Page 13 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

The path ahead only extended for a short distance before we came upon a three-way intersection.

The pooka lifted his torch higher, but nothing appeared beyond more of the same kind of passageway in all three directions. “This wasn’t here when I was running from the ogre.”

“How can you tell?” I asked. “All of these corridors appear exactly the same.”

“Not all exactly,” Azulin contradicted me. “The one to the right has a breeze coming from it. The one to the left smells of sulfur, and the floor of the one straight ahead is moving, ever so slightly. I suspect an illusion.”

“I didn’t come through any of them,” the pooka declared.

None of them sounded appealing to me. “This maze doesn’t play fair.”

“The Unseelie king isn’t known for his fairness,” the pooka commented. “Neither, by the way, is the Seelie king.” He shot Azulin a side-eyed glance. “Any insight into which way we should go, fae lord?”

But Azulin didn’t respond. His gaze, dark and intense, fixed on me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I understand the purpose of the mimick, the ogre, and even the pooka, perhaps—actually, no. The pooka makes no sense.”

“I am not speaking gibberish,” the pooka protested.

Azulin’s brows lowered, and he continued to study my features as he wrestled through something. “But if you…if you are the key, the pooka makes sense.”

“What are you talking about?” the pooka demanded.

“My curse.” Azulin turned abruptly and glared at the pooka, who jumped back at the sudden intensity in Azulin’s gaze. “Out with it, pooka. You’ve been hinting around it. You might as well come out and say it. Who do you think I am?”

“You are the Seelie king.” The pooka didn’t appear pleased. “My apologies for outing you, Your Majesty.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Azulin turned to eye me expectantly.

“If you are expecting me to fill in the rest of the pieces, you’re going to be waiting a long time.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“Every time the curse has forced constraints upon me before, I was always provided with an opportunity to break it. The provision was built into the curse. When I was forced to ride in the Wild Hunt, mortals were available for capturing. And now here you are, served on a platter for my use.”

“I am not here for your consumption,” I informed him.

The pooka snorted his amusement, but Azulin’s attention didn’t shift from studying my features.

“But what am I supposed to do with you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Don’t look to me for answers. You know more than I do.”

Azulin groaned.

“How about we address the more pressing problem?” The pooka thrust his torch toward the crossroads we faced. “I propose we choose before the labyrinth starts rumbling again and forces us to choose. Which direction, Your Majesty?”

“By the sulfur smell, I would suspect a crazed dragon shifter stalks in that direction. And any creature capable of illusion beyond a mimick would be more than I wish to handle at this point.”

“Agreed.” The pooka swung the torch around to illuminate the passage to the right. “Care to wager on what we shall find?” he asked me.

“No.”

As the pooka took the lead, Azulin came alongside me. He claimed my hand as though he owned it. Magic flared between us and wound up my arm, sending tingles to my elbow when he laced his long fingers through mine. “Stay close,” he cautioned in a lowered voice.

I nodded. “So, how can I be connected to your curse?”

“I’m not sure.” He frowned at our joined hands. “I just have an intuition you were chosen to be part of this labyrinth. I wasn’t present when the curse was cast, and all Ghost was able to discover was that a mortal woman would be the key to my freedom.”

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