In the Wake of the Wicked (Veridian Empire #1)

62. Rose

62

Rose

I opened my eyes to stifling darkness. The world was black, like someone had draped a curtain over my face. I struggled to breathe in the suffocating space, the musty scent of earth and wood clogging my senses.

Something rough pressed into my back. When I turned to feel for it, my arms hit solid wood. I frantically pushed and thrashed against it, trying to free my limbs, but I barely had room to move.

I was trapped. Encased in some sort of box, probably underground if the scent and heaviness in the air was any indication.

My breaths came out in short spurts. A surge of panic rose from my feet all the way to my throat, threatening to burst through my skin. I couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped me.

Where was I?

“Let the third trial begin . ”

This was the final trial. It had started early, catching all of us unaware. A test of bravery, of our courage and ability to act in the face of fear.

Off to a great start .

I swallowed down the dread, forcing aside the dizziness and clearing the sparks of racing adrenaline from my vision. I could do this. I could get out of here if I kept a cool head .

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I steadied my mind. Slowly, I began to push against all four sides of the enclosure, testing the wood and feeling for gaps as best I could with the limited space. There was a small crack on the right side, as if it were the opening for a door. Pressing harder with my knees and palms, I tried to force the top open, only to be met with the sound of something clanging on the outside.

A lock.

I knew spells to open doors and break into locks, but hadn’t brought any herbs with me to the ball. I’d let my guard down for one night and look at what had happened. I squeezed my eyes shut, letting out a groan of frustration.

Until I remembered…

I may not have brought my herbs with me, but I did have my dagger.

For a moment, I paused. I didn’t want to keep using blood magic if I could help it. But how else was I supposed to get out? How was I supposed to survive this trial if I didn’t use all the tools at my disposal?

I didn’t have a choice.

Wiggling my arm down my side, I grunted at the awkward angle as I clawed through the outer fabric of my gown and to the thigh strap over my tights. I gripped the small handle and slid it upward until it was at my stomach. Carefully, I brought my other hand to my midsection, feeling for the blade. When my skin met cold metal, I pressed the pad of my thumb against it, waiting for the familiar sting.

“ Vata lai ,” I whispered, expecting to hear the click of a lock opening.

Instead, the entire top of the box blew open with a thunderous crash.

I gasped as chunks of wood sprayed around me, cutting across my cheeks and arms. Splinters embedded themselves in my exposed skin. I laid there in shock, the deafening sound still ringing in my ears as I tried to catch my breath .

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” I mumbled. Wincing, I gripped the sides of the box and hauled myself out, muscles and joints groaning from stiffness.

I ripped the mask from my face and took in my surroundings. Firelight flickered off dirt walls from torches lit every dozen feet. The narrow tunnel extended down as far as I could see, with nothing but scuttling insects and shards of wood from my would-be coffin in the path.

Buried alive . Fates, this trial.

I stepped out of the box and grabbed the nearest torch, then began to make my way down the tunnel.

What were we supposed to do, escape this underground pit? Find the other challengers and fight each other? Face our greatest fears? The unknown was worse than the actual trial itself. Silence rang through my ears, the stillness of the tunnels grating at my nerves, making me twitch every time I heard a small creature or the crackle of flames.

After several minutes of walking, I came across a fork in the path. The tunnel split into two identical sides of seemingly neverending dirt and faint firelight.

To the right, I noticed several torches at the far end waver, then snuff out. One by one, the light disappeared, the darkness making its way closer to the fork where I stood.

“Alright, then,” I said, pivoting and plunging down the opposite path at a sprint.

This section was rockier than the last, with winding turns and dirt falling from the ceiling every few feet. My breathing was fast and heavy, and I had to cover my mouth to avoid choking on dust. Both the smoke from my torch and the crumbling dirt made it hard to see. I cursed these ridiculous sandals as blisters started to rub at my heels.

Suddenly, my toe snagged on a rock. I went sprawling, rough dirt scraping my skin as the torch flew from my hand and rolled across the ground.

Thick vines emerged from the dirt and surrounding walls, encircling my ankles and holding me in place. I let out a muffled scream and pulled at them. They thickened in response, pushing my legs painfully into the ground. Kicking and flailing, I sawed at the stems with my dagger, trying to think past my shock and find a spell that could help.

But before I could use the blood still oozing from my thumb, another vine snatched my right wrist and sent my dagger flying. I swallowed a scream and latched onto the stalk with my free hand, pulling with all my strength to wrench it from the ground.

Nothing worked. My feet and hand went numb, pain radiating up my legs as the vine cut deeper, threatening to pull me down and bury me beneath the surface.

Another one appeared at my left side, snaking its way toward my stomach. Right before it reached me, a cloud of darkness enveloped my waist, so thick the vine couldn’t penetrate its walls.

“What the—” I whipped my head around.

Behind me stood Lark, swathed in angry shadows. My dagger was in her hand as she bent forward and hacked viciously at the vine grasping my right wrist.

“Lark! What are you doing here?”

“Saving your life.” The vine released me and I yanked my arm back, flinching at the red marks sunken into my skin.

Rubbing the last remnants of my blood between my fingers, I opened my mouth to cast a fire spell on the vines, then remembered how powerful my opening charm had been. An image of my legs being burnt to a crisp flashed through my mind.

“Grab a torch,” I said to Lark instead. “Set them on fire.”

She did as I suggested, and soon the vines shrank from my legs and into the ground, bits of it tattered and charred. I scrambled backward and rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes to catch my breath.

“Are you alright?” Lark asked.

I opened my eyes and glared at her. “What do you think? What’s going on, Lark? Why did the trial start early?”

She slumped against the opposite wall as her shadows receded, then tossed my dagger across the floor at my feet. “I don’t know. The emperor…he took all of us by surprise. The trial wasn’t supposed to start for two more days. I had no idea he was planning this, nor how he did it without my knowledge.” She paused, and I took a moment to study her.

Her long, black hair had been pulled into braids and bundled at the top of her head during the ball, but several sections were now dislodged and wild, framing her ashen features. She looked truly frightened—an emotion I hadn’t seen on the head architect, who was always so poised and put together. Rips covered her beautiful black gown, her mask already foregone and the heels of her shoes broken off. In one hand she held the antlers from her mask, the sharp end coated in blood.

My eyes widened. “Do I want to know?”

She glanced down at the antlers. “It’s not human, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“I ran into a wild animal. The emperor wanted us to include some…obstacles for the challengers.” She winced at the glower I gave her. “I’m sorry, Rose, but saying no to Emperor Gayl is a death wish. You must realize that.”

I averted her gaze. “How did you even end up here?”

“I don’t know.” Her throat moved as she swallowed. “This wasn’t the plan. But that doesn’t matter right now. We need to get out.”

She helped me to my feet and I collected my dagger, letting her guide me as we ventured further down the tunnel. “Where is ‘here,’ exactly?” I asked, grabbing another torch from the wall.

“In the underground tunnels of an uninhabited island a little ways off the coast of Mysthelm. I’m not even sure they know of its existence, honestly. Emperor Gayl has had us working over the past few years to turn it into the landscape for this final trial.”

An uninhabited island. I wondered how many more areas of the world were out there that we weren’t aware of. “So what, we’re supposed to figure out how to get out of the tunnels?”

She gave me a look. “You’re supposed to figure out how to get off the island .”

“Great. And how do we do that, exactly?”

She opened her mouth to reply when a pale hand shot out from behind her, covering her mouth and hauling her backward. I whirled and caught a glimpse of long, blonde hair before shadows surrounded me.

“Lark!” I yelped, trying to step through the darkness. Shadows lashed at my skin in response.

“This wasn’t how I wanted it to go, Rose,” a familiar voice said. A figure parted the shadows, and I found myself face to face with Alaric Rinehart.

“Oh, we are not doing this again,” I muttered and, without thinking, tossed my torch in his face. Using his momentary distraction to my advantage, I sliced the still-stinging cut on my thumb back open and said, “ Praetum firma. ”

A solid, shimmering shield shot from my hands, the force of it sending Alaric sailing through the air. His body slammed into the tunnel wall and his shadows instantly dissipated. He fell to the floor in a heap, blood glistening on the wall where he’d hit.

A sinking weight crashed to my feet. Had I killed him?

I scrambled to his still form, fingers shaking when I pressed them against his pulse.

I let out a breath. His heartbeat was there, however faint. He was alive.

This blood magic…it made everything so much stronger. I could have killed him when all I wanted was a way to defend myself. My skin prickled with unease and I glanced at the wound on my thumb, sucking it between my teeth to lessen the sting.

“Efficient. I like it.” Arowyn’s voice materialized beside me. I jumped back, only narrowly containing a scream as she said, “Thanks for getting him off my back. He was annoying.”

“Were you working with him?” I shouted, betrayal blazing through me.

“I just want to get out of here, Rose. If teaming up with the competition is what it takes, then I’ll do it.”

I clenched my jaw. “Where is Lark?”

“She’s down the tunnel.” Arowyn motioned to our left. “We only wanted to split you two up so you couldn’t fight together. I didn’t hurt her. But imagine my surprise when we found you cozying up with the head architect.” She cocked her head, her hair flowing down her side. Gone was the friend I’d made in those days at the capital. In her place stood a bloodthirsty, suspicious challenger, a Strider with everything to lose. “Seems our little Rose may not be playing fair.”

“She doesn’t know how she got here, Arowyn,” I insisted. “Gayl turned on her. She had no idea the trial was starting tonight.”

“She’s telling the truth.” Lark came into view, panting as she made her way toward us. “I show no favoritism, Miss Garrolas. I want to escape and figure out what’s happening, the same as both of you. Perhaps we can work together.”

Arowyn looked between the two of us with distrust in her eyes.

“Please, Arowyn,” I said. “We can find Nox and get out of here.”

She pinched her lips together and backed away slowly. “I—I can’t work with friends.”

My forehead creased. “Why not? We want to help you.”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you, Rose,” she snapped, her nostrils flaring. “And there can only be one winner.”

In the blink of an eye, she vanished.