My voice catches, barely a whisper. “Rule Four. No…” I can’t say it, but I don’t need to, Ryven’s already looking at me.
He’s seen it—I can tell. It’s written all over his face. That flicker of recognition, followed by something worse.Delight. Bright, sharp and fucking smug. He draws his blade, and as the cadet beside him leans in, quick and smooth, he stabs her straight through the chest.
The girl gasps once, eyes wide, stunned. Her hands come up, reaching for the blade, but it’s too late, her knees buckle. She hits the ground hard as Ryven slides it out.
Behind him, her friends scream—high and panicked as they sprint to the body, then freeze, hovering, like they’re scared touching her will make it real. One drops to her knees. The other starts toward Ryven like she’s about to rip him apart. But she stops, realising quickly that she’s outnumbered.
“What the fuck, Ryven?” Elijah snaps. “We’re only five now.”
Ryven shrugs, still holding the bloodied blade like it’s nothing. “Now we’ll win. You should be thanking me.” He passes the rules to Elijah.
Elijah snatches the paper, jaw tight, eyes scanning fast—rage starting to simmer under the surface. Then he hits the last line. And it shifts. His shoulders ease, brows lift and a dark grin curls across his face.
“Ohhh,” he murmurs, gaze lifting towards us. “Thisis too good. I can’t wait to watch this.”
“What is it? What’s going on?” Ezzy asks, voice shaking.
I don’t answer, can’t, just pass the rules to Rowan. He reads in silence. Pauses for a second, exhaling hard, then:
“Rule Four. No team is allowed to return to the Citadel whole. Any team that comes back complete will be eliminated and executed.”
Finn’s mouth falls open. My heart racing now and Rowan just stands there, eyes locked on Ezzy.
“But… I don’t understand.” Her voice wavers, caught somewhere between confusion and rising panic. “If we can’t kill them, and they can’t kill us?—”
“It’s not about them.” Finn cuts her off, looking to Rowan, me, then back to Ezzy. “It's the ultimate test of loyalty… They want us to killeach other.” The words barely leave his mouth before he staggers forward, bent double, and vomits.
Across from us, Ryven shouts, voice thick with mockery. “Good luck! I nominate you take out the redhead—she’s been nothing but trouble since she got here.” He laughs. “But at this rate, you’ll all be dead. There are five of us and we’re already looking for the Relic.”
I glance over. Shit. He’s not bluffing. They’ve split up, spreading out fast.
“Fuck—he’s right,” I say. “If we don’t find the Relic, this isn’t even a choice. We all die. We can figure the rest out later,” I push. “There has to be a loophole, something in the wording. We’ll reread the rules, break them down, find a way. But first—we get that Relic.”
“That’s your plan? Find it? And what if we don’t? Or what if wedo. Then what?” Ezzy’s almost crying.
“Then we deal with that when we have to.” I reach for her hand. Her skin’s cold in mine. “Okay?” I meet her eyes. Hold her there. “Ezzy. Okay?”
She swallows. Then nods once. “Okay.”
“Okay.” I echo, then turn to the others. “Look, I know it’s the last thing any of us wants to do, but Ryven’s team can’t touch us. So we need to split up, spread out, cover ground, and find the Relic before they do.”
“No,” Finn snaps. “I should stay with Ezzy, she’s?—”
“Lyra’s right,” Rowan cuts in, calm but certain. “They’re already moving. If we don’t do the same, we’re dead before the sun rises.”
I nod. “We split. North, east, south, west. Sweep out, then loop back toward centre. Anyone finds something, you flare a Thread. Agreed?”
For a second, we just stand there, looking at each other, then slowly everyone nods.
I take Ezzy's hand, squeezing it once, before letting go.
How the fuck are we going to make it through this?
Then I turn?—
And run.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
