Korinne POV

  Felicity cuddled up to me in the large bed that we slept in last night. The room is a beautiful dark blue with luminescent crystals scattered about the room. The room had its own sitting area with a loveseat and two chairs. There was even a black dresser and tables. It was dark but pretty. Selene may have lived in a cave, but it was like a small underground mansion with all of its space. I had no idea what time it was because of how deep in the cave we were. Last night, I wore myself out with anxiety attacks. So many events in such a short time have been taxing on my mind. In less than a week, I had been heartbroken due to my cheating ex, discovered some mythical beings are real even though I wish they weren’t, and discovered that I must become a mythical mutt to save my life. Felicity tried to help me, but there was no quelling my emotions. So, I just wasted my energy through my anxiety attacks until I finally fell asleep.

  The door flew open, and Kalia stormed in. "Let’s go, Korinne. You have a big day ahead."

  “I do?” I mumbled. My eyes blinked away the remaining sleepiness as I pushed myself out of bed. Kalia responded with a loud ‘yep’ and sat herself down in one of the chairs. I nearly stumbled as I stood up from the bed, trying to make myself wake up. At some point yesterday, Felicity had brought our bags into the room, so I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Putting my phone on the charger, I began getting notifications from social media and texts. Apparently, Fe’s parents heard about my breakup and were concerned. Marcus, Fe’s brother, repeatedly texted asking if we were still okay even though we had been whisked away to another country. College friends asked if we had made it to Georgia yet. And, even Asher’s dumbass, texted me asking how I was doing since I vomited at his feet the last time we talked. At least the people at home hadn’t forgotten me although I wasn’t sure what to say to anyone right now. How did I have such a good reception in a cave on a Turkish mountainside? I am still trying to figure out how this ancient cave has modern amenities like plumbing and charging outlets.

  "Let’s go, Korinne," Kalia called out to me.

  "Ok," I replied. I did my best to move quickly and threw on my jean capris with my white sunflower tank top. I slipped on my Converse and tied my hair into a French braid after brushing my teeth. My stomach began rumbling from hunger. It had been hours since I had eaten any food. Hunger pains consumed by the body. Ugh. I need to eat. “Kalia,” I called out.

  “What’s going on, Little Wolf?” She asked through the bathroom door.

  “I need food,” I uttered as I opened the door. “I can’t do anything else until I eat.”

  Kalia sighed, “All right. Let’s go to the kitchen.”

  Following Kalia toward the kitchen, my stomach began growling loudly. I could feel Kalia rolling her eyes at my hunger. It wasn't my fault that I couldn’t eat after yesterday's events. We rushed to the kitchen where a young, male centaur was making something that smelled delicious. Kalia didn't waste a breath as she had the young man serve us a plate of pastries. Once he handed me the plate, I began to examine this new pastry.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "It's bougatsa. It has semolina custard inside," Kalia explained.

  Mmm. Custard! I didn’t waste a moment and downed the pastry. The centaur snickered as I devoured my food. I licked the plate clean because the pastry was just that good. The centaur was in full-on laughter at this point because I had fully enjoyed my breakfast. Ignoring the centaur, I turned to Kalia who started laughing at me too. “Seriously?” I asked.

  “Damn. You even eat like a wolf.” Kalia threw a towel at me. “Wipe your face.”

  My cheeks went beet red. That's why the centaur had been staring and laughing at me. Ugh. I wiped my face clean with the towel and followed Kalia out of the room. “I am not a wolf.” I declared as I caught up to her.

  “Ha, well, you are about to be one.” Kalia corrected herself.

  I felt myself melt at that statement. I was still struggling with this whole situation, and these mythical beings were laughing at me for it. If my life wasn’t on the line, I would have walked away yesterday. “So, where is Selene?”

  Kalia didn’t answer me. She just sped up walking down the hall. I think Kalia didn’t want me there any more than I wanted not to be there. At the end of the hall, we were met with a set of stairs going down deeper into the cave. “What’s down here?”

  “Selene,” Kalia responded.

  “That’s a vague answer…” I said.

  As we walked down the staircase, torches on the walls lit up on cue. The feeling of walking into a creepy, mystic place that could kill me fell over me. Anxiety stirred within me. I agreed to this. I repeated to myself. At the bottom of the stairs, we walked along a stone path that was surrounded by streams of water on either side. Torches kept lighting up the further down the path we walked. On the far end of the path, I could make out a set of tall, wooden, double doors. Selene had to be on the other side of those doors. Was I just walking towards a trap?

  Kalia suddenly turned toward me with an annoyed expression on her face. “Would you, please, stop repeating that you agreed to this!”

  “I haven’t said-” Oh…telepathy… “Sorry. I don’t have control over that.”

  “Then get some control,” she scoffed as she continued down the path faster than before.

  I just followed her. They keep saying I am supposed to be a part of this world of magic that they live in, but I feel even more like an outsider than I did as a kid being bullied for my birthmark. At least then I understood the limits of the world, and I could find my way forward. Here, I am relying on people whom I don’t trust to guide me forward in a world that I don’t believe in. Even though I saw countless examples of magic and felt the pain of resisting this world, I still can’t fully believe it.

  We reached the doors, and Kalia didn’t waste a moment pulling the doors open. Gold light poured out of the room as I walked into the room. It felt like a magical treasure room with the greatest treasure centered in the room. There was water surrounding a podium in the middle of the room with large stones peeking out of the water that someone could hop across to the center of the room. Selene was standing on one of the large stones in the water playing with beams of light shining down from the ceiling.

  “Hey, Selene,” Kalia called out. “I brought her.”

  Selene releases the beams that she was holding onto and turns to face us. “You’re late.”

  “Humans need food too, Selene,” Kalia retorted.

  Was she defending me? I thought she was upset with me.

  “Ah. Well, let’s hope we aren’t too late,” Selene accepted this situation.

  I waited for someone to explain what was going on, but no one said a word. They both just stared at me, waiting for something. “Um. What do I-” What was I asking? I am not sure what is even happening right now. “What are we doing down here?”

  “You are here to start your trial,” Selene said matter-of-factly.