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Blood surged to my ears. I wanted nothing more than to run as far away from this place as possible. I didn’t stand a chance—none of us did.
The fae talked amongst themselves once we had finished presenting ourselves, their pointed and judgmental leers scrutinizing our every move.
“You’ll meet back here in one hour for your assessments.” The king stood, and the court hushed at once. “These assessments will put your skills—or lack of—on display to gain the interest of a faerie mentor. They’ll be your biggest hope of survival. Should you not win the attention of one? Well, you’ll be disqualified,” he announced. A cruel smile spread across his face, revealing his pointed teeth.
Disqualified. The world tumbled through my mind as I thumbed the ring around my finger—the stakes to save my mother just became impossibly high. I wasn’t a killer. I couldn’t remember to fill all my mother’s medicines. How was I going to outsmart these nine other people, let alone the faerie king?
King Harkin squared his shoulders as the cheers dwindled, and he stood from the throne.
I shifted on my feet as our eyes met, sending a jolt of panic to my belly.
“See you shortly, competitors.”
Despite the urgency that left no room for fear, my mind was a chaotic whirlwind, unable to untangle the jumbled thoughts bouncing around inside my skull. The stark realization struck me: I was compelled to take a life. Oh, my stars, I found myself grappling with the unsettling truth. One day soon, I’d have to end someone’s existence. Take their life before they took mine.
You could cut the tension with a knife as we filed down the maids’ corridor. I didn’t know where they were taking us, only that the dampness in the air sliced me to the bone. None of us spoke as we walked in a single file along the stone path, each of our guards to our left as if we were the threat.
“Excuse me,” a raspy voice uttered. “Where are we going?”
I peered at the front of the line to see who the question came from. It was the red-headed girl, Sage. Her frizzy braid flapped against her back as she struggled to keep up—the heavy chains likely weighing her down.
“To get fitted for your garments,” her guard replied.
I noted how he wasn’t as tall or muscular as the emerald-eyed faerie who’d captured me, but I knew better than to underestimate his abilities. He’d kill us in a second with no remorse. Every one of these fae would, if given the chance, yet they deemed themselves merciful because they didn’t.
It made me sick. Especially considering how many humans disappeared without a trace from Wendover every year—and how many more mangled bodies, like Lilian’s, washed up on the Dolorem’s shore. Given the barbaric nature of our punishment, the coincidence that the fae weren’t responsible for the deaths and disappearances was too great to ignore.
Merciful my ass.
They herded us into a small room with floor-to-ceiling windows and walls of endless shelves filled with fabric of every color imaginable. An assortment of ornate rugs covered the stone floor and stained-glass lanterns hung from the ceiling. The colors made the space feel light but did nothing to improve my somber mood.
Plush furniture and a wood mantled fireplace sat at the north end of the room where the seamstresses stood, furnished with lavish candles and lush pillows. It was cozy. Warm.
A swell of homesickness formed in my belly. I hadn’t felt warmth since leaving my bed all those days ago.
“Two lines of five each. Let’s get a move on it,” a random guard demanded, and everyone followed suit, breaking off into two rows.
Some of the other competitors were borderline malnourished, while others appeared as strong as the guards. I knew I fell somewhere in the middle, but it seemed to be such an unfair advantage. I couldn’t kill them. I couldn’t kill any of them.
It was unethical.
How could the faerie king put our virtues to the test when his own morals were corrupt? It was beyond hypocritical.
“It’s almost unfair how easy this will be.”
I folded into myself when I noticed Aeron’s icy blue gaze inspecting me. He wasn’t much older than me, I assumed, but the bags under his eyes made him appear years my senior. I couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been here. A silent beat passed as he continued to assess me, smacking his lips with distaste.
“With an ass like yours, it’s a shame you don’t stand a chance. Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you.” He winked.
I knew he was trying to get under my skin, but I wouldn’t play into it. I couldn’t let myself get caught up in mind games and silly rivalries. Only one of us would leave here alive—I needed to concentrate on surviving with my soul intact.
The line inched forward, and my skin prickled with goosebumps.
Aeron continued to dissect me from his peripheral vision, harshly judging my every imperfection and calculating how he could use whatever flaws he searched for to his advantage. However, his leer wasn’t the only one I sensed, and the gnawing suspicion heated my neck.
I turned to find the emerald-eyed faerie watching me. His face revealed nothing, and I wrung my hands—feeling like I was still on trial—before dropping them to my sides. Giving away my emotions so freely wasn’t an option anymore.
The seamstresses gestured for us to step forward and then tapped our arms and legs open. As she touched me, I held my breath, her cold fingers shocking my skin.
