Ryker gripped the stone so tight I could see his knuckles whiten, even from afar. Riordan leaned in, whispering something to his brother, but Ryker never took his gaze frommine. He gave me a reassuring nod, as if to remind me of the words he had spoken only moments ago.
“Lords and ladies,” a voice rang out over the arena. “The woman before you seeks acceptance of her claim to become the next Queen of the Unseelie Fae.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that I neither wanted nor needed their approval, as I had no intention of ever serving as their monarch.
The crowd’s response was immediate: a cacophony of jeers and taunts.
A thunderous snarl cut through the noise, and the crowd fell silent. Every gaze swung toward Ryker. His expression was one of fury and violence. Power coiled tight around him, palpable and electric, daring the fae to make another sound.
The herald cleared his throat. “To prove her worthiness, she must complete three trials designed to test her mind, body, and magic. Only once she has passed all three may she lay claim to the crown.”
A massive hourglass materialized in the air, its golden grains mocking me. “The first trial,” the herald continued, “will test the mind. Survive the forest, outlast the hourglass, and victory shall be yours.”
The forest?
The ground beneath my feet began to shift and crack. Tiny fissures splintered outward, and my stomach dropped. I stepped back, my hand moving to the dagger at my hip. The crowd leaned forward in their seats, anticipation thrumming through the air.
As the cracks grew wider, gnarled trees emerged, twisting and writhing as they reached for the sky. Ancient runes glowed on the bark with an otherworldly light that made my skin crawl.
The hourglass tipped over.
“Let the first trial begin.”
Not wasting a single second, I ran to the edge of the opening and jumped.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cadence
The instant my feet hit the forest floor, the world changed. The arena disappeared, the spectators, the throne, even the hourglass; all swallowed by a canopy so dense it blocked out thesky. Only the faintest shimmer of light penetrated through the leaves, blanketing the woods in shadows.
I took a cautious step forward, my hand still gripping the dagger at my hip. The trees seemed to whisper all around me, their voices scratching and clawing at me, as though seeking to pull me down. I couldn’t make out any words, but the tone was unmistakable. It was mocking, taunting, as if the entire forest knew something I didn’t.
“All right, then.” I scanned the endless greenery, trying not to let my nerves get the best of me.
As I stepped farther into the trees, the air shifted. It became thicker, older somehow. My lungs were filled with the taste of decay, and I quickly realized what appeared to be a simple forest from above was nothing like any woodland I had ever encountered.
Runes covered every inch of bark, pulsing with an eerie blue glow. The trees cast long shadows that seemed to move independently of their sources. A faint buzzing noise filled my ears, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.
Something lurked inside this forest, and it was watching me.
“Cadence.”
I whipped around at the sound of my brother’s voice. My eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t see past the thick shrubbery shielding him from my view.
What the hell was he doing here? If he interfered in the trial, the Unseelie Court would surely punish him.
“Callum?”
“Cadence,” he called again, fainter this time, like he was moving away from me.
“Callum, wait!” I lunged forward, branches scratching at my face as I pushed through the undergrowth. Thorns left thin lines of blood across my skin, but I barely noticed.
The runes on the trees pulsed brighter with every step I took, as if they were feeding off my desperation. The ground shifted beneath my feet, roots writhing like serpents as they ensnared me.
But I couldn’t stop.
My brother shouldn’t be here. Couldn’t be here. Yet his voice pulled me deeper into the forest as if attached by an invisible thread.
