Page 178 of Powerless

And if I make it there first, I will hold someone’s life in my hands.

Left. Right. Left. Left. Dead end. Right. Left. Dead end.

My claustrophobia has me feeling like the hedges are pressing in on me—

I slow to a stop. Theyarepressing in on me.

Panicking, I spin my head in every direction, trying to find a path that isn’t attempting to swallow me whole. No luck. I force myself into a stumbling sort of run, skidding down paths at random and finding them all shifting.

This can’t be right.

The king wouldn’t just throw the contestants in this maze only to crush us for fun, right? Wasn’t the fun supposed to be watching us crush each other?

I pause and allow myself to pant, to panic. If the king intends to flatten me with hedges, then there is nothing I can do about it. So, I stop and stare at the walls of greenery closing in on either side of me.

Then I close my eyes, bracing myself.

Looks like there will be one less Ordinary to worry about.

Branches brush my shoulders and I stiffen, suddenly and sadly prepared to greet Death.

I’ll see you soon, Father.

Nothing.

I peek open an eye only to find that I’m faced with a wall of greenery. I blink. The hedges are no longer moving. I spin around, a branch snagging the fabric of my tank with the movement.

The path is now only slightly wider than the width of my shoulders.

I stagger towards the end and turn down another, finding it just as tight. I swallow, making a sharp left down an equally narrow path.

How cruel and cunning the king is. I almost want to applaud him for this appalling game. I was right. The fun of the Trialsiswatching us crush each other. And he just set the scene for the show.

A scream cuts through the quietness, ringing for a moment before being silenced the next, sending a chill sweeping down my spine.

Once again, we are being forced to fight. And there is only enough space on these paths for one body to pass through.

I take a shuddering breath, feeling the claustrophobia pressing in like the walls brushing my shoulders.

Only one contestant can fit on these paths at a time. So if I run into one—

“Thank the Plague,” the voice behind me is dripping with venom, “I was worried I wasn’t going to get to kill you before these Trials ended.”

ChapterFifty-Six

Kai

Right.

Right.

Left.

Dead end.

Shit.

I tip my head back towards the cloudy sky far above us, seeming even darker from within this dusky maze. Taking a deep breath, I turn and jog back the way I came, choosing to head right this time.

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