“Don’t fucking move,” Dex said eyes wide.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge as a venomous black snake, slithered right between my legs. Its onyx tongue flickering as it moved.
“What do I do?” I asked watching it with wide eyes. One bite from it and I’d be dead in seconds.
“I got it,” Nat said, putting her mask back on. She rose her arm and shot out her power, turning the thing into pure stone.
A breath of relief rushed out of me. “Thank you,” I said.
“No sweat,” she replied, shrugging.
Fuck, that was close.
We headed out, and I placed my mask back on, tying it tightly behind my head. My body felt bruised and sore with every step. Dex walked ahead of us with a new torch he’d made after the last one burned out, and we followed behind. He’d chosen to go to the right and really either way felt uncertain, so we hoped it was the correct choice.
This tunnel that we found ourselves in was wide and made of even more bones. Moisture dripped from above splashing every now and then on the stone floor. At least it wasn’t acid, which I found out when it dripped right on my head, making me panic for a moment, before I realized I was fine.
“So, you and Dex seemed awfully cozy last night,” Nat said, walking next to me.
She’d cleaned off the gash above her mask and now the area had dried in a jagged looking gouge. It was deep and probably could use some stitches.
“I wouldn’t say cozy.”
“It looked pretty cozy from where I was sitting.”
“Well, tell that to the crick in my neck that I woke up with,”
Nat gave a quiet, half-hearted laugh. “I’m only asking because that ring on your finger seems pretty important.”
I sighed, “It is.”
“So—”
“So, I’m just trying to get through these games alive,” My tone was defensive and clipped. Nat had hit a nerve because if the situation were reversed, and Theo had been the one to be summoned, I wouldn’t be okay with him getting cozy with a fellow contestant. But then he hadn’t even come to say goodbye to me. I would have shown up for him. And I couldn’t help but remember all the times he had tried to keep me in my place. Small and obedient. Like a good little wife in training. I was tired of being what everyone else expected of me. I was tired of living small. I wanted to experience life to the fullest, especially afterbeing threatened with my own mortality. But was that enough of an excuse for my behavior? I didn’t know the answer and I was all twisted up inside about it. But down here it was a different world. Where the rules that usually applied to everyday life were thrown into a wood chipper. When the god of death’s game was breathing down your neck, threatening to end your very life at a moment’s notice, you learned to take stock of the things you’d always thought you’d known as fact.
“Did you end up with the power you wanted?” Nat asked changing the subject.
“No,” I said with a sigh. Nat looked over at me, tilting her head. “I wanted The Healer, actually.”
“No way, that one’s like a death sentence.”
“I know, but it was the one that I could use to save my maman. She’s been sick for a long time, and we don’t know how much time she has left. What about you?”
“Oh, yeah. I debated between this one and strength but turning things to stone is much cooler.”
“Definitely,” I agreed.
“So— up there. What were you doing before this?” Nat asked.
“Studying. I was a week away from my finals. You?”
“Baking. I was a baker.”
“Really?”
“What?”
“I just wouldn’t have pegged you as a baker. You seem so— formidable.”
