Lora smiled softly. “Hi, dove.”
Around her, the town echoed their voices, then Sol’s steps as she trudged closer. “What is this? Where are we?”
“Somewhere in-between,” Lora said, folding her legs beneath her and plopping onto the ground. “Come. Sit. You called me.” As Sol stopped in front of her aunt and bent to sit, she froze.
Lora’s skin was hollow and dull, her sandy hair knotted and thin. Just as Sol was about to ask about it, her attention landed on her aunt’s eyes.
Her pupils overtook them, then red veins and bruises around her cheeks. Lora smiled faintly. “It’s been a bit rough over here, I’m afraid.”
“What’s happened to you?” Sol’s voice shook. “Lora, what is it?”
“We have no time to catch up right now, dear.” She blinked, a small twitch pulling at her jaw. “You asked for me.”
It took some moments to gather her thoughts, to truly bringherself back from wherever she was. “I—Cas.” His name burst from within her. “Oh gods, Aunt Lora. The Trials. The Coronation Vows. I—my uncle made me do them, and I joined them, but Cas killed someone, so he had to join too??—”
Her aunt laughed. “Ah, Semmena hasn’t changed a single bit. I miss the man sometimes, if only to laugh when he didn’t get his way.”
“Lora, I have to get me and Cas out of the final Trial. Semmena is making us fight to the death.”
“Casimir will not hurt you, dove.”
Sol nodded, picking at her nails. “I know. And I will not hurt him. There has to be another way—I heard my mother somehow had Draven and Semmena survive.”
Lora watched her, her onyx eyes narrowing. “Using that loophole will require sacrifice from the both of you.”
“Tell me. Tell me what to do, Lora, please.” Sol nearly fell forward to her knees in a plea. “Please.”
“After Irene’s Vows, everyone called her on the loophole. Why do you think we had to leave? The foul play was obvious. Your mother did it for Mel and destroyed her credibility in the process.”
Sol felt the time running out. The air began to freeze, her skin shivering and tingling as if she was waking from a dream. “I’ll take the risk.”
Her aunt watched her for a long moment before sighing, “Rule and Law 5.4 from Stone Ledge states if the final prospects are both on the brink of death, the match gets called a draw.”
Sol blinked. “And how do I do that?”
“Our blood bond.” Lora stood. “It acts as a siphon. You can draw my magic in short bursts—Call out the law to Semmena and I will do the rest.”
Sol could see her breath pooled in clouds by her face. “Magic?”
“Void—Dark Magic. Blood bonds are Dark Magic.”
Lora gestured for Sol to stand, then grabbed her shoulder. Her aunt’s touch was cold. Almost foreign. It made Sol flinch slightly. “You’ve been helping me during the Trials?”
“Slightly. Although, I promised I wouldn’t. I couldn’t just feelyou suffer.”
“Is that... safe?”
Lora’s eyes seemed distant, as if she looked past Sol and not at her. “I will be fine.”
“But—Lora.”
With a smile too reminiscent of the creatures of nightmares, Lora whispered, “Good luck.”
Sol barely had time to gather her wits as her soul, or mind, or whatever that was, returned to herself. She lay on the dusty cell floor, then quickly turned away from the wall as it pulled open, the brightness a jarring contrast from the dimness.
She stood on shaky feet.
Dust and debris swirled around as she stepped into the arena, the sun bright and blazing heavily compared to the usual cover of clouds from the east side of Rimemere.
