Page 60 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King

I climbed fast enough that the mouth couldn't catch my foot, the strain setting my limbs on fire. My dress clung to me from blood and sweat, and one of my sides screamed with each movement. The scent of blood, sweat, and mold thickened, and my hands slipped.

Pulse racing, I caught myself and forced myself to climb higher. My breath came in tight gulps.

And before I realized it, I was at the top. The column ended smoothly.

I hauled myself up, barely getting one elbow up before the discs bit into my side, and I flopped onto the top ledge. But I couldn’t stop. Not yet. I had to do something else with these discs.

The top of the tower spread out around me. The circular, flat landing had thirteen tall circular stone containers set next to the wall around the outermost edge. Each container was marked with an emblem carved deep into the surface, one of the symbols that had been etched on our discs on display, glowing faintly against the cloudy sky. My gaze landed on a butterfly with flames for wings.

My tattoo—and the symbol on my discs.

Something writhed on top of each container, shifting in patterns like ripples on stone. The movement barely registered at first, but as I stepped closer, my vision sharpened.

Vipers. Dark-scaled, their bodies blending into the stone so well they’d be invisible if not for the glint of their eyes.

I froze as one of the vipers flicked its thin ruby tongue, tasting the air. If these snakes were like our vipers back home, they would strike at any sudden movement or if they sensed fear. We stayed away from vipers even in wolf form because they were unpredictable, but I didn’t have that option here.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself, and trying to focus on the task and not my injuries. Then I locked eyes on the closest container. My breath slowed.

No jerks. No panic. I walked forward with steady, measured steps, each one anchored with control. Confidence—not speed—was my best shield.

The discs pressed against my sides, heavy and cold. I stepped into place before the container marked with my emblem. The slit waited, with no sign of what might be inside or how I was going to get the leather straps off. My skin buzzed. The snakes didn’t move.

Not yet.

I bent slowly, guiding a disc toward the opening. My fingers brushed the rim. The nearest viper’s tongue flicked again.

Then I slid them in, first one, then the other. For a moment, the tension on my wrists tightened, then the leather straps dissolved. The discs disappeared with a satisfyingshoonk.

A sharpcracksplit the air, and I forced myself not to flinch so the vipers wouldn’t attack.

Light flared up the stone, and a burst of heat rushed against my face. The scent of cinnamon and smoke hit me like a punch. The container shimmered, shifting from dull gray to copper. The vipers retreated, their coils tightening before they slithered backward and vanished into more slits along the top.

The entire tower groaned beneath my feet, and I could only pray that meant both that I had finished and that the labyrinth had calmed.

Another deep, grindingclickreverberated from below.

I slowly kneeled on the ledge as the vipers slithered away and spun, sprinting back to the column’s edge. Kaylen had managed to climb a few more feet. Her limbs trembled under her weight, her progress stalled.

Ceana hadn’t moved at all, stuck in the exact same position as I’d last seen her.

I yanked at the gown tangled around my legs, tearing off multiple layers of the skirt in one pull. My body lightened, and with the thicker layers gone, the air hit my skin like ice. I stood in my small clothes, soaked through with sweat and blood. No time for modesty, not that I’d had any since the last trial.

I crouched and ripped the fabric into long strips, then knotted them one by one into a rope. I tied the makeshift rope to the top of the nearest column in a constrictor knot. The stone tugged at the edges of the fabric as I lowered the rope. I didn’t see any moving mouths, but I needed to hurry before they appeared once more.

“What's wrong with you? You’re a fecking abomination!” Kaylen’s nose wrinkled in disgust. Sweat beaded her face and soaked her ruined dress.

Even when she could ask for help, she’d rather insult me. I snorted and didn’t waste my breath replying. I climbed down the rope, wrapping the fabric around my forearm to slow my descent. The knots slipped fast, the fabric fraying on the rough stone. Getting down was far easier than going up, and soon my feet slammed onto the lower platform.

Rhielle stared at me, blood on her lips. “What the feck are you thinking? Why are you down here?”

I dropped to one knee beside her. “I'm making sure you can keep your promise. But you have to help me so we both stay alive.” I leaned in, gripping her good arm. “You're still going to beat Kaylen.”

A crooked grin broke across her face, sharp with pain but fierce. “Damn right, I am. Let’s do this.”

I helped her up, steadying her weight against me. Together, we limped toward the nearest column. Despite her limp, Rhielle’s feet barely dragged.

I pressed my back to the column and braced her body with mine. “Your turn.” Quickly, I explained about the vipers at the top.

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