Page 159 of The Shattered Rite
“Exactly.” Whitvale leaned back against the wall. “That’s the game. And the trials are just one big game.”
He’s not wrong,Vaeronth murmured.But you were never made to play their game. You were made to end it.
“I’d rather wait for guards,” she said aloud. “If someone tries to attack again, I’m not interested in meeting them like this.”
Neither man disagreed with her statement.
And so, they waited.
Three chosen, seated in a room that was no longer a cell but didn’t quite feel like freedom. Time crept forward. The stones beneath them held the kind of silence that knew how to listen.
When someone finally spoke, it wasn’t what she expected.
“I’m not going to sabotage anything this time,” Whitvale said.
Eliryn’s head tilted slightly toward him.
“I know I’ve been…” he paused, searching, “…playing a part. Trying to win the way I thought you had to. By being clever. And ruthless.”
Garic made a low, skeptical sound.
Whitvale ignored it. “But what happened to your guard,” he said softly. “To Silas. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be next.”
He looked between them, lips pressed thin. “There’s a killer moving through these halls. An uprising pulsing just beneath the throne. I’m done with tricks. No more games.” He met her sightless gaze. “We don’t have to be friends. But we’re all that’s left. And I don’t want to die alone in a corridor with no one to know it happened.”
A heavy pause.
Then Whitvale stepped forward. She felt the air shift in front of her as he extended a hand, palm-up.
“A truce,” he said. “For as long as we survive.”
Eliryn hesitated. Her heart pounded. Then she reached forward slowly. Her hand found his, warm and steady.
Garic didn’t move at first. Then, reluctantly, he stepped forward and added his hand to theirs.
“Fine,” he said. “A truce. But no promises I won’t throw you into a pit if you start your old nonsense again.”
Whitvale gave a weak, almost human laugh. “Understood.”
They stood like that, hands linked in a strange triangle. Three strangers bound not by loyalty, but by the same sharp edge of fear.
A few minutes later, a guard returned. “You’re dismissed. Wait in your chambers until further notice.”
Whitvale left without another word.
Garic remained by Eliryn’s side, gently placing a guiding hand on her arm.
As they turned the corner into a quieter hall, he leaned in close.
“Don’t trust him,” he said, voice barely breath. “That kind of personality shift doesn’t happen overnight. He didn’t look shocked enough when I got here. Didn’t ask enough questions.”
Eliryn’s stomach twisted. “You think he had something to do with it?”
“I think he’s smart enough to make someone else do his work for him,” Garic said grimly. “We both know he's capable of sabotage and cruelty. But I can't say for sure."
Eliryn’s voice was a whisper. “Then why shake his hand?”
“Because monsters watch for weakness,” Garic answered. “And it’s easier to kill someone when their back is turned.”
