Mara held onto a dent in the wall, spun around and called out. “Vaelor!”
The tunnel behind her was darker now, the water rising faster, the current stronger. Vaelor released the door and dove in. The strong current pushed him toward her.
As he caught up to her, she kicked off the wall, propelling herself back into the rushing water. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and they both swam through the open exit gate.
They were out!
They were alive!
Chapter 32
Vaelor
Vaelor reached the finish line with Mara leaning heavily against him, both of them soaked, shivering, and barely able to stand. The ice beneath their feet felt like it was tilting, the world still spinning from the cold and the frantic swim through the sub-glacial tunnel. But they were alive. They had made it.
He kept one arm around Mara’s waist, steadying her as she caught her breath. Her lips were blue, her eyelashes tipped with frost, but she was conscious—fiercely, stubbornly conscious. Relief washed through him like warmth.
A sharp crack split the air.
The glacier ahead of them fractured open, and a towering hologram of the Game Master erupted upward in a swirl of blue light. He hovered above the ice like a smug deity presiding over a battlefield.
“Welcome, competitors—and congratulations to those who survived Challenge Five!”
The hologram audience materialized behind him, roaring with excitement, waving banners, chanting names. Vaelor ignored them. His focus stayed on the tunnel entrance.
Not everyone was out yet.
The Game Master’s voice boomed theatrically.
“Our first arrivals—Vaelor of Crytharia and Mara Sinclair of Earth! A flawless execution under extreme pressure!”
Mara swayed slightly. Vaelor tightened his hold. He needed to get her somewhere warm and dry.
A wet, slapping sound echoed from the tunnel. The Slurchan oozed out—flattened, wobbling, barely holding shape. But alone.
The Rasilian did not follow.
The Game Master’s tone shifted, solemn but still performative.
“The Rasilian did not complete the challenge. He succumbed to the floodwaters. The Slurchan has been disqualified.”
Vaelor’s jaw tightened. He had not liked the Rasilian, but drowning in the dark was a cruel end.
A sudden splash drew his attention.
Dugan appeared from the tunnel—dragging Blaine’s limp body across the ice.
Mara inhaled sharply. Vaelor felt a cold, sharp fury ignite within his chest. He felt cheated out of ending the human himself.
Dugan collapsed to his knees, water streaming off his metal-reinforced limbs. Blaine lay unconscious beside him, pale and unmoving.
The Game Master zoomed in dramatically.
“And what a twist, ladies and gentlemen! Blaine of Earth failed to hold the door—succumbing to hypothermia before his partner could return!”
The hologram audience erupted.
“He’s not dead,” Dugan said. “I resuscitated him.”
