So, I scramble as fast as I can manage toward the tree line that will bring me out of the clearing. Maybe I can find cover in some bushes? No—I need to go past the bushes and into the woods. I can worry about what will happen when I get lost in the woods later. Better than being eaten?—
I slam into a hot, nearly invisible, shimmering wall and curse so loudly the Hydra can probably hear it. Pain shoots through my nose and forehead, and I taste blood.
Of course there’s a magical barrier. Of course we’re trapped in here with this thing. And judging from the way one of the heads turns to me and the entire monster startsmaking its way toward me,it totally heard my scream.
The others—all five of them definitely insane—run after the monster.
Are they trying to save me? Or just trying to keep their target from getting away? My bet’s on the latter.
“This is Blaze Academy!” Evie yells, hurling a fireball that goes wide. “Check for weapons! They wouldn’t leave us defenseless!”
Weapons? I can’t breathe, let alone check forweapons.
But what else am I supposed to do? Punch my way through the force field? For kicks, I give it a test, and I was right—the walls are punch-proof. My fingers, on the other hand, aren’t magical-wall-proof, although the pain eases relatively quickly.
It’s official: I can’t run away from this insane Hydra trial.
So, I glance around wildly until something sharp catches the light. Metal buried in the bushes.
Swords.
Thank God—or whoever’s running this nightmare.
I dive for the nearest one, the Hydra’s roar rattling behind me, a sound that vibrates through my bones. My fingers close around the hilt, but my grip slips, and the blade slices across my palm.
“Shit!” Blood gushes down my hand, slick and hot, coating the steel. It makes the hilt slippery, and I can barely keep hold as my vision blurs with panic.
Then, by some miracle, the sword sparks with silver electricity, like the lightning from the plane. The power races up my arm, surging so intensely I have to bite back a gasp.
What the?—
A roar snaps me back to reality. One of the heads is locked in on me, and it’s rushing toward me, golden eyes focused on the blood dripping from my hand.
No. Hell no.
I stumble backward, swinging wildly. But the sword is too heavy. Every movement drags me down. Sweat stings my eyes, mixing with the smoke, blurring my vision until all I see are golden eyes and teeth. So many teeth, each one longer than my entire forearm, shimmering with the same heat signature as the magical wall locking us in this damn death clearing.
This is it. This is how I’ll die. Eighteen years old, in a cursed forest, torn apart by a monster that shouldn’t exist. My parents will never know what happened to me. No one will. I’ll just begone.
But I refuse to go down without a fight.
I’m about to take another swing when fire slams into the Hydra’s chest. The beast staggers, smoke curling from its scales, and I can actually breathe again.
“Did you see that?” Garrett’s triumphant voice rings out, even as the head zeros in on him. “That was at least a Class Three inferno burst!”
Vera rolls under a lunging head. “Stop bragging and fight!” she snarls, her blade slicing clean through its neck.
The severed head crashes to the ground with a wet thud. Vera doesn’t hesitate—her flames roar hot and unyielding, cauterizing the stump. The smell of burning flesh fills the air, thick and choking, and I gag on it.
“One down!” she shouts.
Nina strikes next, her blade sliding between scales like she knew the exact weak point. Flames pour in after, sealing the wound with terrifying precision.
“Garrett, blind the one on the left!” Evie commands. “Vera, go for the neck on the right! Jade, you—” She looks at me, and her expression shifts. “Just try to stay in one piece!”
“Already working on that!” I shout back, grateful she’s not expecting me to suddenly transform into a fire warrior.
My hands shake so hard the sword quivers, but luckily the cut on my palm is already closing, the skin knitting together at a pace too fast to be natural.
