Chapter 4


    His eyebrows raise in what appears to be his shock before he nods once, leaning back and closing his


    eyes.


    “Try to rest before we arrive. You''ll need your strength once you enter the maze.” he chuckles darkly,


    and my fellow cave dwellers whimper and sob harder. I suck in a breath and press my lips in a line,


    why must the fates always challenge me. Was merely surviving not enough of a challenge?


    I’ve heard of the Maze Games from Grandmother. The maze is a barbaric ritual my grandmother told


    me about, a sport for them. It’s where people were taken to be ughtered. The Lycans would give


    humans a false sense of hope that they could live and be set free if they could make it through the


    night and leave the maze alive, telling them they would be set free and pardoned of their deaths or


    offered jobs within the Kingdom.


    Yet despite that, I take his words and follow his instructions. Closing my eyes, I try to rest. Knowing it is


    my only chance of making it out of the Maze Games alive, though even I have doubts about my ability


    to make it out of the Maze of death. My grandmother told me it wasn’t a typical Maze, but one filled with


    death traps and savage monsters.


    It is the screeching of tires and the jolt I am given when the truck lurches to a stop that wakes me from


    my nap, I wouldn’t call it actual sleep because my mind is restless. My eyes snap open secondster to


    the screams of the girl who was tossed in here with me. Her feet drag on the pebbled ground as she is


    hauled off the truck by her hair, her legs iling out while her hands clutch his hands, trying to relieve


    the pain of his grip.


    He shoves the door open and tosses her onto the asphalt, she scrambles to her feet and takes off. She


    barely makes it four steps when she is caught and dragged back. Another Lycan male climbs aboard


    the truck hauling the three young men she is huddled with off. They don''t put up much of a fight,


    knowing it is pointless.


    “Only two girls, that is all you found?” Comes an angry voice, making me peer over to where it came


    from. I see a man wearing a red robe, jewels hanging off it, and his graying hair rustles in the cool


    breeze. Peering past him, I see a huge castle made entirely of Granite, with several huge turrets and


    dome windows.


    Hedges and roses fill the gardens surrounding it and crawling vines creep up the walls, with


    blossoming purple flowers. The sound of trickling water catches my attention and I turn looking out


    directly out to find a magnificent fountain, in the center of the marble fountain stands a man and


    woman, along with three boys and by the crowns on their heads I know they must represent the King


    and his family, and the three boys standing in front of them must be the sons the King spoke of.


    I stare in awe, it is far more exquisite than the ones I have seen in the picture books my grandmother


    managed to acquire over the years.


    “Yes sir, the rest were far too old to be of any good to the kingdom.”


    “No, it''s fine, Mchi. Just put them with the other three and–” the man who is clearly in charge of our


    kidnap turns to look at the men. He waves a hand dismissively at them. “Find someone to put them to


    their workstations.”


    Instantly the girl is separated from them, and her screams ring out loudly as she is dragged off; the


    men are led in the opposite direction. “I thought you said there were two,” the man states.


    “Yes, my king, the other is still in the back,” This Mchi person assures his King. The King''s eyes find


    mine, and he tilts his head to the side. “Her calmness is a little unnerving,” the King states, watching


    me. “And clearly shecks manners, too. She should know better, even being human, about meeting a


    King''s gaze.”


    “You are not my King,” I speak the words I am supposed to only think. He scoffs, a smile gracing his


    lips as his eyebrows raises almost into his disappearing wispy hairline.


    His guard and my captor climb into the back of the truck to untie my hands, and I twist my wrists,


    rubbing them. Not wanting to be shoved off, I move to the edge and jump down to the ground, relieved


    to be able to flex my limbs and stretch my back.


    “My, my, she is a peculiar one. It will be interesting to see how long shests in the games,” the King


    huffs.


    “Just as the others, my king, no one ever survives the games,” his guard tells him, seizing my arm in


    his tight grip. “She hardly seems nopliant. Why is she tied up? The others not,” the King inquires.


    “Because this one knows how to use her hands, she caught me by surprise,” Mchi tells him. Now


    that seems to pique the King''s interest. “Very peculiar indeed,” he says.


    “ Well, then, hopefully, she does survive the games. I think she would be interesting to see if she can


    keep the Kings in line," The King chuckles.


    "Sir?" the guard asks.


    The King waves him off. “I have added a twist to the games this year. I can''t decide on my sessor,


    and they won''t agree either.” I watch the old man, curious to retrieve any information about what may


    be in store when I am chucked into this maze of death.


    “I don''t understand, my King.”


    “I have changed things up. My sons will take part whether they like it or not. If any of them survive till


    morning, I am sending them in to hunt them. Whoever grabs their future bride first will win the high


    Kingdom,” Now that shocks me, bride? Does he really think any of us would agree to marry his monster


    sons, and I would hardly cause a prize worth fighting?


    “But no one ever survives,” Mchi adds, tugging me after him toward the back of the castle. My feet


    crunch on the rocks.


    “I''m hoping this year will be different. The kingdoms rely on a new king, and I can''t choose. This gives


    them all an equal chance.”


    “And when they die in the maze, my King.”


    “So pessimistic, Mchi. Have you no faith in the human race at all?” Mchi nces down at me. He


    snorts augh.


    “No!” heughs, and the King chuckles. “Maybe I will only put them through one test instead of the


    three this year.”


    “Your sons won''t like that,” Mchi tells the key as I follow, listening intently.


    “They don''t have to. They want my decision, and this is how I wille to it. I am still King, and they


    will obey.” The king states, and Mchi nods his head once.


    “Now, prepare her, and tell my staff I will watch from the CCTV in my chamber, Mchi. I am much too


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    tired tonight to stay outte. I guess I will see the results of the maze by morning or sooner—” The King


    turns to nce at me. “If they don''t survive—- although, I feel this one may surprise us,” he adds before


    turning and walking off back toward the stairs leading to the magnificent castle.