When we were dismissed, the movement toward our assigned meeting points for Trial Two felt like a march. No one laughed, no one joked. Zypher wrapped his arms around me before he had to split off toward the Third Year meeting point. I had the overwhelming urge to cling to him, as if keeping him here a moment longer could keep him from whatever he would face in his own trial. The thought of losing him had silent tears spilling over my lashes.
“Do not fear for me, Dilectus,” he murmured, pulling back and swiping tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. “We will endure.”
He looked over my head at Gabriel before stepping back. My vampire mate took Zypher’s place as the demon turned and strode away. Gabriel’s hand slipped into mine with a reassuring squeeze, and he led me in the direction of the cathedral.
The space was eerily silent for the number of students sitting in the pews. The heavy oak doors boomed shut behind us, and the air inside the cathedral tasted of ozone and smoke, as though it already carried a warning. Dean Femirea stood on the dais once more; her hands folded loosely in front of her as her eyes scanned over us. When she spoke, her voice filled every corner of the room.
“First Years,” she began, her emerald eyes sweeping over us. “You have survived the Labyrinth of Shadows. Now you will face the second trial: the Elemental Trial. You will be cast intoa pocket realm of shifting terrains and volatile magic. For one hour, you will endure. Survive the threats the elements place in your path, and you will be permitted to return. Fail, and you will not.” Her lips curved faintly, though the expression didn’t reach her eyes. “It will be up to each of you whether you aid one another or not.”
A ripple of unease passed through the pews. Someone whimpered; another muttered a hurried prayer. Gabriel’s hand was steady in mine, though I felt the faint tremor beneath his skin. Shadrie and I shared a glance before turning our attention to Miles. Words weren’t needed to know that whatever waited for us in the pocket realm, we’d face it together.
Femirea raised her hand, and the dais split open to reveal another portal. “Step forward when your name is called. The trial awaits.”
Names began to echo through the cathedral, each student stepping forward and dropping into the portal swirling in the raised floor. Some strode forward with their head held high, confidence radiating off them. Others dragged their feet as if the few seconds of delay could save them from their fate. None refused, the portal swallowing them whole. When my name rang out, Gabriel released my hand reluctantly, his gaze burning into me.
“Stay alive long enough for me to find you,” he murmured. I nodded, steeling my spine before marching forward and dropping into the waiting portal.
The world slammed into me with a force that knocked my breath from my lungs. I staggered onto rough stone, jagged cliffs rising all around me. The air was thin, sharp, and laced with the scent of lightning. From somewhere far below me, the sounds of waves crashing against the unseen shore pounded out with a fury that echoed like war drums. I barely had time to find my footing before the wind howled, whipping hard enough to nearly hurl me over the edge. My hair ripped across my face, stinging my eyes. A sharp cracksplit the air as lightning cleaved the ground a few feet away, shattering rock and sending sparks skittering like living fire. Heart hammering, I stumbled back. My hand brushed the vials hidden in my pocket. Someone prepared me for this.
I forced myself to remain steady and scanned the horizon. The realm around me seemed endless, with different terrain just barely visible in the distance. There weren’t any sounds of life, and it only took me a moment to realize that wherever I had landed, I was completely alone. The air crackled again, my hair raising on end as the scent of ozone thickened around me. I needed to find shelter, somewhere to hide from the violent elements.
I reached for my well of power and grabbed the strength I’d copied from Gabriel, coaxing it into my limbs as my eyes searched for a way down from the cliff I’d landed on. Hidden among the shrubbery to my left, a dirt path beckoned me forward. It took all my focus to hold the magical strength in my limbs as I picked my way down the rocky cliffside. Rocks skittered off the sharp face of it under my feet as I moved. I was nearly halfway down, sweat dripping down my back and between my breasts, when the temperature suddenly shifted.
Snow slammed into me, biting cold searing across my skin. My legs stiffened, every muscle fighting to keep moving. From somewhere up ahead, a student screamed. The sound was pained and terrified; a warning that whatever they’d encountered was not something I wanted to face. It was the first sign of life around me, and it sent a shiver of fear up my spine. My numb fingers fumbled around in my pocket as I tried to grasp the Obscurement powder. By some miracle, I pulled it from my pocket. My teeth chattered against the bitter cold as I yanked the cork free. The liquid burst into a shimmering powder, cloaking me in a veil that bent the air around me. The storm continued to howl, driving ice shards sharp enough to flay skin, but at least I was hidden from whatever had caused that scream.
Clenching my jaw, I forced my feet to keep moving. Thecliffside path gave way to blackened stone. Heat slammed into me as the storm died, and the air grew heavy with sulfur. Lava surged between jagged cracks, lighting the terrain in an angry glow. My sweat slowly washed away the powder, keeping me invisible as I trudged along. A lone figure moved carefully across the terrain, hair matted, clothes singed.
“Miles!” I shouted, my voice raw.
His head whipped toward me, wide-eyed. Relief broke across his soot-streaked face. “Bechora!” He staggered toward me, stumbling over the unstable ground.
We barely had time to embrace before the lava shifted. A beast rose from the fissure itself—molten rock pulling into the shape of a wolf with burning eyes. It lunged, spewing fire across the stone.
“Down!” I shoved Miles aside, pulling the green vial from my pocket. The earth’s strength surged through me the moment I uncorked it. I slammed my palms into the ground, jagged walls of stone rising to block the searing spray.
Miles recovered, his magic flaring. Blue electricity licked across his arms before arcing out, striking the molten wolf in the chest, stunning it. I willed the earth to rise and harden around the creature, praying to whatever god was listening that it would be enough. Inch by inch, the flaming beast sank back into the ground until it was swallowed whole. We didn’t celebrate. We kept moving.
“I don’t think time works here like it should,” Miles noted as we trudged forward.
“What do you mean? The Dean said the trial lasts an hour; why wouldn’t time be the same?”
He held his arm out toward me, tapping the watch strapped to his wrist. “According to this, only a handful of seconds have passed. You were through the portal at least three minutes before my name was called.”
“Shit,” I hissed.
“Shit indeed.”
We fell into a companionable silence as we pressed forward.Our eyes were constantly scanning for threats, ears echoing with the distant screams of our classmates. Eventually, the lava plains bled into a swamp. Thick mud clung to our shoes, threatening to pull us down with every step. Mist coiled over the still water, and serpentine heads darted up, striking at anything that moved.
“Fuck you, you fucking thing!” a sharp voice rang out from the fog.
Shadrie emerged, ice magic swirling at her fingertips. Frost spread across the water, locking the serpent creatures into place. She shattered them with a vicious snap of her wrist before turning to face us.
“Selir, I thought I was never going to find you,” she breathed, rushing to hug us both. “This place is… It’s something.”
“Have you seen Gabriel?” I asked, my vampire mate the only one still missing.
Shadrie shook her head solemnly, and Miles grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
