“Good luck today, Adrian.” She turned away and strolled back over to Cyrus, whose smile diminished somewhat when he saw her despondent expression.
“You too,” I mumbled.
The two of them shuffled away toward their own tunnel without looking back.
I blinked and pulled myself back into the moment. It was much easier to fake a smile now that Dahlia was gone, but the way my mother stared at me, as if afraid I might shatter at any moment, forced me to make a conscious effort.
“How did you know we were competing today?” I asked.
“I received a letter, hand delivered by a messenger,” my mother answered. “From a woman named Bria?”
I smiled and whispered, “Thank you for coming.”
I meant it.
“When you fail this one,” Warren started, a mocking gleam in his eyes, “you’ll be coming home, right?”
I huffed, semi-amused.
“If Dante’s mom lets me leave in one piece,” I joked back, and he grinned. Despite the gravity of the Trials, it felt good to banter with my brothers like nothing had changed. Even though everything had.
“Adrian.”
I turned to Dante. He was scowling at me, his lips set in a deep frown and a brow raised. Clearly, my allotted family reuniontime had expired. He jerked his head to the side, to where the second gate was opening.
Soon, the tunnel would be exposed and there would be nothing stopping us from walking inside and beginning our next Trial.
“That’s my cue,” I gave my family what I hoped was a confident smile, but I wasn’t so certain that my lips weren’t quivering from nerves.
My mother leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
“You can do this, Adrian. We believe in you.”
“Well, most of us,” Warren teased, one last time.
I smacked his chest.
“Adrian,” Dante called again, losing his patience. He stood by the tunnel, toe tapping against the stone. He quirked a brow again, and I sighed.
I’m coming, you grumpy ass,I shot back.
His lips twitched into the barest hint of a smile before he turned on his heels and stalked toward the darkness.
My brothers both slapped my back, and I hurried over. Pairs were already making their way into the tunnel, and as I’d learned during our training, Dante couldn’t stand being anything but first.
The inside of the tunnel for the second Trial was the same as the first. We formed our separate lines, men in one, women in the other, and waited until something moved us forward with no physical effort on our part. Only this time, we knew what we were shifting toward, and the line wasn’t nearly as long. It was only a few minutes before I took the last step into that metal transport and shot off to my second Trial.
It deposited me into pitch blackness.
It might have been a room, but it could just as easily have been an open field. I saw no walls or ceiling, no furniture or obstacles. Nothing but an endless void.
Adrian?Dante’s low voice echoed in my head.
I’m here.
Where are we?
I’m not sure. Are you in here? I can’t see you.
