I don’t know why I feel compelled to do it now—they might not even be able to see my hands from here. But I still find myself signing to them, then pressing a fist gently to my chest. It’s subtle enough that the Premier doesn’t seem to notice, nor do the audience. But down in the maze, Aramin, Adena, Tomm, and Pira see me.

“May there be future dawns.”

They see the signs; they understand my words. And each of them lifts their fist in return and presses it once to their chest.

They are breathtaking, and in this moment, I want to cry for them. Each of us had pledged our lives to Mara when we became Strikers, and each of us prepared in some way for death to claim us—but not like this. Not in an arena full of screaming people, competing for our lives.

On the other side of the maze, the Ghosts let out a shriek as they’re given their freedom. They charge blindly into the maze. My eyes dart back to the Strikers. Every single one of them turns in the direction of the Ghosts’ screams and shifts into a fighting stance. I see Aramin sign to the others. He’s telling them to stay together.

Then they move forward as a unit.

It is the wisest strategy—together, they can take out the Ghosts heading down one path while avoiding those in the others. But barely a minute after they make their way down one of the maze’s paths, the maze moves for the first time, sliding along those grooves I’d seen in the way that I’d feared. One moment, the four of them are traveling together—the next, a wall suddenly turns after Aramin and Adena have made their way down the front of the path.

Tomm and Pira get caught behind the moving stone. Tomm leaps out of the way in time to keep from being swept and crushed against the side of another wall, but they are now separated from the other two, forced down a new path in the maze. In the audience, people shout out in delighted surprise and try to call down advice. My gaze skids to the other end of the maze, to where the first pack of Ghosts is well on its way toward where Aramin walks.

Adena pauses first, holding up a fist as she tilts her head in the direction of the Ghosts. The beasts aren’t loud, but a lifetime of training has alerted her to some telltale hint of their gnashing teeth and rasping breath. She signs at Aramin. Aramin nods and points, and Adena moves without a sound to where he indicates. She kneels a short distance in front of him.

As the first Ghost lurches around the corner and into view, Aramin sprints forward and kicks off Adena’s shoulders, launching himself into the air. He’s on the Ghost’s shoulders before the creature can react, and stabs it three times in the neck before he leaps up and grabs the top edge of the maze wall with both gloved hands.