Page 200 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

My chest lightened. This is what the Trinity wanted. They wanted me to smell the scents of my past… of my life and appreciate the beauty in it.

I picked up the blue vile again and breathed in the salty air. Nothing. Our kingdom had a sea border, but we rarely went there; only when we needed to take a ship to one of the northern kingdoms. Although… a memory rose to the surface of my mind. Something long buried. The feeling of the wind against my rosy cheeks mixed with the scent of salt water. The sound of waves crashing against the shore echoed in my ears. I was five, holding my father’s hand as we gazed out over the ocean.

“What sort of monsters do you think are in there?” I asked.

“They say giant sea serpents hunt in the water. That’s why it’s so difficult to cross.”

My little heart twisted in my chest.

“But you’ll never cross the ocean, right Father?”

He squeezed my hand, peering down at me with his sparkling gray eyes. He looked so young, so happy, with his dark hair and square jawline. A far cry from the man I watched lowered into the ground. “Of course not, princess.” He kissed me on the forehead before scooping me up into his arms. “I’m never going to leave you, and you can count on that.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me in for a hug.

The memory faded. A tear trickled down my cheek. Was I becoming soft? Setting the vial aside, I picked up the violet potion once more. A rotten stench leached into the air and up into my nostrils. This had to be it. All the other ones would kill me. This was the only vial without a memory, and a hasty person would immediately assume this was the poisoned vial and disregard it immediately, favoring one of the potions that brought back a happy memory, but that wasn’t right.

Ammena protect me.

Tipping my head back, I opened my mouth and downed the purple liquid.

The taste of moldy eggs overpowered my taste buds and bile burned in my gut, but I kept drinking, forcing the disgusting liquid down my throat. It settled in my stomach like a rock, but I did not feel faint nor ill.

I waited, fully expecting the toxin to take effect, but nothing happened. My shoulders relaxed and I let out a sigh of relief.

The fire behind me dulled and died. Tharan, Caiden, and Amolie came running through.

“You did it!” Amolie shouted, throwing her hands around my neck. “How did you know which one to pick?”

“I picked the one without a memory,” I said, only now noticing the whirling in my chest again.

“Good work,” Tharan said, kissing my forehead. A heat flooded my cheeks.

“All in a day’s work,” I replied, relieved I had passed the test.

Behind us, another stone door slid into the wall revealing the final chamber.

We all stood silently, staring at our destiny… or our doom.

My heart beat wildly in my chest.

Taking Tharan’s hand in mine, I took the first step into the next chamber.

51AELIA

Light pouredin through an unknown source high above, flooding the chamber with an ethereal white glow. In the center of the room sat three giant statues of the goddesses of the Trinity leaning over a single flowing well, their eyes fixed on the waters below.

Another golden book sat open in front of the well.

Caiden, Tharan, and I exchanged knowing looks before reluctantly pulling our daggers from their sheaths and pricking our fingers, each laying a bloody print on the page.

Just as it had before, the blood absorbed into the paper.

We waited with baited breath for the script to appear. The whirling in my chest intensified.

Well done. You have passed my trials and proved yourselves worthy of the magic of the Trinity, but only one of you may reap the reward. Reach into the basin and claim your piece of the Trinity Stone.

“So, there’s no actual well?” I asked, confused.

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