“We’ll need one more girl,” Blackwood says, and Aarya’s hand shoots up in the air. “Everyone else will stay seated exactly where they are. November, you’ll be paired with”—her eyes scan the group and land on the petite girl next to Aarya who gave Ines the jealous look—“Nyx.”

Nyx, my brain translates, the Greek goddess of the night, mother of sleep and, oh, right, death. And by the light gasps and someone’s snicker, I guess her name is apt. She stands up without her cloak and joins me on my left. She takes one look at me and I can tell she’s already decided that I’m not a challenge. Well, we’ll just see about that.

Nyx is so short that she only reaches my shoulder, and now that I’m close to her, I notice a thin black line along the top edge of her lashes, winging out at the corners, giving her eyes a catlike appearance. And since Blackwood doesn’t let us keep anything personal here, I can only assume that Nyx either makes her own eye makeup, or had the line permanently tattooed on. Makeup isn’t usually something I would look to in order to tell me who my opponent is, but in this particular instance it tells me she’s resourceful and stubborn and does not bow to other people’s will.

Blackwood tucks the cloths into the back of our leggings. I glance at the chip in the wall again. I’d guess it’s just about as high as Nyx’s gray cloth.

Blackwood takes our hands, pulling me to her right and Nyx to her left. She nods at the two guards behind us, and they move to the torches on either side of the foyer. The guard nearest me is the one with the X. Boy, that guy is everywhere I go.

Each guard lifts a metal-cone-topped pole above a torch and snuffs it out. The room goes dark—blindfold game dark. And I’m positive it’s not going to get any lighter as my eyes adjust: there are no windows.

From the direction of the hallways come knocking sounds, which I can only assume mean that the guards have returned to their posts. The room is unsettlingly quiet. I can’t even hear anyone breathe.

“Begin,” Blackwood says, and lets go of my hand.

My heart jumps into my throat. There’s nothing like the feeling of absolute darkness and being hunted by a probable Greek ninja to inspire nightmaresque fear. And if I don’t prove myself in this exercise, the entire school will get the memo that I’m a fly in a sea of spiders.

I take a handful of careful steps until I’m just beyond the U. I must pass awfully close to the end girl, because I can feel her body heat as I go. My boots don’t make a sound on the stone. The problem is, Nyx’s steps are silent, too. If I can just make it to that torch holder…

I loop around the U near the backs of the girls until I think I’m about lined up with where the torch should be. I carefully put my hands out in front of me, trying to detect body heat from Nyx, but all I get is chilled air. Here goes nothing. I take a step toward the wall and something hooks my ankle, sending me stumbling forward and making all kinds of noise. And there’s a laugh, which I would bet money belongs to Aarya. That girl is seriously getting on my nerves.