Guardian Feylan drew out each word with unrivalled joy, possibly sure they would fail this one.“I am one of two masks, one worn to weep, and one to bask. While my kin pulls north, I lean south, as I perish in warmth. My sister is sunshineand I her dark mirror, my presence makes the absence of her brightness clearer.”
An agonizing silence stifled the chamber before the ticking resumed. Fire sparked at Emmery’s fingers and she debated setting this whole room ablaze if only to get out of this damn place. But with these demonic games, if she did, they would surely be lost within these stone walls forever. And she refused to fall apart like she had outside of Reize’s cottage.
Destonne was right. She was stronger than this.
Brennen’s eyes bulged like he hadn’t anticipated such a riddle. As his stare darted between the door and the Guardian, his massive pink tongue lolled in the most animalistic action Emmery had seen him make.
Destonne’s attention warred between the two, like he balanced each in one hand, and his limbs grew tired, yet he refused to drop either of them.
They all held their breath as Brennen finally answered proudly in all their minds,“A frown.”
Guardian Feylan made a disgruntled sound and their unseeing gaze stripped them bare. “One riddle remains.”
A cold sweep of fear passed over Emmery. The last was hers. “If I guess wrong, do they move on?”
“If you answer correctly, you all move forward together.”The Guardian gave a hideous grin. “But should you falter, you all stay.”
Emmery’s heart battered her ribcage. If she failed this, if she let Brennen and Destonne down, they would be completely fucked.
She could barely think.
Barely catch her breath.
Barely form a coherent thought as the Guardian recited the final riddle, the one that might mark this labyrinth as their grave.“I appear only in rest or calm. A figment, hope, or visionof charm. In fear I grow teeth, and only in the dark I reveal what’s beneath. I come and go as fleeting as a memory, a trick of the mind or history. Am I false or am I true? Your mind lies to you.”
Emmery’s mind wasn’t lying to her.
It was utterly blank.
The ticking resumed. As the shrill sound clanged inside her head, her breath thinned, quickened, and her knees weakened, trembled—
No. She would be strong.
She had to be.
But all she could see was Vesper. And how she’d let him down.
Panic gripped her and a cold sweat slid down her spine. The walls closed in on her by the second. She wanted to collapse, engulf herself in the safety of herkhaosflame, and shield her body in the cocoon of magic.
But she had to answer.
So, desperately, Emmery searched and combed any coherent thought in her mind. Was it a monster? Teeth and darkness—and what was fleeting as a memory? Lies and secrets plagued her mind but they couldn’t be the answer since that was Destonne’s riddle.
“I—” she squeaked. Panic bloomed in Brennen’s wide eyes, but Destonne surveyed her with assuredness she didn’t deserve. Her cheeks burned, and she blurted, “I don’t know.”
Her heart raced with the ticking as it sped, each a kick to her gut hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor. Her body threatened to fold. To become small and hide. And she had to answernow, now, now—
Warm fingers brushed her palm, and a hand slid into hers. Her mind quieted. She met Destonne’s calm stare as he gave her the briefest of nods, hopefully too small for the Guardian to see. She shook her head with returned subtlety.
His thumb traced circles across their rose pactum, as if to remind her of their bargain, but with each pass of his thumb, her brows scrunched. Because each sweep wasn’t the same, though they slowed her racing pulse. Her attention darted back to the Guardian. She needed to give them an answer now. But her mind was racing, running, springing, falling, and—
Destonne gave a soft tug on her hand and blinked at her slowly. As if to repeat her sentiment to him,Eyes on me. I want all of your attention.
So she focussed on his touch. Let it ground her.
Until it dawned on her.
Those weren’t circles.