From the Ashes

Chapter 24

The sky glitters with stars as we trudge on. I don't try to struggle. It won't do any good.

Xana is kept behind me, Marco at her side. Even though she's not gagged anymore, the fear of angering Azad keeps me from speaking to her. Maybe that's why she hasn't spoken to me, either.

Every motion hurts, and I have to concentrate just to stay on my feet. Exhaustion needles its way into my mind, and hunger gnaws into my stomach. My shoulder burns with shooting pain, and I cup the injury with my palm. Despite how much it hurts, I trace the lines. Will his name always be engraved in my skin?

AV.

It tingles and aches every time I try to move it. If I live to the end of this Trial, what will Dragon do when he sees this? It's not like it'll matter. I might not see him again, anyway.

I want my team back. I miss Liam, his annoying comments and his arrogant idea that he's the cutest thing alive.

I miss Kavi and Seth, and how they constantly annoy each other. Well, maybe I don't miss that but I'd much rather hear them bicker than be here.

I miss Dragon. I miss talking to him. I miss his thoughtfulness. I miss his stare and his deep, endless eyes. I miss his touch. I'd do anything to get him back.

"We're here," Azad says.

Before us is a gate. Its stone walls rise six meters into the air, towering over us. Azad opens the gate hesitantly, as if expecting something to jump out at him.

He nods to me. "Come on, Jaina."

I walk through the ranks of his team and stop at Azad's side.

He takes my left arm. "Lead the way." He jerks it upward slightly, and agony shoots through my body. It sickens me, having him holding my arm as if I were his. His touch feels foreign and intrusive against my skin.

"One hundred steps left," I breathe.

There's no ceiling to the long, maze-like passage in front of us. The path is wide enough for an entire team to walk side by side, and the ground is covered in water up to our knees.

The night is dark as hell, and if it weren't for the moon, we wouldn't be able to see a thing.

I wish he'd let go of me.

I'm too weak to make a run for it.

His hands are warm, and I realize he's nervous. I feel his heartbeat through his touch. For the first time, I see him as a boy, probably not much older than I am. Is he afraid I'll lead them the wrong way? Is he scared he might not make it into the Crystal City?

We reach a fork in the path. Two roads lie before us.

Azad sighs. "Alright, next?"

"Fifty more to the right."

Trees grow along the path. It's as if someone grew a jungle inside their own home. The moon appears from behind a large tree, its light shining upon a large rocky formation.

We continue forward until the walls enclose us in a large circle. The only way out is up. Caves surround us.

"See the moon in the darkness, and a cave in its light," I say aloud with slight amazement. The moon shines directly above a cave before us.

Azad nods, then turns to his team. "Secure the area."

They disperse across the small expanse, leaving Marco, Xana and Azad. Marco stares blankly forward, like he knows looking at me and Azad would be wrong. Yet Xana keeps her gaze locked on the two of us.