A Wicked Game [The Crown Saga II] (Under Editing)

Race of the Lotus - Part II

The floor was unforgiving.

I'd been lucky not to land on my head in my attempt to know up from down in the fall, but my shoulder was stinging, and my left foot was already swelling from absorbing most of the impact. Nothing felt broken, but that didn't mean it wasn't excruciatingly painful.

Light still shined from the open hatch above. It wouldn't require much of me to jump up there again, but before I'd even begun summoning my powers, the hatch closed, leaving me in eternal darkness.

A flame ignited to my left, illuminating a small area of the corridor I'd been thrown into. I knew this game; follow the torches and enter the next challenge.

I didn't have time to squander. Fear was not an option if I strived to win this trial. For all I knew, Haylee could already have found her way out of these tunnels.

The torches activated faster than those I knew from the regular tunnels. I couldn't outrun them if I tried.

I had to adjust to the tunnel's twists and turns, but I hadn't yet encountered any traps or challenges as I'd anticipated, which caused me a strange sense of concern. It shouldn't be this easy.

Finally, I came to an intersection of three options which meant a choice — a challenge. I stopped and gave myself a chance to catch my breath.

A choice like this felt oddly similar to the first trial, where we'd been forced to pick an item among the items placed in front of us. If they'd taken inspiration from that trial, it wouldn't matter which path I took; they would all result in the same.

However, I couldn't stop considering the possibility that one path might lead to easy escape while the others would present us with challenges unlike anything we'd ever faced. Not that it mattered. The tunnels all looked identical, which meant I had no indication of right or wrong.

"Damn it," I hissed and turned left to continue running.

The hall remained unchanged, and for a moment, I allowed myself to believe I'd made the right call, but I was immediately proven wrong.

Suddenly, the torches went out, leaving me in complete darkness like before.

I reached out to touch the wall, hoping to use it as a guide for my next step, but a shriek of horror pierced the air, striking fear in me like a bolt of relentless lightning.

A rotten scent of burning skin saturated the air, making my throat constrict and my breathing shallow.

"Willow?" a voice called, causing every hair on my body to rise.

It was Koa's voice. However, the creature saying my name was not Koa; it wasn't even human.

I wasn't as inexperienced as I'd been during the first trial. I could now wield sound, too, which made the darkness a little less terrifying.

"Willow! Willow, help me!"

I ignored the cries for help and concentrated on how the sound reverberated off the walls. The Raeewh was behind me, which meant that the path ahead was clear. I clapped once and allowed my mind to construct a mental image of my surroundings before I started running again.

The sound of bare feet followed me. The screams of Koa in agony carved deep wounds in my heart, but I knew it wasn't him. Instead, it was the Raeewh trying to strike fear in me, and I wouldn't let it, but then the voice changed.

"I've got you now, Wildcard."

My heart stumbled over its own rhythm.

It was Tarkan's voice. Could this be the same Raeewh that Tarkan had sent after me during the first trial?