I can’t blame him his mewling. Even I have half a mind to return the way we came. At this rate, the walls will squeeze the air from our lungs and crush our bones into powder. It’s frankly a miracle that we’ve made it this far without getting stuck. If we continue, our chance of being wedged in place goes up exponentially. We’ll have trapped ourselves, left to rot. No way forward, and certainly no way back.
A hand presses gently between my shoulder blades. Sonam’s palm is warm, his touch neither forceful nor hurrying. The contact is brief, a gesture of assurance. “This is just another test,” he says. “Like the Sleeping City. All there is to do is endure.”
I think back to what the star god said.Everyone has a choice.We had a choice to give in to our deepest desires in the Court of Temptation. A choice to choose violence over peace in the Court of Wrath. And now, on the journey to the Court of Hunger, we have a choice to either be brave or cowardly. We could go back to the garden. It’d be leagues easier than suffering through the unknown. But how long would we remain there? We’d end up like all the other hopeless souls, too afraid to move on.
“Keep moving, Fox,” the captain murmurs near my ear, the low bass of his voice sending a shiver trailing down my spine. “We will pass this trial, just as we did the ones before.”
I heed his confident words and take a deep, slow inhale. My mind clears and my nerves soothe. For a moment, I can understand why Sonam is the leader of his little group. Always so steadfast and logical. The sort to keep his head when everything is onthe verge of collapse. I suppose it’s admirable, in a way. And once again, he’s right.
Which only serves to irritate me further.
“Get your hot breath off my neck or I’ll rip your throat out,” I grumble.
The captain heeds my warning with an indignant scoff.
Ignoring the anxious twitch of my fingers, I force myself to continue, turning so that I’m better able to sidle between the two walls. If it’s a tight fit for me, I can only imagine how suffocating it must be for the three trained soldiers behind me, with their stocky builds and bulky armor.
Each step becomes more difficult. We’re being crushed. My skin chafes with the friction and my bones creak from the pressure, threatening to fracture. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. The walls moan, as if taunting us, the Courts of Hell just as alive as the Sleeping City outside.
Just when all hope is lost, I see it. A light at the end of the tunnel.
Escape comes narrowly, and not in just the literal sense. With one final shove of my body, I free myself of the impossibly tight passageway, scraping a good chunk of my nose against the wall. Sonam and Sooah come tumbling after me, each of us panting with exertion and the dawning realization of how lucky we are to have made it out with our lives. I give them a once-over. They seem to be in good shape, all things considered. Except…
“We’re missing one,” I say. I look behind us at the narrow hall, barely wide enough to fit four tomes pressed together horizontally. Somewhere in the darkness, we must have left Wen behind.
“I’m going back for him,” Sonam says without a second thought. But before he’s able to take another step, the walls surge, expanding like a pair of lungs before squeezing tight all over again. I was right. The Jade Palace is indeed alive—and scheming. My sensitive ears pick up the sounds of Wen’s rasping pleas.
“Help,” he croaks. “Someone—”
Let him die, a voice whispers in the back of my mind.
All it would take is for me to stand here and allow the Jade Palace to crush Wen into nothing more than mangled pulp. Just as quick and effortless as a fly squashed beneath someone’s palm. I don’t know how far back Wen is wedged, but it certainly isn’t worth putting my life at risk to save him. We might even make it through the Courts of Hell all the faster without a fourth slowing us down. I’ve never been particularly fond of that man, besides. All I need to do is turn a blind eye. It’ll be over in seconds.
And yet.
My feet carry me forward. I have no control over my body. The only thought on my mind is to run, run,run. I’m between walls. There’s no turning back. Not now that the walls are once again pressing together closer.
I find Wen lying on the ground, sweating profusely. His eyes widen and his mouth hangs open when he sees me. I don’t give him a chance to speak, to protest. Stepping over him and snatching him up by the collar, I hoist him onto his feet and shove him toward the exit.
“Move,” I hiss, flashing my teeth for extra motivation.
It’s a race for survival. The walls shriek and groan as they give chase, spitting up dust and debris. We’re only a few feet from the exit when the walls trap us, crushing our shoulders and smashing us flat. And to think we were seconds away from freedom.
Gritting my teeth, I let out a roar as I scrape my leg up and kick Wen in the back with all the force I can muster. He pops free, but I remain lodged in place, listening to the air rush out of my lungs and the pop of my joints.
“Fox!”
The sound of Sonam’s voice is just barely noticeable over the sound of crushing bones. My vision blurs, swirls, an encroachingand ominous black seeping in around the edges. This is it. I’ve used up all of my rotten luck saving humans who hate me, and now I’m going to die.
“Give me your hand!” Sonam shouts. At least, I think he does. It’s difficult to tell now that the walls have closed in over both my ears. I can hear the porcelain of my mask beginning to crack from the pressure. But I reach toward the sound of his voice.
The moment his fingers find mine, Sonam latches on and pulls me to safety. He nearly wrenches my arm from my shoulder. We fall together, crashing to the ground at top speed. The captain catches me, one arm braced around my back, using his own body to absorb most of the impact. It takes me a moment to catch my breath and will my heart to still.
“Are you alright?”
I blink up at Sonam in disbelief. I don’t know what to say. He’s so close.Disgustinglyclose. “I think so.”
The captain tries to help me to my feet, but I won’t have it, standing up on my own. Wen stands to the side, his face twisting with unease. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’d swallowed a toad. He certainly looks sick enough.
