Page 26

Odessa

D ex was right beside me, pushing me into the smoke-filled tunnel. I didn’t look behind me to check if anyone else was following. My feet pounded on the hard ground trying to escape as the large wall of flames grew closer, licking the top of the tunnel.

The Pyro planned to burn us all alive, I realized, and nearly had taken out Reed in the process.

The heat from the flames penetrated through my clothes as sweat began to gather on my skin.

Running as fast as my tired legs would carry me, I pushed deeper into the dark tunnel. If I stopped, I would die.

Smoke and flames chased us through the narrow space. I couldn’t stop coughing and my eyes were tearing up, making it difficult to see.

The sound of someone tripping and hitting the floor filled my ears. Fuck.

I turned, finding Reed crumpled on the ground next to Killian trying to lift him up. Nat kept running ahead and Dex pulled at me to follow.

My eyes bounced between the growing flames and my fallen teammates.

“No,” I said, rushing to their side and pulling Reed to his feet.

This might be a cutthroat place, but I couldn’t leave them behind like this.

Reed leaned on both Killian’s and my shoulders as the flames continued to grow at an alarming rate behind us. We had to keep moving.

“Ow, fuck. You should just leave me here. Go on ahead,” Reed insisted.

“I’m not leaving you,” I said, struggling to hold up his weight. My legs were shaking with the effort to keep going.

“Give me him,” Dex said, pushing me ahead, and taking over for me.

There was a silent moment that passed between us then, and I mouthed my thanks.

I didn’t hesitate to run once Dex had ahold of Reed. Just ahead, a wide expanse opened, and Nat stood near the edge of a cliff.

There was nowhere to go.

We were standing at the edge of the abyss. A partially collapsed drawbridge could be seen swinging several meters away. Far enough that there was no way to reach it without magick.

Magick. Right.

I’d almost forgotten that I even had that power inside me. The mask on my face felt almost like a second skin at this point.

“How do we get across?” Nat asked, her eyes blown wide as she looked down into the inky expanse. It seemed to stretch on forever as if night itself had settled beneath our feet and taken up residence in this cave.

The flames were still growing and would be upon us in moments.

“Do you think you have enough power to fly across?” Nat asked Reed, whose power was The Bird- the power of flight.

He looked to be in rough shape, but maybe, just maybe he could find a way across.

Reed stepped forward, shrugging out of Dex and Killian’s hold.

His burned arm shook as he struggled to keep his balance.

“I can try,” he said taking a deep breath that resulted in a coughing fit.

“I don’t know about this,” Killian said, the worry evident in his tone. I felt it too, but what choice did we have?

Reed took a few steps back, steadying himself.

“Here goes nothing. If I fall, tell my family I love them.”

“You’re not going to fall,” I reassured him, but I didn’t know if I was lying to him or not. I hoped I was telling the truth.

Reed took off, power flowing through his veins as his feet lifted off the ground. He was doing it. He was going to make it. He was halfway across and almost there.

But then, he coughed hard and started tumbling down into the dark abyss below. I let out a gasp as we all watched his form become eaten up by the darkness. Horror gripped my heart as I watched him, helplessly frozen to the edge of the cliff.

“Reed!” A cacophony of voices called after him, mine included.

Fire from behind us threatened to send us tumbling after him.

Then, a crumpled looking Reed shot out from below barely making it to where the drawbridge lay hanging.

“Oh, my gods, Reed! Are you okay?” I called out. My voice echoed across the expanse.

I could hear a faint coughing and then, “Yeah. All good.”

“Is there a way to bring us over?” Dex asked, his fingers clutched into a fist.

Another round of coughing answered back, before he stood completely. He took one haunting look back at us and my stomach dropped.

“Reed?” Dex asked again loud enough to carry his voice across the expanse. It echoed off the walls sounding just as angry and crestfallen as I felt.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to find another way over.”

My mouth hung open. “Reed, wait, please. There has to be something,” I called after him in desperation.

But he shook his head and turned around. I watched as he began walking away.

“Reed!” Killian and Nat called out, but he continued to shuffle away.

“Fucking bastard.” Dex said, punching the wall.

My eyes began to fill with tears. What were we supposed to do now? I couldn’t believe he left us like that.

“Wait, I think I see something,” Nat said, pointing to a small edge that seemed to line the cavern. There was a steep drop down, but with the fire creeping closer by the second, we didn’t have much choice. We either had to climb out onto the tiny ledge or be consumed by the flames.

My stomach pitched at the sight.

“I won’t let you fall,” Dex said squeezing my hand in his. My thumb swiped over the back of his hand, coming away bloody from when he’d hit the wall.

“Promise?”

He smiled at me then, in the midst of the chaos that threatened to consume us. It steadied me in a way that should have been concerning.

“Would I lie to you?”

I took a deep breath, knowing that he would, in fact, lie to me, but I took it as a truth anyways, stepping out onto the ledge.

My fear of heights was alive and well and clutched tightly around my middle— filling me with anxiety. Limbs shaking, I followed Nat, carefully stepping where she did. Dex followed, and Killian after, narrowly missing the roar of flames that shot out of the tunnel.

If I ever found out who selected me to be a contestant in Nocturne, I’d fucking kill them.

My back was placed firmly against the cool wall as far back as my pack would allow, with my toes hanging precariously over the edge as we shuffled sideways. I swallowed hard, trying to stuff down the overwhelming amount of fear that was coursing through my veins.

Not looking down didn’t help, because with every step my body instinctively knew that I was hanging off the edge of a cliff and could fall at any moment.

I should have taken my pack off and slung it around my front, but there wasn’t enough time.

Now, I was too afraid to anything but follow Nat’s footsteps.

“Where does this even lead?” Killian asked.

“Hell, if I know,” Dex muttered, holding onto my hand with a vice-like grip. It was the only indication I had that he meant what he said. He wasn’t going to let me fall.

The ledge was uneven, dipping in areas, widening and narrowing with every step. It took every ounce of focus to keep my footing steady.

“Away from that fire, that’s all I know,” Nat said, continuing along the wall.

After a few minutes the wall began to turn and with it the ledge expanded into a full yard giving us plenty of room to maneuver.

I was grateful for the space, because hanging off the edge of a wall was not my idea of a good time.

As far as we could tell, no one had come down that tunnel yet.

They probably assumed they’d torched anyone that was in the path of their flame.

There was no way to tell how long this abyss went on. Light filtering in from above was minimal at best, giving way to shadows and darkness. Inside, my power felt like it was thriving. Basking in the essence of its making that was all around us.

At least I wasn’t in danger of plummeting straight down, I thought right before a shudder emanated from behind us.

I turned my head just in time to see a crack forming on the ground beneath Killian’s feet spreading along the entire length of the ledge.

Shit.

“Run!” I cried out, pushing Nat to move and pulling on Dex’s hand that was still clasped around mine.

Huge chunks of where we had just come from began falling into the chasm.

My legs were moving as fast as they could carry me. Blood rushed through my body, pulsating in my ears— muffling everything around us.

“Go faster!” Dex yelled from right behind me.

I chanced looking behind us again and saw the moment when the ground gave way under Killian’s feet. One minute he was there, running, and the next he was swallowed up. Gone with nothing but his scream remaining.

“Go, go, go!” I cried, pushing Nat square in the back, hoping it would make her move faster.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” She snapped back.

The cracks were speeding up, spreading beneath my feet. I could feel the ground shaking with each step I took, wondering if I was about to fall just like Killian.

My heart was pounding so hard that I could feel it hammering against my rib cage. I could feel Dex’s hand tightening in mine.

Up ahead a small alcove in the wall emerged. If we could make it there, maybe we could have a chance to survive.

The ground began to give way, and it was harder to stay ahead of the falling parts.

We had to make it, we had to?—

The ground crumbled beneath me and in the next step, I felt nothing but air.