avoid.
“…And the Bear.”
His shoulders slumped. Goddammit.
“Which leaves us with the final four: the Adonis, the Brave, the Artist, and the Prince.”
Tobias resisted the urge to groan. Fucking Flynn.
“Our final group gets first choice.” The Proctor stepped to the side, leaving a clear view of the three portals. “Gentlemen, pick your path.”
“The first one,” Flynn declared.
Tobias turned toward him. “Shouldn’t we discuss—?”
“The first portal has been chosen,” the Proctor said. “Proceed.”
Garrick shoved past Tobias, making his way into the tunnel, and the rest of the group begrudgingly followed. A pestering pair of eyes locked on to Tobias; Flynn stood at his side wearing his usual confident grin.
“Come now, Artist, you always choose number one.” He slugged Tobias in the shoulder. “First place is where the winners stand, after all.”
“Good luck.” The Proctor’s voice echoed off the walls. “And may the best man win.”
Brick by brick, the portal sealed itself, leaving them with a black wall.
Darkness stretched far ahead, punctuated only by the flickering torches. Everything was familiar to the point of banality, except there were only three men with Tobias, an eerie look into the future.
“Come on,” Tobias muttered. “We move.”
The trek was slow and quiet. Garrick forced his way to the front, insistent on leading, while Beau consistently eyed the walls, timid without Caesar at his side. Perhaps Tobias should’ve felt just as fearful, but he had grown accustomed to the labyrinth’s tortures, and the terror he once felt had evolved into a learned caution.
Flynn nudged his arm, and suddenly all he felt was annoyance.
“This is rather tedious, isn’t it?” Flynn gestured toward the others. “Here we are stuck with these two cocks. Look at Garrick, stomping along like the sullen shit he is, and I imagine Beau’s already forgotten where we are, the halfwit.” He wrapped an arm around Tobias. “At least it’s you and me, isn’t that right, old friend?”
Tobias said nothing, shaking Flynn’s arm from his shoulders.
“Artist, are you hard of hearing?” Flynn prodded him in the ribs. “I’m talking to you.”
“Oh I heard you. I’m simply pretending otherwise.”
“Pretending? Why?”
“Why?” Tobias stopped in his tracks. “You exposed me in front of everyone in the last challenge. Announced my blessing. Threw a fucking tantrum, no less.”
Flynn laughed. “You’re upset with me? Over that?”
“You nearly got me killed.”
“You have to understand, I was merely reacting in the heat of the moment. I was shocked, is all.”
“No more shocked than I was. I didn’t know I’d been blessed again, and then you blurted it out like a goddamn asshole. And Kaleo tried to drown me.”
“Come now—”
“Have you forgotten this tournament is life or death? Have you not noticed there are twelve of us now instead of twenty?” Tobias leaned in closer, his gaze searing. “I haven’t forgotten. I accept that I may die here, but I refuse to let it be because of your mouth.”
A flicker of doubt crossed Flynn’s face, then his cheeks picked back up into a grin. “I’ve upset you. I see that. Know that was never my intention, brother. We’re brothers, right?”
Tobias hesitated. “No more of this foolishness.”
“My lips are locked tight, and I’ve thrown away the key. On my father’s name, you’ll hear not a peep from me in this regard ever again. Now wipe that sour look off your face. We’re allies and brothers, isn’t that right?”
Tobias barely grunted in response. Tugging his arm, Flynn pulled him through the labyrinth, and though the strain between them was supposedly managed, Tobias’s worries hadn’t lifted.
“And I do believe we’ve selected the easy tunnel,” Flynn said. “See? I knew this was the right choice. Not a single formidable sight for miles.”
“Yes, for miles.” Garrick spat onto the floor. “This path is bloody endless.”
“How long have we been walking?” Beau kicked at a few loose pebbles. “It’s been a long time, right? Feels like it.”
“Long, short, so long as we’re living, what does it matter?” Flynn said.
“The longest path has the most treacherous obstacle,” Tobias muttered. “The Proctor said so.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound good.” Beau’s eyes widened. “Oh God, is that us? Did we choose the longest path?”
“Seems that way,” Garrick grumbled.
Flynn laughed. “You overreact. These assumptions, they’re premature.”
A flash of light gleamed in the distance. The torch fire reflected off something unseen—something that sent Tobias’s muscles flexing.
“Guys.” He cocked his head in its direction. “Look.”
All eyes turned toward the light, and Garrick groaned. “Shit.”
“What the hell is that?” Beau asked.
Tobias headed down the tunnel on his own, the other three shuffling a safe distance behind him. Shimmering