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Vines slashed at me, wrapping around my legs with surprising strength.

But I was stronger. My muscles ached, straining with pressure as those sentient plants slithered up my torso and found purchase around my throat.

My lungs burned, my airways closing as the hedge came alive and squeezed me tightly.

With my vision beginning to spot, I clawed at my throat, trying to slip my fingers under those deadly lassos, but it was no use. I bent double, my legs wobbling as the energy left my very bones.

My adaptation. Maybe if I…

But nothing happened. No rocky exterior coated my skin. Not a whisper of the skill that amplified my strength and clad me in impenetrable armour. So, this is what it had come to. No magic, no weapons, no adaptations. It wasn’t hard to guess why they called it a trial of the mind.

The Overseer would have to wait another day for her share of bloodshed, because not fucking ever would I die such a miserably pathetic death.

I had too much to accomplish and too many people I’d be letting down if it ended here.

My city, my parents, Flynn… and her. The girl who’d stolen something I’d never thought to give.

The thought of never seeing her again, never wrapping my arms around her body or hearing her laugh… it was unbearable. Unthinkable.

With a grunt, I lifted to my full height and strained my arms with every kernel of strength still pumping through my veins. Finally, with one last heave, I broke out of the vined straitjacket and ripped the greenery apart until its leaves exploded like confetti.

One step. Then another. My legs broke free of the vines, giving me full freedom of movement to grab those damned tethers and snap them off my neck. As I did, the green wires wilted before they dropped to the ground, turning to ash before my very eyes.

I sucked down air greedily, coughing and spluttering as my lungs filled with precious oxygen. My body ached, and I had no doubt I’d be sporting a lovely new purple necklace, but I was alive. It would have to be enough for now.

I looked around and stroked my raw throat absentmindedly.

I was no stranger to hard work or tough environments, but this was new.

In the Steppes, there were times when our city’s economy had slumped so low, that my family had fallen back on every survival skill in the book.

We lived in a damn desert, after all. One I’d been stupid enough to get stranded in not just once but twice.

Survive that, and one can survive anything.

And yet, circumstances even then had never felt as dire as they did in this fucking academy.

It was always one thing after another. It was getting under my skin.

But… later. All these things could be tabled until later when I found the group once more.

It was odd how much things had changed so quickly.

No one would ever replace Flynn, but I’d found a sort of comradery with the boys.

Sure, we all wanted the same sexy angel, and that competitive streak in me would never happily allow them to win, but there was growing trust among us all the same. Friendship, dare I say.

My stomach rippled slightly, like something uncomfortable snaking through my gut at the thought.

Guilt? I scoffed. But my mind flipped to thoughts of Flynn.

My right-hand man would laugh in my face before punching me in the gut for even thinking I betrayed his memory.

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair, and a small smile crossed my lips.

I missed him. He’d have gone all awkward and shy if I’d ever said that to his face, but maybe I should have.

Maybe I should have told him, brother to brother, that I loved him.

I chuckled at the thought. Wherever he was now, he’d probably be yelling at me to get my shit together and man the fuck up.

The cool breeze was a boon on my raw skin as I walked through the maze. I kept one hand on the left side of the hedge, monitoring for any sign of movement from its branches because hell if I let this place eat me alive. I was a Hale, and we always conquered every obstacle in our path.

Now and then a scream would pierce the silence.

It seemed the Masters had plopped us into a maze the size of…

well, it was damn huge by the sounds. Options were limited in the maze, as was vision, and all sounds echoed so that they could have originated from far off or just around the corner.

It was a scare tactic to start us off on the wrong foot, a test of our survival skills when given no materials to work with.

I grimaced, wondering how long it would take to reach the end or the centre of the maze. From what little I knew of mazes; I was sure they usually held something special in the centre. That was likely where I should be headed. Wherever that may be. I supposed I’d know when I got there, but—

A rustling sound, accompanied by a string of curses and grunts, interrupted my train of thought.

I smirked. Was it another Potential having a roll in the leaves?

I almost walked past the commotion. It was every Potential for himself.

But I must have been feeling generous because I decided to help.

And not a minute too soon. As soon as I stopped to look at the person, their dark flesh wrapped in vines, and bloodied fingers clawing all the while, I realised who I’d almost left to die.

“Noah? Fucking hell.” I jogged to him immediately.

To his credit, he was putting up a good fight, but only the gods knew how long that would’ve lasted.

His brown eyes widened, his pupils dilated, and his movements were frantic as he wrestled with the hedge.

I stood there a little dumbfounded as he gnashed at the ropes with his teeth, biting and tearing with everything he had. It was almost impressive.

“A little… help,” he gasped, glaring at me.

I jerked to attention, grinning like the cat who lapped the cream as I tore those leafy fuckers to shreds. “Did the lizard get himself a little stuck in the greenery?”

Noah took my outstretched hand with a huff, allowing me to pull him to his feet. “Even chameleons need to watch their step in dangerous territories,” he said and looked around with a scholar’s eye, cataloguing every detail of the maze. “What do you think waits for us at the end?”

“Nothing good,” I replied, then bumped Noah’s shoulder with a fist and grinned. “It’s a trial of the mind though, right? Should be a brainiac’s wet dream. All it’s missing is some grapefruits.”

Noah swore under his breath as he pulled his pants back on and looked at me with darkening brown eyes. “For the last time, I did not stick my dick in a—”

A scream cut off whatever delightful response he might have given. “It’s alright, little guy, I don’t judge other people’s pleasures. We’ll table this for later,” I said with a grin I knew would piss him right off. “To the monsters?” Because it was always monsters.

“To the monsters,” Noah agreed, gifting me with a knowing smile. “Let’s fuck shit up.”

“‘Atta boy.”

We dashed through the maze, making sure to keep a hand on the hedge to maintain our sense of direction.

It didn’t take us long to get through—we had a playlist of screams, gurgles, hissing, and groans to guide us.

Fucking monsters were having a feast out there by all accounts.

A strange mist appeared at our feet, and we moved more cautiously in case something emerged from it. But it never did.

We finally pulled around the last corner, jogging through the exit into the centre of the maze.

We found ourselves in a large courtyard with a dark, foreboding mansion not much further in the distance.

Despite the blood-curdling commotion, and everything I’d witnessed so far, the chaos we found still managed to surprise me.

Blood flowed like rivers along the gravelled courtyard as Potentials in every direction fought tooth and nail to survive against their attackers.

It wasn’t the sight of the bodies that shocked me, but the sheer number of monsters swarming the otherwise picture-perfect setting of some rich asshole’s acreage.

I was so engrossed in the scene that I didn’t notice something approach and gnash its teeth at me.

I picked my jaw up from the ground quick-smart, grabbed its scaly hide, and hurled it through the air toward the fountain in the centre of the courtyard.

Its body hit the stone with a sickening crunch before slumping into the red waters.

“Gods almighty,” Noah whispered beside me. “You ready for this?”

I grunted in reply, cracking my knuckles and heading into the fray.

We made a good team as we kicked and punched our way through.

The chameleon was light on his feet, what he lacked in muscle he more than made up for in agility and clever footwork.

Any finned, scaled, or slimy monster he missed, I squashed beneath fist or feet, until we were coated head-to-toe in blood and gore.

Something resembling a cat-sized slug inched along unnoticed until the damn thing wobbled like jelly before half its form inverted into a ball of teeth, latching onto Noah’s leg.

Fuck.

Noah screamed, blood staining his pants almost instantly as he grabbed its gelatinous body and tried to remove it. That only made him scream more.

I charged, not giving two shits for the other Potentials or monsters in front of me.

I knocked anything in my way aside until I reached Noah.

I pulled my foot back and kicked the creature until next Sunday.

In hindsight, it might not have been the best idea, because Noah’s blood-curdling screech rivalled even the biggest beast here.

But the thing detached itself and was booted out of sight.