Killian’s POV
I was losing my mind.
Rosalind had somehow made it into the trials. The trials would span two days. Two trials per day.
After the disastrous meeting where the elders had pulled a fast one on us as I had suspected they would, I hadn’t seen Rosalind which was normal.
She was always so exceptionally good at avoiding truths she didn’t want to know. It was one thing that I found intriguing about her.
One among many.
Then we – Cillian and I – came down to watch the trials. I noticed her instantly. Cillian had to and we exchanged a wide-eyed glance.
I inclined my head and he nodded. A few seconds later I was drilling him for answers.
“She is an omega?” I watched him carefully.
“Of course, she is,” Cillian frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. “I brought her straight from the districts.”
I crossed my arms not liking to be played for the fool. “Then why the fuck is she out there? You know the trials only sends out the call to all the people in the capital with the right bloodlines to breed an heir. Rosalind doesn’t have any.”
Cillian ran his fingers through his hair, his face a replica of mine though I didn’t think I had seen myself look so worried.
“So what do we do?”
“What do we do?” I echoed him blankly. What did he mean by asking what could we do? “How is this any of my concern again?”
Cillian glared at me with exasperation.
“For once Killian can you drop the act? I know you like her. We might as well get over this and try to find a way together to help her out of this situation.”
He was wrong. I didn’t like her. She was a nobody who would never capture my heart regardless of how differently my cock and my wolf thought.
“Dear brother,” I gave him a side embrace. “We both know there is no way the games cannot be stopped.”
Cillian pulled away glaring at me before he began to pace with no small amount of apprehension. But I could do nothing to comfort him. This wasn’t how we related. We might be brothers who occasionally schemed together- only recently- that was it.
I cleared my throat and watched Cillian look at me with that painful hope in his eyes.
“We need to get back, the next trial will soon begin. Willpower.”
This was something I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t like her but my mind was spiralling. Nothing could happen to her or I would rip both the council and the High Priestess apart.
*********
Rosalind’s POV.
Everywhere was unexpectedly bright as I stepped out of that dark room where my chair/bed enveloped me.
The second thing I noticed was the noise. It started as a backdrop and built intensity the further I went down the hallway before suddenly coming out of an arch that led to a… maze.
Standing there before I arrived were four other prospective brides outfitted similarly to me in their pyjamas. I was thankful for the fact that the night before my abduction or selection depending on your point of view, I had chosen pants and a shirt instead of my usual drafty nightdresses.
When I looked up, I noticed the elevated platforms surrounding the case that people gathered and watched.
There was a centrally located, elegant and somehow better-elevated booth than the others and I could already guess who would be occupying it. It would be the princes and the most important council members.
I wondered what they thought when they saw me, if they were rooting for me or if it didn’t matter to them.
I turned my attention to the remaining people that were arriving. The horn went off and I deduced that the girls who didn’t come had failed the first round.
The prospective brides as I had dubbed them were sixteen. Now we were ten including myself.
Six people were gone and there were three more trials to go.
The disembodied voice began to speak again.
“Welcome candidates to the second round. The second fire here is Willpower. Prove you are strong enough to wear the crown. In this category to win, you must get through the maze without any outside help. The first six through the maze will proceed to the next level. The rest will be disqualified.” There was a pause. “There are no other rules for this game.”
My throat dried up. No other rules. Meaning killing was allowed even encouraged because if one were to get rid of their competition regardless of how late they were they could still make the top six if there were only six people left in the game.
“What are you doing here?”
I turned slowly to see Adelyn glaring at me with two minions behind her. Unlike us, she was fully geared. There was no way she didn’t know that the selection would happen that night. She definitely knew.
I tried to form the words but I couldn’t, which made her more furious.
She grabbed my hair and yanked at it hard. She didn’t seem to care that everyone could see us and that her future citizens would murmur and castigate her. Her father was just too powerful.
“Listen I don’t care how you managed to sneak on here or even passed the first test but if you know what is good for you? Flunk out. Or you might not make it to the next round.”
Then she let go of my hair and grinned at me like a psychopath.
“Good luck, Runt.”
My cheeks burned as I noticed the other brides glance at me with questioning gazes.
Thankfully there was another sound of the bell than to signal the beginning of the maze race. We all had different entry points so I stepped into mine.
I reached the first junction and using my instincts and prior experience, I chose left. I would continue to take the left turn until I got out of the maze.
My ideology was simple. The streets of the districts were not as organized and planned out like the ones in the cities. It was like a constantly overlapping maze with buildings and caravans springing up even where they shouldn’t be. At least this maze was well maintained.
I walked as fast as I could with my ears wide open listening for any movement near me. I didn’t want to bump into any contestant because the chances they were physically stronger than me was astronomically high. My best bet would be to avoid confrontations where possible.
I also tried to let my body feel the differences in the airflow. The path leading out would have more airflow than the one leading to a close so I shifted as close to a partial shift as possible so that I was sensitive to even the slightest change in the wind.
Sooner than I expected, I saw the exit. The only problem was that Adelyn was standing there as though she was waiting for someone and dread pooled in my belly.
“Look who it is.” She grinned. “I just knew lowlifes like you would never understand without a strict hand to guide you.”
She took a step towards me and I instinctively took one back.
“What part of flunking out did you fail to understand?”
Adelyn’s eyes glimmered with malice as she stalked me with an air of a predator. What had I ever done to her?
I scrambled for what to say to save myself.
“Look, you are going to be the crown princess. No one can compare to you. If you waste your time here with me, the other people will leave this maze before you.”
I could see her hesitating, her brows wrinkled in thought. I just had to push a little bit more. “Imagine if you were to lose because of someone as insignificant as me. How would your father take it?”
I expected the slap this time but I didn’t dodge it.
“You runt! You have no right to talk about my father!” She ran her fingers down her dark hair then she glared at me. “You are just a mere whore. There is nothing special about you. So you had better watch out.”
Adelyn crossed the space between us and caught my chin in her clawed hand tearing up my skin, I looked into her eyes and all I saw was madness. Pure unadulterated madness. Her voice was low as she spoke. “There are two more trials, you will not survive them.”
Then she was gone. I caught my breath for a second clutching my chest in relief then I raced out.
There was someone else too moving towards the exit but she was walking slowly, Adelyn was long gone.
I hesitated, it seemed like she was injured. It wasn’t like I needed to win this trial. If I didn’t help her out, I would feel bad.
So I slowed down as I reached her. “Hey, are you alright, do you need”
I reared back as she slashed at me with a silver knife.
“You omega bitch think you can help me? Do you know who I am? I am Gabrielle Stratford, daughter of 6th generation council member Darian Stratford.”
She slashed at me again, this time cutting my forearm and my blood splattered to the ground. My goodwill left me as I shoved her to the ground and ran out of the maze.
The moment I was out, the bell rang and I realized I was the sixth person.
I passed the second trial. Clutching my burning arm, I saw Adelyn glaring at me among the ranks of the five people who had arrived before me.
The next two trials wouldn’t be easy. I was injured by silver and I wouldn’t heal in time. And the sharks were already circling.
I was so dead.