Brax paced his room. He’d been awake for hours now. Or at least he thought it had been hours. It was hard to tell since they’d given him a chamber with no windows. It might as well have been a prison. He didn’t know when, or if, they’d ever let him out. And when they did? He shuddered thinking about the challenge that lay ahead. He had no idea what it was. If it involved using his brawn, he’d pass. He prided himself on maintaining a strong body. But if it involved using his wits… well, he had to admit his mind wasn’t as sharp as his sword. He wasn’t dumb, but he wasn’t the village genius either.
Right now, it was the wait that was killing him. He wanted to face whatever they chose to put in front of him right now, before he went insane thinking about what it could be.
“Tace!”
The voice came from the other side of one wall of his room. It sounded like Ademar’s voice, but… wrong somehow. Like Ademar was afraid of her.
“Ademar? Where are you?”
He heard his friend call out again, followed by an unpleasant gurgling noise.
“No, no, no.” What was that damn orc doing to Ademar? Brax wasn’t better friends with the human than the orc, but damn it, he wouldn’t let them fight each other.
He turned toward the door. His heart pounding, he steeled himself, then threw his weight against it. It groaned, but didn’t budge.
He hit it again, then again and again, until his shoulder throbbed. Finally, he threw his hip into it.
The lock busted, and the door flew open.
Brax ran into the hall, unsure where he was going. Ademar had quieted after that gurgling noise, but Brax could still hear another voice—someone speaking quietly in the orc tongue. It had to be Tace. She was the only orc there, as far as he knew.
Brax moved down the hall in the direction of the voice, his heart pounding. Ademar had been hurt. Was it part of the challenge? Nothing made sense in this strange place.
He was beginning to regret coming here at all. He should have gone home with the other humans. He should have left the others after the Library of Filamir. Nothing was worth this nonsense. Certainly not some misplaced sense of honor to help the orcs. Why had he ever thought this was a good idea in the first place? He should have been scouring the forests for his brother, Ghrol, not living this fool’s adventure. As soon as he got out of the Fifth Sanctum, he was going home. Forget all of this adventuring. It was too much.
“Help!” called a strangled voice.
Brax had no doubt this time. It was Ademar.
“I’m coming!” He ran down the hall, turning corners, letting only the strangled sounds guide him.
His mouth went dry as he continued. He was out of breath, but he wouldn’t stop, not knowing Ademar lay injured somewhere close. Ademar would come to his aid just as doggedly if Brax were the one hurt. Ademar was that kind of man. Brax would be too, this one last time. And then he would go home.
He turned another corner and skidded to a halt. Ademar lay on the floor, his throat slit, blood pouring forth.
Brax dropped to his knees beside his friend. He pressed his hand over Ademar’s throat, the sticky blood squishing under his fingers. “Who did this to you?”
“Tace,” Ademar whispered.
“Tace did this?” Brax wanted to be sure Ademar wasn’t just calling out for the orc.
“Yes,” Ademar answered.
Anger surged in Brax’s chest. She was as foul as he’d suspected from the first day he’d laid eyes on her.
Unfortunately, he’d come to that realization too late. Ademar had been fooled into falling for the orc. Sleeping with her. Protecting her. And she had repaid him with a slit throat. Clearly her assassin days were not behind her.
“I’ll kill her. I’ll avenge you,” Brax assured Ademar.
“Thank you,” Ademar managed to get out with one final gurgle. Then his eyes looked upward and went blank. His chest was still.
Brax rested his palm over Ademar’s eyes and gently pulled his eyelids down. As he stood, a fire burned in his belly. He would kill the orc. He would avenge his friend. Then he would get out of this forsaken place.
“Tace!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the hallways. “I know what you’ve done! Come out and fight me!”
“Prepare to meet Solnar, your ridiculous sun god,” she responded with a snicker.
Brax whipped his head around, searching for the source of her voice. But this place had a strange layout, and the acoustics were disorienting. He couldn’t be sure from which direction she had spoken.
“Come out and fight like a proper soldier!” he shouted. “Assassins are good for nothing more than sneaking around. You’re a coward!” He was hoping to anger her and tempt her out of her hiding place. Tace didn’t like to be goaded.
“You’re afraid,” she hissed. “As you should be.”
Brax turned his back to a wall and clenched his hands into fists. He didn’t have a sword, and she had her daggers. But he was a damn good fighter. He had a chance. Ademar hadn’t. Ademar was a holy man. While he’d likely trained, it was nothing compared to what Brax had gone through in order to become commander of the queen’s army.
Brax wasn’t afraid of an orc. Especially not Tace. She would pay for her arrogance.
The torches lining the hallway flickered, then went out, enveloping Brax in total darkness.
Fine. She could play that game if she wanted. She couldn’t see any better in the dark then he could. He’d stay at the ready. She might get one shot in, but after that, he would be in control.
Something rustled to his left. Brax pivoted, ready for the inevitable first blow. But it didn’t come.
“Gotcha. Don’t move,” she whispered in his ear from behind.
Before Brax could react, she’d put a dagger to his throat.
“Why are you doing this?” Brax asked, sweat beading on his brow. “Why did you kill Ademar?”
“We came here to learn secrets,” Tace whispered. “I passed my challenge and learned them. The two of you are disposable.”
Brax knew his only hope was to talk himself out of this. “Then why not let us go?” he asked. “Why kill us? I don’t know the secrets you’ve uncovered. I’m not a threat.”
“You know too much.” Tace drew the dagger lightly, piercing only the top layer of his skin. It burned, but didn’t bleed. Yet. “I can’t have you around anymore. You’ll spoil everything.”
Brax closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then jabbed his elbows backward, cracking her ribs. Tace stumbled, and something clattered to the floor. The dagger. She would have one more. If he could disarm her, then maybe he could escape with his life.
“That was a mistake,” she hissed. She leapt at him, her form barely visible in the dark hall.
Brax grabbed one of her arms clumsily. He fumbled for purchase, and managed to wrap his fingers around her forearm, jerking her toward him. He grabbed her hair with his other hand, and with a quick twist of his wrist, he had her down on her knees.
Tace leaned in toward his cock. “Oh, is that how you wanted it? You were jealous of Ademar?”
Despite himself, he felt the strain of desire. He’d denied himself carnal pleasures for so long. Now he took it where he could get it. But not this time. Not this way.
He yanked on her hair, pulling her head back. “Not on your life. Now let me go, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
“Only one of us leaves the Fifth Sanctum.”
“Then I guess it’s going to be me.” Brax squatted, grabbed the dagger she’d dropped on the floor, and thrust it into her chest. He twisted it until he heard the familiar gurgle from her throat.
He’d done it. Defeated her. Ended this madness.
“That was the last mistake you’ll ever make.” Tace’s eyes glowed red in the darkness.
And then the torches came back to life.
Tace’s body slumped over, then split in two. A beast emerged from the inside, as if Tace had only been a shell.
Brax staggered backward.
“You had one challenge to pass. You have failed.” The beast’s disgusting maw opened, spittle hanging from its jagged teeth.
“Challenge? This was the challenge?” Brax stumbled over his words. “I thought…”
“I know what you thought. This wasn’t real. This was our way of finding out if you’d protect Tace at all costs. You turned too easily. You showed us you couldn’t be trusted.”
“No!” Brax said. “This wasn’t fair. I wasn’t expecting—”
“They never are.” The beast chortled. “Ademar let Tace win. He knew she had to live above all others. He believed in her. You did not.”
“Give me another chance,” Brax stammered. “Erase my memory and let me try again.”
“There is only one attempt.”
The beast placed its paw on Brax’s chest. He could feel it on his heart, squeezing. He would be dead in moments.
All he could think about was how he’d failed Ghrol. He should have looked for his brother. He should have known better.
But it was too late.
His heart exploded in his chest.