Page 71 of No Greater Sorrow

THE LAST TRIAL MUST BE COMPLETED WITH A PARTNER. VIOLET WOULD HAVE BEEN YOURS, ALEJA. I HAVE ADJUSTED THE RULES.NICOLAS, SELECT A WEAPON NOW.

Nicolas’s expression was distant, as if he was looking into the depths of murky water, trying hard to see the bottom. Aleja had to stop herself pleading with him to just pick something. They had no idea what was waiting for them beyond those doors.

“I already have my sword,” he finally said.

IF THAT IS YOUR WISH, PROCEED. THE FINAL TRIAL WAITS BEYOND THAT DOOR.

Nausea swept over her as the circular stone rolled to one side, opening a passage. Garm walked ahead of them. “What do you think it’s going to be?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” Nicolas said grimly. “In my final Trial, I had to defeat a small army on my own. War was on the horizon—the Second wanted to know that I would be capable on the battlefield. Something tells me we’re not going to get off so easy.”

Although the passage felt familiar, she had no idea what to expect beyond the the archway leading outside. It was silent, aside from the fading sound of dripping water coming from the Second’s chamber.

Squinting, she took her final step out of the passage. It opened into a landscape surrounded by tree-covered hills, still vibrantly green despite the night sky overhead. This was the world Aleja had stepped into for her first Trial. The world she and Nicolas had known before either of them lit the black candle. Tall standing stones ringed the small field—or perhaps they were columns, once. A touch of sea salt filled the air, gritty when she breathed in with her mouth open.

She looked at Nicolas. He watched the low, quick-moving clouds. Even in profile, she could see the worry in his eyes.

“What is it?” she asked, as Garm left her side to sniff at the grass surrounding the stones.

Nicolas turned to her, taking in a sharp breath that made her do the same. His eyes were the exact color of the storm clouds. In a voice so soft that Aleja barely heard him over the wind, he said, “This is the place we got married.”

“What do you think we have to do?” she asked, unable to keep the note of worry from entering her voice.

The Second had never once spoken to her after she had begun a Trial, but his voice rumbled around them like distant thunder.THIS IS WHERE YOU GAVE HER YOUR HEART FOR THE FIRST TIME, NICOLAS. NOW, FUFILL YOUR BARGAIN AND DO IT AGAIN.

Nicolas didn’t look surprised, even as Aleja and Garm whirled toward him. “What is he talking about? What does he mean, Nic?”

I HAVE ALWAYS GRANTED THE DARK SAINTS THE POWER TO OVERTHROW THEIR KNOWING ONE. NICOLAS HAS BROKEN OUR RULES TIME AND TIME AGAIN. YOU LEARNED HOW TO CUT OUT A HEART IN OUR FIRST TRIAL, ALEJA. IT IS TIME TO PROVE YOU CAN DO IT WHEN IT MATTERS MOST.

“I’m not doing it!” Aleja roared. Garm circled her like a vulture that had spotted a scrap of roadkill. With his jowls pulled back, the only visible feature of his face was his teeth—dozens upon dozens of jagged shards with serrated edges.

IF YOU DO NOT, YOU FAIL THE TRIAL AND NEITHER OF YOU LEAVES THIS PLACE. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.

Nicolas didn’t flinch. Not even when she pushed past Garm and grabbed Nicolas’s lapels, dislodging his snake pin. She shook him, but his face remained expressionless, as if he hadn’t heard the Second’s decree.

“Wait!” Aleja gasped. “The note I got in the second Trial—it was a reward. It could be our way of escaping this. ‘The chalice fills, the chalice drains. We are trapped inside, in chains.’ Think, Nic. What does it mean?”

He remained silent.

“Say something. Tell me how we’re going to get out of this. You’re good at finding loopholes, right? Then, find one. Youpromisedme, Nic. You promised to fix this.”

Her entire body felt like it was on fire, but she didn’t think she’d be able to summon her flames if she wanted to. For the first time in ages, her anger was too smothered by sorrow.

“It’s okay. Finish the Trial,” Nicolas murmured, drawing her close. Forgetting to be mindful of his tattoo, she buried her face into her chest as he wrapped his hand around the hair at the base of her neck, pressing her deeper against his chest.

“I’m not doing it,” she said. Her voice was muffled by the fabric of his tunic. Garm paced restlessly behind them, huffing spit to the ground. She could hear his claws churning up the dirt.

“Breathe, Aleja. You can and you will.”

She pushed away from him, ignoring his hiss of pain when her palms touched his chest. “We both die, then. We were prepared to die together when we tried to save the Third, so I don’t really see the difference.”

Nicolas looked over her shoulder, catching Garm’s attention. “You remember that you promised to protect her?”

“Stop this.” Aleja looked at both of them. “No one is hurting anyone. If you won’t think, I will. There must be a way out of this. The Second wouldn’t want the Knowing One to be killed on the eve of an all-out war. Exactly what did he say?”

Nicolas closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, he appeared unafraid—a shade of the nonchalant Knowing One whose hand she’d shaken in a witch’s cellar.

“Don’t you dare give up. This isn’t over. What did the Second say? Let’s go over it word for word,” she snarled.

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