Page 33 of The Chosen Fae

The sandworm moved beneath the sand under Elon and Caspian, making them fall.

A green-scaled dragon swooped across the desert, grabbed Pari in its talons, and carried her to the forest they had just come from.

The sandworm came up out of the sand and turned to see Elon, who was closer to it. Rune raced to reach it and struck the sandworm in the head, cutting it. The sandworm dove back under the sand, and she helped Elon to his feet.

Stone was sure he was embarrassed that the fae they hated had saved his butt.

Elon continued across the soil, while Caspian got to his feet and started moving again. As if Pari's treachery had given Vesper the idea of destroying his competition, he raced toward Silas and struck the sand with his sword, the flames melting the sand it touched into glass.

Silas hurried away from him, trying to put distance between himself and Vesper, but Vesper was already well on his way across the sandy landscape.

The rumbling of the sandworm grew closer until it popped its head out of the sand. But Silas wouldn't call for help. He had a bow and quiver of arrows, but the sandworm appeared too quickly for him to take action.

Stone raced to aid him, wishing he had just called for a dragon, but he wasn't doing it, and Stone couldn't let the sandworm kill him. He struck the sandworm as soon as his head appeared, freezing half the side of his face. The creature went back into the sand and vanished.

"Thanks, man," Silas said, and hurried off.

Vesper was already in the forest, fighting a wraith.

Stone glanced back at Lolita. She struggled to cross the sand, sinking in and fighting to get back out. He was afraid she wouldn't make it. He returned for her and took her on his back. If they had to fight a sandworm, he would let her down, fight it, and carry her further.

She was holding on tight, fearful for her life. "You shouldn't be helping everyone. You could be in the forest already," she whispered. "And what about Rune?"

Rune was busy fighting another sandworm while Iris kept moving toward the forest.

"She has got this." But Stone did worry about her. Lolita just couldn’t manage on her own though. "Can you fight the wraiths with your short sword when you get there?"

"Yes. Are you going back for Rune?"

"Yes, and for anyone else who needs help."

"Vesper is gone. He'll have won the challenge."

Stone wasn't sure he had. But it didn’t matter if he had. All that was important was that all the fae competitors made it to safety. He finally reached the forest and told Lolita to run.

Then he returned to help make sure Elon made it to the forest. "Help take care of Lolita."

Elon had his bow and arrow ready. He nodded and took off after her. "Wait up, Lolita!"

Stone went back into the sand while Rune helped Iris to the three-fourth mark. The next thing he knew, Xena had joined them. She had throwing stars like Maeve, and they wouldn't have worked against the sandworms.

He went back to help Caspian. Silas had used his ax against a sandworm, but the problem with that, and the throwing stars, was that the thrown weapons would just go back under the sandy soil with the injured sandworm, and the fae wouldn't have another weapon to use.

10

Rune helped the last two women to the forest and looked back to see where Stone was. He was aiding the other two guys. She thought they would make it and turned her attention to the wraiths screeching and screaming as they came down in swoops around the fae.

Rune swung her sword at them, but they were just out of reach. They just kept moving while she tried to fight them. Iris used her slingshot to hit one of the wraiths. It knocked her from the sky, and she fell to the ground, stunned.

"Great shot. That's the way to go." Rune was glad she helped Iris across the desert to reach the forest. The slingshot, bows, and arrows were the best weapons to use against the wraiths.

She realized that working as a team let them help each other in different ways, whereas working alone meant using only what they had available.

Rune tried to hit the wraiths, but they kept out of her reach. At least she could keep them away while Iris hit them and knocked them out.

Once Rune saw Stone and the others were in the forest, she and the women began moving faster until they could reach the forest on the other side, and that's where they would then travel to the Hawk Fae castle.

When they finally made it to the other side of the forest, they could see the castle off in the distance. Men on horseback wearing regal clothes met them from the kingdom, pulling extra horses behind them.