Page 11 of Their Trials

“Still,” he said. “No one should have to go through anything like that.” I knew he was referring to my abuse, and I couldn't help my shoulders from tensing under his arm. What he didn't realize was that he didn't even know the half of it, and I had no plans of enlightening him anytime soon.

“The real world sucks. There's nothing anyone can do to get rid of the evil that's out there. Not completely,” I told him succinctly.

“That's not a very good outlook to have on life,” he said pityingly.

“I refuse to have rose colored glasses, pretending that everything is good when it's not. It's just the way of the world, and all we can do is overcome our own demons and help others do the same,” I said simply. While others may like to pretend otherwise, I never could do the same. That's why Baer's positivity drew me in, in a way that others hadn't. I was envious of his disposition, but also realized that it was something I would never have.

He didn't pretend that evil didn't exist. He simply chose to stay positive in light of that information. Lennox and I, on the other hand, were both clearly jaded and had the same approach on life. Arryn coped with reality by having a plan and being prepared. And Callum...well, I didn't know how Callum dealt with it.

I couldn't say that he ignored reality because despite his lack of response, I could see the truth in his eyes. And he definitely didn't choose positive thoughts, rarely smiling at anything. I wondered again what exactly he had gone through, the history that the others had alluded to, that made him into what he was today.

A rumble sounded again, drawing me from my thoughts. “Here we go again.” I exhaled, ready to be out of this place. We all stopped as the walls shifted around us, waiting to see what fresh horror the maze would offer up.

Once the walls had again settled, Arryn took the lead, turning down the new pathway to the left of us. Baer and Lennox followed behind him without hesitation. I stood there for a second, sighing out loud and blowing the hair that had escaped my ponytail away from my face as I mentally prepared myself.

Callum surprisingly waited for me as I groaned, ready to follow the guys. Before I could turn the corner to catch up, the ground rumbled again, hard enough to shake me and send me stumbling into Callum. His arms wrapped around me to steady me. He towered over me, his body easily twice my size in width, muscles rippling under my hands which were braced against his chest.

Shit! He's so hot like this. I met his eyes, the green so deep and burnished with copper that matched his dark auburn hair. I couldn't help myself from falling into their depths, completely forgetting that we were in the middle of a murder maze trying to survive.

His nostrils flared, and I watched as the flames in his eyes strengthened as he gazed down on me. I could see a hunger in them that he'd been holding back from me, and I wanted to climb his body and sink my hands into his hair as he kissed me. Somehow, I knew his kiss would consume me like the flames he'd mastered.

“You coming, guys?” Baer called out, startling me and causing Callum to pull away from me as if I'd burned him. He didn't look at me again as he stomped away.

As I walked toward where Baer was waiting for me, I saw the mischief in his eyes, knowing full well what kind of a cock block he was being. I ignored him as I walked past him, a groan falling from his lips softly. I tried to reign in the desire that was now coursing through me and the result it produced.

These guys would be the death of me. Okay, maybe not literally, but figuratively, they wouldn't rest until the girl I once knew was no longer. They were changing me in ways I didn't want to think about right now and definitely not in this place.

“We found some water up ahead,” Baer murmured, keeping pace with me.

I glanced around, not seeing anything of the sort. Raising an eyebrow at him in question, he responded, “My magic can sense it. It shouldn't be too much further.”

Sure enough, not more than five minutes of walking, the path opened up to the right, revealing a small lake still enclosed by the walls of the maze. The water met the edges on both sides, lapping at the ground a few feet in front of us.

The guys had all stopped and were eyeing the water, hesitant to approach. Taking my cue from them, I waited as patiently as I could, but after being in this place for what felt like hours, I was dying of thirst.

After a few minutes of no one moving or saying anything, I broke the silence. “Are we going to get a drink or what?” I tried to hide my impatience, but it eked out anyway.

“It should be safe enough. I'm not finding anything in there,” Baer said, his magic tickling against my exposed arms.

“Okay. But be quick. We don't want to take any chances,” Arryn replied, still hesitant to let us approach.

“Is there something I should be worried about in there?” I asked.

“No. I think we should be fine,” Arryn said.

“Oh, good. Since you sound so confident.” My sarcasm was clearly evident. It’s not that I wanted to be a bitch, it was just the fact that I was tired and ready to back in our suite. My emotions were going haywire, and I hated being so out of control.

Arryn just rolled his eyes and walked closer to the water, not taking my snark to heart, cupping his hands to get a drink of the water. After he finished, I decided to approach the water myself, drinking deeply. The water was better than what we had on Earth, and I had to keep myself from drinking too much too quickly.

Lennox squatted next to me and drank as well, Arryn and Baer talking softly to each other while they waited for us to finish. Callum stood separate from us all, remaining vigilant.

I stood, stretching my muscles out, my hands brushing the rope I had chosen at the start of the maze. “Think we'll get out of here before the end of the day?” I asked Lennox as he finished up.

He stood up considering my question. “Who knows?” he said, glancing away and eyeing our surroundings. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” I asked him, my body tensing in preparation for the walls to shift again. I strained my ears, their new sensitivity able to pick up more than I ever had before, but I was still unable to hear anything.

“That,” he said, turning to face the water. “It's beautiful.” His words were barely more than a whisper.

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