“Call me by my name,” she begs, her voice low and broken, “before you kill me.”
I stumble a step back as her features sharpen until I recognize her. She’s older, more tired. Angry. Lonely. In pain.
But it’s the same girl. The same girl I’d promised to kill so many times before.
A dagger appears in my hand, and the voice issues a new command. “Choose.”
Choose? I thought it was supposed to tell me what to do and I obey? I could obey. I could drop the dagger. I could stab her through the heart.
But... choose?
I look her in the eye. My breath shakes, so confused by everything I’ve seen. That beautiful young girl was her? My brother... did he really do that? Is that why she killed him?
My heart aches terribly as I stare at the dagger.
“Caelynn.” My voice breaks as I say her name for the first time.
“Choose,” the echoing voice says again, more firmly. I’m running out of time.
I choose.
Caelynn
Brielle gasps besideme as we watch Rev shove a dagger into some invisible form. “Was he supposed to do that?” she whispers.
The strange part about this challenge is not knowing what they’re commanded to do. Rev walks out of the orb on his own, and I let out a breath. Why did I care? I should want him out of the competition, right?
His hands are shaking as he approaches the benches, his brow pinched with stress. Who had he killed?
The crowds cheer heartily as the challenge ends, but not one of the champions smiles. I don’t suspect I’ll be the only one heading back to the estate immediately. No private bath time today.
We quietly march through the crowd full of people asking questions. Drake is the only one to stop and talk with his court. Everyone else shoves off the attention and moves along.
I don’t know what all of them faced, but clearly it was intense for us all.
***
