Elora's POV
Turns out, the floor was lighter than a tether.
We didn't crash. We didn't splatter. We... floated. Like two badly timed balloons through a wind tunnel designed by someone on magical mushrooms.
Kael grabbed my hand midair, hair flying in all directions. "If we survive this, I'm filing a complaint."
"Who exactly are you filing it to?" I snapped, my voice weirdly echoey. "The Vault's customer service?"
"If that exists, it deserves to be sued and set on fire."
I would've laughed if we weren't currently drifting through an upside-down jungle.
Yes, upside-down.
The trees dangled from the ceiling like chandeliers made of vines and nightmares. Brightly colored frogs croaked physics-defying insults at us, and the ground (or sky?) beneath us shimmered like it was made of wet glass.
Kael squinted. "Okay, either I'm hallucinating again or that coconut just winked at me."
"It's definitely a trial," I muttered. "The final one."
"So, death by tropical absurdity?"
"Honestly, I'm not even surprised anymore."
Suddenly, a whoosh of air knocked us off balance. A large bird,a massive flamingo wearing a monocle flapped by, coughing out glitter.
I kid you not. Glitter.
It landed on a floating rock platform and announced in a deep, pompous voice:
"Contestants have arrived. Let the Trial of Clarity begin."
Kael and I exchanged looks.
"You heard that, right?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, yes."
The flamingo cleared its throat and pointed a feathered wing at us. "In this trial, only truth shall set you free. Lies, deception, or denial shall lead to... unfortunate consequences."
"What kind of consequences?" Kael asked warily.
The flamingo grinned, then exploded into a dozen smaller flamingoes that all squawked, "You'll see!"
Perfect.
Kael's POV
I had fought beasts, outwitted sorcerers, and once escaped a swamp that tried to eat my soul.
But nothing—nothing—prepared me for the sight of a pink flamingo army demanding emotional vulnerability.
"Elora," I said slowly, "I think this is the Vault's version of therapy."
She looked like she wanted to murder something.
"I'd rather fight a three-headed banshee with daddy issues."
"Same."
We floated gently onto a platform made of polished obsidian. Above us, clouds formed shapes our memories. Mine showed me training with Father. Elora's formed into a flickering image of her family home, slowly catching fire.
I reached for her hand, but she jerked away.
The flamingoes circled us like judgmental therapists.
"Speak your truth," one of them intoned. "Begin with what you hide most from yourself."
I stared at the floating version of my father. Cold,silent,disappointed.
Elora whispered, "I don't want to do this."
"You don't have to," I said quickly. "We'll find another way."
The flamingoes hissed in unison. "There is no other way."
She gritted her teeth. "Then we lie. Together."
I nodded. "Together."
We turned to the flamingoes and shouted in unison:
"We are perfectly fine. No trauma here. We are emotionally balanced and spiritually healed."
Thunder cracked. The platform trembled.
One flamingo clucked. "Lies detected."
Suddenly, vines shot up from the obsidian floor and wrapped around our ankles.
Elora glared at me. "Maybe honesty's faster."
I groaned. "Fine!"
I turned to the sky.
"I never wanted to be like my father!" I shouted. "But I'm afraid I already am. Cold. Controlled. Obsessed with power. I tell myself it's to protect people. But really it's to feel in control."
The vines recoiled from my legs like I was made of fire.
"Elora," one flamingo purred. "Your turn."
She trembled. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I... I killed my sister."
The entire sky went still.
Kael looked up, shocked. "You—?"
"I didn't mean to," she choked. "We were fighting. I lost control. Magic surged, and she—she burned. I've hated myself ever since."
The vines slithered back from her too.
Then came silence.
No vines. No trials. Just weightless floating again.
Until the platform cracked and a staircase of light formed ahead.
The flamingoes bowed. "Truth accepted. Proceed."
Elora's POV
I couldn't breathe.
Not from the weight of the truth, but from Kael's eyes on me.
He wasn't judging.
He wasn't afraid.
He was just... there.
"I'm not a hero," I said quietly.
"You don't have to be," he said, brushing a hand against mine. "You just have to stay with me."
A pause. Then I added, "Also I'm 70% sure those flamingoes are drugged."
He snorted. "Agreed."
We took the staircase one step at a time, rising toward what I assumed was the Vault's final door. The end of the trial.
Then, of course, it exploded.
Out stepped the Warden.
She smiled like a vulture at a feast.
"Well done, little vault rats," she cooed. "But the final door doesn't open."
Kael growled. "What do you mean it doesn't open?"
"It must be taken," she said. "And only one of you may enter."
My heart dropped.
"Wait, what?" I breathed.
The Warden vanished. A countdown appeared in the air above the door:
59... 58... 57...
I looked at Kael.
He looked at me.
And just like that,
We were back to falling again.