Chapter 78 She won again

Chapter 78 She won again
Chapter 078

RAVENNA

I stood in front of the mirror in our room, adjusting the black jacket I had chosen to wear over matching black trousers.

The outfit was comfortable, exactly what I needed for whatever challenges the second trial would throw at me.

Behind me, Samantha was pacing back and forth across the floor so frantically that I was starting to worry she might wear a path into the carpet.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked for what must have been the tenth time in the past hour. "This is dangerous, Ravenna. You could get seriously hurt."

I turned away from the mirror to face her properly, trying to project confidence I was not entirely sure I felt. "Do not worry about me, Sam. This will be the second trial. If I did not lose the first time, I am not going to lose now either."

Samantha stopped pacing long enough to nod, though worry was still written all over her face. "I will be in the stands cheering for you the entire time. You will not be able to miss me."

A smile tugged at my lips. "Should you not be cheering for someone else instead?"

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Who?"

"Dorian," I replied with a knowing grin. "He is competing too, remember?"

Samantha's face immediately flushed red, and she waved her hand dismissively. "Stop trying to distract me. Now hurry up or we are going to be late, and then you will be disqualified before you even start."

I laughed but she glared at me. We gathered our things and headed out together, making our way across campus towards the arena where the second trial would take place.

The building loomed ahead of us, massive and intimidating with its stone walls and high ceilings. Students were already streaming inside, their excited chatter filling the air.

At the entrance to the arena, Samantha grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Good luck," she whispered, then kissed my cheek quickly before heading off towards the stands where spectators would watch.

I took a deep breath and made my way down to the pit where the competitors were supposed to gather.

The space was enormous, filled with various objects and obstacles that I could not quite make sense of yet.

It looked like organised chaos, everything placed deliberately but without any obvious pattern.

Dorian and Darius were already there, both warming up with stretches and practice movements.

Darius stopped what he was doing the moment he spotted me approaching.

He walked towards me with steady, deliberate steps until we were standing just inches apart, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

He leaned forward until we were at eye level, his dark eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "Good luck," he murmured, his voice low and sincere in a way I had not expected.

Then he turned and walked back to Dorian without another word, leaving me standing there slightly stunned by the unexpected gesture.

Dorian noticed me watching and waved cheerfully. I flashed him a smile in return, grateful for his familiar friendliness after Darius's confusing behaviour.

Soon all the competing students were assembled in the pit, six of us total including Darius, Dorian, and myself.

The stands above us were packed with spectators, their voices creating a constant hum of noise that echoed off the stone walls.

I could hear fragments of their conversations drifting down to us, whispers and chants that made my stomach twist with anxiety.

"She is human. She is going to die down there."

"How did a human even get accepted into the trials?"

"This is going to be a disaster."

I forced myself to ignore their words and focus on preparing mentally for whatever was coming. Let them doubt me. I would prove them wrong just like I always did.

Trainer Ace stepped onto a raised platform at the edge of the pit, his commanding presence immediately silencing most of the crowd. He surveyed all six of us with a critical eye before speaking.

"The second trial has a very simple task," he announced, his voice carrying easily across the space. "A moonstone has been hidden somewhere in this pit. Your job is to find it before anyone else does."

That did sound simple enough. Too simple, which meant there had to be a catch.

"The most interesting part," Ace continued with a slight smile, "is that you are all banned from using your wolf senses to locate the moonstone. No enhanced smell. No supernatural hearing. You will have to rely entirely on your human abilities for this challenge."

An angry wave of protest rose from the crowd. The other wolf competitors around me looked furious at this restriction, clearly unhappy about being forced to compete on equal footing with me for once.

"The first person to find the hidden moonstone and retrieve it will be crowned the winner of this trial," Ace finished. "The moonstone is somewhere in this pit. It could be anywhere. Good luck."

He stepped back, raised his hand, and began counting down. "On your mark. Get set. Go."

We all immediately scattered in different directions, each person developing their own search strategy.

The pit was filled with countless objects and hiding places, making the task feel overwhelming. Where would they even hide something as important as a moonstone?

I could hear Darius groaning with frustration somewhere nearby, cursing loudly about not being able to use his powers to make this easier.

I could not resist teasing him. "That is the disadvantage of depending on an animal for everything. Some of us have learned to function without supernatural advantages."

Darius stopped searching and turned to stare at me for a long moment.

I half expected him to snap back with some cutting insult or maybe even attack me out of frustration.

But instead, he just shook his head slowly and went back to searching without saying a word.

His silence bothered me more than any insult would have. I wondered if this had something to do with the question I had asked him during our library study session, the one about his family that had made him shut down completely and walk out.

Maybe I had touched on something more painful than I realised.

I pushed the thought out of my mind and forced myself to focus on the actual task at hand. Where would someone hide a moonstone in an open pit like this?

I thought through various logical options.

One, they could hide it in a forbidden place that nobody would dare to look.

Two, they could hide it in a very enclosed space that would be difficult to search thoroughly.

Or three, they could hide it in plain sight, somewhere so obvious that everyone would overlook it because they would never believe something important could be kept there.

I decided to start testing each theory systematically.

First, I spotted a cupboard in one corner that looked slightly out of place compared to everything else around it.

The wood was darker, the handles more ornate. I hurried over and yanked it open, searching through every shelf and drawer.

Nothing. No moonstone.

I moved on to my third option, checking a fancy decorative container that sat prominently in the middle of the pit. It seemed too obvious, but that was exactly why it might work as a hiding place. I opened the lid carefully.

Empty.

Around me, I could hear the other contestants growing increasingly frustrated. Things were being knocked over and thrown aside as people searched more desperately.

My eyes scanned the pit until I spotted Darius and Dorian on the far side, both examining the stones that made up the wall itself.

That triggered a memory. When I had first walked into the pit at the beginning of the trial, I had noticed one particular stone in the wall near the entrance that looked slightly different from all the others.

It had a golden tint to it that caught the light in an unusual way.

Could it be that simple?

I took off running towards the entry point, my heart pounding with hope and adrenaline. There it was, exactly where I remembered seeing it.

A golden stone embedded in the wall, standing out just enough to be noticeable if you were paying attention.

I grabbed it with both hands and tried pulling it out of the wall, but it would not budge.

The stone was stuck firmly in place, refusing to move no matter how hard I yanked on it.

My desperate attempts had attracted attention. I could hear footsteps running towards me, getting closer with every second.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw one of the other contestants heading straight for me.

It was Darius.

His expression was determined, his eyes locked on the golden stone I was holding. He was moving fast, closing the distance between us rapidly.

Panic surged through me. I had found it first. I was not about to let him steal this victory from me.

"Ravenna, push the green button," Dorian's voice suddenly shouted from across the pit. "There is a green button beside the moonstone. Push it now."

My eyes frantically searched the area around the golden stone until I spotted what he was talking about.

A small green button was embedded in the wall just to the left of the moonstone, barely visible unless you knew to look for it.

Darius was almost on me now, his hand reaching out to grab the stone.

I slammed my palm down on the green button at the last possible second.

The golden stone immediately released from the wall, coming free so suddenly that I stumbled backwards from the momentum.

I clutched it tightly to my chest whilst Darius skidded to a stop just inches away from me, his hand frozen in mid-reach.

I lifted the moonstone high above my head in triumph, a wide smile spreading across my face whilst the crowd erupted into shocked cheers and gasps.

Darius stood there watching me with eyes that were equal parts stunned, hungry, and absolutely furious.

The conflicting emotions played across his face so clearly that I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

I leaned forward slightly, still holding the moonstone up high where everyone could see it. "How does it feel," I asked sweetly, "for someone with two personalities to lose to someone with just one?”