“However,” Calivere said, as if he and Tayros were tag-teaming their discussion. “The threat of the one named Aven does trouble us, if only due to the question of where he will next turn his gaze once he has conquered your world and slaughtered your mortal races.”
“This guy sure has a way with words,” Jordan muttered from beside Alex.
Calivere’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t engage other than to raise his head and watch Jordan emotionlessly from his throne.
When no one else said anything, Alex took that as permission to speak. Her heart pounding with hope, she asked, “Does that—Does that mean you’ll help us?”
It was Empress Saefii who answered.
“We will.”
Alex’s face broke into a wide smile as her spirits soared. She couldn’t believe it—after everything she’d been through to get to this point, it seemed surreal to receive such a positive response. She turned to share beaming looks with her friends, but all their expressions froze when it became clear that Saefii hadn’t finished speaking.
“We will,” the empress repeated, “but only if you prove yourselves worthy.”
Just like that, Alex’s hopes crumbled.
“How would we do that?” Kaiden asked carefully.
It was to Alex that Saefii directed her answer.
“If you wish for us to come to your world and help you defeat Aven Dalmarta, then you must pass through Tu’eh Saeron ess Telari.” Saefii didn’t know Alex had an inner Tia Auran translator, so the empress spoke the common tongue equivalent aloud for all to hear. “You must undergo the Gates of Testing.”
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” D.C. said quietly.
Alex shared her friend’s concern.
“Six of you there are, so six Gates you will face,” Saefii said. “Six tests over six days. If you prevail, we will consider you worthy and travel to Medora to fight in your war. But if you fail, we will leave you to your fate.”
Alex felt the room spin around her. She raised a hand to her head, hoping to steady her whirling thoughts. Six days was a long time to remain in Tia Auras. Anything could happen back in Medora in their absence. But if it meant they would return with the very people who had conquered the Meyarin race to begin with, then the wait would be worth it. It would have to be.
But the risk of failure…
“What are the tests?” Alex asked, her throat tight.
Saefii spread her hands in supplication. “Should you agree to prove your worth, you will see for yourself.”
“So, you’re saying we have to go in blind?” Bear clarified. “Without knowing what we’re agreeing to?”
“They are not called the Gates of Testing without reason, young mortal,” Saefii told him. “Part of the test is deciding whether or not you will undergo it.”
“And there are six of these tests—one for each of us?” Declan asked.
“I did not say that,” Saefii replied with a small shake of her head, her circlet sparkling as it caught the light. “There are six, yes. But depending on which specific Gates you choose, the tests may be for one of you, or for all of you.”
Without knowing more about what the Gates of Testing required, Alex was having trouble grasping the concept of what they would be facing.
“I will say this,” Saefii continued, once again looking directly at Alex. “You have come as the representative for your world, Alexandra Jennings, so the most demanding Gates will challenge you—specifically—in some way. That is the only warning I will offer.”
Fantastic, Alex grumbled to herself, not that she would have expected anything less, given the nightmare that was her life.
“What if we decide not to go through these Gates of yours?” Jordan asked, his arms crossed. “What then?”
Saefii didn’t even blink. “Then you will return to your world without us, and we will make it so none from Medora will ever be able to walk the eiden paths to venture here again.”
Jordan’s forehead crinkled until Alex whispered to him and the rest of her friends, “The eiden paths are the Library’s doorways. She’s saying they’ll block anyone from being able to step back through to Tia Auras, Aven included. I guess it’s their version of a failsafe. This is the only chance we’ll have to secure their help.”
“Can we have a moment to decide?” Kaiden asked the empress, and she dipped her chin in agreement.
Huddling into a circle, D.C. spoke up first. “There’s no choice here, is there? We have to do it.”
“We don’t know what ‘it’ is,” Bear pointed out as he scrubbed a weary hand over his face. “Testing by definition implies a challenge—and without knowing the rules of this challenge, we have no way of knowing what kind of game these people are playing. For all we know, failing any of their tests could mean instant death.”
Alex’s stomach clenched at the realisation he was right.
“That’s a risk we might have to take,” Kaiden said, his voice calm, steadying. “We all came here knowing it would be dangerous. We can’t leave without doing everything we can to see our mission through.”
Yet again, Alex was grateful for his unwavering confidence.
“I’m with Kaiden,” Jordan said, rolling tension from his shoulders. “We’re here now—we might as well see what these Gates are and do what we can to convince these guys to help us.”
“Six days, though,” D.C. said, looking around the golden room with uncertainty. “We’ll have been gone for a week by the time we get home. Our families—”
“There’s nothing we can do about that,” Declan interrupted, if gently. “We have to focus on the here and now.”
Bear gave a quick nod and said, “Are we all in agreement, then? That we’ll stay and try to pass these tests, whatever they might be?”
As one, they faced Alex, waiting for her final verdict.
“For the record, I hate this,” she whispered, looking each of them in the eyes. She then straightened her spine and turned towards Saefii. “We accept your challenge.”
The smile that spread across the empress’s face was almost blinding as she responded, “Then the testing shall begin at dawn.”
With another bright flash, Alex and her friends were instantly transported back to the balconied room they’d been in earlier.
“Why is it always dawn?” she mumbled. “Why not noon? Or any time after nine, really? Nine is a perfectly acceptable time to face life-and-death challenges. None of this dawn business.”
“Are you good, or would you like another minute to continue your pity party?” Jordan asked with a twinkle in his eyes, one that had been missing earlier.
Taking her cue from his light-hearted attempt, she stifled the urge to pick up one of the cushions and throw it at him. Instead, she answered, if still with a slight grumble, “I’m good.”
Before she could say more, the six previously locked doors around the edges of the room opened, and through each walked a Tia Auran robed in black. They all appeared young—only a few years older than Alex herself—but their age was relative given their immortal status. They could easily be thousands of years old, if not more.