Seventeen
Aeryn
The stone walls of the maze towered before us as we came to a stop, faced with two options. Go left into a dim, narrow passage, or go right into another just as unnerving.
My heart pounded, sensing danger lurking in the shadows with either choice. I suspected, no matter which way we turned, there was no escaping some inevitable calamity ahead.
Sofiya grasped my arm. “Do you feel that?”
I nodded. The air tingled with magic, thick and oppressive. This was no ordinary labyrinth.
We”d all believed we had one more day of training. One more day to sort ourselves out and mentally prepare for whatever the trials would force upon us.
That changed when Lorne interrupted breakfast to inform us the first official trial was today. Apparently, the king had grown impatient and upped the schedule.
Thankfully, things moved fast after that and I didn”t have time to dwell on it. Now we were in some elaborate maze, trying to make our way to the center.
Raina lifted her spear. “Stay alert.” Her violet eyes scanned the twisting path.
“Yes, because none of us had thought of that,” Mirrelle grumbled.
“Stop bickering and pay attention,” Astrid ordered with an authoritative air. “This is the first magic we”ve sensed. Aeryn, pick a number, between one and ten.”
“Four.”
“This way.” Astrid took us right.
The passage we had chosen led us deeper into the maze, the walls closing in around us. My heart raced with each turn we took, unsure of what was waiting for us around the corner.
Astrid and Raina were in the lead, with Sofiya and I close behind. Mirrelle trailed at the back, muttering under her breath about how unimpressed she was with our first task. She was surely jinxing what I considered good fortune.
A few minor physical obstacles and lots of dead ends had slowed us down, but they were nothing compared to what I”d imagined. I was just happy we hadn”t been attacked by any creatures or spells.
As if my mind had conjured my fears, a low growling sound echoed through the passage. We froze, our weapons at the ready.
Peering down the dark corridor ahead, I could just make out two glowing red eyes staring back at us.
“Stay behind me,” Raina commanded. She stepped forward, her spear ready.
Before she could take another step, a massive creature burst out from around the corner. It was a wolf-like beast with shimmering black fur and long sharp claws.
Without hesitation, Astrid shot a bolt of light towards it, hitting it in the chest and pushing it back. Instead of attacking us, the creature let out a pained howl and disappeared into thin air.
“What happened?” I asked as we cautiously moved forward.
“It must have been an illusion,” Raina said grimly. “This maze is filled with traps and tricks.”
We continued on our way, encountering several more illusions along with some physical obstacles that tested our agility and strength. But eventually the path we were on narrowed to a point blocked by a massive boulder with no apparent way forward.
“There has to be something here,” Mirrelle said frustratedly as she pounded her fists against one of the walls.
We studied the stones in front of us carefully, searching for any hints or clues. Astrid lifted her hand to the boulder and the dim glow of a pattern of runes appeared.
Mirrelle moved closer. “What is that? A warning?”
“A trick,” the light fae whispered.
“A deadly one?” I asked.
Astrid didn”t answer. She touched a rune on the far right, a circle with three squiggly lines. Then she walked straight through the rock, as though it had been a mirage. No one moved.
Sofiya yelped when Astrid”s face poked out of the illusion. “It”s safe. Touch this rune with two fingers and come through one at a time,” she instructed then disappeared again.
We stepped forward. The runes flared but allowed each of us through.
“A little anticlimactic, if you ask me,” Mirrelle criticized.
Raina gave her a withering look and Mirrelle winked. I would take this kind of anticlimactic task over something truly climactic.
The path opened into a large chamber. Seven tunnels led in different directions, each glowing with a different color. Above each of the openings hung a large metallic sign stamped with a symbol.
“Those are elements,” Sofiya pointed. “Well, the ones over here, at least. I don”t know what the others are.”
“They”re types of magic. This one,” Raina”s spear touched the sign above the orange-red passageway, “is fire. Maybe we should choose the path aligned to our gifts.”
My mind resisted the notion. “That would mean splitting up. Shouldn”t we all stay together?”
Astrid looked at me. “You don”t go anywhere without one of us, Aeryn. Our powers are to be tested in some way and I”m not sure what that will mean for you.”
“Trust me, I have no intentions of heading off alone.”
A blast of energy echoed from somewhere behind us. Likely back at the boulder.
“Hurry and pick one,” Mirrelle barked at Astrid and Raina, the two most equipped for the trials.
Raina moved to the center opening. “This one is water. I”ll have more control here. Astrid?”
The light fae shook her head. “None of these feel like they align with me. But since you”ve trained the most, we should follow you.”
Raina walked through the opening and was gone from sight. Astrid made to follow and bounced off an invisible barrier.
Mirrelle threw up her hands. “Great.”
Sofiya touched the barrier. “It feels solid.”
Curious, I did the same but my hand went through. “Whoa.”
“Your well-store must be hidden from the spell,” Astrid speculated. “I guess we”ll have to see which one we can each enter and you”ll have to choose someone to go with.”
Easy choice, though I hated to split up. “I”ll stick with Sofiya.”
Everyone tested each opening, making sure our assumptions were right. Unfortunately, they were.
“The green tunnel is mine,” Sofiya said. “Earth and woodland magic.”
Absently, I wondered if her other, more minor gifts, would allow her to pass through one of the other barriers.
“It seems white is mine, though it”s not the symbol for light magic. Or, not one that I know,” Astrid assessed with a frown.
Mirrelle scoffed. “Of course I can only enter the foul yellow hole. Are you sure we need to split—”
Another blast, this time much closer.
“It”s either this or we retrace our steps. Personally, I don”t want to see what”s making those sounds,” Astrid said. “Get through the tunnels and hopefully we can find each other on the other side. If not, get your asses to the center.”
A scream cannoned down the path, sharp and quick. It came from just around the bend.
“Go!” Astrid yelled.
Sofiya and I sprinted through the emerald entrance, risking the unknown danger that lay in front of us instead of facing the unknown peril that chased our backs.
Our feet pounded against the earth, ricocheting off the ground. The tunnel twisted and turned, eventually rising higher in elevation.
Thin rays of sunlight filtered through vines and foliage above and I breathed a sigh of relief at no longer being underground.
Ahead was another split. This time there were only three choices.
Sofiya slowed, trailing her fingers over the stone walls and creeping greenery, sensing the path.
I gripped her arm. “We need to hurry.”
“Patience,” Sofiya whispered almost trancelike. “The earth will guide us true.”
Which I guessed meant turn left. We were good and winded when the tunnel opened into a clearing of sorts and the ceiling of greenery ended.
I blinked against the bright light. A vast chasm stretched before us, at least thirty yards across, filled with mist.
Though the tunnel had ended, the stone walls of the labyrinth continued right up to the edge and picked up on the other side. There was no way around.
Sofiya gasped. “We can”t cross that.”
“If this is where your magic brought us, I don”t think we have a choice.”
I searched the area, spying a small pile of equipment stacked haphazardly near the tunnel”s exit behind us. Urgently, we opened boxes and trunks, finding rope and climbing things I didn”t have names for.
Sofiya held up the rope. “This isn”t long enough. Even if it were, how do we attach it to the other side? What were they thinking?”
“It”s a test.”
“I”m aware, Aeryn. It”s still not a very nice test.”
She was flustered, something only one of us could be at a time. There had to be a solution.
“The passageways were specifically created for specific powers, which you used. Which led us here. I doubt the not-very-nice-fae who created the labyrinth did that only to leave us stranded here. They want us to think and problem solve.”
“You”re very annoying when you”re being reasonable.”
I laughed. “Don”t get used to it, but please trust your magic. Do you sense anything in the ravine?”
“Like what?”
“Vegetation.”
She pursed her lips and pointed at me. “Good thinking.”
With eyes closed and hands open, she concentrated while I continued looking through the supplies. Carabiners, harnesses, and rope, seemed to be the only things with potential.
“Ugh!” she grouched. “I can”t sense anything except the vines behind us.”
Her eyes widened. “I”m an idiot.”
Quicker than I could say boo, Sofiya”s magic was all over the tunnel”s exit. With serpentine movement, vines slithered across the ground. Lots of them.
She shot them across the gulf, intertwining as they went. They continued until they wrapped around the base of a large rock jutting out of the shallow dirt.
“Brilliant,” I praised.
“Almost.”
She added more vines, thickening the width until it looked like a plank. A single vine, thicker than the others, went across. If we walked on the vine bridge, the single one would be at eye level.
I held up the harnesses and we immediately slipped them on. Next we secured the ropes to and carabiners to the top vine.
“Can we go across at the same time?”
Sofiya nodded. “It”ll hold.”
I made my way out on the wobbly construct, thankful she had remembered building something like this for us in the orchard when we were younger.
We moved steadily, mist swirling around our legs. Halfway across I envisioned some monster lunching out of the fog to attack and picked up my pace.
Sofiya and I made it to the other side, ditching the climbing equipment. I wrapped the short rope around my waist just in case we needed it again.
A veil of magic covered the path, similar to Marcellus”s spell in the chamber. Hand in hand, we stepped through it. And entered the part of the maze designed to drive us mad.
“I swear to all that is holy in this world and the next, if we don”t find a way out in the next ten minutes I am going to flay someone open! Preferably the king!”
I”d never heard Sofiya threaten violence like this before. “You probably shouldn”t threaten to flay open a sovereign, as much as I agree.”
She huffed.
“I think we”re close. This has gotten more difficult to figure out so that must mean we”re near the center.”
For what felt like hours, we”d been running around going this way and that. I was pretty sure we were going in circles.
“That makes sense,” Sofiya agreed, “What I don”t get is the lack of spells. Nothing has attacked. No obstacles have appeared. What”s the point other than to drive us insane?”
We looked at each other.
“Oh, I”m really going to have words with someone. But first, if it”s confusing us or tricking us, what do we do about it?”
“I don”t feel confused. I feel clear headed.”
“Aeryn, if you were bespelled I doubt you”d know you were, not if it was designed to prevent you from knowing it.”
“What if it”s just tricking our eyes? Think about it.”
“We”ve only touched the walls a few times.” Sofiya spun slowly, looking around at the stone walls. “Start touching.”
Frantically, we began patting at the stone, up and down the narrow path we were on. Nothing.
I closed my eyes and growled, kicking at the wall. And missed, stumbling. Looking this time, I kicked again and hit rock.
“Shit!” That did not feel good.
On a hunch, I closed my eyes and slowly extended my leg. And met air.
Seriously?I inwardly complained.
Withdrawing my dagger, I untucked my shirt and cut off the bottom.
“What are you doing?”
“Blindfolds.”
Sofiya didn”t question it. She took the blade when I offered and cut the bottom of her shirt off, too. Before we secured the fabric around our eyes, we used the rope to tie our waists together.
“Ready?” I checked.
“As I”ll ever be.”
Sightless and full of trepidation, we moved through the tricky opening. Using our hands as guides, we blindly felt our way along. The minutes stretched until we”d lost track of time.
I was ready to throw in the towel when I felt a wave of heat upon my skin. I threw off my blindfold. Sofiya clapped, having already looked.
We were just inside a brightly lit chamber. A sun spell hung over a circle of flags hovering in the center. Each flag had a name stitched on it.
Those were our tickets out of the maze.
“We did it!” Sofiya ran forward, pulling me with the rope still connecting us.
“Wait.” Unsure what exactly happened when we grabbed our flag, I slowly began undoing the knots.
I”d just untethered us when Zoriyah emerged from a passage on the other side, twins Cadence and Callis came right after. Cobalt fire crackled at Zoriyah’s fingertips.
Sofiya audibly gulped.
The Fire fae”s wicked smile set off alarm bells as she sauntered toward us. “You really should have taken me up on my offer, little farmer.”
The twins snickered prissily. They both needed a good slap across their snotty faces.
“The king will never actually want a weakling like you,” Zoriyah”s gaze flicked to Sofiya, “or her for his queen. I”m going to do the kingdom a favor.”
“We don”t want the crown,” I reminded.
It was the truth. I may have wanted Nox, but wasn”t interested in ruling.
“Yet here you are, farmer, first to the center.”
“Because we were actually trying to get out of the maze before something bad happened!”
Zoriyah lifted one palm. Flames blazed with a plethora of colors, swaying and slithering around her hand. I’d never seen fire magic produce flares of green or black. She had to be using more than just her fire talent.
An orb was hurled at me before I could recall what magic or spell made those colors of fire.
Not fast enough, I dove, and landed with a cry. Pain scorched across my chest as the projectile hit above my heart.
The wild thing howled, protectively curling in around my psyche like a living thing. The fire burning through my cells folded in on itself until it was a concentrated mass.
I willed it out of me and, miraculously, it shot back to its creator. Flashbacks of Dori popped into my head as I watched Zoriyah crumple to the ground.
The twins shrieked in rage. One lunged but vines from the ground, wrapping around them both until I could no longer see their forms.
Sofiya?
Breath hissed between my teeth at the raw, burnt flesh on my chest. The sphere had struck and I”d lived. Something that felt like a spell, potent and strong, bled into my veins.
What was happening to me?
I shook off the question for later, grasping Sofiya”s offered hand as she helped me to my feet.
“The flags,” I panted, hunched in pain. “We have to get them. Now.”
Sofiya”s eyes were solemn. “Aeryn, your chest—”
“We have to get out first,” I tried for a reassuring smile and failed.
Sofiya bit her lip but nodded. With her arm around my waist, she helped me to the flags. Pausing, we read the names. No one else had gotten this far.
“They”re still in there.” I looked back in the direction from where we’d entered the chamber. “Maybe we should–”
“Absolutely not! You”re in no shape to do anything. Grab your flag or I”ll do it for you and stuff it in your mouth!” Sofiya’s pupils were so small they nearly disappeared.
Stress was really doing a number on my friend. I snatched my flag, the material rough under my blistered fingers. The door leading out of the maze creaked open.
Shit.I”d been hoping a portal would have dragged me straight out of this damned place.
A blast of magic exploded at my side. We whipped around, Sofiya in front of me with fists raised awkwardly. I was too weak to do anything but hold on to her back.
Peeking over her shoulder, I found Nox striding toward us, a team of guards at his back and his brother at his side.
His gaze darted to my injury, a muscle in his jaw clenching. “Your trial is over. Lorne, take Aeryn to my study for healing.”
I bristled at the command, opening my mouth to argue. I didn’t need his coddling, but Nox”s stare silenced me. This was not a request.
Lorne glanced at Sofiya then grasped my bicep. Darkness enveloped us as he transported us away in a blink.
My chest protested at the sharp movement, pain spiking through my body. I bit back a hiss, pride refusing to show weakness in front of the fae prince.
Vulnerability and I were not great friends.
We emerged in Nox”s spacious study, before a crackling fireplace. My eyes snagged on an intricate glass orb sitting atop the mantle, murky shapes swirling within.
I didn”t remember that being in here before.
Lorne nudged me to the couch, concern flashing over his face for a brief moment. “Sit. I will inform the healers to attend you.”
He started to turn away. On impulse, I caught his arm.
At the contact, a rush of thoughts, not my own flooded my mind. It was a chaotic jumble of focus on Sofiya in the maze and worry at leaving her and why did Nox not send him to guard her instead and …
I blinked, yanking my hand back as if scalded, and stared up at Lorne. He peered down at me with a frown, confusion in his silver gaze.
“Magic,” he snarled. “You just used magic on me.”
“I”m sorry! I don”t know what”s happening. I touched you and I saw ... I heard ...” I struggled for words, heartbeat racing.
“Calm yourself.” He knelt before me. “You touched me and saw something? Like a vision?”
I shook my head.
“Then what?”
My fear fought with the pain from my injury. Lorne would never let this go. He could even get someone to compel it out of me.
He might also be able to get someone to tell me what in the worlds was happening to me.
Taking a breath, I told him. “Sofiya going into the maze. Your worry. I heard you ask Nox why he wouldn”t send you to guard her since he knew we”d be together in the labyrinth.”
Lorne sat back on his heels. His large chest expanded as he took a deep breath.
“Those were my memories, Aeryn. My thoughts.”
“I”m s-sorry,” I stuttered. “I don”t know what”s happening. I”m not of age.”
My spine curled, causing me to wince. I looked down and Lorne grabbed my chin.
“Don”t look at it. It looks worse than it is.”
“You have experience with burns?”
“I”m an expert at burns,” he replied.
Before I could ask what he meant, Sage shadowed into the study. I didn”t realize she had that power. Once again, I was jealous of the royal line”s traveling magic.
“Please don”t tell anyone,” I whispered to him.
“You know I can”t do that. Besides, this one,” he nodded at his sister, “can hear you.”
“I can also feel your well-store, silly. Someone ripped its cover right off.”
“Work fast,” Lorne told her. “Nox will be here shortly.”
While Lorne stood close to the fire, Sage examined me. She didn”t ask many questions until she saw that my skin was starting to stitch back together on its own.
“Well, it seems you have access to your powers now. Tell me everything.”
I told her.
She frowned, perplexed. “Maybe it was a rapid aging spell gone wrong. I don”t know. Regardless, there”s no going back. I know the timing isn”t great since you have no idea what you”re capable of now, but try not to kill anyone on accident.”
I gulped.
“I”m kidding. Mostly. Now lie down and rest. Lorne will stay with you until Nox arrives.”
Curled up on the couch, I let my eyelids fall. I pictured my well-store and reached for it.
As if the magic within had awakened for the first time, stretching and uncoiling like a cat in the sun. It rippled under my skin in electric currents, both strange and familiar all at once.
I didn”t understand. Magic was not meant to be mine yet. I had no gift, no power until age twenty-five. Yet now I could read thoughts with a single touch.
Or, I”d done it once. Could it have been a fluke? Or Lorne projecting?
Unease stirred in my gut. Questions spun through my mind like a whirlwind, answers slipping through my grasp.
Giving up on any insights, I let sleep pull me under.