Sphinx’s first words to me whisper and hiss through my mind. Perhaps they weren’t just born of curiosity—perhapsthey were a clue.
“Sorrow,” I mutter, more to myself than to her. I spin back toward Sphinx, my eyes searching her out in the darkness, forcing the word out louder, “Sorrow.”
Her smile widens, but not in the way I hoped. A low, rumbling growl erupts from her throat, reverberating through the chamber as her eyes narrow.
“Wrong,” she says, her voice soft but sharp as a blade.
Sphinx lunges, and I stumble back a step, my heart hammering in my chest like the frantic wings of a bird. But she doesn’t attack me as I was expecting, only returns to the darkness she appeared from.
Three attempts, that’s what Master Cyril said. So, I am safe for now.
I inch toward the pedestal, placing it at my back as the sensation of being stalked has a bead of sweat trailing down my spine.
From the shadows, Sphinx laughs again.
Glass shattering.
Bells ringing.
Sensing the weight of time slipping away, I cast a furtive glance over my shoulder. The lower bulb of the hourglass is half full now, each droplet of water passing through the funnel at a faster pace.
I wipe my clammy hands on my gown, forcing myself to focus. The riddle loops in my mind, taunting me with its simplicity, yet the answerremains just out of reach.Neither seen nor felt…its touch is naught…a chill in your heart…
My heart skips a beat as I think over the words, and I pause, frowning as I take in the faint tremor in my fingers and the dread that seeps into my skin.
Could it be…?
“Fear,” I blurt out.
Sphinx’s golden eyes flash as she appears before me, and this time, her smile vanishes. I dart to the side, stepping around the pedestal and placing it between us. As I watch her, the glow from the water clock highlights the way her lips curl back, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
“Wrong again,” she hisses, and begins a slow, torturous circle, her muscles bunching as though she’s preparing to pounce.
I take a shuddering breath, forcing myself to think.Trailing in the wake…a cloak of gloom…hides truths and triumphs in silence…
Theclepsydracatches my eye again, and my stomach drops—the water is almost gone.
If I’m mistaken again…I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block Sphinx out as we continue our deadly dance—but it’s no use. I run a hand through my hair, opening my eyes again to stare into the suffocating darkness surrounding me—
My hand freezes in motion, breath hitching in my throat.
“Darkness.” The word passes my lips in a whisper just as the last drop falls. I watch as delicate ripples cascade across the surface. I look up, meeting Sphinx’s gaze, and repeat my final answer with conviction, “Darkness.”
The silence drags out as I await her judgment, and I run through the riddle over and over in my mind, until Sphinx finally responds.
“Correct,” she says in that uncanny voice, a more genuine smile spreading across her face.
My breath comes out in a rush, draining most of the tension from my body. As it does, the sense of malice bleeds from the air as well.
I did it. I can leave.
But I can’t move.
I’m rooted to the spot, caught in this magnificent creature’s goldengaze. I know I should leave, but curiosity has always been one of my biggest flaws, and—without the pressure of time and imminent death—Sphinx has that very curiosityragingwithin me.
“Would it be rude of me to ask you something?”
“It would depend on the manner in which you ask.”
