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Chapter Twenty-Eight

A ries

Three days later, we stand before the Committee in the central temple, awaiting instructions for what they call “The Sanctorian Trial of Elements.” Their crystalline forms refract the harsh arena lights as they explain the challenge before us.

“Participants must navigate all four elemental chambers while maintaining physical connection through the Unity Bonds.”

I study the four doorways that have risen from the ground. Each portal pulses with different energy—one flickering with flame, another rippling like water, the third swirling with wind, and the fourth solid as stone.

The Unity Bonds are different from the cord that linked us during the harvest festival. These are ceremonial bracelets, connected by an energy field that vibrates as we reach maximum regulation distance.

“And if the bonds break?” Callie asks, her voice carrying through the arena despite the murmuring crowd.

“One more mark against your progress. ”

“With one mark already against us—from when you caught me at the market, we have little margin for error.”

Spark hovers anxiously nearby, its color a wary yellow as it watches the crowd. Since our choice to continue the trials, the opposition has grown more organized, more dangerous.

“Which chamber first?” Callie asks, her gaze meeting mine with absolute trust.

“Fire,” I decide. “Better to face the most dangerous one while we’re at full strength.”

Her answering smile holds confidence I don’t entirely feel. “Let’s show them what we’ve got.”

The crowd’s murmur grows louder as we approach the flame portal. I can make out snatches of conversation—bets being placed on our failure, chanted hopes for justice, a few surprising voices calling for our success.

Mira Thessian’s voice rises above the crowd.

“You want to see justice? Watch them fail. Watch him pay for what he’s done.

Someone should pay!” Her grief has hardened into something sharp and unforgiving, turning a personal loss into a public crusade.

She can’t change the gladiatorial system, but she can focus her energy on me, on us.

I catch Callie’s attention, but there’s nothing we can say or do to make this better.

“Ready?” Callie’s fingers adjust the Unity Bond on her wrist, her expression determined.

“Together.” The word has become our talisman against fear.

Stepping through the portal, heat immediately assaults us, far more intense than I expected. The chamber blazes with fire pits and flaming barriers—a maze designed to test our coordination and ability to work together.

“Maintenance team confirms tampering with the fire control systems,” I hear a security officer report through their comm near the portal. “Heat levels are triple standard safety protocols.”

Sabotage. Of course. The opposition has moved beyond protest to active interference.

“Callie,” I call over the roar of flames, “it’s hotter than it should be. We need to move quickly.”

She nods, sweat beading on her forehead as we navigate the narrow path. Each step requires perfect coordination, the Unity Bonds vibrating when we come too close to maximum separation.

A sudden geyser of flame erupts between us, forcing us to opposite sides of the path. The Bonds stretch, glowing bright with warning as we reach maximum regulation distance.

“Jump on three!” Callie calls out, already gauging the distance. “One, two—”

We leap simultaneously across the flames, landing safely on the same side of the path. The coordination we’ve developed during weeks of trials serves us well, our movements perfectly synchronized without conscious thought.

“Almost there,” I encourage as the exit portal comes into view through the smoke.

“Sector three!” I hear through security comms. “Male in blue robes seems to be holding a control device. Looks like he’s targeting the path structure.”

The saboteur’s device sends a pulse through the chamber’s structure. Cracks spiderweb across the narrow stone bridge we’re crossing, and a whole section starts to give way beneath Callie’s feet.

“Callie!” Fear claws at my throat as she stumbles toward the edge of the collapsing walkway, empty space yawning below where moments before there had been solid stone .

The Unity Bonds stretch to their limit as I brace against a stable section, providing a counterbalance that keeps her from falling. For a moment, we hang suspended at regulation maximum distance, the energy field between our bracelets vibrating like a plucked string.

“You can do it,” I urge as she maintains her balance and eases toward me.

Her smile is tight but genuine as we navigate around the damaged section, finally reaching the exit portal. The cool air of the central arena hits like a blessing after the inferno behind us.

The water chamber proves less physically demanding but more psychologically challenging.

The path disappears beneath a dark pool, requiring us to swim through underwater obstacles while maintaining our connection.

The Unity Bonds’ energy field wavers underwater, making it harder to judge our distance.

We manage that trial unscathed but out of breath.

The air chamber nearly breaks us, with swirling vortexes that threaten to tear us apart.

At one point, I’m lifted completely off my feet, the Unity Bonds stretching to maximum as Callie anchors herself to a metal grate.

Only our perfect trust in each other’s movements keeps the connection from breaking.

The firmament chamber is pitch black except for faint luminescent crystals showing a treacherous path across a bottomless chasm.

The narrow bridge vibrates ominously, sections crumbling at random intervals.

Security comms in the background of my thoughts confirm what I suspected—more sabotage, unauthorized access to the control systems.

We’re halfway across when an even more violent tremor hits, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the entire structure. The path ahead begins to collapse, leaving no way forward .

“Back!” I shout, pulling toward the entrance—but that section is crumbling too. We’re trapped on a rapidly disintegrating island of stone.

Callie’s eyes meet mine, determination replacing fear. “Jump for the exit. Together.”

It’s an impossible distance. The Unity Bonds will certainly stretch beyond maximum. But she’s right—it’s our only chance.

“On three,” I agree, gauging the angle. “One… two… three!”

We leap simultaneously, the Unity Bonds stretching, vibrating, warning—but not breaking. As we land hard on the exit platform, the entire structure collapses into the chasm below.

The crowd erupts in surprised applause as we emerge from the final chamber. Even those who came hoping for our failure seem impressed by our survival against clearly tampered challenges.

The full Committee materializes—all three crystalline forms reflecting the arena lights, their unified presence confirming the gravity of both our success and the decision they must render.

“The Trial of Elements is complete,” they announce in unison.

“Despite unprecedented interference, you have maintained your connection through all four chambers. The disruption field operators have been identified as members of an extremist cell,” they continue.

“Their arrest has sparked debate among your opposition—many now question whether their cause justifies such dangerous methods.”

They continue, their tone shifting, “However, the safety protocols were breached during the final chamber collapse. When the bridge structure disintegrated, your leap exceeded the required amount of separation momentarily before landing. ”

“But we maintained connection through the Unity Bonds,” I protest, my voice tight with controlled anger. “And the system was sabotaged—we would have died if we hadn’t jumped.”

“The Committee acknowledges the extraordinary circumstances and external interference,” they respond.

“However, even though we were lenient when physical contact was made a second time due to extenuating circumstances, rules must be applied consistently. A mark shall be registered against your progress—your second.”

One more mistake and I die. I could swear my heart quits beating for long moments. How odd that this thought makes me ache, not for my own loss of life, but for how it will devastate Callie, who is bonded to me as tightly as any true mate.

“The culprits have been detained,” they continue, perhaps sensing our despair. “Due to the external interference and your exceptional performance despite it, the Committee has modified your remaining trial period. Your redemption shall now be completed in sixty days total rather than ninety.”

Back in our cottage, the adrenaline finally fades, leaving us both trembling with exhaustion. The Unity Bonds have been removed, but we can still feel the phantom connection between us, the way we moved as one entity through impossible challenges.

“They tried to kill us,” Callie says, her voice steady despite her shaking hands. “Not just make us fail—actually kill us.”

“And they’ll try again,” I say, the certainty sitting heavy in my gut. “The opposition is growing more desperate as we get closer to completion.”