Page 47

“I’m sorry, Noah.” I realised Amelia was crying. She stood over me with a tear running down her cheek. She slowly stepped back, her hazel gaze never leaving mine. Pressing her hand over her heart, she recited our motto as a show of respect. “For love of land and neighbour.”

The ground rumbled once more as cacti roots slithered out like hungry snakes.

I drew my lips into a tight smile before the roots surrounded my head.

Darkness overcame me, but I did my best to slow my breaths in the helmet-like encasement I found myself in.

The sand shifted beneath me as more roots wrapped around my body and pulled me down into the hard ground’s embrace.

A heaviness settled all around me as I was buried alive.

The second trial had started the same as this final one would end, with me in the ground. Except this time, everyone would believe I was dead. Amelia had understood what I asked of her and gifted me the most precious thing. Time.

It wasn’t much, but hopefully, it would be enough for those behind the cameras to deem me dead beneath the sand.

Amelia had faked my death, but it was my job to do the rest. My body ached from the wounds inflicted by the cactus.

I could feel my blood seep into the already red sand, yet I was still alive.

I was still fighting. The battle had been the easy part.

The waiting I had to endure now would truly test me.

Alone in the dark, I thought about Fallon.

I pictured her face and those copper eyes staring back at me, her long dark hair flowing in some imaginary breeze.

I wanted to reach out, thread my fingers through the strands, and run my thumb along her full lips.

Gods, those lips and all the things I had thought of her doing with them. Kissing me, tasting me, sucking…

Shit. Now was not the time to go down that fantasy path.

The sand around me felt even more oppressive, which was the opposite of what I wanted thoughts of Fallon to do.

I’d hoped she’d take my mind off my predicament, but thinking of her was making everything feel worse.

I took a few shuddering breaths in the makeshift cacti helmet and found the air warm and stale.

My future depended on the cameras no longer being there when I headed back above the ground.

It was hard to know exactly how much time had passed, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was about an hour after the fight.

I had waited until the last possible moment when I couldn’t take being buried any longer.

Then I clenched my jaw and began to dig my way out.

My muscles ached against the movement, straining as I pushed my way up.

Thankfully, Amelia’s magic had made the ground soft and the cacti roots she spawned had displaced the hard rocks and sand.

I didn’t have to break through the ground, just fight against the weight of the sand.

It wasn’t an easy task. My arms and legs trembled as I pushed upwards, my hands and feet sinking in the process.

If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up digging myself deeper into the hole.

But adrenaline coursed through me as panic tried to take control in that dark.

I refused to let it take me. After a few minutes of digging though, doubt crept in and I began to second-guess whether Amelia had been an ally at all.

Had she truly buried me? Was this how I died?

“No,” I told myself, digging upwards.

Sand caught underneath my fingernails and pain shot up my hands, but I pushed on.

This was not the end of me. I kept fighting, kept digging upwards, unaware of the time or the progress I was making.

I couldn’t stop. There were too many people relying on me, and I wasn’t ready to die just yet. It wasn’t my time.

Panting, I shoved myself up and broke the surface, welcoming the fresh air on my skin.

Relief flooded through me like a torrent as I dragged myself the rest of the way out of the ground.

My breath was hot before my face, my skin sweating as I crawled along the sand.

Once my body was completely free, I sat up and was quick to tear the roots that encircled my face, allowing the welcome air to caress my cheeks and fill my lungs.

My heart pounded in my chest. Though my wounds stung and deeper injuries burned, I was free.

In the moonlight, I checked myself over and saw the sand clinging to the blood on my skin.

My once green jumpsuit had been torn and was now red from wounds and the dust of the Crimson Steppes arena.

It didn’t matter, though. Neither my clothing nor my injuries were of any importance because luck was on my side.

A grin spread wide on my face, and I laughed as I checked my surroundings and found no camera, no lights, and not a single sign of anyone around.

I’d done it. I’d finished the trials and gotten out alive.

Now, to finish what I’d set out to do: Find the twins, stop future kidnappings, and protect the people of the Verdant Plateau.

No, not just my home. All of Terrulia.

Everyone deserved to live happily, healthily, and safely, and I was going to make that happen. I’d been given a chance to make things right and I wasn’t going to squander it. Terrulia needed to change. But first, I needed to find Fallon and the rest of my pod.