Page 10

I blinked, forcing my vision to focus.

Rows of spectators loomed on the cliffs, perched safely behind stone barriers. The royal viewing box stood at the center, overlooking the shore.

The shore?

I pushed onto shaking elbows, my pulse hammering. Where the hell had they dropped me?

The air was crisp and sharp, carrying the scent of brine and cold.

Mountains loomed in the distance. Northwest.

If the mountains were northwest… then the castle would be southeast.

Which meant—

I stiffened.

I twisted toward the water.

The vast, dark expanse stretched into the horizon, eerily still, reflecting the overcast sky. A single ripple disturbed its glassy surface.

My stomach plummeted.

No .

Not here.

Anywhere but here.

A slow, creeping horror curled in my chest, a terrible certainty.

I spun toward the royal box, where the Dragon sat watching me.

“You dropped me in the middle of the fucking Great Lake of Athenia?” I yelled, my voice hoarse but furious.

He stood in place, far above, but even at this distance, I could see the smirk on his face. The way his eyebrow raised in a wordless challenge and a silent answer to me.

This was far from over.

The water behind me shifted.

The crowd went silent.

The ripples became waves.

A single deafening roar split the air.

The ground trembled beneath me, and I froze.

There was a reason people stayed away from this lake. A reason the stands were so far away from the water.

A shadow moved beneath the surface—huge. Unfathomably big.

Then a scaled head rose from the depths, water pouring off its emerald-green hide. Slitted golden eyes locked onto me, and a forked tongue flicked out to taste the air.

Then another head emerged.

And another.

And another.

The Hydraxan.

Ciclopia, the Mother of Beasts, had left one of her children here.

And now they wanted me to fight it.

Memorizing the beasts of Ciclopia had been part of my preparations for my first trial.

Few of her children had lived into the modern era, but the Hydraxan was one of her deadliest creations - a beast that had survived thousands of years.

A creature so deadly that not even the most powerful warriors in Athenia had killed it.

The center head of the Hydraxan dipped low, its forked tongue flicking out, tasting the air as it inhaled deeply as it's slitted eyes flicked to my injured leg.

It scented my blood.

I didn’t move. Couldn’t. Pure fear, colder than I’d experienced in a long time, was falling over me in waves.

All seven heads turned toward me at once, their slitted golden eyes narrowing, their massive necks tensing. Then—they roared.

A piercing, gut-wrenching wail that ripped through the air like a storm of sound, rattling my bones so violently I thought they might shatter.

The ground buckled beneath me. The air itself trembled.

The force threw me to my knees before I even realized I had fallen and my vision a blur of vibrating color.

Shit.

I scrambled to my feet, shoving past the fiery pain in my calf, and sprinted.

The Hydraxan struck instantly.

A head lunged from the left, snapping shut inches from my throat. Another from the right, fangs glinting as it aimed for my shoulder. I barely twisted in time, throwing myself low, dodging by a hair.

The beast was everywhere.

A third head lunged for my ankles, forcing me to leap—but before I could fully land, another head struck from above, jaws parting wide.

It was going to swallow me whole.

A burst of magic shot from my palm, slamming into the beast’s open maw. The Hydraxan reeled back, but barely. It stumbled for only half a second before charging again.

No. No, no, no .

There was no outrunning it.

One of its heads rammed into my back, sending me flying forward. I hit the ground hard, landing awkwardly on a stone and the force knocked the air from my lungs. The pain was instantaneous, flaring through me as I felt my rib crack on the impact. Dirt filled my mouth, blood roared in my ears.

I barely rolled in time to avoid a head snapping where my throat had been.

Another lunged for my wrist—its venom-coated fangs bared.

I jerked my arm away at the last second, but the sheer heat of its breath scorched my skin. If just one of those teeth pierced me—

I would be dead.

Dear Gods.

A desperate surge of power exploded from me, slamming into the beast’s chests. It staggered back a step—only one. But it was enough. I scrambled up, ignoring the searing pain in my ribs, my hands flying to my thigh—

For my dagger.

But it wasn’t there.

I hadn’t gone to sleep armed. The weapon that had become like an extension of me was still sitting in my bedchamber, useless.

Panic flared in my chest.

“Thea!”

Rankor’s voice cut through the chaos.

I turned toward the stands. He was standing, his broadsword gleaming in the light as he held it high in the air.

Then he threw it.

Without hesitation, I reached with my magic, pulling the heavy blade through the air, into my waiting grasp.

The Hydraxan lunged again.

I planted my feet, twisted my hips, and swung.

Steel met flesh .

A clean, perfect slice.

A severed head crashed to the ground.

Blood sprayed in thick, hot arcs, coating the mud, the air, my face. The beast shrieked—another screeching, ear-splitting howl that sent the crowd gasping, covering their ears.

But before I could even catch my breath, the flesh moved.

The raw, mangled stump twisted.

The tendons rippled.

The blood stopped pouring.

And then—a new head regrew.

I blinked and a deep, sinking horror settled in my gut.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.

The beast turned back toward me, its many eyes narrowed. Great. I pissed it off.

Anger and frustration ignited inside me, hot and wild.

I roared as I launched myself at the creature, hacking, slashing, unleashing every ounce of magic I had.

I fought until I couldn’t feel the pain of my injuries, until beads of sweat poured down my face, until my ears stopped ringing and all I could hear was pure silence.

And it didn’t matter. Every strike was useless. Every wound healed. For every head I severed, another, angrier version replaced it.

I was burning through power quickly, blood pouring from my nose. And the Hydraxan wasn’t slowing down.

My stomach churned. How was I supposed to win a trial that involved killing something that couldn’t die?

I glanced toward the royal viewing box, desperate for a clue.

The Dragon was relaxed. Entertained. As if he were simply watching a show.

Next to him, the queen barely looked interested.

And then there was Clay .

Standing behind his father, tension radiated from his frame. His grey eyes locked onto mine.

He didn’t flinch. Didn’t breathe. Just watched me with eerie, unshaken certainty.

Like he already knew how this would end and he had complete confidence in me.

His hand lifted—slow, deliberate—and he made a fist in the air before he dragged a finger across his throat. Then he pointed directly at me.

I swallowed hard.

No

He couldn’t mean—

Surely he didn’t expect me to—

Could I even do that?

The Hydraxan launched toward me.

I blasted a surge of magic through my feet, propelling myself backward, soaring across the shoreline. I hit the ground hard, rolling violently, biting my lip as pain splintered through me.

Then, I stood.

This was a bad idea.

The beast charged.

This was a very bad idea.

I clenched my fists, reaching with my power—extending it, feeling for something deeper.

The connection snapped into place.

A bolt of raw awareness struck through me—absolute and terrifying.

I could feel the Hydraxan’s heart.

I could feel its lungs expanding.

I could feel its hunger for me.

Its rage.

Its immortality .

“Thea!” Rankor screamed, panic sharp in his voice.

The beast was so close now. If this didn’t work, I was dead.

I pushed, willing my magic to be stronger.

It leaped into the air.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my hand into a fist—

And squeezed.

And waited.

And prayed.

And, thank the Gods, the Hydraxan convulsed.

It landed on top of me, but I twisted away from its clamping jaws, my body shaking from the sheer effort of holding its heart in my grasp.

The creature shuddered, a soft growl escaping before its final head fell limply onto the ground.

Silence.

Then the world came back into focus. I could see the colors in the sky, hear the cheers of the crowd, taste the salt of my own tears.

It was over.

I had done it.

I had passed the final trial.

I was going to ascend to the Council.

Groaning, I pushed the beast off me and struggled to my knees, desperate to catch my breath despite the fact that each inhale felt like razor blades. I pushed onto one knee, struggling to stand. Struggling to focus. Struggling to...

Agony.

A sharp, burning pain tore through my wrist.

I gasped, my vision tilting and the world moved beneath me as my body went crashing back to the ground.

There was a gaping hole in my arm, the distinct impression of teeth marks carved into my flesh and the festering smell of the Hydraxan’s venom suddenly surrounded me.

I screamed.

It spread like fire through my veins, a searing, unbearable torment that sent my body convulsing. My breath caught, ragged, and uneven. My muscles locked, spasming.

Screams tore out of me without reason or thought. Pain was too simplistic a word for what was exploding through me. It was complete and total obliteration.

Every nerve ignited. I was burning from the inside out. My own veins betrayed me, carrying the venom to my lungs – to my heart. I convulsed, torn apart from the inside and distantly I felt myself thrashing wildly, but I couldn't control it, couldn't control anything.

I tried to breathe, but I couldn’t. I was choking - dying.

I knew what it felt like when a soul left its body to travel to the Underworld and I could feel mine slipping. My body was turning hollow. My vision was blackening at the edges. I could feel that oily pull to the Underworld.

The Dragon’s voice shattered the haze. Cold. Cruel. Absolute.

“No one will help her. This trial is not over!”

No.

I did not go through all of this to die in front of an audience.

Not now. Not like this.

I had one chance.

I clawed for the last sputtering scraps of my magic, using the last of my sanity to do so even as my body fought against me every step of the way.

And when I finally had that power within my grasp... I pushed .

The venom screamed against my magic, resisting, scraping its claws into me, but I continued. I pushed harder, my own heartbeat stuttering as I forced it back out of the wound it had used to invade me.

I would not die like this.

My blood boiled, my body trembled violently.

And then—

Darkness.