Page 62 of A Trial of the Heart

Elaborate.

“I can’t see the future. I’m not an oracle.” I swear I heard the labyrinth’s eyes roll—if it had eyes. “All I ask is that I can call upon you for a favor, and you must grant it.”

Hmm,the labyrinth hummed.

“What’s the harm in a favor? You said it yourself. No shifter can pass the final test. So, is this not a win-win scenario for you?”

Very well. Just for fun… I’ll accept your offer. The last champion offered me the sanity of his mind, but a soul? Now, that is truly a treasure.

Suddenly, a pit of despair opened in my stomach, but I refused to let it show. “It is struck, then?”

With blood binding, of course.

I nodded, stepped forward to the pedestal, and sliced my hand once more with a thorny vine to seal our bargain with blood. The magic of our deal swirledaround me, and the fog dissipated, allowing me to enter the path again.

Tick tock, tick tock, little shifter.

As I raced along the corridor, I cursed myself for allowing Daxton’s false impersonation to cloud my judgment. How could I have been so foolish to believe that Daxton was here with me?

The mind is a clever tool, the labyrinth countered, reading my thoughts.Many things can be made real if the mind believes them to be true. The shifter champion worthy of the Heart of Valdor must be strong-minded and willing to choose what is right above all else. To prove your worth--- to do what must be done when the time comes.

“What else must be done?”

Perhaps you’ll be able to find out, but likely not.

“Humor the dying, would you?” I mocked. “Consider it a final request.”

The true champion, the one who couldconquer the trials, must be unique and brave above all. They must embody what the heart represents and be able to guard and protect the people of Valdor with everything they are or ever could be. To be worthy enough to wield the power it holds.

“Outstanding,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Not cryptic at all.”

Must I remind you again… that this is a trial of the mind? It’s getting ever so tiring havingto repeat myself. Shall I simply open the floor and release my monsters to end this here and now?

“Where’s the challenge in that?” I asked.

True. What good is a trick already used? Besides, my final obstacle is one that is too good to miss.

“Good to know,” I said. “Now, butt out of my head and let me focus.”

One last thing—my pet.

Every nerve in my body and hair on my skin sparked with a sickening fear buried deep inside my soul.The voice of the labyrinth suddenly changed into the unmistakable sound of my most hated nemesis… Blade. I froze, collapsing onto the ground, the strength of my limbs vanishing like a drifting puff of smoke.

Ah, there she is. My prized experiment. Do you like how I am able to tap into your greatest desires and now dabble in your darkest fears?

“Stop,” I whispered, paralyzed with fear, trembling as my breathing became erratic. The air disappearing from the walls of the labyrinth.

Where would the fun be in that? We never did get to finish our final experiment. Do you recall the one right before I lashed you with my iron whip?I gulped as my hands began to shake despite my fingers digging into my palm.You do. I fondly remember it as well. During nights alone or when I am fucking a lowly mage or servant—I’m fondly imagining that it is you I am thrusting into, the fire dimming in those savage amber eyes. It saddens me that I never got to truly taste you.

“Enough!” I screamed as I pounded my fist into the ground, cracking the stone and cutting gashes into my flesh. “I remember the last time that thing tried to touch me. I broke his nose, or did you not see that in my memories?”

You can give up, you know. That is also an option others gratefully took at this point.

“I don’t have that choice,” I wheezed, my chest caving in like the walls of the labyrinth that began swirling around me. The never-ending hallways becoming a blur.

It would be so easy. Just like you did before in the prison cell. I know your secret. Your shame. You gave up once before… you died in my keep.

My body convulsed as I folded over onto my stomach, my breathing becoming heavy. Regretfully I remembered each second alone in the dark underground prison when I welcomed the brush of death and embraced the call of the afterlife. At that moment, I had given up. I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but I could not hide here inside the labyrinth.

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