Page 60 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

The bride carried a light within her through the dark woods. A light she could not see, but a light that drew the king to her. A light that had greater power than the king had ever seen. When he dared to name it, it was but one word—love.

—Anon.,Tales from the Twilight Court

“Kate!” Caden flew into Kate’s open arms, nearly knocking her over. She pressed her cheek to the top of his head and held him, smelling that familiar clean scent children always had after baths. She let out a shaking breath, suddenly homesick, then pulled back a little to examine him. He looked happy, healthy, and unhurt. Kate let out the tight knot of a breath she’d been holding on to. He was okay.

“Kate of the Winslows,” a deep voice said. Kate looked up to find a man as tall as Roan with a similar build standing behind Caden. His arms, armored at the shoulders and forearms, were crossed over his chest as he returned her scrutiny. His dark-silver armor glinted dimly beneath the light of the room.

“Kate, this is Lord Rath Ender, First Lance,” Eudora said. Kate didn’t miss the affectionate way the Fae princess spoke about the handsome warrior or how she looked at him.

“It is a pleasure to see you awake and conscious,” Rath said to Kate.

“Dideveryonesee me unconscious?” Kate muttered.

“Most of the primary court,” Eudora said. “Roan landed in the middle of the throne room with you in his arms.”

“Great, that’s not humiliating at all,” Kate sighed. It was mortifying to think that everyone had seen her passed out in Roan’s arms. Caden lifted his head, confused. Kate tousled his blond hair, trying to distract him.

“Have you had enough to eat?” she asked her brother.

“Oh yeah—the fairy food is so good here.” He smiled, more confident again. “Did you solve the labyrinth? Are we going home now?”

“Not yet. I’m still working on it.”

“It’s pretty cool here, don’t you think?” Caden said. “Rath told me that he can turn into a black dog, Eudora turns into a cat, and Roan becomes an owl. He’s the owl that you saved, you know. That’s one of his special powers.” The boy seemed quite proud of himself for learning so much about their situation and the Fae realm.

Kate looked at Rath, curious about his Fae form.

“The Flower Fairy, you see,” Caden said, still excited. “She grants special powers to them before they become a grown-up fairy. Isn’t that awesome?”

“We’ve been keeping young Caden amused with stories about our world,” Eudora said with an indulgent look at Kate’s brother.

“And Rath took me to meet the goblins!” Caden exclaimed. “We saw them making swords!”

“I hope Rath kept you away from them,” Kate said with concern.

Caden’s brows knitted together. “The goblins?”

“No, the swords. I’ve seen you play with stick swords enough times to know you’d hurt yourself.”

“I assure you the lad was quite safe,” Rath said.

“Rath is gonna teach me how to play chess while you’re at the ball,” Caden said, then leaned up to whisper into Kate’s ear, “but I know he’d much rather be dancing with Lady Eudora, because helikesher.”

Kate held back a smile. It wasn’t hard to notice the heat that sparked whenever Eudora and Rath looked at each other.

The boy looked back at Rath. “I’m sorry you can’t go to the ball, Rath.”

Rath waved dismissively. “I shall simply have to entice Eudora to throw another,” Rath said with an amused smile.

The ball. Kate really didn’t want to go to some dance, but it was hard to tell Eudora because the princess seemed so excited about it. In comparison with everything going on, it seemed so frivolous to Kate, but then again, the way the Fae viewed things, perhaps it wasn’t frivolous to them. Caden had taken a different view of things while being here. He’d dived into their world, wanting to learn all he could about it, while she had been focused on just the labyrinth... and Roan. Maybe if she changed her thinking into learning more about the Fae, she could understand this world better and it would help her find a faster way out of this mess.

“It is time that Caden and I leave,” Rath said. “I imagine Eudora has much she wishes to do to prepare you for this evening.”

“Do you have to leave right now? I was hoping to spend a little more time with my brother.”

“I know,” Eudora sighed, “but the ball will be starting soon, and we must get you ready.”

Kate held on to her little brother’s shoulders for a long moment, wishing he didn’t have to leave. But a bargain was a bargain.

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