I stared at the words on the page.
Her Radiance, the Lady Clay
No.
I lifted my finger from the ledger and stared harder, as if sufficient disapproval might cause the ink to reconsider its life choices. It did not.
“What?” Lynn asked from beside me.
“Nothing,” I replied, attempting to flip the page in a vain attempt to hide the signature. That was apparently the wrong answer.
She immediately leaned over my shoulder and I tried to slam the book shut, but the damn thing refused to budge. For a moment she just stared, then she snorted with laughter.
“Oh my God,” she said, wheezing.
“Don't,” I warned.
“Her Radiance?” she continued.
“Lynn,” I pleaded.
“The Lady Clay?” she asked. “Shouldn't it be The Lady Callie?”
“I will fucking murder you in your sleep,” I threatened, but that only made it worse. She doubled over laughing, one hand clutching her stomach as she tried and failed to get herself under control.
“What’s so funny?” Mary asked.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to appear casual.
“Callie's a princess,” Lynn wheezed.
“I am not a fucking princess,” I snapped with more bite than I intended.
Marv's head immediately rose.
“My Lady, I have practically been telling you this for some time, though maybe I should have been more blunt.” he stated as though it were the most natural conclusion to come to in the world. "You are My Lady, My Maiden, the Princess of my Heart."
“You stay out of this,” I replied with venom.
“As you wish, Your Radiance,” he said.
I slowly turned my head toward him. The smug bastard radiated amusement through our bond.
Asshole.
“Oy,” Sal grunted from somewhere behind me. “Others gotta sign too.”
“Sorry, Sal,” I said, stepping away from the book with what little dignity I had left.
“Anytime, Yer Radiance,” he replied curtly.
I stopped and turned causing the Bopca to immediately become fascinated with something behind the bar.
Motherfucker.
Lynn started laughing again.
One by one, everyone touched the ledger and signed. Their names appeared without fanfare, titles, honorifics, or anything else remotely interesting because why would they? Apparently, the dungeon had reserved all of its bullshit for me.
Once everyone had signed, six small golden keys appeared in a neat row beside the ledger.
“Don’t need all o’ those,” Sal said. “Take however many rooms yeh want. First one through the door becomes the primary occupant. Everyone else can bunk where they please, long as they’ve signed.”
“I’m guessing some of us want to stay together for the night,” I said. “Four rooms?”
“Works for me,” Aaron answered with a nod.
“I’m staying with Matt,” Mary said.
Matt's expression brightened considerably.
“I'm staying with my princess,” Lynn said, drawing a look of ire from me.
“Maybe I want to sleep alone,” I said, though the look Lynn gave me said she didn’t believe me, and she was right not to.
Aaron looked between us and the other couple then sighed.
“At least I don’t have to worry about either of you two guys snoring,” he said shaking his head. “Night, guys.”
He went to the nearest door and opened it.
“Night, Aaron,” I said.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
I stared at it for a moment longer than I probably should have, a little worried about my friend because of what I had overheard in the bath.
Lynn slipped her hand into mine.
“Come on,” she said, and I let her lead me to the next door.
“After you, princess,” she said with a smirk. “To be honest, I just want to see what kind of room you get.”
I rolled my eyes and opened the door… then I closed it immediately after getting a peek inside.
“Nope,” I said resolutely.
Lynn opened the door and stuck her head in.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed.
“No.”
“Callie…”
“Don't.”
“You have a canopy bed,” she pointed out.
“I can see that.”
“And, you have a fucking chandelier,” she said loudly, making me want to find a hole to hide in.
“Lynn, please.”
She walked past me into the room, slowly turning in a circle as she took everything in.
“Your Radiance, your royal chambers await,” she replied with a bow.
“I hate you,” I said, defeated.
“No, you don't,” she said confidently.
Unfortunately, she was right.
“Let me check on Marv then I’ll be in and we can get some sleep,” I said, looking at Marv who was standing a few doors down.
I walked over to him and rubbed him on the nose, between his eyes.
“You gonna be okay on your own for the night?” I asked.
“Of course, My Lady,” he replied. “You need not worry about me.”
“Okay, okay. You’re a big boy and don’t need me to worry over you, do you?” I smiled and gave him a hug which led to a blossoming of affection coming from him. “Well, let’s see what your room for the night looks like.”
He clopped over to the door and bumped it with his nose, causing it to swing open, and I looked inside.
Marv's room was a stable, but not just a stable. It was the kind of stable owned by someone who used words like estate instead of house. The stall was enormous, the floor covered in fresh straw, and there was enough room for him to comfortably move around. A polished trough sat along one wall beside what appeared to be an entire barrel of apples.
“This is acceptable,” Marv announced.
“Just acceptable?” I asked.
“Though I believe your chambers are more befitting one of your station, My Lady,” he said, the mirth rolling off him.
“Fuck off, Marv,” I said halfheartedly, causing pride and amusement to blossom through our bond. I followed up a beat later, “goodnight, Marv.”
“Sleep well, My Lady.”
I gave his nose one last rub and, almost as an afterthought, a quick peck before leaving him to his ridiculously luxurious stable and heading back to my room.
I opened the door and sighed when the crystal chandelier and canopy bed covered in silken sheets came back into view.
A goddamn princess room… whatever.
Lynn was already in the bed, naked, waiting for me and lifted the covers as I approached.
“Come here,” she said with a gentle smile.
I didn't argue. I unequipped all of my gear before climbing into the bed beside her and she immediately moved against me, wrapping an arm around my waist and resting her head against my shoulder. It was a position we had slept in many times before… or close to it at least.
She shifted.
“Your boobs are in the way,” she complained.
“Trust me, I am painfully aware of that,” I said with a sigh.
Lynn snorted and adjusted herself until she found a comfortable spot.
“There.”
“Better?”
“Mmhmm.”
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her a little closer. For the first time all day, I didn't have anywhere I needed to be except right where I was at that moment.
“Love you,” she murmured.
“Love you too.”
A few minutes later, her breathing became slow and even.
She was asleep.
I, however, was not.
I stared up at the canopy above us and, for a little while, I was okay.
Lynn was warm against me; her head tucked into the space between my shoulder and one of my obnoxiously oversized breasts. Her arm rested loosely across my stomach, rising and falling slightly with every breath she took.
I listened to those breaths.
In and out.
In and out.
It was proof that she still was alive, still with me.
I tightened my arm around her a little.
In the room next to us, Aaron had no one with him.
Fuck.
I tried not to think about it, I really did. Naturally, that meant it was the only thing I could think about.
Jenn and I were engaged. I could hear his voice as clearly as if he were standing beside the bed. I proposed a couple weeks ago. She said yes.
I closed my eyes and Jenn was there. Her entire body quickly folding in on itself before rupturing in a geyser of gore.
My eyes snapped open again.
Nope.
I stared at the canopy.
Think about something else, brain. I commanded.
The premiere… that was something else.
We needed to be awake for the premiere. Marv had reminded me about it. I wondered what it would be like. How much would they show? Would we be in it? Would they show the goblins? Bayou Billy? Maybe there would be information about what was happening elsewhere in this fucking dungeon that could actually help us.
4,206,654
Fuck.
I hadn't meant to think about that.
4,206,654
That was how many of us had been left when I looked at the screen… out of almost thirteen million. Nearly nine million people dead in less than a day. People with families. People who had entered with friends. People who had probably thought they were doing okay right up until the moment they weren't.
Just like Tommy.
I saw him falling again.
Stop.
Derrik's ruined body replaced him.
Stop.
Jenn screamed.
Stop.
The people we had found after leaving the Guildhall stared up at me with dead eyes.
Just fucking stop.
I looked down at Lynn who was still asleep, still breathing.
I focused on that.
In and out.
In and out.
My hand had tightened around her without me realizing it. Lynn shifted against me and made a quiet noise in her sleep. I immediately relaxed my grip.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
She didn't wake.
I gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.
What if she's next?
My stomach clenched.
No.
What if it was Mary? Matt? Or Aaron? What if Marv died because of me?
I had already led Tommy, Kylie, and Jenn into this fucking dungeon. They had trusted me. Derrik had trusted me too, the look of hope in his eyes as we charged in to save him. Everyone kept looking to me for answers like I had some fucking clue what I was doing.
I didn't. I had thought our chances would have been better down here than the surface where we would likely starve or fall into tribalism. I was so wrong. I’m nothing more than a twenty-three-year-old idiot wearing a magical girl costume who had somehow become responsible for keeping everyone alive.
And I couldn't even do that… I don’t think anybody could.
That was the part I couldn't get out of my head.
No matter how smart I was, no matter how strong Marv became, no matter what ridiculous bullshit the AI stuffed into another loot box, eventually I would make the wrong decision… or I would make the right decision and it wouldn't matter.
Someone would die. Hell, maybe all of them.
We are all going to die and I'm the idiot who led us here.
I felt something warm slide down the side of my face and disappear into my hair.
I wiped it away before another followed it.
Goddamnit.
I didn't want to wake Lynn, she needed sleep. Everyone needed sleep.
Tomorrow, they would need me to have my shit together again, so I stared at the canopy and listened to her breathe.
At some point, despite everything running through my head, exhaustion finally won.
***
I was running through the woods, I didn’t know why, and I didn’t know where to, I only knew I had to get there before it was too late.
“Clay!” I heard Tommy call from behind me.
I turned and the ground that had been behind me crumbled under his feet.
He fell backward and I lunged forward, catching his wrist. Pain ripped through my shoulder, but I had him. For once, I fucking had him.
“Tommy!” I called out to him.
He looked up at me, but there was no relief in his face.
“Why didn't you save me?” he asked, his voice accusatory.
“What?”
Fire erupted from beneath where he dangled.
“No! Tommy, hold on!” I cried as I tried to pull him up and out of the fires. Flames licked at my skin. His skin blackened and I pulled harder, ignoring the pain.
“Clay!” another voice called from behind me. Jenn.
I looked back and saw her standing a few feet away.
“No…” I whispered.
Her right arm slowly folded in on itself before exploding, spreading bits of itself all around.
“No!” I called futilely as if it would make a difference. I could feel my grip on Tommy slipping.
Her other arm disappeared in a shower of gore, then her legs. The entire time she just stared at me accusingly.
“Stop it!” I commanded as Tommy slipped from my grip and fell into the fires.
4,206,653
The number hung in the air above her.
“STOP!” I repeated as she vanished in a violent spray.
4,206,652
Kylie took her place, blood leaking out of multiple wounds that peppered her body. Like Jenn, she silently stared her eyes boring into my soul as the life slowly faded from them.
4,206,651
Derrik stood where she had been, rather what was left of him did.
“Clay…” his voice gurgled from a nonexistent mouth.
“No…” I begged.
He dragged himself toward me with the detached remnants of his arms.
“Help me,” he demanded, his voice a wet mess.
“I tried,” I said in vain. “I tried!”
“Did you?” he croaked as he burst into a spray of blood.
4,206,650
Mary replaced him.
“No…”
She vanished.
4,206,649
Matt replaced her for a moment, then disappeared.
4,206,648
“No!”
Then it was Aaron’s turn.
4,206,647
“STOP!”
Marv was next, his horn broken and his white coat was covered in blood.
“MARV!”
Then he too, was gone.
4,206,646
“No, no, no, no…” I repeated, as if it would make it stop.
Someone touched my shoulder.
I turned and saw Lynn’s face smiling at me.
For one impossible second, everything stopped.
“It's okay,” she said.
I grabbed her and pulled her against me in desperation.
“I've got you,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.
I cried, sobbing into her hair.
4,206,646
The number appeared, lingering above her head, making my blood go cold.
“No…” I felt myself fracturing.
Lynn looked at me, the skin peeling off her face. “Callie?”
She fell apart in my arms and vanished.
“NO!”
4,206,645
***
I woke with a violent gasp, my arms snapping shut tightly around Lynn, causing her to jerk awake.
“Callie?” she called sleepily.
I couldn't breathe. My heart was hammering in my chest.
“Callie!” she said forcefully.
My eyes darted around the room, taking it in. As the details of the ornate room revealed themselves to me, I felt my heart rate slow, my breathing became easier, my grip loosened, and I let her go.
Lynn was there, looking up at me.
I grabbed her face with both hands, and looked into her eyes to confirm that she was ok.
“Whoa, hey, hey,” she whispered.
She was alive.
“Clay?” she asked.
I pulled her against me so hard it made her grunt. For a moment she didn't move, then her arms wrapped around me.
“I'm here,” she said.
I buried my face in her hair and inhaled deeply, her scent calming me.
“I'm right here,” she said softly.
“I know,” I finally managed to say.
My voice didn't sound right in my ears, its edge too raw.
Lynn didn't ask what happened, she just held me.
“Sorry,” I said pathetically.
“For what?”
“I woke you up.”
“Callie.”
“And I'm probably crushing you.”
“Callie,” she repeated.
“I just…”
“Callie, shut the fuck up.” She commanded and I did.
Her hand moved slowly up and down my back soothingly.
“I don't care that you woke me up, sweetie.”
“Okay…” I said in a small voice.
Several seconds passed, then a minute. Maybe it was more, maybe less, I don’t know for sure.
“Every time I close my eyes…” I started to explain, but the words caught in my throat.
Lynn waited patiently, so I tried again.
“Every time I close my eyes, I see someone dying,” I said, my voice cracking.
Her hand stopped for just a moment before continuing its slow path across my back.
“Then don't close them for now,” she said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
I pulled back enough to look at her.
“What?”
“Don't close them.” She settled back against the pillows, pulling me with her. “We'll stay awake as long as you need.”
“You need to sleep,” I pointed out.
“So do you,” she said in rebuttal.
“Lynn…”
“Callie, I'm not arguing with you about this,” she said in that tone she used when she was serious.
“You argue with me about everything,” I stated.
“Exactly. You should know better by now.”
Despite myself, a tiny laugh escaped me.
“There she is,” she whispered.
I rested my head against hers and we didn't talk after that. We just lay together beneath the absurd canopy of my ridiculous princess bed while Lynn traced lazy circles against my back.
Every so often my eyes started to drift shut and every time they did, I opened them again. Eventually, though, I couldn't. The last thing I remembered was Lynn's hand moving gently against my back. This time, when sleep took me, she was still awake.