Page 78 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

How can I expect Lara and Izzy to learn this in just a few days?

The thought of Lara sends another surge of uncontrolled power through me. Ice crackles up the walls, and Syella steps back quickly.

“Careful, Your Lordship. We wouldn’t want to destabilize the structure.”

I clench my fists, trying to rein in my wayward magic.

Fuck. How am I going to get through the double full moon myself—much less help Lara and Izzy?

“Show me the rest,” I grit out.

Syella’s single raised eyebrow makes my jaw clench, but she continues the tour without comment.

More traps. More illusions. More ways to die.

Finally, we reach what appears to be the center of the maze. A circular chamber opens before us, its domed ceiling creating the illusion of endless space.

“The heart,” Syella announces. “Where the prince will no doubt stage some form of entertainment.”

Or an execution.

The thought comes unbidden, accompanied by an image of Lara trapped here, surrounded by ice and treachery.

My magic surges again, and this time I can’t contain it. Frost explodes outward, coating the walls in thick sheets of uncontrolled ice. The temperature plummets until even Syella shivers.

“Your Lordship?” Concern edges her voice. “Perhaps we should continue this another time?”

“No.” I force the word out through clenched teeth. “Show me the way out. The fastest route.”

She hesitates. “There are multiple exits, each with their own challenges. In the prince’s maze, I suspect some will be blocked, others trapped...”

“Show me all of them.”

By the time we finally emerge from the maze, my head is spinning with paths and patterns and deadly possibilities.

Syella has marked each exit, each major trap, but I know it won’t be enough. One Earth week isn’t nearly enough time to learn this lethal labyrinth.

“I’ll need to make some modifications,” I tell her, though my voice sounds distant to my own ears. “Additional features.”

“Of course.” She studies me with those unnerving pale eyes. “Though I wonder, Your Lordship, if you’ve considered all the variables in your plan.”

Heat flares beneath my skin. “Meaning?”

“Only that mazes have a way of revealing truths we’d rather keep hidden.” She gestures at the ice structure behind us. “Every path leads somewhere, whether we wish it to or not.”

Before I can respond, another wave of dizziness washes over me.

My magic surges, and ice spreads from my feet in a rapidly expanding circle. Syella steps back quickly, but her expression holds more calculation than fear.

“I’ll leave you to your preparations,” she says, bowing slightly. “Though if I might make a suggestion? Practice the maze at night, when the moons are highest. The patterns are clearer then.”

She turns and walks away, leaving me alone with her creation and the single thought echoing through my mind, over and over again.

Not enough time.

Not enough time to learn this maze, to master its deadly intricacies. Not enough time to teach Lara and Izzy everything they need to know to survive the court.

Not enough time to find another way.

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