The guards glanced at one another.
“The guards on night watch were found drained of their energy this morning,” one of them replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “They don’t remember a thing.”
“Has anyone checked the stones?” I asked, my voice tight.
The guard nodded. “There’s another one missing.”
I gulped.
The guard glanced balefully at one of the ministers.
“We were told not to tell Tejus, in order not to distract him from the trials.”
I glared at the minister, who looked down at the floor. I turned on my heel and fled. Running as fast as I could down the hallways, I prayed that Tejus hadn’t already left. I burst through the front doors, aware of the ministers staring at me, but I no longer cared.
“Tejus!” I called out, looking around the courtyard wildly. Then I saw him—galloping off on the bull-horse with Lithan and Qentos following behind him.
“Tejus!” I called again, running toward the portcullis.
I was too late.
I stood panting, watching as his dark figure disappeared into the distance.
Tejus
I was the last to arrive.
All four kings and Queen Trina were already waiting under the arches of the pavilion. The Impartial Ministers raised their eyebrows as I ascended the steps, but I was in no mood to apologize or make excuses. I knew that all the royals would be desperate to hear of the latest tragedy that had befallen Hellswan, and I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.
“Thank you for joining us, King Tejus of Hellswan,” one of the old ministers announced. I nodded curtly, pleased to see his brow furrow in irritation.
“We shall begin. This trial is different from the others,” the Impartial Minister began to explain as he paced the circumference of the pavilion. “It is a trial that will test your inner resolve to compete. Each of you will undergo a test to ensure that you are worthy of a place at the imperial trials.”
“Surely our trials to rule our own kingdoms were enough,” King Thraxus exclaimed. “We were not informed of this.”
“Peace, Thraxus,” one of the ministers interjected. “It is still a trial nonetheless, and crucial to the process. Each one of you will be asked to find within yourself that which drives you to rule. You should be glad of it.” He smiled. “Perhaps you will discover more about yourselves today than you could ever hope to come to understand in a lifetime.”
Thraxus grumbled under his breath, but the Impartial Ministers paid no more attention.
“You will be given an elixir,” one of them continued, “a derivative of the hallucinogenic honestas—something that you will be familiar with, Tejus of Hellswan.” The minister smirked at me as my blood ran cold. I had not forgotten my earlier experience with that foul elixir—and if the truth be told, the visions I had seen in that cave haunted me still.
“The elixir will open up the deepest truth in your hearts, allowing you to see for yourselves what is contained within you. To test for yourselves whether you have what it takes.”
“How is the winner determined?” King Hadalix demanded.
The Impartial Ministers smiled. Clearly they had been waiting for one of us to ask that very question.
“All will be revealed,” one of them replied in a self-satisfied fashion. “All in good time.”
More riddles. I didn’t think I would ever understand why ministers appeared to have such difficulty with being forthright and direct. It was infuriating, making my blood boil.
Unwilling to let them see how easily they got beneath my skin, I took the vial of elixir one of the Impartial Ministers offered me. I drained it, not waiting for the others to inspect theirs. I knew what lay in wait, and the sooner I got it over with, the better.
Almost immediately the pagoda started to spin. This was different to last time, and as its effects were instantaneous, I could only hazard a guess that the elixir was much stronger. Before I could think another panicked thought, my eyelids drooped closed and I felt like I was freefalling—weightlessly dropping through the ground.
When I reopened my eyes, the world was very different.
Bright sunlight blinded me, and it took me a few moments to be able to see my surroundings. The landscape was completely barren; miles of dry sand skittered across stone, with no mountains or ridges to interrupt the horizon. I didn’t recognize where I was, absolutely certain I had never been here before in my life. I wondered if I’d been transported into another dimension, but no elixir I’d ever heard of was powerful enough to accomplish that. I had to accept that this was in some part my own imagination…but even in my dreams, I’d never seen anything like this.