“What a fantastic idea,” he mused, a wry smile curling his lips but never reaching his eyes. “No one has ever tried such an unusual method. You passed the Alchemist Crucible.”
His words struck like a blow, and my foggy mind scrambled to comprehend them. Passed? The agony we endured, the desperate gambit with the heated blade—it had been enough? Beside me, Olivia stirred, her breaths shallow but steady. Relief coiled through me like a balm, but it was tempered by the lingering dread of what lay ahead.
“Rest up,” Pasha Hassan continued, his voice smooth and lilting, each syllable dripping with calculated calm. “Tomorrow, you will face your next challenge. You’ll be summoned to the Labyrinth of Shadows.”
With those cryptic words, he turned and strode out, his footsteps fading into silence.
I sat up slowly, every muscle protesting, when I noticed a tray had been placed in the corner of the room. Its appearance seemed almost magical, laden with an overflowing bounty of food and water. The spread was meticulous, almost mocking in its care—plump grapes glistening like jewels, a loaf of crusty bread whose golden surface crackled beneath my touch, and a pitcher of clear water that gleamed like liquid salvation. I gingerly broke off a piece of bread, savoring the satisfying crunch as it gave way. The sweetness of the grapes burst against my tongue, a cool, welcome relief to the parched desert of my throat. Wordlessly, I fed Olivia first, watching as she nibbled at the food, her expression slowly softening with the nourishment. Then I indulged, the meal a symphony of textures and flavors that momentarily dulled the sharp edge of our reality.
After we’d eaten our fill, Olivia touched her hand to her chest, her brow furrowing with concern.
“I’m worried,” she murmured, her voice tinged with quiet dread. “The poison... it might’ve destroyed my milk supply.”
Her words struck a chord deep within me, a reminder of everything we were fighting to protect. But I forced a steady tone, masking the anxiety churning in my stomach.
“That’s the least of your worries,” I said, my voice gentle but firm. “We’ll get through this, Olivia. One step at a time.”
She looked up at me, her eyes searching. “How did you do it? How did you save us?”
“Amara came to me,” I replied, the memory of her spectral guidance still vivid, a fragment of light in the abyss. “I remembered how I healed you in Rome.”
The recollection was a beacon in the storm, a moment of clarity amid chaos.
Olivia furrowed her brow. “How did they know to create a room like that?” she asked softly, her voice laced with unease. “It’s like they copied our memories of ancient Rome.”
Her words sent a shiver down my spine. How much did our enemies know about us? Were they always one step ahead, weaving traps from the very threads of our past? I pushed the thought away. Dwelling on the unknown would serve no purpose—not now. For now, we needed strength, focus, and resolve.
I returned my attention to her, handing her another piece of bread from the tray. “Eat,” I urged. “You need to regain your strength.”
Nourishment did little to soothe the aching fatigue that gripped us, but it stoked the fires of resilience within. We had survived the Alchemist Crucible and defied death once again. Still, tomorrow, the Labyrinth of Shadows awaited—a test that would likely demand every ounce of wit and willpower we possessed.
As the oil lamp dimmed, casting flickering shadows across the room, we lay side by side on the narrow cot. The silence between us was heavy, punctuated only by the occasional creak of the wooden walls and the distant murmurs of guards beyond the door. In the dim afterglow of the dying light, our hands found each other, a lifeline in the encroaching darkness.
“The Labyrinth of Shadows shouldn’t be hard,” I murmured, my voice low, as much to reassure myself as her. “But it will be dark. We must stick together, no matter what, and fight to the last.”
Olivia’s fingers squeezed mine. Her smile was weak yet determined, a sliver of moonlight cutting through the encroaching night.
“Back-to-back, like we’ve always been,” she whispered.
I nodded, the weight of her words settling over me like armor. Our shadows would stand united, even against the darkness that threatened to consume us.
Her voice softened, barely audible. “Promise me something?”
Her pale cheeks carried the faintest hint of color as she gazed up at me, her vulnerability piercing my heart.
“Anything,” I replied without hesitation, my voice steady even as my chest tightened.
“Promise you’ll keep making those terrible jokes, like, ‘Oh, hey, we’re Timehunters,’ no matter how dire it gets.” A flicker of playfulness sparked in her eyes, a reminder of the woman I had fallen in love with.
I chuckled, the sound hollow yet genuine. “Only if you promise to roll your eyes and pretend not to laugh.”
Sliding closer to her, I cradled her in my arms. Tenderly, I kissed her lips, pouring every ounce of love and determination into the touch. Exhaustion tugged at the edges of my mind, but the need to hold her, to feel her warmth, overpowered it. Olivia deepened the kiss, her arms winding around my neck, her body melting into mine. And then, with a soft sigh, her lips slackened. I pulled back, a small smile playing on my lips as I realized she had fallen asleep mid-kiss. Gently, I smoothed her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. Pulling her closer, I allowed myself to savor the rare stillness, the momentary peace amidst the storm.
But peace was fleeting. The sanctity of rest was torn asunder by the arrival of dawn’s gray fingers, creeping under the door and heralding the guards’ approach. Their faces were grim, their silence heavy with unspoken urgency as they ushered us forth. We moved through winding underground corridors, the walls narrowing to squeeze the fight from our souls. My grip on Olivia’s hand tightened as we were led deeper into the bowels of the palace. Finally, we came to a stop, standing at the precipice of…
A place that looked exactly like Balthazar’s lair.
Balthazar’s lair?I shook my head, dread unfurling in my chest. The detail was unnerving, plucked straight from my memories. How was this possible?
