Page 64 of The King of Frost and Shadows

I’d bet Eldrin was enjoying himself thoroughly.

The anticipation of the drop had to be worse thanactually experiencing it. I wished the damn thing would just go because, by how fast my heart was racing and how much sweat was pooling in my armpits, I was near cardiac arrest level … or was that even a thing being a fae? I didn’t fucking know anymore.

Something creaked into place underneath us, and the platform moved slowly.

This had to be a trick, so I remained in position, waiting. I didn’t want to stand too quickly and be tossed off, but maybe if the drop was high enough, it would be a more pleasant death than inhaling poisonous gas.

After a few beats, Rona stood and glanced around. “Moira, we need to move. The other platforms aren’t lowering. If we don’t hurry, we’ll be too low to reach the next one.”

My hands fisted, my nails digging into my palms. They didn’t plan on killing us all at once, but now I understood how they would force us to go through each obstacle course. We’d get to choose—die by gas or navigate the threat ahead, as long as we didn’t run out of time.

“Then we should not delay.” Moira straightened, pushing her dusky-colored hair out of her face and moving so the two of them stood side by side at the edge.

Rona jumped, but Moira froze, staring at the gas below. Rona landed on the other platform near the edge and gripped one of the metal pillars while holding on to one of the strings that ran to the end where all the axes swung.

The chain tightened, and Moira jerked slightly forward. Bran grabbed her arm, holding her back a second before she sailed over the edge.

There was no slack between them, and Rona gritted her teeth, holding on to the edge.

“What in the blasted fury are you doing?” Rona rasped. “I thought we were coming overtogether.”

Now, the distance between each pair made sense. We had to move somewhat together or risk dying. I’d bet Lorne and I didn’t make the first jump because I suspected he’d rather die than let the Unseelie watch him work with me. I could only hope I was wrong.

“I … I might fall.” She glanced down at the gas. “I don’t think I can do it.”

I blinked, and laughter bubbled out. A fae was scared of heights. I understood that her wings were chained and useless, but they all gave off such a tough and gruff persona that I hadn’t expectedthis. It was such ahumanfear.

“You’re going to die if you don’t,” Bran snapped. “So move, or I’ll make you.”

The other four pairs shuffled closer, all of them wary. The platform was about an inch lower than the other one, which wasn’t a huge distance, but we were going to run out of time.

“If you won’t jump, move out of the way so the rest of us can. I’ll help you over, Moira,” the darker-skinned man rasped as he took a few steps forward.

We were doing exactly what Eldrin had hoped—working against each other, which would lead to most, if not all, of us dying. Even though I knew they’d turn on me at the next opportunity, my hatred for Eldrin was stronger than anything else.

“Don’t look down.” My voice sounded raspy from dirt and trauma. I cleared it, the dirt like sandpaper against my throat. “Keep looking at Rona and pretend you aren’t high up … that you’re on the ground.”

Bran jerked his body toward me and sneered, “We don’t need your help. We won’t fall for your deception.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I forced them to remain still. “I’m not deceiving you. The fear of heights is really tied to the fear of falling. Since she can’t use her wings, she doesn’t have that security. Looking down makes it look like we’re higher up than we really are, so she needs to forget and pretend we’re on level ground and stop overthinking it. This is a common human fear, so it’s something I’m more familiar with than any of you.”

“Oh, now you’re comparingusto humans.” Lorne spat, his nose wrinkling.

Lovely. He’d remembered how to speak.

I much preferred his silence.

“In this instance, yes.” If they wanted me to coddle them, they’d be sorely disappointed. “But if everyone wants to die and turn on each other, then please continue.” I waved a hand, indicating I would stand back and watch. I hoped my condescending tone would motivate them to prove me wrong.

Moira lifted her chin. “I’m not fearful like humans.” She turned around and jumped over the ledge. The chain between her and Rona went slack, and Rona released her death grip on the metal.

Some of the tension eased from my shoulders, and I looked at Lorne. “Are you ready to go?” With only a two-foot distance, I hoped he wouldn’t struggle to reach the other platform. The lower we got, the harder it would be for him to get across.

“You aren’t crossing before us,” Bran said and patted the darker-skinned man’s shoulder. “Dougal, take a step now.”

The two of them moved in tandem and made it easily over the barrier as Moira and Rona crawled underneath the axes.

Another pair tried to get in front of us, but Lornestepped up to them and shoved one of them off the platform. The man dropped from sight with a yell and the man he was chained to reached for my arm to help him not fall over. On instinct, I almost took his hand, but Lorne knocked my arm away, and the second man fell after the first.

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