Page 36 of The Wishing Game

"I'm not sure..."

The seconds pass, and Cer jumps out of the well, holding a wet and shivering Thea in his arms. Inu opens his mouth to address them, but one look from Cer and he takes a step back. Even Inara, who seemed on the verge of a fight, backs down, averting her gaze.

That is...odd.

Cer storms off the stage and deposits Thea on one of the seats—or rather, he drops her with a resounding thud. Fuming, she opens her mouth to rebuke him, but he's already turned his back to her, thereby ignoring her.

Yes, these siblings are very odd, indeed.

It's my turn to go onto the stage.

"Hello there," Inu greets me. "When you go in, think about your most ardent wish."

I nod, already picturing Nikki's face. Taking a deep breath, I jump.

Wha—

The fall is much steeper than I would have expected—at least a few hundred feet as I keep plunging down. Water breaks my fall and I sink to the bottom of the well. Still, I try not to be overwhelmed by fear as I focus on my wish.

Nikki. I want my Nikki to come back to me.

A pulsing light flashes from the ground up, charging at me and swallowing me whole. I open my mouth to cry out and water rushes in, yet my breathing isn't impacted. Somehow, I'm not drowning.

"Luce?" I hear an echo, accompanied by a soft caress.

My heart stops in my chest.

"Nikki?" I whisper, my eyes wide open as I search for him in the depths of the water.

"Luce," the voice is closer. Then closer.

NINE

Just as the sound of my name on his lips brushes against my ear, I cough water, inhaling deeply. Staring at my feet and the floor I'm currently sitting on, I realize I'm not in the well anymore.

"Luce! Come here!" Thea waves me from the side.

My thoughts are in disarray as I slowly move to the side.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"How long was I there?"

"A few seconds. Just like everyone else," she replies. "Well, except for us because Mr. Grumpy over here had something to prove." She sticks her tongue out at her brother, who's currently still giving her the back treatment.

Groaning loudly, she shakes her head.

"After everyone is done, they'll finally announce the first trial. I'm so curious about what it's going to be. They change it from edition to edition, you know. You never know what to expect."

"You know quite a lot about this," I murmur.

"There are rumors, of course. You always hear about it and how much fun it is. But I've never been allowed to go to one before."

"Uhm, you said the last edition was a hundred years ago."

"Oops, I did say that, didn't I?" She giggles.

"That means you're over a hundred years old?" I blink.

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