Page 31 of The Chosen Fae

Maeve was already gone, so she didn’t have to worry about any more challenges.

“An ax?” Silas asked.

“An ax, if wielded properly, could deter the sandworms. Bow and arrows could.”

“How long do we have to get across it?” Pari asked.

Rune thought that was obvious. However long it took!

The Game Master said, “The quicker the better, but for everyone, I’m sure, they will take their own time to try and make it over safely. If there are no more questions, go to your quarters, pack your backpack with anything you need, and meet back here. Once everyone is here, we’ll leave.”

Rune stayed away from Stone for the most part, but when the others left, she noticed he was waiting to speak with her. “So what do you think?”

“Use our swords when we need to. Move as a wolf if we don’t need to fight.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Also, something isn’t being said.” Rune had pondered the situation for a while.

“What are you thinking?” Stone asked.

“That the goal isn’t exactly to reach the Hawk Fae Kingdom on our own ahead of everyone else.”

“The pack members are deliberately being scattered across a hostile area so they won’t be close to each other to help their pack members out,” Stone said.

“I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we’re supposed to help as many other fae to make it across No Man’s Land—a commitment to leaving no one behind.”

Stone smiled. “Yeah, that would make for a better pack leader than someone who is fending for him or herself.”

“I agree.”

When they arrived at the Phantom Fae castle, it was late. They were welcomed for dinner and then given guest rooms to stay in, doubled up like before, though Rune had her own room since Maeve was gone.

In the great hall where they gathered for dinner, they didn't have room for the newcomers to sit where they wanted, so they just found seats where they could. Many of the Phantom Fae were tattooed and dressed in colorful robes.

To her surprise, Brett and Ena showed up and sat with the royal family at the head table.

"Welcome," a fae said to Rune, smiling. He seemed interested in her, but she cared about nothing except making it through the challenge tomorrow. She didn't care if she was first or last, just that she made it across No Man's Land and beyond.

She wondered whether they had to return the same way. She hoped they would get a dragon ride back.

“Brett is an anomaly,” the fae said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he’s a phantom fae, but also a dragon shifter fae. And he has his talent for magic, though he had to work at it to learn how to use it against his enemies. But he was hidden in the human world for years, and everyone thought he was a fae seer.”

“Wait, so he could hide his faeness?”

“No, he was spelled, so that it wouldn’t show. As a ‘fae seer,’ he had been responsible for taking Princess Alicia of the Golden Fae hostage, though now she is queen.”

“The one who is Lolita’s sponsor?”

“Aye. And Ena swooped down and freed Alicia and took Brett hostage.”

Rune’s jaw dropped. “Then they ended up mating! I mean, Ena and Brett.”

“Only after paying for passage across No Man’s Land by turning Brett over to the Phantom Fae.”

Rune realized that not only had she and Stone had a hard past, but so did others. "Have you ever been across No Man's Land?" she asked, then took a bite of a chicken leg.