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  Don replied, “Jason and Allyra. The Firsts from the Elemental College.”

  It didn’t come as a surprise, yet it was somehow surreal to hear her name called out in Don’s resonant voice. Allyra hadn’t really expected anything else—her rather spectacular and public failings with Jason during training would not have gone unnoticed.

  Allyra got to her feet, and her eyes found Jason. His hands were tightened into fists, his knuckles white with the force of his grip and his tendons visible along the length of his arms. It was a rare display of emotion. He was obviously furious.

  “We accept,” Allyra said evenly, as if there had been a choice in the matter.

  Marcus nodded, and his eyes drifted over the crowd again. “Any other challenges?” he asked. “No? Well then, the two pairs will report to the Council Chamber at seven tomorrow to participate in the challenge instead of morning training.”

  Marcus strode swiftly from the room with the other Council members trailing like sheep behind him. High Master Radebe was the last to leave, and he turned and gave Allyra a look of deep concern as he left the room. She knew the concern was real enough. Nonetheless, it felt like a reverse vote of confidence.

  She dropped back into her seat. There was a violent clanging of plates as Jason departed furiously. Chi’s expressive face was a perfect canvas of worry, while Henri’s was filled with anxiety. Even the normally unflappable Adriana looked mildly troubled.

  “Are you ready?” Henri blurted out.

  Allyra shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” She got to her feet, her dinner suddenly not quite so appetizing.

  Chi grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Maybe you should give him some time alone.”

  Allyra smiled tightly and gently extracted her wrist. “Might as well get it over and done with. I get the impression that he’s not going to cool off anytime soon.”

  “Work together!” Adriana called out as Allyra walked away. “And don’t die.”

  They were good words to live by…

  * * *

  The Council Chamber was a smaller version of the Great Hall at the Elemental College. It was dominated by an ancient and majestic oak tree at the back of the room, clearly a Gate into the Between. Other than special circumstances, such as The Five Finals or when she’d fallen into the Between, the Council would only meet once every year. And the meeting place for this annual gathering would be the Council Chamber here at the Training Grounds. It was considered to be neutral ground, away from the Great Colleges over which the individual Council members presided.

  Jason hadn’t spoken to her all night, and now, some twelve hours since the challenge had been issued, his rage was undiminished. He stood next to her, his jaw still clenched in anger, and a dangerous type of silent intensity had taken hold deep within his dark eyes.

  A wide array of weapons had been laid out for them, and Marcus gestured casually for them to take their pick.

  Just as they had done in the Final Trial, both she and Jason chose twin swords. The swords were held in a leather baldric, identical to the one she’d worn while training with Alex in the Between. The leather felt warm and familiar as she swung it over her shoulders and started to strap it on. It was only when her fingers fumbled over the straps that she realized how nervous she truly was. She looked down at her fingers and the almost imperceptible tremor that ran through them.

  Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium…

  The periodic table tumbled through her mind, element after element cascading over each other as she willed the anxiety away. She would not fall at this first hurdle.

  Iron. Cobalt. Nickel. Copper…

  Jason turned to her, his leather baldric already strapped firmly across his chest. Impatiently, he brushed her fingers away. His touch was cool and steady, and his deft fingers did up the straps swiftly.

  Allyra looked up and met his eyes. They had not lost any of their intensity, but his fury had burned down to something much more dangerous—diamond-hard determination.

  “We’re going to win this,” he said with steely belief.

  It wasn’t a question, but Allyra nodded nonetheless, her anxiety washed away by the force of his conviction, leaving only resolve in its wake. Her mind cleared to razor-sharp clarity.

  I’m ready.

  I will win.

  They would win.

  Beside them, Don chose a two-handed sword, so large it would’ve been as tall as Allyra had she stood beside it. She smiled—Don didn’t know it yet, but a weapon that large was a poor choice for the confines of the Tunnels. Clara chose more wisely, opting for a short, curved scimitar and a sturdy coiled whip.

  Once they had all armed themselves, Marcus gestured for them to follow him. With a careless flick of his hand, Marcus opened a stone slab on the floor. It slid open soundlessly, and she followed the Council into a spiral walkway down toward the Tunnels.

  As she stepped into the walkway, Allyra took one last look around the Council Chamber. For a second, she saw Alex, or at least a memory of Alex, watching her go. His expression was unreadable, but this time he didn’t look away.

  She was jolted from the memory as Don crashed into her.

  “Move!” he growled.

  Allyra forced herself to walk on. There were memories here, and Allyra resolved to come back for them, but right now, it was time to face the challenge.

  The spiral walkway ended in a square room, one with a doorway into the Tunnels. As had been the case at the Elemental College, the doorway to the Tunnels was simply an inky darkness formed into the shape of an arched door by a tangle of tree roots. And standing before this door, Marcus made his final announcement.

  “Each pair will walk in together. As the challengers, Don and Clara will have the advantage of going in first. Allyra and Jason will then follow. The first pair back wins, and you have three hours, after which both pairs will be eliminated. Good luck.”

  Marcus curled his lips into some sinister mix between a grin and a sneer. “And remember—you won’t remember.”

  With little fanfare, Don and Clara disappeared through the doorway together, the darkness seeming to reach out and swallow them whole.

  And then it was their turn.

  Jason and Allyra offered their hands to the waiting Sentinel. With her mind filled only with thoughts of the challenge ahead, she barely felt the twist of the Sentinel’s blade against the palm of her hand. Once the Sentinel bowed its acquiescence to allow them through, Allyra glanced at Jason and gave him a tight nod. Without a word, he took hold of her hand, and for perhaps the first time since arriving at the Training Grounds, Allyra felt as if she and Jason were working toward the same goal. Side by side, they stepped into the darkness.

  For a moment, Allyra was enveloped by the comforting, infinite brightness of the Source; it extended around her and beyond her in every direction, intact and pure.

  Words flashed before her eyes, seared into the back of her eyelids, written in flame and fury.

  Trust only the Gift

  And then, she was through—into the heavy, suffocating darkness of the Tunnels.

  * * *

  The Tunnels were exactly as she’d remembered from the Second Trial—dark and narrow with barely enough light to see even one step ahead. But for Jason, or anyone else without her affinity for the past, entering the Tunnels must’ve been jarring and bewildering. To give Jason credit, he didn’t hesitate, breaking immediately into a jog and pulling her along with him.

  It didn’t take long for them to run into the first Sentinel. One moment they were jogging down a dark tunnel, Jason running his graceful fingers along the wall to guide them. The next, the tunnel was filled with the bright, ethereal light of the Sentinel.

  Jason ducked beneath the Sentinel’s first slashing blow, tucking into a roll and getting back to his feet in one easy, uncomplicated move. Allyra slid her swords from the baldric and met the Sentinel’s next attack. Its sword crashed into hers with a jarring metallic clang, sending shockwaves reverberat
ing up her arms.

  Jason turned and slashed his sword through the Sentinel, but it passed through nothing but mist and light. His face registered a brief moment of shock.

  “Run!” Allyra screamed at Jason. “There’s no point fighting it. We can’t hurt it.”

  Allyra slid past the Sentinel and broke into a sprint, grabbing onto Jason’s sleeve as she passed him, dragging him with her. There was no winning a fight against the impervious, magical Sentinels. Fighting them was a waste of time and a great way to die. They only had one weakness—that they were rooted to one spot, and once past, they could not follow.

  Soon enough, the Sentinel’s light began to fade, and Allyra glanced over her shoulder to see it standing still, watching them go. She slowed back into a steady jog.

  “How did you know to run?” Jason demanded.

  “You saw how your sword passed through it. Staying and fighting would have been utterly pointless.”

  “Yes. But how did you know it wouldn’t follow?”

  She didn’t have to do it.

  She didn’t have to lie.

  Jason wouldn’t remember a thing she said as soon as they left the Tunnels, but lying had almost become a second nature to her.

  Allyra gave Jason a long look. “I didn’t. But what other choice did we have?”

  He nodded in acceptance, and she realized that she’d become a much better liar than she’d thought. Alex would’ve been proud.

  * * *

  The Tunnels dictated their path, and walls moved at will, on random and unpredictable paths. At times, they had to turn around when they landed in a dead end, and at others, there was no choice but to climb. All they could do was to move as quickly as possible and hope that Don and Clara were moving slower or had been caught up by a Sentinel. There would always be an element of luck associated with the Tunnels, which could only be combatted by constantly moving forward.

  A couple of hours passed by, and they’d both remained mostly unscathed; the worst of their injuries were a few cuts and scrapes from getting past the various Sentinels which appeared without warning and at random points. They were both moving at a steady jog when suddenly the walls moved again, and a huge wooden door held together with long iron slats confronted them. Fiery writing flashed before her eyes again.

  Forget me at your peril, for I have lessons to teach for what is yet unwritten.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this door. She had been confronted by it once before, in the Second Trial, but at the time, she’d been too terrified to even think about opening it. It had happened right after she’d seen the room filled with dying Cleaners, after she’d made the promise to come back for the green-eyed Cleaner. Then, she had been running from a Revenant. But now, she felt curiosity—the type that killed cats or a Five Finals Competitor who didn’t know how to mind her own business—and she reached out for the door handle.

  Jason slapped her hand away. “Are you insane?” he demanded, “We have no idea what might be behind that. And those words are obviously a warning.”

  “It might be a shortcut,” she said, her words sounding unconvincing even to her own ears.

  “Or it might be something that has been locked away and should remain that way,” Jason retorted. “We don’t have time for this. Let’s go.”

  He was right, of course. Again.

  Allyra turned from the door reluctantly. She couldn’t help the nagging feeling that this door was important.

  They’d barely taken two steps when, without warning, the ground fell away from beneath her feet. Jason instinctively reached for her. He managed to grasp her hand, and for a second, they teetered before the ground tilted again and sent them both tumbling downward.

  During the seemingly endless tumble, Allyra decided it was incredibly inadvisable to tumble head over heels with swords strapped to your back. Eventually, they landed with a crash, limbs tangled together and swords clashing with a metallic clang.

  Allyra got to her feet gingerly, bruised and battered, but without serious injury. She offered her hand to Jason. He shot her a disdainful look, ignoring her offered help and stood, brushing himself off. He looked past her and raised his eyebrows.

  “Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing after all,” he said lightly.

  She turned to see what he was looking at.

  It was the exit.

  Light flooded through the doorway, and beyond it, like they were standing in a different world, were the Council members. It felt like déjà vu. Last time she’d been here, standing with the finish line within sight, had been the moment Pierre had allowed her to finish ahead of him. It was a decision that had cost him his life. But for his kindness, she would’ve been locked away in the dungeons below the Elemental College, and Pierre would’ve been alive to be here beside Jason at The Five Finals.

  It was a reminder that she had much to achieve and many debts yet to pay.

  “Let’s go,” she said bluntly, forcing her regrets away and her legs back into a jog and then a run.

  They were so close, but things were never so simple within the Tunnels. The magic and energy that lived here meant the Tunnels were almost alive, and if anything, it enjoyed a twist ending.

  The walls shifted and spat out Don and Clara ahead of them. Allyra’s heart dropped.

  Don was the first to notice them, and instead of moving toward the exit, as any normal person would’ve done, he pulled his partner to a halt, a sadistic smile working its way to his lips. An identical look of maniacal elation was mirrored on Clara’s face when she turned to them.

  Comprehension dawned, and Allyra realized that Don and Clara didn’t just want to win the challenge—they wanted to linger in the forgetting of the Tunnels. They wanted to wound and maim. They wanted to play.

  A shiver of disgust trembled up her spine, but next to her, Jason smiled, every bit as dark and dangerous as their opponents. He slid his twin swords from the baldric.

  “Are you ready to have some fun?” Don called out, stalking forward, holding his massive, two-handed sword before him.

  Jason laughed, but there was no humor to the sound. “Yes,” he replied sardonically. Without so much as a glance at Allyra, he leapt forward, attacking with stunning viciousness. He moved with his usual ease and grace, but there was an uncharacteristic carelessness about him, an echo of his frustrations. It gave Don an opening, where usually there would be none.

  Jason was distracted, overeager. He was just a beat too slow as Don’s sword came down, cutting a cruel arc through the air. Jason’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He was too slow, but Allyra wasn’t.

  Don’s sword clashed against hers, breaking its path toward Jason. But she’d misjudged the pure strength and weight of it. Steel met steel with a violent clang, but only one survived the impact—it wasn’t hers. Her sword broke, and she’d only succeeded in cushioning the blow but not stopping it altogether. As half her sword clattered to the ground, Don’s cut deep into Jason’s arm, and he let out a howl of pain and rage.

  Fully occupied with Don, she barely noticed as a whip coiled itself around her ankle and jerked her abruptly from her feet. She fell backward, the air exploding from her lungs as she hit the ground. Clara dragged her backward, past Jason, who had one hand clasped against his arm, blood seeping through his fingers and dripping to the ground. Past Don, who stamped down on her arm.

  Allyra screamed in agony as he ground his heel down on her wrist, forcing her to drop her remaining sword. Don looked down at her, and she saw the light in his eyes, relishing the experience of not just beating her but hurting her. Sadistic joy shone through his dark eyes as he savored her pain. Clara yanked on the whip, and Allyra’s shoulder dislocated with a sickening, liquid pop as Don continued to hold her arm down.

  Allyra’s vision wavered as the pain washed over her, and for a moment, her mind was a perfect blank as she drifted toward nothingness. Jason rejoined the fight, blood dripping from his arm, his entire left side drenched in crimson. But no
ne of it slowed him down, and this time, he fought with all of the tight precision she was so used to seeing. It was enough for Don to release her arm, and Allyra struggled to gather the frayed edges of her thoughts.

  Clara was now striding toward her, the curved edge of her cruel scimitar catching the light streaming in from the exit. After a moment of hesitation, Allyra allowed the tigers to come to life on her wrist. As the tigers began to twist and writhe with feline grace, her vision lost focus, and instead of the bloodlust she’d come to associate with using the Tiger Swords, all she felt was a deep, almost endless hollowness. Energy fled from her muscles, as if swept away by a giant wave, leaving nothing but weakness behind.

  Allyra fought against the roiling waves of nausea as Clara continued to pull her backward. Her eyes were bleary and filled with a thousand dark spots. Allyra severed her connection to the Tigers, allowing them to still back into the silvery tattoo on her wrist. Abruptly, her vision cleared, and the fog receded from her mind. Desperate for a weapon, she reached behind her for a sword before remembering that there were none left in the baldric.

  Clara stamped back down on Allyra’s arm were Don’s foot had been a second ago. Clara’s full, red lips curled into a sneer. “A bit sore, is it?” she taunted, with the same sadistic pleasure Don had displayed. It was clear why Don and Clara made such a strong team—they were both psychopathic sadists.

  Allyra needed a weapon.

  She allowed the tigers to come to life once more, steeling herself against the sudden weakness and fighting to stay conscious. Using every drop of energy she had left, Allyra forced the tigers into a tiny dagger. And with one final push, she pulled herself up and drove it deep into Clara’s calf.

  Clara fell away and let out a wrathful shriek.

  The tigers settled back into the tattoo, and Allyra used her returning strength to scramble to her feet. She looked up to see Jason locked in a furious battle with Don. Don might’ve been stronger, but in the narrow, confined space of the Tunnels, Jason’s superior speed meant that he was still able to hold his own.