I forget this is a trial. Forget this is not real. Forget the Orb of Vaelith hovering at my shoulder. All I see is him. All I see is death.
I collapse beside him, just as I had all those years ago. Tears blur my vision, blinding me.
I blink, and it isn’t Kallan anymore.
It’s Koen.
His dark hair is matted with blood, golden eyes dimming. He reaches for me, trembling fingers brushing my cheek. The touch burns with life, so real it cleaves me open.
“I’ll find you…in the next life. I swear it, Serenya.”
Kallan’s words. Koen’s voice.
“No, no, no, no.” The denial rips through me as I clutch his hand, desperate to anchor him. His chest stills…and his eyes go vacant.
I scream.
Chapter 37
?---- Koen ? ----?
The first thing I notice when I step out of the portal into the Labyrinth is that I’m underground.
It’s freezing, dark, damp, and smelling of must and dusty stone. My breath fogs in the air. Summoning my magic, I shape a ball of light that floats above my palm, casting a dim golden glow across the walls.
There is only one way forward: a spiral staircase of stone, climbing upward too high to see the top.
The steps are narrow, some crumbling at the edges. There’s no railing, no safety. I start carefully, keeping close to the inner wall, though it does little good. I stumble twice when pieces of stone break away beneath my boots, tumbling into the abyss below. I can’t tell how long I climb, my legs aching, lungs burning, until at last, the staircase ends. I almost wish it hadn’t.
The path ahead is worse—a long, narrow bridge of stone, barely two feet across, stretches thirty feet to the far side. No handholds. Nothing but open air and endless black below. My stomach sinks.
I swallow hard, taking a step toward it.At least it’s solid, I tell myself…only for a chip of stone to crack free and fall into the dark.
Of course.
I steel myself, but just as I’m about to set foot on the bridge, I see Serenya.
She’s on the far side, locked in combat with a swarm of wraiths. Too many. Far too many. She’s bleeding, staggering, too slow. My heart lurches. I forget the bridge, forget my safety.
I run.
Halfway across, the stone shifts beneath my boot and breaks away. I crash to my knees, arms pinwheeling as I nearly pitch over the edge. My pulse roars in my ears. When I look up, a wraith has slipped behind her. She doesn’t see it.
“Serenya!” I shout.
Her head whips toward me, eyes wide, confusion furrowing her brow. “Koen?”
The distraction costs her.
The wraith lunges from behind, sinking claws deep. Her gasp is sharp, her body buckling. She stumbles, falling to her hands and knees, blood blooming across her back. Her violet eyes lock on mine one last time—desperate and pleading.
“Help…me.”
I lunge forward. But it’s useless.
She crumbles, face slamming into the ground. Still. Silent.
The wraiths retreat, like they are satisfied with only her death. They don’t even spare me a glance.
