Page 82 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

I still don’t understand where the catch with this is.

One course has to have obvious advantages, but looking at how large the squares are, I’m confused on how this could be that dangerous.

This is supposed to be the grand finale, and to be quite frank, this seems laughable.

I could jump through this course with my eyes closed and in my sleep. So where does the true danger lie?

Clearing his throat, Tank grunts, “I’ll take the shorter course.”

“As you wish!” the Empress purrs. Flicking her fingers, Hade strides up to her side, passing over two small clear vials. He lets them go reluctantly, his body physically recoiling at being an accomplice to whatever is inside them. My body mirrors his unease for what’s to come.

“There is one last thing I should mention.” She walks closer, a smile that could only be described as the devil incarnate shines brightly across her smug face.

“Before each of you begin, you must both drink the contents in these vials. They are of crucial importance to this final game to test your strength and willpower to persevere through the toughest of trials. These,” she taps the clear small vials, “will decipher who has what it takes to be the toughest of this year’s contestants and take it all. ”

I don’t like the sound of that one bit. I assume some type of drug is in the vials, but to what extent? Will it knock me out? Weaken me? Turn me vicious? Make me sick? I really would rather not find out, but if I refuse, it’s a sure death sentence.

Reaching forward, I pluck a vial from her hands.

Here’s to hoping this option won’t also be a death sentence.

Pulling the cork, it pops out easily, and a faint floral scent rises to my nose.

Hand slightly shaking, I wait for Tank to grab his and the Empress to nod for us to continue.

In one swift movement, I shoot the drug back like alcohol, the cool liquid burning the back of my throat.

Dropping the vial to the sand, I stomp my foot, shattering the glass.

Lifting my gaze, I stare the Empress straight in the eyes, not a lick of fear to be seen.

Today, I’m staring death straight in the face, making it fear me instead.

“Very well.” She claps happily. “Let the final round of the Crucible commence! Good luck to you both, and may death not claim your soul today.”

Cheers erupt again as a float flanks us, flying us into the air up onto our respective hopscotch courses. Landing with a heavy thud, my head spins slightly. Harshly, I blink to catch up with reality.

Turning to thank the Vanquisher, his face starts to morph, his mouth suddenly in the place his nose should be. Rubbing my eyes, I open them again to find he’s back to normal. I find it weird but decide to move on, having more important things to worry about right now.

“Thank you,” I mumble. My lips are slightly slower to react than the signals my brain is sending them, so it comes out a little slurred. He shoots me a worried look then nods and floats back down to the sand.

Turning to face the obstacle in front of me, my head dances, as if jumping from cloud to cloud. I grit my teeth, trying extra hard to focus until the course comes into perfect view.

Peering over at Tank’s course to my left, I notice his is at least half the length of mine. A queasy feeling lurches in my stomach, but my muscles slightly relax when I notice over half of his spaces are marked with Xs.

Looking back to my own course, it seems about only a quarter of the squares are marked as dangerous.

I like those odds. I may have to travel further, but I like my odds of avoiding the danger.

One wrong step could mean life of death, and I like having more options to misstep and avoid hitting an X, unlike Tank.

His size alone is a giant disadvantage; his large feet will most likely take up almost the entire length of each square.

Movement catches my eye as the Empress comes into view between our two courses, escorted by a float.

This is it, Nyxi. Just one last challenge. One more obstacle to prove your worth and extract your revenge. For Theo, I can do this. For Theo I can do anything .

“Lunaria, my citizens, are you ready to witness the entertainment of the year? Who will take it all? And who will perish in the others’ success, ripped away for the rest of eternity? A race of life or death. A game of luck and skill. The final test to decide this year’s Reaper Crucible champion.”

Looking us both in the eyes with a sickening seriousness, she finishes with, “Let the final round of the Crucible commence!”

Grunting, Tank takes off at full speed, jumping onto his first square as the Empress floats back down, leaving an Illuminist in her place.

Taking in my course, I map out a clean path to weave between the scattered Xs. Satisfied, I leap to the first row of three squares, the one in the center marked with an x. Spreading my legs, I plant each foot in the outside spaces, avoiding the danger in the center.

“Nyxi!”

I would recognize that voice the same as the feel of my own skin. Gasping, I drag my eyes up and spot… No, that can’t be right.

Theo stands at the end of my course. My Theo, alive and here with me.

He smiles, jumping up and down while waving his hands like a maniac.

Everything fades away, and the permanent frost surrounding my heart melts with one single smile .

His smile is a remedy I so desperately was looking for.

His smile could solve world peace. That one smile single-handedly fused every fissure and ache riddled into my dying corpse of a heart.

Happy tears spring to my eyes, and a laugh bubbles up my throat. “Theo, you came back to me!” I gasp. He came for me like he always has.

My protector.

My home.

All the air leaves my lungs, and a blood curdling scream rips from my throat as the giant flaps of black tattered wings sail in from behind him.

Necroshriek .

I try to warn him to turn around. To run. To not let history repeat itself.

“Run, Theo!” I scream. “Please, I can’t lose you again.”

My feet move on instinct, and I launch into a run with only one thing on my mind. I have to save him this time. I need him. I won’t survive losing him a second time. My heart couldn’t bear it.

“THEO!” It feels like my throat is bleeding from how hard I’m screaming.

The Necroshriek is only a foot behind him now and I feel like I’m having déjà vu.

I’m living out my worst nightmare over again, except this time, the Necroshriek flies straight through him, as if he was nothing but a cloud in the air.

“Theo?” I gasp. Clutching my throat, my lungs seize, unsure how to work anymore. Where did he go? Falling to my knees, I drop my face in my hands but spread my fingers when I hear a faint click . What comes into view between my spread fingers has my heart lurching in my chest.

My knees are planted on one giant black X.

Smoke slowly billows up out of the square, and as soon as it makes contact with me, a burning like I’ve never felt melts my skin and has me shooting up. I wince and whimper when the smoke burns through my cargo pants and hits my ankle, where I can feel a blister bubbling instantly.

I fell asleep in my training clothes last night by accident after reading late.

I didn’t have time to change into Des’ protective suit, since I was dragged here by force, but I’m thankful I at least went to bed in my sparring gear and not a nightgown.

However, right now, I could really use the extra protection.

Whipping my head up, I look to the next row of squares to find only one, and it happens to be another black X.

Breathing through the pain, I launch myself as hard as possible over the next row with the single X and onto the following row, using all the force in my body to make it there.

It feels as if the shadows around me give me the extra boost I need to make it.

I land, wincing after falling directly on my shoulder. I feel a slight pop, then searing pain, and decide I most likely dislocated it.

Points for style, I guess.

Holding my shoulder with my hand, I scan my eyes left and right, looking for any danger. I sort of launched myself to this row, trying to get as far away from the acid as soon as possible before seeing where the danger lay on this row.

There are three squares in this row. I happened to have landed in the center one, which is safe but bordered by one X on each side. It seems luck was on my side with this one.

I take a moment to check over my wounds, rolling up my pants to spot two vicious red ankles riddled with small white blisters. The boots rub them, making them ooze and spread like fire across my skin.

Hissing through the pain, I roll my pants back down carefully, then look over to see how far along Tank is. He hasn’t made it very far and is sporting a few cuts and bruises. He’s shouting at nothing, like he’s out of his damn mind .

Deciding I have enough time, I assess my shoulder next. Prodding, I instantly recoil from the pain and the way my arm hangs limp by my side. It’s definitely dislocated. Lethargy seeps over my body, but I push through, knowing what comes next is a necessary evil.

Raising my bad arm above my head, I bend my elbow as if I’m trying to itch my back and slowly inch it over towards my other shoulder behind my neck. Screaming through the pain, I keep pushing it until a loud pop sounds and provides me instant relief.

Now that it’s back in place, the pain is much more tolerable. I look over the course that seems to sway, or maybe it’s me. I don’t know at this point, and my eyes seem to grow fuzzier by the second.

The majority of the course still lies ahead, but there are plenty of spaces for me to have an easy route if I just stay the course and keep my wits. I hop through the next two rows easily, even with my ankles screaming in pain with each step.