I began to dissect her words in my mind, searching for a hidden clue, just as my mother taught me in the rare moments of sentience, but came up empty.
“All we have to do is walk through the forest? That seems unbelievably easy,” Draven pressed, eyes held tight.
With that, I could agree. There had to be something in the middle. Some trick. Some joke.
Dionysus’s nose scrunched. “The journey’s difficulty is subject to your own choices. Now, come for a drink, if you will.”
We headed to the table, exchanging nervous looks as the reality of the situation sank in. I gulped and waited. At my side, everyone filled their glasses until they were brimming and ready to spill—perhaps for courage.
Come for a drink, if you will.Dionysus’s voice echoed in my ears.
“Wait,” I said, wanting to warn them about the loophole. But when I laid eyes on Theo and the others, they were already gulping their drinks.
“What?” Theo questioned, eyebrows lowered before he wiped the corner of his mouth along with the evidence of the sipped wine.
I hesitated, my lips slightly ajar, though ultimately I knew telling him was futile. He’d taken a drink, and perhaps I was mistaken anyway.
When I poured the liquid in my glass, I met Demeter’s eyes, a smile resting on her lips. She tilted her head, curiosity flashing across her features. As I filled my cup and then lifted it to my mouth, Demeter’s intense gaze never wavered. I took only a small gulp and waited, the cool glass pressed against my palm, anticipating her disapproval. Her mouth remained shut, but her eyes betrayed her feelings with a sudden sparkle.
I placed the cup back on the table, a whoosh exiting my lungs.Come for a drink. A drink could mean a whole glass or more, but also just one sip.
“Can she do that?” Draven fought with a sneer. “We all had a glass, so should she.”
“Yeah,” the majority shouted in unison.
Amid the crowd, I spotted a handful of wounded expressions.
I opened my mouth, attempting to explain, but their averted eyes made it clear they weren’t interested in hearing my reasoning.
My jaw clenched as my attention returned to Draven. What was his problem with me? “You drank two. Does that mean everyone has to drink the same amount as you?”
“Fuck off?—”
“Enough.” Demeter extended a hand, quieting us all and the murmurs in the background. “You all shall proceed.”
Draven’s mouth almost hit the ground. “You can’t be serious.”
“Are you questioning a god, mortal?” Dionysus belittled, dragging any fight out of him. “Begin.”
With a sigh, my shoulders slumped as I began to turn, but Demeter’s voice cut through the air, halting me. “Not you, girl. Explain your choice and you may continue.”
“Why I only took one sip? That was a choice.”
Dionysus nodded. “If you thought taking only one sip a choice, then why bother drinking at all?”
My spine straightened, eyes sharpening. I wasn’t sure if I should give them a glimpse of my thought process. I drank one sip just in case it wasn’t a choice to forgo the wine; I wanted to make sure I left no way for them to eliminate me. If it was against the rules to drink so little, I also gave them the chance to tell me to drink more. But they didn’t.
“No reason,” I replied, deciding not to share. They most likely figured it out already, but saying it out loud was different. It was a confirmation.
They exchanged glances before moving their attention back to me. Dionysus was wearing the biggest smile. “Very well, mortal. You shall now go on.”
They now saw me either as a toy to play with or a challenge. I wasn’t sure which option I preferred.
The wet ground pulled at my boots, making a sucking sound with each step that carried me closer to the first trial. The footsteps sounded loud in the quiet and mud splashed onto my leggings like a messy painting. Slowing my pace, I looked at the trees that surrounded me, at the path winding through them, pressed flat by footsteps where grass fought to break through.
A sharp, shuddering breath escaped my lips. I was going to walk out of it. I was going to return to my mother, and no entity, no god, could stop me.
My right leg took the first step inside as if passing through a portal, and the rest of my body followed. A wave of fear washed over me as the earth vibrated, the cries of animals piercing the unsettling chirping of birds in a horrifying symphony. I wiggled my toes in my shoes, desperately trying to hear my own movements, but I was met with the consuming sounds of the forest.
