Page 6 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

He shrugged. “I can only pass on what I know.” He reached for the sword, sheathing it. “Shall we continue on?”

“Which way?” I peered into the darkness.

My companion closed his eyes for a moment. Then, abruptly opening them, he turned to the left. “This way.”

∞∞∞

Azulin

“How did you know which way to turn?” she asked as she trotted to keep up with my longer strides.

Some of her chaotic curls had escaped from her braid to cluster around her head in a wild halo. The delicate curves of her face gave her delightfully open and expressive features. Unlike my daily interactions at the Seelie court, I hadn’t needed to guess what she thought of anything we discussed. I found her vulnerability equal parts fascinating and disturbing.

“Do you have an inner compass?” she asked.

“My birthright is anchored in my kingdom. The Unseelie king always plays out his curse shenanigans in his own realm. Thus, I orient myself.”

“So, you are a fae lord.” She gave me a side-eye. “Of the Seelie court?”

“After a fashion.” I had no intention of revealing everything. Her innocence was disarming, but I wouldn’t stake my life on it not being an elaborate ruse. Placing a mole in his elaborate trap would be just the sort of thing my tormentor would do. It was time to turn the tables a bit. “And what kind of mortal are you?”

She pressed her lips together and peered into the darkness. “Isn’t there only one? The kind that dies?”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Feeling defensive?”

“A mite—perhaps—maybe.”

“Why?” Scanning the darkness, I tested my access to my magic. Strangely, it hadn’t flared up since I entered the labyrinth. Every other time the curse was in full effect, my portal magic had continued spitting and rioting into fits of it, trying to transport me randomly.

“Probably because I was minding my own business on human lands when I was captured. Thankfully, my sister escaped the monster that abducted me. At least she and her kit are safe.”

“Won’t she worry about you?”

She shrugged. “At first, she might, but once the babe arrives, she’ll be too busy to worry about my fate. As far as the community is concerned, I served my purpose. I protected her and her young.” Sadness dimmed her expression, dulling the brilliance that had sparked in her eyes earlier.

“So, you are an undeveloped shifter,” I observed.

She stiffened her shoulders and straightened. “There is no shame in that. We are just as vital to the community as those who shift. We guard the young and protect the unborn.”

That fit with what I knew about the culture of the shapeshifters living in hiding along the border of the Wild Woods. My childhood tutors told me stories of the dual-formed people beginning to mingle with typical humans.

We approached an intersection. I spotted it long before she did. Extending my strangely cooperative magic-enhanced senses, I detected living organisms in both directions.

“Oh.” She stumbled to a halt next to me.

“Both directions seem equally dangerous,” I observed. “I sense multiple living entities, but I can’t determine whether they mean us ill or not.”

“I wager they will attempt to harm us based on those we have encountered so far.”

“Speak for yourself. I have enjoyed your company, and you don’t appear to be intent on killing me.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed, a soft joyful sound in the icy darkness. Then she shivered. The temperature was dropping and fast. The air had taken on a definite chill, and according to my mental tallying, the sun had set mere moments before.

The woman next to me began rubbing her upper arms. She shuffled from one naked foot to the other and eyed the openings ahead from within our halo of light. “How do we choose?” she asked.

“Are you cold?”

“Perhaps.”

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