
Okay, so the vines are poisonous, and the plants dissolve human bodies.
Got it.
The wolves howling in the near distance stops me in my tracks. Something blocks out the sunlight above, and when I hold my hand to my forehead and look up, I see a wolf running along the tip of the hedges. It leaps over them and then down toward us, blocking our path.
I nock the arrow and pierce its chest just as it lunges forward, but the wolf continues running.
Scott stands in front of me and punches the wolf with his bare fist.
I grin at the sight of it falling to the earth and shaking itself before retreating through another wall.
The female cries from the other side twist my stomach and I realise that Tyler and his wolves aren’t interested in winning the Trial. They’re interested only in the killing, otherwise they’d run through the walls straight to the prize.
Before I can suggest hunting them down, the ground shakes again and this time sand blows overhead. I lift my scarf and cover what I can of my face without obstructing my vision. The sand sweeps around us like a wave for five whole minutes. It takes another fifteen for the sandstorm to return, which it continues to do so at quarterly intervals. As if the Blood Trials didn’t suck enough.
Scott holds my hand the entire way through the maze. More dead ends await us, each one containing a creature that will kill us if we don’t kill it or escape it first. It’s like Eva’s created this huge sandbox to keep all her twisted creations in. As I fight off the other inmates and try to find a way out of the maze, I imagine how entertaining it would be to watch Eva trapped in her own little sandbox. I’d pay good money to see how she fared. This thought alone is enough to keep my momentum as I hurry through the maze. A blue light shooting into the sky grabs our attention as we reach a hedge with three paths.
“One of them is lost,” Scott says, glancing at his pin. Neither his nor mine is glowing, which means whoever has gotten lost isn’t close by. “We should continue and look for them on the way. It had better not be my brother or he’ll get a hard kick to the nuts.”
Footsteps slam behind me, I spin around to see Axel breathing heavily. “What… what was that, brother?”
In spite of his torn shirt, bloodied fists, and dirt-covered face, Axel looks to be in one piece. Relief fills me and I pounce into his arms, pressing my lips to his. He snakes his hand around my waist and pulls me closer.
“Hate to cut in,” Scott says, a tinge of annoyance in his tone, “but we’ve got the Blood Trials to survive.”
I pull back from Axel and smile sheepishly at Scott. “Sorry.” Then turning back to Axel, “Where’s Memphis?”
He juts his chin toward the sapphire light in the sky. “Dumbass got lost. Well, he found a tomb, then he got lost trying to find me. What a fucking idiot.”
“Do you know the way to the tomb? Is that where we’ve to go to get out of this cesspit?” Scott asks firmly.
Axel snorts and shakes his head. “Yeah, it’s where we have to go, bro, if the orbs are anything to go by. Thought you professors were smart? Anyway, I saw a kid grab one, then they were out. Easy as that.” He points at the left path ahead of us. “I reckon Memphis went back to the temple which is thataway.”
In reply, Scott punches him lightly on the shoulder and I can’t help but grin as I follow them. Unfortunately, another sandstorm sweeps over us the moment we step into the next pathway. By the time it passes, we’re surrounded by other inmates who, for the first time since I entered the Blood Trials, don’t try to kill me. If anything, they’re just trying to survive like us.
My guys tense up at the sight of them, but they calm a little when they realise they don’t mean us any harm. Yet. You can never be too sure in this place.
I wipe the sand from my lashes and follow Axel into what I assume is the core of the maze. Surrounded in acres of red-desert sand is a stone temple flanked by columns shrouded in fire. Memphis stands by the entrance, cornered by an enormous pack of wolves that prowl toward him. I notice Tyler at the front of them, snapping his teeth at Memphis, and my instincts kick in as I charge forward. Axel holds me back with his hand and I glare up at him.
“What’re you doing? Our friend needs help!”
“Trust me, he doesn’t.” Axel trains his focus back onto Memphis. “Let him handle this one himself.”
Confused, I look back at Memphis, and I’m stunned to see how effortlessly he takes the first couple of wolves down. More of them lunge forward and every strike of Memphis’ sword is frenzied by an unmistakable fury that I’ve never seen from him before. Axel, sure, and even Scott when he gets all intense, but not Memphis. As intimidating as the man looks, he’s more like a big friendly giant to me. It’s like the
rage he’s kept bottled up for so long is finally seeping out and he’s no longer trying to suppress it. Even the inmates who catch up with us stop to look before braving their luck to grab one of the orbs hanging outside the temple.
Blow after blow, Memphis hacks into Tyler’s wolves, his entire body stained with blood. I’d feel remorse for those he’s killing, but as I look at each corpse hit the ground, I feel nothing but satisfaction.
Tyler and his wolves have slaughtered magics since before this nightmare began, and it’s about time they get their just desserts. An eye for an eye. If they’d shown even a hint of remorse, I’d consider stepping in, but instead, I stand back and watch as karma is served. If revenge is a dish best served cold, then karma should be served steeped in traitorous wolf blood.
“Axel, Scott, can you help keep the wolves distracted while I grab the orbs?” I ask, watching as the wolves turn fleetingly from Memphis to kill the inmates trying to get an orb. “Distraction seemed to work with the natives last time.”
Axel nods, rolling up his torn sleeves. “Time to play with some puppies.”
“You hate dogs,” Scott counters, following his brother.
“Hold up now. I don’t hate. I’m just more of a cat person since all these damn wolves started chasing me all the time.”
I hear Scott laughing before they fearlessly jump into the chaos and join Memphis. While they’re distracted, I pull out my arrow and run across the sand toward the temple. I shoot multiple arrows at the wolves and inmates who spot me and try to stop me.
Luckily I only have one close call, and I’m not surprised when I find it’s Tyler. His wolf chases me just as I manage to reach the temple. Before I can pull out my dagger or reach for another arrow, Axel shoves me behind him and kicks Tyler right in the face.
My back hits the sand as Axel lifts his leg again, but he’s not quick enough this time. Jaws snap around his shin and Axel lets out a scream I’ve never heard from him before; not even when he was attacked in the last Blood Trials. His blood trickles between Tyler’s fangs and he shakes his head, hauling Axel’s leg from side to side.
I stand on instinct and gather my bow, shooting the arrow with shaking fingertips. The tip just misses Tyler, but Scott appears and grabs Tyler’s ears while Axel pries his jaw from his leg. The sharp copper tang of my injured mate sends tendrils of fear around me. I nock the arrow again, my hands glowing with sapphire flames, but Tyler lets go of Axel’s leg and Scott throws him several feet across the desert.
Throwing my bow down, I lift my hands and let my fire out. There’s no way I’m letting these wolves hurt my guys anymore. Memphis might’ve wanted to tackle this fight on his own, Axel wanted to protect me, and Scott wanted to keep my guys safe, but I’m not standing by and watching these wolves rip them up into pieces. My magic siphons onto the sand, creating a wall of fire between us and the wolves. Their eyes gleam at me through the flames, but I hold myself tall, lift my chin, and make a point of looking directly at Tyler before I smile and turn back to my guys.
We won, motherfuckers! Take that!
Axel’s pained groans pull me back into reality and I hurry over to him. Memphis grabs four orbs from the wall while Scott bends down to inspect Axel’s wound. Thank goodness he’s a healer. From the amount of blood Axel has lost, and is still pouring out from just under his knee, this could’ve been fatal if Scott wasn’t here to help us. I’ve never been more relieved to have my professor here with me than I am right now.
Memphis hands me the orbs and nudges my shoulder playfully.
“You did good out there, kid.”
I beam up at him, trying my best to ignore the amount of blood that covers him. “All in a day’s work.”
Our light-hearted moment is interrupted by the sound of Scott snapping at his brother.
“Quit your fucking moaning.”
Axel’s eyes nearly burst out from their sockets. “Quit my moaning? My kneecap was nearly ripped out by a fucking werewolf. I can moan all I want.”
“You still act like a baby whenever there’s blood,” Scott mutters as he waves his hand over Axel’s knee.
Axel grumbles something intelligible under his breath.
“I can stop the bleeding and soothe the bone until we get back, but you’ll need surgery as soon as possible. You should be fine in a couple of days since nothing was broken, only scratched.”
“Oh, only scratched. Well, that’s alright then, isn’t it? Dickhead.” Axel grins and winks at me when he says this, but I can tell from his pale expression that he’s in a lot of pain and deeply worried. If he breaks his leg, he won’t be able to protect me, or himself for that matter, and I know that’s all he wants to do in this place. “Just help me stand up, brother.”
When he’s on his feet again, albeit supported by Scott and Memphis, I hand him an orb and kiss him briefly on the lips. It doesn’t appear enough for him. He grabs my neck and pulls me down for another kiss, a deeper, more passionate one.
“Let’s get you the fuck out of here,” he says once we pull away, and then we’re all pressing our orbs that return us to the light fae prison.
Lying on cold grass, the long strands brush my neck as I look up at the clear blue sky above. White clouds in various shapes float past me and I smell nothing but the flowers in the nearby field with the wind blowing through the trees. It’s so peaceful here, so relaxing and beautiful, and with every moment I lay here memories of the prison and the Blood Trials drift away. They seem like a distant version of myself now, because in these dreams, I’m okay. I’m not trapped and helpless. My mother didn’t betray me. My life isn’t the fucked up mess it’s become.
“When I was a small child,” Kaelah says as she comes to my side and lays next to me, “I used to lie in these fields and gaze at the clouds. I would try to guess what they were pretending to be and create stories for them.”
I turn my head to look at her as she watches the clouds, and she almost looks like one of them; beautiful and enchanting yet so far away.
“I would search for horses. They have always been my favourite animal. But my brother, he loved ducks.” A pained smile spreads over her lips. “Strange boy, he was.”
“You had a brother?” I sit up and instantly see a group of boys playing together, the images so real I could almost touch them. Three young boys chase after a ball, shouting and calling out to each other. Two of the boys have brown hair, but one has silver hair with piercing blue eyes.
Kaelah nods to him. “My brother is your ancestor, Izora Dawn. Your mother’s ancestor.”
I keep my eyes on the boy and watch him kick the ball into the trees. All of them are laughing as they chase after it, leaving us alone in the field. I suspect they never saw us here, anyway. “I was not the only special child in my family.”
“So we are related?” I ask Kaelah and she nods only once.
“Yes. But you are the first of your bloodline with the power my brother had. He was the God of Dawn. Your father’s and mother’s blood was a perfect combination. Their child would have always been incredible, and your birth was written in the stars right next to your sister’s. Next to mine. Next to all the gods.”
Her words resonate with something deep inside me, something that brings tears to my eyes. But I find myself shaking my head despite how badly I want to agree with her.
“I’m nothing but a prisoner,” I say, quietly. “You have the wrong person. My name doesn’t belong up there with the gods.” Now my disappointment twists into frustration. “You come to me in my dreams, tell me I’m meant to be something amazing through cryptic words, but in real life, I couldn’t stop my friends or lovers from getting hurt. I couldn’t stop Eva. I’m nothing special.”
Kaelah chuckles. “Oh, Izora, you must believe in yourself! The day is coming and you will realise who you are.” She takes my hands in hers. “And when you find out the truth, you will claim your name. You will claim your power and no one will hurt you ever again. Nor you destined mates.”
When I wake up, I’m clinging onto the bed sheets crumpled up in my hands. I breathe in some air and it takes me several moments to realise where I am. I’m not in the Blood Trials anymore. I’m back in my own bed with Luke sitting beside me, his head bowed and quietly sleeping.
I place my hand on his knee, and he snaps awake, yawning as he lifts his arms. With the Trials still fresh in my mind and Kaelah’s cryptic words, I move to his side and snuggle into him without a word.
“How do I not feel like shit?” I question, still exhausted from the Blood Trials. “I swear I’ve still got sand in my hair.”
“The magical meds your mum gave you afterward would be the reason,” he explains to me. “They did a good job.” At the same time as he says this, he slips a note into my hand and places a finger to his lips. I unravel the note in between us and recognise my mother’s handwriting:
Luke reads it with me and we frown at each other, the unspoken question stretching between us. What day is coming?
“How is Axel?” I ask, unsure if it’s safe to talk about it here. “Can we go and see him?”
“Breakfast first, then yes. I’ve heard he is recovering well thanks to his brother and your mother.”
Even though my mother is messed up in so many ways, I’m thankful to her. I will always love her, she’s my mother after all, but it doesn’t mean I agree with everything she has done and is doing. I really don’t and I’m not sure I can forgive her for it. It’s all just so complicated. It’s like no matter how much I want to cut ties with her completely, I can’t bring myself to.
“Thank you, Luke.” I lean up and kiss him softly on the lips. The kiss turns into anything but gentle as he tugs me onto his lap and deepens it, his hand threading through my hair. We kiss right until the doors open and the prison comes to life with noises. Another day in hell, here we go.