Page 83 of Chosen By the Fae King

“What are you doing?”

“Blindfolds.”

Sofiya didn't question it. She took the blade when I offered and cut the bottom of her shirt off, too. Before we secured the fabric around our eyes, we used the rope to tie our waists together.

“Ready?” I checked.

“As I'll ever be.”

Sightless and full of trepidation, we moved through the tricky opening. Using our hands as guides, we blindly felt our way along. The minutes stretched until we'd lost track of time.

I was ready to throw in the towel when I felt a wave of heat upon my skin. I threw off my blindfold. Sofiya clapped, having already looked.

We were just inside a brightly lit chamber. A sun spell hung over a circle of flags hovering in the center. Each flag had a name stitched on it.

Those were our tickets out of the maze.

“We did it!” Sofiya ran forward, pulling me with the rope still connecting us.

“Wait.” Unsure what exactly happened when we grabbed our flag, I slowly began undoing the knots.

I'd just untethered us when Zoriyah emerged from a passage on the other side, twins Cadence and Callis came right after. Cobalt fire crackled at Zoriyah’s fingertips.

Sofiya audibly gulped.

The Fire fae's wicked smile set off alarm bells as she sauntered toward us. “You really should have taken me up on my offer, little farmer.”

The twins snickered prissily. They both needed a good slap across their snotty faces.

“The king will never actually want a weakling like you,” Zoriyah's gaze flicked to Sofiya, “or her for his queen. I'm going to do the kingdom a favor.”

“We don't want the crown,” I reminded.

It was the truth. I may have wanted Nox, but wasn't interested in ruling.

“Yet here you are, farmer, first to the center.”

“Because we were actually trying to get out of the maze before something bad happened!”

Zoriyah lifted one palm. Flames blazed with a plethora of colors, swaying and slithering around her hand. I’d never seen fire magic produce flares of green or black. She had to be using more than just her fire talent.

An orb was hurled at me before I could recall what magic or spell made those colors of fire.

Not fast enough, I dove, and landed with a cry. Pain scorched across my chest as the projectile hit above my heart.

The wild thing howled, protectively curling in around my psyche like a living thing. The fire burning through my cells folded in on itself until it was a concentrated mass.

I willed it out of me and, miraculously, it shot back to its creator. Flashbacks of Dori popped into my head as I watched Zoriyah crumple to the ground.

The twins shrieked in rage. One lunged but vines from the ground, wrapping around them both until I could no longer see their forms.

Sofiya?

Breath hissed between my teeth at the raw, burnt flesh on my chest. The sphere had struck and I'd lived. Something that felt like a spell, potent and strong, bled into my veins.

What was happening to me?

I shook off the question for later, grasping Sofiya's offered hand as she helped me to my feet.

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