Page 24 of The Fae Warrior's Queen

“Remember you can surrender whenever you like!” Armand calls out happily.

I look back to see him standing closely with Yugo on the other side of the entrance.

They’re both waving and smiling like they’re our best friends and they’re sending us off on a luxury cruise. Framing the couple, the soldiers are in position, blocking our way just in case we change our minds and decide to bolt at the last second.

As if we could run from this. We have no choice but to keep going.

“Assholes,” Kai says under his breath, continuing farther into this unknown hell. “Don’t let them get to you, Ro. We’re going to be just fine.”

I’m sure he’s confident in himself with his sword and all his other weapons, and I have no doubt he’s amazing with them, but danger isn’t always a tangible thing. Sometimes the worst threat is something you can’t fight with sharp objects.

Considering two of our tests are emotional and mental, I have a feeling we’re up against some disturbing shit.

“There’s something you need to understand about Armand,” I warn.

“You want to know what I see when I look at him?” Kai actually sounds bored.

“What?”

“A cliché. He isn’t exceptional. He reminds me of all the kings and queens in history who used the fact that they had more power than others as an excuse to do whatever they wanted.”

“He’s not like them,” I disagree. “He’s way worse.”

“How so?”

“First of all, he’s not the most powerful man in this region of the Lost Land.”

“Who’s more powerful than a wizard?” On guard for any threat, Kai glances left. Right. Back the way we came.

“I don’t know, but I’ve eavesdropped a lot while I’ve been here, and I’ve heard Armand and Yugo talking about the other men. Some of them are wizards themselves. Before the dark fae were sent here, most of them had unique abilities. That’s why their society was so dangerous. They’d collected people who had the rarest of talents. All of them were special.”

“So how did Armand become the overlord?”

“That’s the point I’m trying to make. What happens when a bunch of men with equal power try to subjugate each other? Who wins?”

After a moment of thought, Kai comments, “The one who’s the most ruthless.”

“Exactly. Armand’s most valuable asset is his cruelty. He’s the leader because at some point he got the opportunity to have the upper hand, and he never let go of that. And now he deprives everyone around him because it keeps them too weak to fight back.”

Grunting, Kai acknowledges what I’ve said, but he still isn’t getting it. “That sounds like a familiar pattern to me. What sets him apart from other rulers?”

“How much he enjoys seeing people suffer,” I answer. “He doesn’t just hurt them because it serves him well. It’s almost like their misery feeds him. He thrives on it. He’s a sadist, and this maze? This is his playground. I don’t know what goes on in here, but whatever it is, I don’t think it will be what we expect. Don’t underestimate anything and accept the fact that you’re probably going to have to fight dirty. I’m being very pessimistic right now but trust me. I’ve been part of this world for long enough to know it changes people. It turns them into the worst version of themselves, and they spread their brutality to others like a disease. The Lost Land ruins everyone. It’ll ruinyou, Kai.”

“Is that what you think? That you’re ruined like everyone else?”

“Yes,” I reply honestly, “except I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Only yourself, right?” He turns his head forward again, and I’m offended by the comment.

Speeding up, I put myself beside him so we can have this conversation face-to-face. “There’s so much you don’t know about me.”

“I know how loved you are,” he shoots back. “Your son misses you. Queen Maelyn, too. And what about the grandson you’ve never met? Prince Maverick is a fine boy—a strapping teenager now. Then there’s Princess Zaylee…”

At the mention of my granddaughter, my chest aches. I only got to meet her for one short afternoon.

It had been the most pleasant surprise when Zaylee came to Brazil to be with me. The reason for her visit wasn’t a good one—the dark fae had spread a sickness curse in all the realms of Valora, but it was only affecting female children. Since Zaylee was just sixteen, she was young enough to be susceptible to the illness, and Earth was the safest place for her to be.

Well, at least, that’s what we’d thought. No one could’ve known Ellister would crash our picnic. He took us so quickly, sucking us through a spinning abyss he calls a vortex.

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