Page 113 of Trial of Thorns
My eyebrows pull down. “Doing what?”
He looks over his shoulder at the wall behind him. The wall where our riddles were written. He pulls in a long breath and looks at me meaningfully. The riddle? My riddle?
I’m doing it now. What am I doing right now? Hiding? Pretending. My riddle was a noun not a verb, I’m confident about that. So how am Idoingit?
I think about my riddle, running the words through my mind.
Battle is my purpose, but I have no ability to fight
I am bitten again and again, enduring pain for a betterment of another
Ever diligent, I await the next attack
I may cover a wound, but it cannot heal until it sheds my protection
It cannot heal, until it sheds my protection. I close my eyes at that truth. The answer is obvious now, but I’m not sure I’m ready to expose myself to all the pain that comes with shedding my armor.
“Sphynx, my answer is Armor,” I say aloud.
“Complete,” the Sphynx announces. I release a breath.
Rev shrugs. “Now, I just need to figure out mine.”
I smile. I know his. It’s even more obvious than mine, but I wonder how much the Sphynx will allow us to help each other?
“You remember what you wished for at the Ruby Well?”
His eyebrows raise, considering for a moment. “I’m sensing a theme.” His smile is more bitter than pleased, and I wonder what’s happening in his mind right now.
“If only I’d known,” he says quietly.
I purse my lips,what does that mean?
“Sphynx, my answer is Truth,” he announces.
“Complete,” the Sphynx responds.
Now that our task is complete, we can leave the caves while Drake and Brielle are still here pondering theirs. Of course, it’s possible they completed them immediately—we were too distracted to pay attention.
Either way, the added protection of the shadow sprites is an advantage I’m not eager to give up on, so we decide to find a place to camp closer to the cave’s exit and get some much needed sleep for the both of us.
