My body is busy as I climb, and my mind whirs just as frantically as I think about the remaining Rettlings and how they may be doing. Height is the only advantage I can see Jonas and Del having over me, yet some of the shafts are so narrow that the men’s broadness could be an issue.
It’s on another wrong turn that I notice the pathways have also narrowed. I don’t know if it’s been gradual or just a change on this floor,but they’re definitely narrower than when I started, which means I’ve got to be getting higher. The knowledge spurs me forward and up into the next shaft, which leads into a dimly lit chamber. It’s the most open space I’ve encountered since the plateau.
Adrenaline floods through my veins. I’m nearing the end. I know I am. And the fact that the trial hasn’t ended means that no one else has won yet either. This is mine. I know it’s going to be mine.
My body’s trembling, and for once, it’s not with fear. The only issue is that I’ve got no idea where I’m supposed to go next. There are a couple of narrow passageways leading off the chamber, and given it’s a maze, taking one of them is probably a good idea. But instead, I turn around, taking in the space around me. Why would they have left an area like this, so different to everything else, if there wasn’t a purpose for it?
I scan the gloom-filled area, only to notice a thin strip of illuminated motes dancing lazily in the air. I cast my gaze upwards and the fluttering excitement of before reignites. It’s another shaft, and there’s light coming through it. But given that light has tricked me before, I know it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and it could easily be another red herring. Carrying on with the maze is likely the most sensible thing to do … only there’s something about the colour. The bluish hue is the same tone as the light I saw at the top of the mountain.
My footsteps echo around me as I head towards the nearest wall, continuing to stare at the gap above me. Unlike the other shafts I’ve climbed, jumping up won’t get me within reach of the opening of this one. I’ve got to climb up to it first.
It doesn’t matter how fast I want to go. I take it steady, making sure I’m secure before reaching for each new handhold or foothold. When I reach the shaft and look up, my breath leaves me in a quiver. It’s going to be the longest climb by far, and my limbs already ache with every breath I take. I can feel them trembling, but I know that one misstep, one missed hold, and there will be no coming back from the fall.
My muscles are clenched the entire time I climb, anticipating the moment when it all comes to an end. When I’m whisked back to the barracks, the High Hold, or wherever they take those who haven’t won the Retterheld. Maybe the slums for me.
With each inch I traverse upwards, my excitement grows, but so does my fear. A second’s difference, that’s all it takes between winning and losing. And though I get a little comfort from not being able to see any of the other Rettlings above me, I know that there is more than one way upthe mountain. Maybe one of the flat routes led to a nice, easy set of stairs. Maybe I’m straining every limb while Zara is strolling.
I grit my teeth and push the thought down. I won’t let her defeat me now, not even in the confines of my own mind.
The higher I climb, the brighter the blue light becomes. It’s not just a shimmering haze anymore; now it’s illuminating the rocks, fiercely bright but not blinding. And the light isn’t the only change. The air is thinner here. Crisper, cooler, and laced with something that takes me a moment to place. Magic.
Magic is thick in the air.
I’m nearly there. I know I am.
I reach upwards, only to stretch a little too far. My hand slips, my shoulders go with it, and with a cry of fear and force, I slam my foot into the rock. My toes crunch with the impact and tears burn through my eyes. I don’t know which bone is broken, though I know at least one is, but I’m balanced and stable for now.
As my panting breaths slowly calm, I force myself to continue up, biting down against the pain in my foot. My wrists are exhausted – the strain on them has been constant – and if this isn’t the last shaft, I’m going to have to give myself a rest before I tackle the next one. The thought of another one makes me want to cry, but I steel myself and continue on.
When I’m a foot from the top of the shaft, my heart leaps. I’ve made it. I know I have. I’m at the top.
I scramble up the last few inches – no finesse, no skills, no energy – and I’m entirely spent as I pull myself over the edge. I want nothing more than to collapse onto my knees, but I don’t. Instead, I look up … and my heart falters at the sight of a familiar face staring down at me.
‘Dinah?’ Tears prick my eyes.
In her blue robe with the blue stone gleaming at the centre of her forehead, she is every bit the priestess I know and love. Yet as I clamour up onto my feet, desperate to hold her – or for her to hold me – I stop. There’s something about her eyes that is different. The paleness of them. The depths of her pupils.
Awe rips through me. It’s not Dinah at all.
‘Great Goddess.’ I drop to my knees, bowing my head low. Why did I not see it sooner? To stare at a God? Surely that is a crime. But she must know I meant no disrespect by it.
I lift my head, just an inch, ready to give my apologies, but before I canvoice my pleas, another voice speaks. One that is familiar and coated with its usual disdain.
‘Well, slum rat, you took your sweet time, didn’t you? Never mind, there’s still time enough for me to end you.’
My body freezes, fear and disbelief pinning me to the spot. It can’t be. It just can’t.
Zara.
Zara got here first. After all I’ve endured, all I’ve lost, Zara has fucking won the gifting.
And now, she’s going to kill me.
Chapter 71
No. No, I can’t accept it. Iwon’taccept it.
All the people we’ve lost, all those actually deserving of this gift, andshe’shere? The person who has disregarded the very thing the Goddess of Life stands for at every turn? It’s absurd.
