Page 79 of Blood Day

Nothing for miles and miles.

Except for a royal palace,I reminded myself.

But we were facing a different part of the desert. I didn’t know which direction to run in to find Master Cedric’s home. I wasn’t even sure he’d be there.

Besides, what would I do? Casually knock on his door and ask for safety?

I nearly snorted at the concept.

He hadn’t shown an inkling of interest in me since his goodbye kiss.

He wasn’t even here tonight.

Yet my obsession with him nagged at my mind, making me consider the option of running to him.

How would he react? Would he leave me in the sand to die? That might be the goal of this game anyway. So perhaps I should try to find him.

Run and survive.

Fight when you’re caught.

The thoughts were my own voice but reminiscent of Master Khalid’s explanation for tonight’s class.

He clasped his hands now, his posture utterly relaxed. “You get a five-minute head start. Then the hunt begins.” He stepped aside, giving us free access to the doors. “Run.”

Chapter 18

Lily

A thunderous gunshotripped through the air from above, the sound deafening.

And then everyone started running.

Feet pounding. Sand flying. The world whirling in a blur of motion that I couldn’t decipher.

Because I was among them, sprinting through the doors and out into unexplored lands.

I turned on instinct, my mind struggling to remember the direction of Master Cedric’s home.

It was an insane plan. A notion I should squash. But that one night with him had provided me with a dose of safety I now craved.

Another crack of thunder rattled the earth. Or maybe it was my violent tremble that made it feel as though the ground moved beneath my feet.

That doesn’t mean five minutes are up, right?I wondered. It felt as though only a few seconds had passed, a minute at most.

I didn’t debate it.

I just kept sprinting through the desert, the walls of theuniversity staying within sight.The road, I thought breathlessly.If I can find the road, I can follow it.

The rest of that plan didn’t exist in my brain. Survival was my only goal.

I clutched the handles of my knives as I pushed myself harder, needing to find the road.

Pavement.

Leading into the darkness.

Illuminated only by the moon.