I shifted around hastily, and saw a blue-robed woman I’d seen at the trials smiling down at me.
“Wh-Who are you, and how did I get here?” I asked.
“I’m Queen Trina Seraq, and I don’t know how you got here.” She raised an eyebrow. “But you certainly gave me a shock.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, not sure what I was apologizing for.
“You’re the brother of Tejus’s human, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Her name’s Hazel,” I replied coldly. “Yes, I am.”
“I’m sorry.” She smirked. “Hazel, of course. But what are you doing out here—so far from the protection of the castle?”
“I came with a…” I looked around, blankly.
How did I get here?
Queen Trina noticed my pause. “I can take you back—if you’d like? I have a carriage here; it wouldn’t be any trouble.”
“Okay… thanks.”
“You can entertain me with the story of how you got here on our journey back.” She smiled again, and I noticed how bright and sparkly her eyes were, as if she were laughing at some secret joke.
“It’s hard to remember,” I muttered, “but I keep sleepwalking, ending up in weird places, and I’m sure I’ve been walking about the castle at night… but this is the first time I’ve woken up outside.”
I didn’t know why I was opening up to her after keeping it a secret from Julian and the rest of them, but there was something about her that made me want to finally get some of the weirdness off my chest. Perhaps it was her curious manner, or the way she placed her arm over my shoulders, almost protectively, as we made our way to her carriage. Whatever it was about her, it was a relief to talk to someone.
Her carriage was small and black, raised on high wheels with a sleek, white bull-horse pulling at the reins. She had a driver too, a sentry in a navy-blue cloak that matched hers, but he didn’t acknowledge us as we approached, just kept his eyes fixed on the road, waiting for Queen Trina’s command.
The interior was made up of pinks, golds and blues, with countless cushions and sapphire crystals that hung over the windows so that the outside world looked like it was bathed in blue.
“Why don’t you tell me when it started?” she asked kindly as soon as we’d taken our seats and the bull-horse had started to trundle forward.
I told her everything. From the moment I’d found the wall of stones in the deserted and narrow corridor, to the moment she’d found me lying on the sand. I even mentioned the kids and how lethargic they had looked, and how I was afraid that it somehow had something to do with me.
“Don’t be preposterous!” She laughed gently. “I think your imagination is getting the better of you, young man. It sounds to me like a great power is calling to you. Rather than see this as something scary, why don’t you consider yourself honored? You have clearly been chosen to fulfil some great duty—your destiny, perhaps. Do you believe in destiny, Benedict?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” I replied.
“I do,” she replied with a smile. “I believe that some of us are chosen for greatness—to accomplish incredible things with our lives, to shine a little more brightly than the others. I think you are going to shine,” she whispered in my ear.
I didn’t know about that.
It was true that this weird power had called only me so far as I knew, but I thought it was coincidence that had made me stumble on the wall of stones. I told the queen what I thought, but she gave me a pitying smile, as if there was something huge that I wasn’t understanding.
“Power and greatness favor those who are brave, the adventurers. I don’t believe that it was an accident. I think you are capable of far more than you understand at this moment—far more than you give yourself credit for. The worst thing you could do now,” Queen Trina continued, “is to turn your back on this great power. Allow yourself to trust it, wave aside your old instincts, and embrace what the voices are telling you. Next time, Benedict, pick up that stone.”
I pursed my lips, doubtful. I wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
“We’re here,” she said, the earnestness and seriousness gone from her tone. “It was lovely meeting you, Benedict. If you ever wish to visit, I’m staying in one of the old palaces near the Hellswan border —send a letter via guard and I will send you my personal vulture.”
The carriage came to a halt, and her driver opened the door for me to get out. I managed an uncertain smile at Queen Trina as I left—my mind slightly blown away by the offer of a queen’s personal transport. I’d never met a sentry so accommodating, one who hadn’t tried to enter my mind once.
I crossed the moat with my head held higher and my back straighter.
Apparently, my destiny was waiting.
Ruby
When Queen Trina had pulled me aside last night and told me about the impending trial, my first instinct had been to try to work out what her motive could possibly be in wanting Ash to win the kingship. Or, more likely, what she stood to lose if Tejus won the trials.
To be fair, it hadn’t been a great deal of information. She had claimed that the trial would be about testing the integrity of each champion, and that all would not be what it seemed.
No surprise there. There hadn’t been a trial yet where I hadn’t been taken aback by the powers of the sentries, nor the willingness of the ministers to go to any lengths to test them.
I paced back and forth across the small space of my bedroom, having firmly locked the door—the only time I could get privacy in our living quarters. I’d already shared the information with Ash, who had been equally perturbed about the source of the information, but had eventually shrugged, murmuring something about not looking a gift horse in the mouth.
My second concern was whether or not I should pass on the information to Hazel.
On one hand, we had decided to spread our bets—to align with different teams to ensure that one way or another, we got out of here. We had both agreed to pledge our mental energy to our chosen sentries, and so there was an element of competition whether we liked it or not, even if we were ultimately working toward one goal.
On the other hand, we were both children of The Shade. We were like family. Nothing should ever divide us—and we didn’t betray one another to reach our own selfish goals.
If this was a trial of integrity, then I should show some.
I marched into the main living quarters, finding Julian slumped on the sofa looking listlessly into space.
“Where’s Benedict?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I think he’s off in the kitchens somewhere… I haven’t seen him since this morning.”
“Find him,” I replied. “I don’t like either of you wandering the castle by yourselves. I’m going to speak to Hazel. I won’t be long.”
He nodded, remaining seated on the sofa.
“Julian—now.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” he muttered. He rose from the sofa, and then hesitated.
“Ruby, there’s something I need to…”
“What?” I replied impatiently.
“It’s nothing.” He shook his head. “Ignore me.”
What is with everyone?
I guessed the kids must have started to get bored cooped up in the castle—the whole bunch of them were so lethargic and sleepy-eyed. And even Julian was acting weirder than normal.
Assuming Hazel would be in Tejus’s quarters, I started to make my way to the staircase that led to his domain. I hoped he wouldn’t be around. I wanted to have a private conversation with Hazel. Things had felt a bit weird between the two of us lately, and I hoped that this would put a stop to any underlying tensions.
Stepping out into the lobby of the stairwell, I heard footsteps clattering down. Tejus was descending the staircase, his face grim.
“Hi, Tejus… Is Hazel upstairs?” I asked politely.
“Yes,” he replied curtly. “Don’t stay too long. She needs her rest.”
She’s not a child, I want
ed to retort, but I kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t in any of our interests to aggravate Tejus.
“Thanks,” I replied, only a little sarcastically.
He didn’t even seem to hear me, and marched past without so much as a nod in my direction.
What’s eating him?
I carried on up the stairs and knocked on the door to his living quarters, ignoring the guards who stood on either side.
“Hazel?” I called.
The door swung wide open moments later.
Hazel appeared, looking tense, but her expression loosened as she laid eyes on me.
“Hi, Ruby.”
“I saw Tejus on the way up,” I said. “Is he always that grumpy?”
“Only on days ending with ‘y’,” she muttered.
We made ourselves comfortable on the sofas, sitting opposite one another with our feet up on the coffee table. Had it not been for the medieval décor, we could have been back in The Shade on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was nice. It had been too long since we’d just sat down, the two of us, without Benedict and Julian or looming sentries by our sides.
“How are you holding up?” I asked.
“I’m okay, you know… as okay as someone can be stuck in an alternate dimension having their mind sucked on a regular basis.”
“At least Jenus is gone,” I said. “I like spending time with Ash, and the boys seem to be coping.”
“I haven’t seen much of Benedict,” Hazel replied. “I know it’s my own fault—I’m spending too much time focused on the trials, and though I know it’s for a good cause, I kind of feel like I’m being a lousy sister.”
“Don’t,” I replied. “You just have to focus.”
Hazel let out a breath, her eyes wandering the room worriedly before returning to me. “Well, you’ve never come up here before… what’s the occasion?”
“Queen Trina Seraq,” I said. “She shared some information with me last night about the next trial that I thought was only fair to share with you.”
“Does Ash know you’re telling me?” Hazel asked.
“What does that matter?” I was confused by the question.
“Nothing,” she amended hastily. “Sorry, go on.”
I told her what the queen had told me, and watched as she digested the information.
“Not a lot to go on, is it?” she replied eventually.
I bristled a bit. It might not have been much, but at least it was something.
“No, I know that, but it’s better than not knowing,” I replied.
“I guess that’s why Ash didn’t mind you sharing the information,” she replied. “I guess it doesn’t give either of them much of an advantage.”
“No, maybe not, but actually Ash doesn’t know I’m telling you. I’ll let him know later what I’ve done, but I don’t need his permission to share something with my best friend!”
I realized I was getting defensive of Ash. It was just that he’d proven himself to be far more trustworthy than Tejus, in my opinion. At least he wasn’t the one who’d kidnapped us in the first place.
Hazel looked contrite.
“Okay, Ruby. Thanks,” she replied softly. Her voice was tinged with sadness, and I couldn’t quite understand why.
“And you never know,” I went on, even as I frowned at her, “it might mean something to Tejus. Maybe he’ll know something about how the ministers interpret integrity.”
“You think the ministers know anything about integrity?” she deadpanned.
I couldn’t argue with that.
“Did the queen let you know when the trial would be taking place?” Hazel asked, sneering at the word ‘queen’.
“Nope… What have you got against Queen Trina?” I replied.
“Nothing, I guess… It’s just that I found out she and Tejus used to have a thing.”
“A romantic thing?” I was quite dumbfounded. Neither of them seemed capable of something like that—what did they do as hobbies, glower at each other?
“Apparently. I overheard them arguing about it—I think that’s why Queen Trina tipped you off. She’s determined for Tejus not to win. She denied that it was anything to do with their past, but it seems like her only possible motive.”
I nodded. Well, this cleared that mystery up. Nevertide politics were more complicated than I’d originally thought.
We chatted for a bit longer, and though I tried as hard as I could, I couldn’t quite break Hazel out of her gloomy mood—a mood that I felt I’d caused by telling her about the integrity trial. Maybe it was something to do with Queen Trina and Tejus, or maybe it was just my imagination, but whatever it was I couldn’t get it out of her—and I left the room an hour later feeling more distant from Hazel than I ever had before. It wasn’t a good feeling.
Hazel
The next morning, I was up and dressed at the crack of dawn. I felt anxious and irritable—and guilty about keeping the stone a secret from Ruby. Part of me wanted to just run downstairs and tell her everything, no matter how she might respond to the news, but it also seemed pointless now. Tejus had forbidden me from using it at the next trial, and their scores were so close that it hardly mattered. One of the two was bound to win.
To make matters worse, I’d barely seen Tejus since our argument yesterday. He’d briefly come upstairs to check that the stone was in the crystal cubby-hole, and then left again without saying a word to me. I wanted to mend the situation before we were called to the next trial—being furious with one another wasn’t going to help us achieve anything.
A moment later, the door swung open to the living room and Tejus swept through.
“The next trial will begin shortly. Are you ready?” he asked, merely glancing in my direction and then walking over to his wall to collect the Hellswan sword.
“Yes, I’m ready. Ruby visited me yesterday—”
“I don’t care,” he interrupted curtly. “We have a job to do, and I’m not interested in castle gossip.”
What?
“It’s a damn game, not a job—and it’s not gossip—I have information about the trial!”
I realized that I’d made him mad by lying to him, but he had lied to me too about his relationship with the queen…he just didn’t know I knew. But regardless of our secrets, we were still a team and I deserved more respect for helping us get this far.
“What is it then?” he replied.
“The trial is about testing your integrity—whatever that means here—and apparently not all will be what it seems. It’s not a lot, I know,” I added defensively when he raised his eyebrows, “but Queen Trina passed on the information to Ruby and Ash. I thought you should know.”
His expression darkened.
“Come on, we need to leave,” he said, clearly not willing to discuss the matter of Queen Trina. It seemed that whenever her name came up, Tejus shut down. During my eavesdropping I had overheard him saying that their parting had been difficult for him too—I wondered if it was still hard. If he still missed her, despite all she’d done to affect the outcome of the trials.
As we descended the staircase, Tejus spoke again.
“The trials are taking place on the Ghoul’s Ridge,” he informed me. “We will ride there together.”
“Ghoul’s Ridge?” That sounded kind of horrifying.
“It’s just a name, Hazel. The land there is quite beautiful.”
Wherever there was beauty in Nevertide, it wasn’t long before something evil and dark was revealed on the flip side. I thought of the Viking cove, and shuddered at the memory of the sacrificial table and the eerie temple.
As we entered the courtyard, a guard brought Tejus’s bull-horse forward and he briskly lifted me up in the saddle. Like last time, he jumped on in front of me and took the reins.
“Hold on, the ride is tricky,” he instructed, barely giving me enough time to do as he’d asked before he stuck his heels into the flanks of the bull-horse and we galloped off across the moat.
The ride was tiring. We wer
e going at such a speed that I was forced to clutch on to Tejus and clench my thighs tightly around the horse so I wasn’t bounced around on the saddle. Soon my entire body ached, and I longed to stand on solid ground again.
“It’s up there,” Tejus called to me, pointing out a large mountain range that I’d been able to see from his tower. It was so high that its peaks were almost completely obscured by clouds.
“Are we going right to the top?” I asked in alarm.
“Right to the top,” he replied.
Great.
An hour or so later, the bull-horse was panting almost as much as Tejus as we broke through the cloud cover that had settled over the mountain and arrived at a sun-filled peak that traversed a long narrow ridge to an even taller summit ahead.
“Why do they call it Ghoul’s Ridge?” I dared to ask once I was standing upright on the ground.
“It was a name given to it by farmers who used to use this mountain as grazing ground for their cattle. The winds blow strongly up here during certain seasons. This track”—his finger mapped out the narrow, yet flat-topped, causeway between the peaks—“was the reason many farmers failed to return to their homes. One strong gust of wind at the wrong moment and the hapless sentries would be sent flying off into oblivion.”
Gulping, I took a few steps forward to see what lay on either side of the causeway. There was nothing but a sheer drop below, so deep that its end was invisible—blanketed by thick, swirling mists.
“Ghoul’s potion,” Tejus remarked.
“What?” I’d been so preoccupied by the view, I hadn’t heard him approach.
“It’s the name of the mists down there,” he replied, staring down into its depths.
We continued onward and were the first to arrive at the ridge. I couldn’t see any signs of the ministers or red robes yet and wondered how many of Ash’s cheering committee would be here today, considering the geographical difficulties of the location.
It wasn’t long before I found out. Finding a grassy knoll that faced the sun, I sat down to wait, wishing that Nevertide had sunscreen lotion and hoping that my pale skin wouldn’t be fried to a crisp.