“I suppose our ancestors must have required more magic than they possessed to achieve their goal.”
“How long ago was that?” Cole asked.
“The oldest record I’ve found of the trials is fifty thousand years old.”
“And how did they choose a king before then?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps the trials were around before then, or maybe they fought until only one man remained standing. Maybe they did it through birthright until they realized that being the son of a king doesnotmake one a king, and they needed a better way to crown a leader.”
“No, being born to a king does not make one a leader. Being a leader does that,” Cole said.
Elvin stared at him but didn’t reply.
“Shall we go?” Cole asked.
“I see no reason to put it off.”
Elvin stepped through the portal first, and Cole followed. He’d been to some of the outer realms before but never one the dark fae and arach worked together to transform. The outer realms he visited were usually barren chunks of rock, but some held creatures no man wished to encounter.
Others were claimed by immortals who turned them into their little kingdoms though few lived there with them. Some couldn’t be located unless someone knew the exact way there, and others were easily found.
As the portal fell away, Cole stepped into an outer realm the likes of which he’d never seen before.
Chapter Twenty
In the distance,volcanoes spewed smoke and fire into the air as red lava oozed down their sides. What lay between him and those volcanoes, he didn’t know as a hundred feet before him, another mountain blocked out the land.
A tunnel cut into the center of the mountain. Despite his excellent vision, he couldn’t see more than a few feet into it. Shadows shifted and coiled over the entrance as they dipped low before retreating again.
“What do we do?” Eoghan asked.
The young fae didn’t sound as confident anymore.
“You start the trials,” Elvin said and waved a hand at the passageway. “What you do from there is up to you. I’m not sure what happens if you tryto turn back,but once you start the trials, death or conquest are the only ways to escape.”
Cole flexed his hands as he studied the shadows. He’d hoped to return to Lexi soon, but he had a feeling this was going to take longer than he’d anticipated.
Brokk will keep her safe.
“I’m assuming you’ll know the way once you start,” Elvin continued.
“Then it’s time to start.”
Cole didn’t look back as he strode into the tunnel.
* * *
“Hands up,”Brokk instructed as he danced around Lexi and jabbed at her.
Lexi ducked the punch, but he wouldn’t have connected anyway. He was taking it easy on her. She understood why; he’d only been teaching her for half an hour, but she was impatient for more, and she wasn’t in the mood to be babied.
“You’re taking it easy on me,” she said.
“You’re just starting to learn, and if I hurt you, Cole will castrate me.”
Lexi laughed, and when she did, he feigned a move and caught her face with the tips of his fingers. It could have been a lot worse, and would have been, if it were anyone else.
“Hands up,” he reminded her.
