Page 21 of The October Trials

“Ah.” Christian’s voice breaks through the stunned silence. “Now I feel warm. Oooh, it’s a tingly warmth.” He laughs weakly.

That’s when I feel it too—warmth starting at my injection site and radiating outward. It starts in my chest, then my stomach, then my arms.

The sweet relief reaches inside my throat and steals my breath away, and I slump back in my chair. I swear I’m going to have a freaking heart attack before this night is over.

My usual anxiety is bad, but this is a whole new level of panic, thinking that at any second you could die. I wonder if this is how my mom feels every day she wakes up sick.

A burst of static crackles overhead, the speaker humming to life.

“Round two has concluded. Contestant five is eliminated.”

Two down, five to go.

9

Blair

The cold of the hard wooden chair seeps through the thin fabric of my skirt, but at this point, it’s the least of my damn worries.

We’ve been sitting here waiting for Archon to return so we can start round three, and my impatience is getting the best of me. I don’t even want to think about whatever gruesome, fucked-up game is next.

A guard stops beside my chair and leans down, lowering his voice until only I can hear him. “Archon would like to have a word.”

Goosebumps prickle across my skin, and I instinctively freeze. What the hell does he want?

“He said right away, so we can start the next round after.”

When I stand, my legs feel disconnected. It’s like they belong to someone else, screaming at me to halt, but I follow him anyway. The hallway stretches long, until he stops us at a door.

The wood is dark and scarred, deep scratches gouged across its surface. He opens it without knocking and steps aside.

Archon stands near a long table of polished black stone. He looks… different in this light. Even more ominous than usual.

“Blair.” My name sounds like a verdict in his mouth. “I’ve reviewed the footage from the entrance. I wanted to apologize. For my son’s behavior.”

He brought me all the way in here for this?

“Thank you…?” I manage.

He tilts his head. “No, really. Ever since his mother…” A pause. “He’s been a little… undisciplined.”

This is getting really fucking weird.

“Um. It’s no problem, really. I’d already forgotten about… him.”

Lie.

Archon claps his hands together once. “Wonderful, then. You’re dismissed.”

I turn, still confused. The guard is already stepping behind me as I cross the threshold, until Archon stops him.

“Hey, Gerald…” His voice trails off as the heavy wood door seals shut.

Wait, what? Am I supposed to wait here, go back? I don’t even think I know my way back— this house is fucking huge, and the hallways seem to go on forever.

My eyes dart around the space for half a second, then instinct takes over.

I bolt.