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This is another nightmare I’ve had. Maybe not exactly like this, but some version where I betrayed Zarid and all the citizens who loved me before turned on me after.
There’s no mercy for a human queen.
Now that we’re trapped, the voices die down, and it’s strange to have such sudden silence. It’s like there’s a collective understanding that everyone needs to hush so they can hear our screams when we die.
Tugging Kai by his belt, I pull him until we’re standing next to the gazebo, but I realize we have nowhere to go. I know how fucked we are, especially when Kai’s ax and machete fly out of his grip as if someone physically yanked them away. The weapons land at the feet of a dark-haired, smirking soldier.
Telekinesis.
I forgot all these fae men have powers.
Pyros. Naturopaths. Some might be wizards. Who knows what else.
They could kill us with fire, deadly weather, and other forces without even touching us.
There’s a rustling sound, and then vines start growing from the hedges around the perimeter of the courtyard. Coming from all directions, they snake along the ground, darting between the soldiers’ feet as they make their way toward Kai and me.
With a large amount of effort, Kai lifts his sword from its sheath and weakly attempts to hack at the ropes.
Crouching, I join in, sawing the vines with my dagger, but it’s no use. There are too many of them. Every time one gets cut, there are five more to take its place.
I watch helplessly as several vines wind around Kai’s ankles. Up and up, they encase his legs and wrap his torso. His sword gets tangled up, too, disarming him.
Expecting the ropes to come for me as well, I search for my own restraints, but they’re avoiding me. Giving me a wide berth, they’re keeping a three-foot area of space around me.
Oh, the nerve of them. Going past me like I’m not a threat. And okay, maybe I’m not, but still. It’s insulting.
Fuck this challenge. I want to leave, and all I have to do is figure out which one it is.
I think I can rule out a test of the heart. Yes, emotions were involved when it comes to reliving our trauma, but Kai and I didn’t defeat Zarid with our feelings.
Wephysicallyended him by beingmentallystrategic. So it’s a toss-up between those two.
I wish Kai could help me decide, but a vine wraps around his mouth, acting as a gag.
At the beginning of the game, when I’d asked Armand about the hypothetical scenario where I would have to announce the challenge, I didn’t actually think it was going to happen.
But it’s all up to me now.
Suddenly, firm hands grab my upper arms from behind, and two soldiers drag me backward while the crowd unanimously chants, “Kill the queen! Kill the queen!”
A muffled protest comes from Kai as he struggles against the vines that now have him pinned to the ground. He’s growling, snarling, and bucking like an animal caught in a net. Biting down and working his jaw, he’s attempting to saw through the vine with his teeth.
Someone kicks the back of my knees while pushing down on my shoulders, just like Kai did to Zarid.
Making me kneel.
Execution style.
I land hard, and pain shoots through my legs as the gravel digs into my skin through the dress.
Seconds. That’s all I have left. Out of my peripheral vision, I spy the wide blade of a beheading ax.
It raises, but before it swings, I loudly declare, “Challenge number one is done. The physical test is fought and won.”
It’s a guess.
A fifty-fifty chance.
