I turn as Aelia dunks herself beneath the water and swims, disappearing beneath the wall.
Lyra clings to me, whimpering, “Marcella, I cannot swim!”
I look at her, wrapping an arm around her midsection and walking back toward Aelia. “Just stay calm, hang on to me, and you’ll be fine. I’m not going to let you drown. You’re going to need to swim underneath?—”
“But I?—”
“Listen to me!” I shake her. “You have no other option, and we’re running out of time. Remember this?” I lift a hand to show her my palm. “We’re bound, you and I. Trust me. I won’t let you die, okay?”
Her bottom lip quivers, and I grab her hand, squeezing it tightly. “Don’t let me go, alright? I’m going to swim under first, and I’ll pull you with me. But you’re going to need to kick your feet and use your other hand. If you don’t stay calm, you’ll kill us both.”
Not giving her more of a chance to overthink it, I take a deep breath and take the plunge, pulling her in after me and sinking beneath the wall. When I open my eyes in the water, I find the bottom of the pool isn’t as deep as I thought. It’s littered with green leaves shed by the maze walls. As soon as Iclear the wall above me, I look back at Lyra whose eyes are squeezed shut. I place a foot on the wall and push off, propelling us both forward enough that she clears the underside of the wall and we breach the surface.
We both gasp in unison, and I blink water out of my eyes as Aelia runs in to help take Lyra. We exit the pool to find flames to our left sizzling out, and to the right is a clear path. Our boots and dragon scale outfits are soaked—sure to slow us down.
I glance up at the skies, trying to search for the mountains of Vitalis, or any hint of where we are. Are Lady Bethany or Devin even watching us right now? How many women have made it, or worse…How many women have died? What does this trial prove about being a right fit for the Blood Ring?
We turn a corner and run into a group of four other women, headed by Willow. They all look shaken, fear widening their gazes. And yet, we all sag with slight relief that we’re no longer alone.
Not sure if bigger numbers make us an even bigger target, however.
“Do you know if we’ve made it to the second ring?” Aelia asks.
Willow shakes her head, pointing back behind them while panting, “No, but I think we’re close. Stella thinks we’re in the second outer ring of the first circle. Why…are you all wet?”
“We swam underneath one of the maze walls,” I answer.
Another roar of the dragon rolls out like thunder, followed by the unmistakable scream of a woman.
Everyone’s eyes round, and Willow swats a hand toward a path. “Let’s keep moving!”
The seven of us barrel down the path after Willow. The three of us soaked head to toe are a bit slower than the rest. After a few minutes she stops suddenly, holding out a hand and backpedaling behind the corner as a shot of flame rips down the path and explodes against the ivy wall to our right.
Lyra tucks in behind me, and I grab her as I run in the opposite direction. The rest of the women follow us, and now we’re leading. Aelia barks direction after direction.
That is, until Lyra croaks next to me, “Her directions are wrong. We’re going in circles.”
We reach another dead end. I turn to Aelia. “We haven’t even reachedthe second circle yet. I think one of us should climb the wall and see if we can make a path out.”
“Oh? And who do you propose that will be?” Willow challenges.
“Me.”
Lyra pulls at my sleeve, eyes desperate and pleading. “You can’t. If you die?—”
“I won’t die,” I promise her. Then address the rest of the women, “I’ll go, as long as you can all promise that you’ll watch my back. And if I fall, you catch me.”
Wide-eyed, they all tilt their heads back to look up at the top of the wall.
Fine. It might be unrealistic for me to expect them to save me from a fall if it were from the top. But at least I know I won’t do it alone. Willow looks at me with a nod. “Alright, go quick.”
Squeezing Lyra’s shoulder, I race over to the wall and sink my fingers into the thorned ivy. Swallowing the pain blistering my skin, I grab hold and begin to pull myself up. Inch by inch I ascend, and after a few minutes blood trickles down my fingers. Silently, I thank the dragon scales for covering the rest of my body. As I maneuver up, other overgrown thorns scratch my cheek, my neck. Once I’m at the top, I slide up enough that only my eyes peek over the edge.
The maze stretches beyond us, and the fire dragon is at the other circle. Dipping down into a path and returning back up with someone held in its hind claws.
Not a fire dragon—a firewyvern.
My heart drops as the beast releases the woman and she plunges to the ground. Then it circles around, perching on a wall and flapping its wings to stay upright. Stirring leaves around it in a flurry, it roars down into the path, echoing out across the valley we’re in.
