SOPHIE'S BODY MOVED of its own accord. A mixture of adrenaline and something else, something dangerous, sizzled within her veins. Her world shifted. Her gaze sharpened. The obstacles moved in slow motion around her.

A log swished out at her, and her body automatically ducked down –just in time to dance around another log aimed at her feet. Her body moved with a grace that Sophie had never experienced before. Her hand gripped a log, and she used the momentum to push herself upward. Then she catapulted over two other logs.

Within seconds, Sophie had danced through most of the second obstacle.

Then the faint scent of rust wafted around her head. It wasn't just rust; it was sweet honeysuckle mixed with milky chocolate. Her mouth watered.

Sophie froze, perched atop of a log. The world continued to revolve slowly around her. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on her roommate, who had scraped her knee. The girl howled and clutched at her knee as blood trickled down her leg.

A sharp pain pierced the inside of her mouth, just above her teeth.

Dazed, Sophie pressed a hand to her mouth. Her heart thudded rapidly inside her chest, like the blades of a helicopter. She blinked, and her fingers twitched. The skin around her fingernails stung, as if she'd been stabbed by a bunch of bees. Sophie struggled to make sense of what was going on.

Her gaze tore away from the girl, and it flickered over toward Eli. His mismatched gaze locked with hers, his expression grim. Aubrey still stood beside him, and looked murderous. She glared at Sophie so coldly that the hairs on her arms stood up straight. A rumble vibrated at the base of her throat. Sophie shifted, the balls of her feet pressed flat against the wood beneath her.

Something else caught her attention, then.

Headmaster had shifted in his chair, leaned forward slightly. His haunted eyes remained trained on Sophie, something akin to wonder shimmering within.

Sophie gritted her teeth.

A blur whooshed past her. It wasn't really a blur; a small voice in the back of her head told her that it should have been a blur, with the speed had been running. It was a girl from the Night Class. Sophie grumbled under her breath and turned, watching as the girl advanced to the last obstacle.

It was a rope, suspended high above the air between two poles.

Sophie danced around the rest of the logs and crossed the distance between the two obstacles within seconds. The dark pit beneath it seemed to stretch on endlessly, a scrawny net shielding it. Sophie scrambled up the ladder that was attached to the first pole. Her gaze remained focused on the girl from the Night Class. She stood on the platform and jumped. Her hands clasped around the rope. It bounced at the sudden addition of her weight.

The girl moved like an incredibly graceful monkey. As one hand grabbed the rope, the other released it, and she used her momentum to propel forward.

Sophie sucked in a sharp breath. She stood atop the platform, and her adrenaline rush had faded. Her fingers twitched, and the world shifted again. Sophie blinked, hard, and grimaced. Her gaze flickered about. The net seemed invisible from above, which made her heart thud loudly inside her chest.

"Oh boy," she murmured to herself.

"Come on, Sophie!" Eli's voice sounded so distant. She glanced down. Eli remained on his platform, miles away, his hands cupped around his mouth. He grinned at her and waved.

Sophie frowned. Aubrey had vanished.

Her thoughts whirled. She didn't understand why she'd been able to hear him so clearly, from so far away.

She turned her attention back to the task at hand. Her hands stretched upward, and she had to jump to reach the rope. Her fingers curled tight around it.

The rope caved beneath her weight, just like it had for the Night Class girl. Sophie inched out to the edge of the platform and did her best not to look down. The Night Class girl sung along the rope in front of her, almost three-fourths finished.

"I can do this," Sophie assured herself.

Her feet left the platform.

The rope sagged beneath her weight. She swung her legs forward, trying to gain momentum. Her hands moved slower than snails, inching across the rope. Sophie forced her head to remain angled back, her gaze locked between the rope and the other platform across from her.

The girl from the Night Class had reached the other side. She jumped down, onto the platform, and then practically slid down the length of the pole toward the ground.

When Sophie reached the middle of the rope, something whizzed past her head. She blinked, dazed, and wondered whether or not it was a bird.

Her grip started to slip.

Sophie quickly reworked her grip, shifting her weight around on her hands. The rope bounced with her and her fingers began to seriously burn. She ignored it and started forward again.

Then the rope went slack.

It happened within seconds. Suddenly, the rope had slackened, and warped within her hands like a worm. Sophie gripped it tight and started to drop.

Air rushed around Sophie as she plummeted toward the bottomless pit. Her lips parted around a scream. Her stomach slammed against the back of her throat, blocking the sound. The rope whipped around her wildly, flailing. It smacked against her legs, threatening to wind around them.

Sophie squeezed her eyes shut. That strange feeling returned; adrenaline raced through her veins, accompanied by a mixture of ice and fire.

Her eyes snapped open, and the world around her had shifted.

Sophie released the rope. The momentum of the rope swinging downward had already pushed her forward enough to where she'd miss the net entirely. The grassy earth seemed to race toward her in slow motion. Her mind calculated where her feet needed to be positioned, and the best way to absorb the impact.

She shifted. Her body mimicked the plan she'd comprised within her mind; the balls of her feet pressed flat against the earth, absorbing most of the impact. Grass crunched beneath her, and part of the earth caved.

Sophie bounded forward and crossed the finish line.

Eli met her there.

Sophie couldn't comprehend his sudden appearance. He'd been at least a mile or two back, standing atop the platform with the Headmaster and Evangeline. But now he stood in front of her, his arms outstretched. Her nose twitched. Alarms blared inside her head.

Eli was dangerous, her insides screamed.

Then his hand shot out and he grabbed her, wrenching Sophie to an abrupt stop. She gasped, confused, and the adrenaline that blazed through her veins faded away.

Dazed, she squirmed away from him. "What are you doing?"

"Are you alright?" he asked. Frantic worry tainted his tone. His grip remained vice like, fingers curled around her wrist. His mismatched eyes locked with hers.

Sophie blinked. Another wave of confusion rippled through her. She stopped squirming and stared up at Eli, her eyebrows pinched together. Her mind blanked.

"Did...did I finish?" she asked, breathless.

Eli laughed. He yanked her forward. Her face slammed against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her torso. "Yes, you finished," he said, and buried his face into her hair. "You came in second place."

"I did?" Sophie sagged against him. Her palms pressed flat against his chest. "But the rope snapped," she remembered.

"It did. You and Natalie are the only two who successfully completed the obstacle course." He stroked her hair. "You did great, Sophie."

Sophie poked her head out around his arm. "I didn't want to." Her nose pinched up. She caught sight of the Night Class girl, Natalie, who stood several feet away. She remained indifferent, gaze glued to her and Eli.

Heat burned within Sophie's cheeks. She wriggled free of Eli's grasp and stepped backward. She glanced back over her shoulder. The rest of the contestants stood on the other side of the dark abyss. Her roommate looked murderous.

"What will happen to them?" she asked.

Eli scratched at the back of his head. "They will either get the option to forfeit the last challenge, or a retry later. You won't have to participate in that race though."

Sophie nodded. Her head craned back, and she looked at the clock that shined above her head. A chill bristled through her body. "How is that possible?" she whispered.

Eli looked up. "Phenomenal, right?"

Only two minutes and thirty-three seconds had passed since the start of the race.