Chapter 28: Exam (8)

The massacre was agonizing to listen to. Rowan’s hearing caught every sickening crunch of stone and armor. One boy from the trailing team simply froze, too terrified to even scream before the Minotaur’s greataxe descended, triggering his uniform’s ward in a blinding flash of golden light that instantly eliminated him from the exam. Another desperately threw his hands against the floor, summoning thick, thorny vines to root the beast’s legs before turning to sprint.

The Minotaur didn’t even break its stride, tearing through the magical vines like wet paper.

Rowan forced himself to peel his eyes away from the chaos. Sucking in a ragged, soot-filled breath, he pushed his burning legs to sprint down the dimly lit tunnel. The corridor violently opened up into a massive, yawning subterranean chasm. A blast of freezing air hit Rowan’s face. Spanning the seemingly bottomless drop was a single, terrifyingly narrow stone bridge, its surface etched with dormant runic arrays.

Oliver was the first to reach the ledge. He dropped his speed, his armored boots skidding to a halt just inches from the sheer drop. He shot a frantic look back at Tristan, his usual arrogance entirely with desperation. "What’s the trick here?!"

"Cross quickly, but only one at a time!" Tristan shouted over the echoing roars behind them. "It’s a weight-and-pulse detection trap. If two people are on the bridge at the exact same time, the runes will shatter the stone and drop us into the abyss!"

Oliver didn’t need to be told twice. He stepped onto the narrow span, rushing across the chasm with practiced, perfect balance. By the time Tristan and Rowan reached the edge, Oliver was already halfway to the safety of the far side.

"I’m next," Tristan volunteered instantly, his eyes locked on the far ledge. Rowan didn’t argue. Instead, he looked back down the tunnel.

Ella was stumbling out of the shadows. She was completely out of breath, her face pale and smeared with dirt, thoroughly drained of the essence she had burned trying to protect them earlier. She was trying her absolute best to drag her heavy legs forward to escape the rampaging beast, but her body was giving out. A sickening, icy wave of dread washed over Rowan. He gripped his bow tightly, his knuckles turning white, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

As Oliver’s boots hit the solid stone of the far side, Tristan immediately began his sprint across the chasm. Rowan stood agonizingly still at the ledge, his enhanced eyes watching the Minotaur’s massive, blood-soaked form round the corner, effortlessly closing the distance on Ella.

Once Tristan safely cleared the bridge, Rowan stepped onto the cold stone span and ran for his life.

A piercing, terrified scream echoed behind him. Rowan gritted his teeth and didn’t look back. He knew it was the end of the line for the West-born girl. The golden flash of an emergency ward illuminated the cavern walls behind him, casting long, monstrous shadows over the chasm.

Yet, the suffocating dread in Rowan’s chest didn’t disappear, it worsened. As he raced across the bridge, he looked up at the far ledge. Oliver was standing there, perfectly safe, staring back at Rowan with a cold and unforgiving expression.

In that split second the horrible meaning and puzzle behind the labyrinth finally clicked together in Rowan’s mind.

He had known from the start that nobles didn’t care for others, that they viewed commoners as nothing more than disposable stepping stones. He already knew Oliver had intentionally bumped Lily into a lethal strike to increase his own point share. But as he looked from Oliver’s dead eyes to Tristan, who was watching the scene unfold with an expression of quiet, grim inevitability, Rowan realized the terrifying depth of the setup. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Tristan’s "analytical" skills were far too perfect. He could have easily guided the team around the fire trap, but he had deliberately chosen a path that forced Ella to burn the very last of her essence to save them. He had purposefully used the trailing team as a meat shield, and then left an exhausted Ella as disposable bait, all to buy them precious distance from the Minotaur.

The two Northern nobles hadn’t spoken a word to each other to plan this. They hated each other. But they both understood the brutality behind the exam. Fewer survivors meant more essence stones. Tristan had set the board, bleeding the weak dry, and Oliver was acting as the executioner.

And now that they were at the exit, with ninety-two essence stones secured in Oliver’s pouch ... It was Rowan’s turn to be discarded.

"No," Rowan breathed, his eyes widening in absolute horror as he tried to sprint faster. The bridge started shaking violently as the Minotaur stepped on. Rowan stumbled and only could watch in horror for what came next.

Oliver calmly took a single step forward, placing his heavy armored boot directly onto the edge of the stone bridge.

The ancient runes beneath Rowan’s feet instantly flared a violent, blinding crimson. The two-person detection triggered exactly as Tristan had promised.

With a deafening crack that echoed through the cavern, the keystone of the bridge shattered. The stone gave way beneath Rowan’s boots, and he plunged backward into the dark abyss, followed by the Minotaur.