Page 79 of Chosen By the Fae King

I hadn’t been thinking of anything other than my own desperation to keep her here.

She’d pushed my buttons and I reacted. Somewhere, in the back of my depraved mind, I wanted to test her, to see what she was made of.

I spent the rest of the night pouring over old tomes and journals, searching for a solution to the immediate problem. No contestant could sit out, as Lorne had suggested, but perhaps the scope of flexibility went further than we knew.

By the time I left the library, I was certain that I had an answer, and it whispered in the shadows that I was well and truly fucked.

Seventeen

Aeryn

The stone walls of the maze towered before us as we came to a stop, faced with two options. Go left into a dim, narrow passage, or go right into another just as unnerving.

My heart pounded, sensing danger lurking in the shadows with either choice. I suspected, no matter which way we turned, there was no escaping some inevitable calamity ahead.

Sofiya grasped my arm. “Do you feel that?”

I nodded. The air tingled with magic, thick and oppressive. This was no ordinary labyrinth.

We'd all believed we had one more day of training. One more day to sort ourselves out and mentally prepare for whatever the trials would force upon us.

That changed when Lorne interrupted breakfast to inform us the first official trial was today. Apparently, the king had grown impatient and upped the schedule.

Thankfully, things moved fast after that and I didn't have time to dwell on it. Now we were in some elaborate maze, trying to make our way to the center.

Raina lifted her spear. “Stay alert.” Her violet eyes scanned the twisting path.

“Yes, because none of us had thought of that,” Mirrelle grumbled.

“Stop bickering and pay attention,” Astrid ordered with an authoritative air. “This is the first magic we've sensed. Aeryn, pick a number, between one and ten.”

“Four.”

“This way.” Astrid took us right.

The passage we had chosen led us deeper into the maze, the walls closing in around us. My heart raced with each turn we took, unsure of what was waiting for us around the corner.

Astrid and Raina were in the lead, with Sofiya and I close behind. Mirrelle trailed at the back, muttering under her breath about how unimpressed she was with our first task. She was surely jinxing what I considered good fortune.

A few minor physical obstacles and lots of dead ends had slowed us down, but they were nothing compared to what I'd imagined. I was just happy we hadn't been attacked by any creatures or spells.

As if my mind had conjured my fears, a low growling sound echoed through the passage. We froze, our weapons at the ready.

Peering down the dark corridor ahead, I could just make out two glowing red eyes staring back at us.

“Stay behind me,” Raina commanded. She stepped forward, her spear ready.

Before she could take another step, a massive creature burst out from around the corner. It was a wolf-like beast with shimmering black fur and long sharp claws.

Without hesitation, Astrid shot a bolt of light towards it, hitting it in the chest and pushing it back. Instead of attacking us, the creature let out a pained howl and disappeared into thin air.

“What happened?” I asked as we cautiously moved forward.

“It must have been an illusion,” Raina said grimly. “This maze is filled with traps and tricks.”

We continued on our way, encountering several more illusions along with some physical obstacles that tested our agility and strength. But eventually the path we were on narrowed to a point blocked by a massive boulder with no apparent way forward.

“There has to be something here,” Mirrelle said frustratedly as she pounded her fists against one of the walls.

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