Page 39 of Dig Your Grave

The second pair repeated the process.By the time Sophie reached us, a swirl of dread took hold.I tried not to show my shaking knees.

Sophie’s eyes gleamed with triumph.“Captain Edenvane,” she said, addressing Anubis first.“You vow to remain loyal to your partner in these Trials—do you not?”

Anubis’ voice was steady.“I do.”

She turned that hawk-like gaze on me.“Nubia, do you vow to stand by him, to keep the Skulls’ secrets, to follow our path until the grave?”

My heart hammered.I couldn’t say yes to all that.But what choice did I have?

Survive first.Expose them later.

“I do,” I managed, my throat dry.

Sophie gave a slow, sadistic smile.She lifted the dagger, pricked Anubis’ palm quickly, then turned to me.My instincts screamed to flinch, but I forced myself still.The sting sliced across my palm, a hot line of pain followed by beads of blood.

Anubis gently took my hand.Our blood mingled.A swirl of dizziness threatened me, possibly from the earlier wine, but I gritted my teeth.

Sophie wrapped a dark ribbon around our hands, murmuring an incantation:

“Bound by blood, bound by will,

Born of secrets, vow to kill,

With broken hearts or broken bones,

The vow endures, or the river moans.”

The final line sent a shiver through me:the river moans.I clutched Anubis’ hand as if it were a lifeline.

When she finished, she unwound the ribbon and stepped back.“Two Trials down,” Sophie announced, “but not complete.The next Rite will commence at dawn.You will remain on these grounds until then.”

I blinked.Remain here all night?

But I didn’t have time to wonder for long.There was a ruckus.Sophie screamed.A hooded figure came toward me, dagger in his hand, aimed right at me.He got close enough, he sliced my cheek.Fuck.

Anubis took ahold of me, put himself in front of me, demanding answers.

“It’s my trial.Kill the lottery student,” the guy said, a wild look in his eyes.

Anubis shot into action, knocking me to the ground.Once I could lift my head, I saw the man fall to the ground, the dagger stuck in his chest.One part of a couple, a girl wailed over him as Anubis crouched beside me.Sophie lingered between us couples.

“What the hell was that?”Anubis hissed at Sophie.

“A trial.”

“He’s dead,” Anubis seethed, as the watchers carried the man away.“Where’s my father?”

“He’s gone for the night.You passed, for now.”

One of the watchers approached, providing bandages for our hands.Sophie gave them a bored wave, then turned away, calling for someone else.

Still bleeding, we pressed the gauze to our palms.My mind reeled.We were official…recruits?Allies?Prisoners?Murderers?

Anubis led me to a quieter corner of the courtyard.The night air was cold, and the torchlight flickered across his tense features.

“We passed,” he said in a faint voice.“What the hell?I killed a guy….”He was trembling.“He meant to kill you.He said so, but I saw the determination in his eyes.If I didn’t get that dagger away from him...I just knew.But I didn’t mean to kill Thad.”

“Of course,” I said, though I felt a million miles away.My stomach twisted thinking of what had just happened.More death.Anubis forced to kill another student to save me.

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