A stillness fell over the recruits as Dyker stepped forward, his piercing pale green eyes sweeping across the gathered hopefuls. The torchlight in the vast chamber flickered against the black stone walls, casting elongated shadows that seemed to breathe. The air was thick with unease, laced with something almost electric—a sense of impending judgment.

  "The first trial is simple," Dyker announced, his voice an icy blade cutting through the silence. "Survive."

  Murmurs rippled through the recruits.

  "Beneath this academy lies the Nightveiled Labyrinth—an ever-shifting, living structure, older than the kingdom itself. You should all be aware of the requirements needed within this institute; you should have been sufficiently prepared to survive in at least the First Level by your respective preparatory schools before you were sent here. In the First and Second Levels, you will find illusions, death traps, and creatures that exist to cull the weak."

  Preparatory Schools, that's where Aiden should've been enrolled and she doubted he had any of the prior knowledge the other recruits had considering he skipped the whole thing altogether.

  Dyker's gaze sharpened. "You will stick to those levels and shall not go beyond them. Those of you who attempt to do so will undoubtedly die. Those of you who try to trick others into going below will immediately be eliminated—or worse, depending on the severity. Your objective is to reach the exit before the Labyrinth consumes you, or survive until the time is up. Those of you who wish to forfeit may simply utter the word ‘Meridonis.’" He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. He worded it like it was a common practice for participants to entice each other into dying, it probably was. "You have three hours."

  Razalea sifted through the bits of information she caught from the whispers around her. The Labyrinth was essentially made of layers. No one around her seemed sure about how many there were, but they knew that each level became more dangerous the lower you went. The First Level was treacherous, filled with traps and creatures bred within the academy’s depths. The Second Level was worse, a place of psychological torment where illusions could trick even the strongest minds into madness. Beyond that… there were rumors of horrors no first year lived to describe. Well none they had met anyway, rumors always tend to be slightly- if not overly, exaggerated. With someone to look out for, however, she wasn't too eager to find out.

  She exhaled slowly, already calculating her odds. Her feet itched to move, but she knew better than to let anxiety dictate her choices. Aiden, however, fidgeted beside her, shifting from one foot to the other. His brows were knitted in deep concentration, but she could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands clenched at his sides.

  "It’s just a test," he muttered under his breath, barely audible over the rustling crowd. "Just another damn test."

  "It’s never just a test," she replied evenly. "Not here."

  The ground trembled once again as the great iron doors to the Labyrinth groaned open, the sound deep and guttural like some ancient beast awakening from its slumber. A void of darkness stretched beyond them, yawning wide, swallowing the dim light from the chamber. The cold air that leaked out carried an unsettling scent—not of rot or decay, but something older, something that smelled of forgotten places and things that had never known the sun.

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  Aiden took a shaky breath. "This place is… wrong."

  "That’s the point." someone muttered.

  A low horn sounded, and the recruits surged forward. Some hesitated at the threshold, but the mass of bodies behind them forced them in. Razalea moved swiftly, grabbing Aiden by the wrist and pulling him alongside her, weaving through the crowd before they could get separated. The moment they stepped past the threshold, the doors slammed shut behind them.

  Darkness enveloped them. Then, torches flared to life along the damp stone walls, their light barely reaching the ceiling high above. The passageway stretched ahead, splitting into multiple corridors like a spider’s web, each one promising danger in its own right.

  The group that had entered together immediately began to splinter. Some darted off alone, desperate to prove their strength. Others clung to whatever semblance of a team they had formed beforehand. Razalea made a quick mental note of the directions others took, filing them away for later. If the Labyrinth shifted, that knowledge might not matter—but if it didn’t, she’d have an advantage.

  Aiden pulled his dagger free. "So… do we have a plan?"

  "Stick to the First Level," she said without hesitation. "Get a feel for the terrain before we make any rash decisions."

  His lips pressed into a thin line. "And if we run into something?"

  "We handle it."

  They moved cautiously, keeping their backs to the walls whenever possible. The air was heavier here, pressing against them like unseen hands. The flickering torchlight cast deceptive shadows, making it difficult to tell what was solid and what wasn’t.

  It didn’t take long for the first obstacle to reveal itself.

  A growl echoed from one of the corridors. Then another. Clawed feet scraped against the stone. Emerging from the gloom were three creatures—hound-like but grotesque, their bodies elongated and twisted as though they had been stretched beyond their natural limits. Their eyes glowed an unnatural violet-red color, and saliva dripped from their jagged teeth.

  Aiden tensed beside her. "Shit."

  Razalea’s grip on her dagger tightened. "Illusions?"

  "Doubt it."

  The creatures prowled forward, their movements precise, predatory. They were studying them.

  "Do we run?" Aiden whispered.

  She exhaled through her nose, gaze locked on the beasts. "If we do, they’ll chase. If we fight…"

  "We kill them," he finished. He hesitated, jaw clenched. "But do we have to? They’re just… following their instincts, right? They were put here to test us."

  Razalea didn’t take her eyes off the creatures. "They won’t hesitate to kill us. That’s the difference."

  Aiden shifted uncomfortably. "That doesn’t mean they deserve to die."

  "Deserve has nothing to do with it. It’s about survival."

  The hounds tensed, their muscles coiling. The decision was no longer theirs to debate.

  The first one lunged.

  Razalea reacted instantly, sidestepping as she brought her dagger up in a swift arc. The blade met flesh, carving across the creature’s shoulder. A shriek tore from its throat, but it didn’t falter. The second one came in low, snapping at Aiden’s legs. He barely managed to dodge, his dagger slicing through empty air.

  "Focus, Aiden!" she snapped, shoving him back just as a third hound sprang from the shadows.

  Instinct took over. She moved fluidly, striking and dodging, using the narrow corridor walls to her advantage. The creatures were fast, but she was faster. Aiden, however, was struggling. His hesitation cost him, and the moment he faltered, one of the hounds lunged—

  —straight for his throat.

  Time seemed to slow. She didn’t think. She just moved.

  Her blade found the creature’s chest, plunging deep. It let out a strangled cry, its body jerking before going limp. Aiden gasped, staggering back as the other hounds snarled in fury.

  He looked at her, wide-eyed. "You—"

  "Later," she bit out. "Move!"

  The remaining creatures snarled, but the scent of fresh blood had them hesitating. Razalea didn’t waste the opening. She grabbed Aiden’s wrist and ran, dragging him deeper into the Labyrinth before the beasts could decide if vengeance was worth the risk.

  The echoes of their retreating footsteps drowned out Aiden’s shaken breath.

  This was only the beginning.