Empire of Flame and Thorns (Flame and Thorns #1)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

P anic whirls inside my chest as I dash towards the end of the maze. Stealing someone else’s box wasn’t nearly as easy as I had expected it to be. I didn’t want to steal Isera’s since I actually like her, and because we’re sort of allies now, so after we got out of the tunnel, I just let her run ahead. And I haven’t been able to get close enough to anyone else to swap their box for mine.

My pulse thrums in my ears as I sprint after the small group of contestants ahead of me. Desperation slashes through my soul. This can’t be it. I can’t get this close to making it through, and then lose just because Draven rigged the game from the beginning! There must be something I can do. It can’t end like this.

The group ahead of me reaches the end of the maze.

And then stops short.

Hope explodes inside my chest.

Pushing myself, I sprint the final distance to the end of the hedge corridor. Three people, two women and one man, are standing there, staring at the scene before them. I don’t remember the name of the two women, but the guy is Alistair’s friend Jeb. The slimy guy with light magic.

“Mabona’s fucking tits,” the woman with curly black hair curses.

I drag in a deep breath and then raise my gaze to look at what caused her reaction.

In front of us, the palace grounds open up once more, finally allowing us to move unhindered. However, the trial doesn’t end once we reach the flat stretch of grass as we had thought. Instead, someone, probably the leader of the Brown Dragon Clan, has raised a narrow bridge made of stone. It starts right before our feet and then curves upwards before finally ending at a window on the third floor of the castle.

“Well, best get this over with,” she continues, and takes off up the path.

The other woman starts after her.

A deafening roar splits the air.

The moment that the dark-haired woman steps onto the bridge, a massive black dragon appears in a cloud of smoke from up by the window.

My heart jerks. Draven must have been standing inside the room that the window leads to, just waiting for another contestant to step onto the final obstacle.

Wings boom through the air as Draven in his dragon form climbs higher into the sky. Bursts of air slam down towards the ground, making the grass shudder beneath the strokes of his powerful wings. Then dark storm clouds start to gather.

I stare, transfixed, as Draven channels his clan’s signature magic and summons a storm around the narrow bridge. Winds rip through the palace grounds, making the two women on the bridge hunker down. Black clouds spread through the air, casting the whole area in darkness. And then the rain starts.

Jeb sucks in a sharp breath. Reaching to the side of his belt, he unfastens the small wooden box that he had secured there. Very carefully, he opens the lid and checks inside.

My heart pounds and my mind churns as I catch a glimpse of a completely undamaged glass egg inside.

With a start, Jeb suddenly realizes that he’s not alone. Snapping the box shut again, he secures it at his waist once more while shooting me a threatening stare.

“Stay at least ten steps behind me,” he warns. “Unless you want me to push you off.”

A bolt of lightning cleaves the air and cracks into the ground a short distance in front of Jeb. He jumps in surprise. Whipping around, he stares at the huge black dragon, whose attention is now suddenly focused on us.

Before I can reply to Jeb’s threat, he hurries forward and steps up onto the narrow bridge. I watch him, my eyes lingering on the small box at his waist while a plan forms in my mind.

It’s going to be tricky, and delicate, and very last second. But if I can pull it off, I will make it through this trial.

After shifting my own box into a position that is easier to reach, I draw in a bracing breath and then step up onto the narrow stone bridge as well. It’s barely wide enough for one person to stand with both feet side by side. My stomach flips, even though I have barely left the ground yet. I take a step forward.

I half expect the storm to get worse when I step onto the bridge, but to my surprise, it doesn’t. Though that’s probably just because Draven knows that he doesn’t need to make me fall, since he has already broken my glass egg.

Up ahead, the two women have reached the halfway point of the bridge. Both of them are now crawling on their hands and knees to avoid getting blown away by the howling winds. The halfway point marks the place where the drop goes from being painful to being lethal. If we fall during the first half, it will hurt. And it will break any glass egg that a person is carrying. But if we fall during the second half of the bridge, it might kill us.

Anxiousness twists inside me. I need to get this done before we reach the second half.

My instincts are screaming at me to move slowly, but I need to close the distance between me and Jeb, so I walk as quickly as I can. Keeping my eyes fixed on Jeb’s back, I avoid looking down while I also spread my arms wide for better balance.

Blood pounds in my ears as I hurry forward and hope that it will be enough.

Lightning strikes up ahead.

One of the girls lets out a shriek.

I flick a quick glance towards them and find that they have almost reached the open window now. My heart slams against my ribs. I can’t make my move too close to the ground. But I also can’t wait too long in case it doesn’t work as quickly as I want it to.

Winds snatch at my clothes and hair as I move closer to Jeb. The cold rain stings my cheeks and makes the stones beneath my feet slippery.

A gasp rips from my lungs as a burst of wind rips across the bridge.

But that was exactly what I had been waiting for.

Ahead of me, Jeb sucks in a sharp breath as well and sways to the side. Flailing his arms, he tries to get his balance back.

I immediately channel my magic and shove at the bone white spark of fear in his chest. Just as I had hoped, I find one already burning there from his almost fall. I feed it with my magic.

Jeb sways again.

Rain whips against my face as the winds keep churning around us. Loose strands that have escaped my hair tie blow into my face and stick to my wet skin, but I don’t dare to push them away. I can only focus on two things right now. Not falling off the bridge. And making Jeb fall off the bridge.

I keep feeding his fear. But not too much. Not so much that he will curl into a ball and refuse to move. Just enough to make his moves frantic and clumsy.

Draven swoops down over us and lets out a roar.

It startles Jeb enough that he jerks back.

I push with my magic.

His foot slips.

And he falls off the bridge.

Extinguishing my magic, I throw myself the final distance forward and grab his wrist right before he can plummet to the ground. I drop down so that I’m straddling the narrow bridge, my thighs on either side of it, while I grip the edge with my free hand.

Pain pulses through my shoulder, and I let out a cry, as Jeb’s body comes to an abrupt halt with a yank that tears at my arm. The force of his entire body weight pulling downwards is almost too much for me to handle, and I clench my jaw against the strain.

“Grab the side of the bridge,” I grind out between gritted teeth.

My hair whips through the air as winds howl around us.

Jeb throws his other hand up, desperately reaching for the edge. My fingers are slick with rain, and my grip on his wrist is starting to slip. The fall won’t kill him, but it will break his glass egg. And then my plan will be ruined. I try to heave him a little higher upwards.

“Hurry,” I snap.

His hand finally finds the wet stones.

I let out a gasp of relief as half of his body weight is transferred to his other arm. With my hand still around his wrist, I lean sideways and begin pulling the rest of his body up towards the bridge.

He hauls himself up with his other arm too, which decreases the strain on my muscles. Once I no longer need to hold on with my free hand, I press my thighs hard against the sides of the narrow bridge to keep myself in place and instead reach down to grab his belt.

With our combined strength, we manage to get him up and over the edge of the bridge. I release his wrist, and then quickly reach into my pocket.

Jeb gasps air into his lungs as he lies there on his side on the wet stones. My fingers skim over his belt on the way back. Then I slip my hand into my clothes again before bracing my palms on the wet stone bridge and pushing to my feet.

I blink and cast a confused glance around me. The storm has stopped. Frowning, I sweep my gaze over the castle before us. When did the storm stop?

Draven is nowhere to be seen.

But before I can dwell on that any longer, Jeb struggles to his feet in front of me. He immediately reaches towards his side. Relief washes over his face when he finds a small wooden box still attached to his belt. Then he raises his gaze to me and narrows his eyes.

“Why?” he asks.

I hold his suspicious stare with calm eyes. “Because I want a truce.”

Understanding blows across his features. After casting a quick glance at the ground that I saved him from plummeting down to, he meets my eyes again and gives me a slow nod. “I’ll talk to Alistair.”

I nod back.

The scent of wet stones and fallen leaves envelop us as we carefully make our way across the bridge and towards the window. Jeb climbs in first. I follow him.

Inside, most of the contestants are already waiting. Some of them are seated against the walls, looking heartbroken. Open boxes with cracked or shattered glass eggs rest next to them. Others are standing on the opposite side of the room with satisfied expressions on their faces. Isera, Alistair, Fenriel, and Lavendera are among them.

When I enter the room, Tommen looks up from where he is sitting on the floor. His egg, along with the entire box, is broken from when I made him fall from the ice wall, and the splinters and shards lay scattered next to his feet. As soon as he sees me, he clenches his fist in anger.

I ignore him and instead approach the dragon shifters who are also waiting in the room.

Empress Jessina and Emperor Bane are seated on a pair of white wooden chairs in the middle of the room. The other clan leaders are most likely still out somewhere over the hedge maze, creating or maintaining nasty obstacles for the contestants who still remain inside. Imar stands a short distance from the open window. As does Draven. He is leaning his hip against the windowsill, and his golden eyes are fixed on me as I walk up to Imar.

I swear I can feel the smirk lurking on Draven’s lips when I take out my small wooden box. Next to me, Jeb does the same.

“You made it through the maze,” Imar says. “Congratulations.” A sharp glint creeps into his eyes. “Now, let’s see if you have treated the symbols of our mercy with the care they deserve.”

Snapping his fingers, he points at me and raises an eyebrow expectantly.

My heart thumps in my chest as I lift my box and open it.

“A spotless and entirely unbroken egg,” Imar announces as he looks down into my box. “Well done. Congrats on making it through the second trial.”

Draven stumbles by the window. Straightening, he tries to quickly compose himself, but his eyes are wide with shock as he stares at me. I suppress the urge to smirk at him.

Imar snaps his fingers at Jeb, who also opens his box.

“A completely shattered egg,” Imar declares, and shakes his head at Jeb. “Careless. Go and join the other ungrateful losers. I want you out of this castle before first light tomorrow.”

I’m not even sure if Jeb hears that second part, because he is standing completely frozen, staring down at the shattered remains of his glass egg. My glass egg. The one that I swapped right after pulling him up onto the bridge. He really should have been paying more attention. Because the real threat was never the fall from the bridge. It was me.

At last, Jeb seems to realize what must have happened. With his mouth still open in shock, he slowly turns towards me. And when he meets my gaze, his expression darkens like the veil of death.