Page 261 of The Wishing Game

"No one knows I'm here, Luce. What if she does something to us?" She bites her lip apprehensively.

"Azerius knows. He will not let anything happen to us," I assure her, though I don't know where that confidence comes from, especially as Ze is not answering any of my attempts at communication. Why did he even want access to my mind if he's not going to use it?

"Ze? I am in a little pickle here and I would appreciate it if you answered me,"I call out to him again. Nothing but silence greets me. Damn it!

"I wish I had your confidence, Luce, but I don't think the high priestess likes me."

"I'm not sure she likes me either," I murmur, remembering the way she regarded me in the locker room.

"What if she kills us? What if she hides our bodies and we're never found again? I'm not ready to die!" she adds, getting increasingly anxious.

"You got red. I got nothing. At least you should be able to fight her off."

"It doesn't work like that," she whispers, her expression stricken. "I don't know how to use my powers. I haven't trained yet. It's only been a few days since my first ability manifested. I am just as useless as you are." She sighs.

"But...you're red..." I blink.

"I might have the spiritual power, but it's moot if I have no idea how to use it."

"Good Lord, what did we get ourselves into?" I close my eyes, the severity of the situation slowly dawning on me.

"It's the first time I've heard of a recruitment day being canceled," she adds warily. "I'm really not sure what's going to happen to us once we enter the temple."

"We can't go back either," I say as I glance behind us where more priestesses form a line, preventing us from leaving.

A few more steps and we reach the base of the mountain where two massive oak doors open before us. The Head Priestess steps inside, but as we reach the threshold, both Wyn and I hesitate.

"Move," the priestesses command us from behind, more or less pushing us over the edge.

We both stumble inside, our eyes widening as we take in the high ceiling of the hallway. The temple is builtwithinthe mountain, and the walls reflect that, rocks with specks of gold surrounding us. The streaks of metal in the stone glint as light from a window roof hits them, giving the sensation that the air shimmers with particles of gold too.

The priestesses stop at the entrance, not coming inside. As we look back, the doors close shut with a bang, leaving us alone with the high priestess, who is currently nowhere to be seen.

"We aresodead," Wyn mutters. "If she doesn't kill us, my parents will finish the job since there's no way they won't hear of this."

"Calm down. Maybe she just wants to talk to us... I mean, she did say she's never seen a red candidate before, and I technically broke the sphere, although that was just an accident."

"I bet youshedoesn't think it was just an accident," she adds dryly.

We walk with our arms linked together, huddled against each other as we try to keep our calm.

Toward the back of the room, there's a ceiling-high golden statue of the same woman from the fountain, but this one is more exquisitely crafted, her hair and clothing made up of sparkling diamonds and rubies. There's a striking mix of rustic and ostentatious, the stones providing an almost medieval feel while the precious stones speak to the affluence of the temple.

We're both staring at the beautiful statue when a loud noise shifts our attention to the side of the room where a giant boulder slides to the right to reveal a hidden entrance.

"Come in." The high priestess's voice resounds, though she's not physically present.

Wyn and I share a look. I know we're both thinking about the same thing. Wecouldtake our chances and try to escape, but it would likely engender a struggle that would only end up with us getting hurt. The only option is to move forward. Nodding at each other, we hold hands as we slowly make our way to the hidden entrance.

It's dark and cold. That's the first impression as we step into the cramped tunnel. The moment we are out of the main hallway, though, the stone slides back into place, a loud thud denoting there's no way back. We can only go forward.

There's a flickering light at the end of the tunnel, and we take careful, tentative steps as we head toward it. Once we reach the room, we both shield our eyes at the sudden burst of light.

"Wow," Wyn whispers.

There are rows upon rows of books on either side of the room. Every nook and cranny of the mountainous rock has been fashioned into a shelf, while in the back, built on a bed of stones, is a bed. The more I look around, the more I realize that this is an inhabited space. Most likely...

"Welcome to my humble abode," the high priestess speaks, appearing out of nowhere to the right. She rests her palms against a wooden table, regarding us intently with those unusual eyes of hers.

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