Adrian 1 P09
The afternoon teampetition was about to begin. As we approached the designated location, I noticed a familiar group abends waiting on Ma?a, and ten other Festshades Puck warriors stand by The Entrance, their potturei stiffening when they
Roder immediately tensed beside me, “What had
ered. “Why did it have in
Maya’s eyes iactured as she looked out way, her lips ceiling into a mockin
The hostility between or packs was palpable, like electricity crackli maintain hisposure
ced a calming hand on byder a slopeder, silently reminding him tu
cartured antimism. Wee,petitors
Before the sctuation could escte, the door swung open. A young man in formal attive greeted us with Please,e inside
Something about the host struck me immediately. Despite his youth – he couldn’t have been more than twenty fror–he carried of someone much older. His bright blue eyes possessed an unusual intensity, studying everything with calcted precision.
ristocratic appearance. His dark hair was styled
His clean–shaven face featured sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline that gave him a somewhat aristocratic Immacte underot, not a strand out of ce.
<b>I </b>couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen him before, though I couldn’t ce where or when. Thepetition had featured dozens of officials and roordinators; perhaps he d eveneen one of our earlier trials
I surveyed the interior as we entered. The building’syout was simple–a central area that branched into two identical corridors, each with several doors along its length
The host produced two small <b>stacks </b>of cards from his pocket, <b>his </b>long, nimble fingers handling them with surprising dexterity. Though youpete as four- person teams, rach member has an individual role,” he exined, extending one <b>stack </b>toward me and the other toward Leon. “Please, select your identity
Before I could reach for them, <b>Skye </b>stepped forward and took the entire stack from the host’s hand<b>. </b>
“Miss! That’s not the procedure the host began to protest, his familiar voice triggering another wave of déjà vu. Where had I heard that particr cadence before?
– “I’m just shuffling them,” Skye interrupted, quickly mixing the cards before handing them to me. “Alpha Adrian, you should distribute them to our team.”
I understood her caution. With potential threats lurking in thispetition, even small precautions were warranted.
I handed each team member a card before examining my own.
Mine read “RECEIVER in bold letter
Tm the Sender, Ryder announced, looking at his <b>card</b>.
“Im the 1
Lydia was
Hostage, Skye
<b>e </b>said, her expression carefully neutral.
thest to check her card. “I’ve drawn… Spy,” she revealed, looking up at me uncertainly.
Before the host could <b>exin </b>further, Maya’s indignant voice cut through the room.
“What? Im the Spy ?!” she eximed, her face contorting with outrage. “This is ridiculous! No one is more loyal to Lean than me!”
Leon’s expression hardened. “Maya,” he reprimanded, control yourself. How could you reveal your role so carelessly?”<fn71b3> The rightful source is f?ndnovel</fn71b3>
The host <b>waved </b>off the concern, a silver si ring catching the light as he gestured dismissively. That ring… I narrowed my <b>eyes </b>slightly, trying to recall where I might have seen it before. It seemed too ornate for <b>someone </b><b>so </b>young–perhaps <b>a </b>family heirloom with some kind of emblem.
That perfectly fine. Everyone knowing each other’s roles <b>doesn’t </b>affect the game,” he said. His voice carried the practiced smoothness of someone
meone who had
given many presentations despite his youth.
Lydia rose from
enthusiasm<ol><li>h. “Now, would all those who drew the pe cand please pard</li></ol>
while Maya reluctantly stepped forward fem Leon’s team: They both stood before the hort, who began apuding with anexpected
Please give a nerd el apploose for en spirt!” be dered
This lonely pping echoed through the room as everyone else remained silent, watching with varying degrees of confusion. As he continued speaking, i
harity was bing distracting. Found myself studying his mannerisms more than listening to his words. The magging fa
“First, I most congratte you two,” he continued once his solo apuse died down. “Yive drawn the most ential rates in this game. An spies, you must infiltrate the enemy team–which means you I be switching siilet now.”
“What?” Maya’s eyes wide
widened in
in harrot as she painted at me. “You expect me to join their tesen les mice dripped with disgust
Lydia nced at me nervously, I gave her a reassining mod. Go to Alpha Lenn’s team,‘ I fiild her. “I trust you
Maya approached our group with visible reluctance, arms crossed tightly over her chest and chin held high in defiance. Every step she took toward un seemed to cause her physical pain.
As she joined our ranks<b>, </b>I found my attention draven back to the host. His youthful energy seemed at odds with the methodical, almost calcting way he observed our interactions. The way he stood with his weight slightly favored to one side, his right hand caully resting in his pocket–I’d definitely sem this stance before, but the contest remained frustratingly out of reach.
<b>Once </b>the exchange wasplete, the host began exining the rules of thepetition.
The game space consists of two parallel corridors with identicalyouts. Each team will upy one corridor,” he exined, gesturing to the branching from the main room. Your objective is to sessfullyplete the challenge and exit safely within thirty minutes.
He moved toward the first door in the nearest corridor, which had “SENDER” written on it.
“This is the Sender’s rooms, he exined, pushing the door open to reveal a sparse interior containing only a table with a pen and envelope. “Once the game begins, both Senders must remain in their respective cours. Your task is to create a message containing vital code and have it delivered.”
Ryder peered into the empty space. “If we can’t leave the room, how do we deliver the message?”
“Simple–through the Spy, the host replied with a smile that didn’t quite <b>reach </b>his eyes. The familiarity of <b>his </b>expression gnawed at me again. Had we crossed paths at some Council meeting? Or perhaps during a previouspetition?
“Please, follow me, delivering messages.”
he added, leading us back into the hallway. “The corridor is where the Spies operate. You’ll move through your assigned hallway,
“We’re trusting the Spres with our messages? several voices <b>asked </b>almost simultaneously
“Exactly!” The host rodded enthusiastically. “That’s why they’re the key yers in this game. Spies <b>can </b>choose to help you by delivering messages faithfully
they can sabotage you by altering the contents.”
We followed him t
to the second door along the corridor. Inside was arge ss–fronted cab that resembled an oversized even
The Receiver must stay
in this room, the host instructed, his tone shifting to something more serious.
“And the Hostage…” He pointed to the ss cab. “The Hostage will be confined in thisrge oven
“So within thirty minutes, the Receiver must use Information from the message delivered by the Spy to open the ovenect? I said
<b>pescu </b>
the Hostage.
In that