I shoved my fistful of sand into his. “Deal.”

The sand trickled out between our fingers as I tried not to think about the knot forming in my stomach.

He smirked and pulled his hand away, letting the remaining sand fall to the ground. “Good. Follow me.”

CHAPTER

9

Once we left the light of the cavern behind, Cion stopped me. He undid the shackle on my wrist before pulling out a strip of cloth. “You can’t know the way until you’ve passed initiation,” he said.

I eyed him. This sounded like a trick, a way to make sure my defenses were down.

He sighed at my hesitation. “If you can’t even trust me long enough to put on the blindfold, you should leave and try your chances in the desert.”

Everything in me shouted this was a trap, that there was some deceit coming that I simply hadn’t figured out yet. But what option did I have? I’d chosen not to run away, and now I’d thrown in my lot with his.

Reluctantly, I turned around. Though I jumped and reached for my empty sword hilt when his hand touched my shoulder.

“Relax.” He swiftly tied the fabric across my eyes. Then a weight landed around my stomach. My sword. He’d put it back into its sheath. It was the smallest comfort as I adjusted to a world without sight.

He grabbed both shoulders and turned me around. “Walk forward.” He guided me through a series of twists and turns, telling me to duck at times or turn sideways to fit through a small crevice.

I honed in on every sound, anything that might be footfalls or signal an attack was coming. What on earth had I gotten myself into? My heart rate sped up. The severity, the finality, of what I was doing sank in as I let the desert’s most well-known snake lead me blindly forward.

Then, suddenly, his hands disappeared from my shoulders. I heard a large rock slide into place.

“Cion?”

No answer.

When I ripped off the blindfold, I was surrounded by complete darkness. Raising my arms out in front of me, I turned and ran in the direction we’d come until I hit hard rock. I flung my hands around, looking for an opening.

There was nothing. Not a single detectable crack. I kept my hand on the wall and walked, certain I’d find an opening. I didn’t. Instead, I ended up walking in a circle.

I pounded my fist on the rock. Certain I’d missed something, I moved farther back into the room trying to feel for a breeze, anything that would signal there was a way out.

“Cion,” I called again. The word echoed lifelessly back.

My heart rate increased with each passing moment. I was trapped. No, worse. I was a prisoner. Darkness pressed in around me like a heavy cloak. It weighed against my chest, making it harder and harder to breathe.

Had this been his plan all along? Was he selling me back to Rodric? I wondered what price I’d fetch. Unfettered access to a well for a day?