Page 1 of A Trial of Two Worlds
Prologue
Stark Warrick
Fourth Shifter Champion (100 years prior)
As I descended the staircase to the labyrinth, I forced my shaking hands to quiet. My thoughts drifted as I absently rubbed my knuckles, trying to calm my trembling nerves, preparing myself for the unknown tasks that lay in wait for me.
Witnessing Queen Minaeve’s power last night shook me to my core. I couldn’t fathom how a ruler could be capable of such mistreatment of their subjects and still hold their throne. That the fae could stand to live like this.
But, then again, what choice did they have?
The wilt was growing, and the high queen’s magic was fading. After arriving in Aelius nearly a month ago, waiting for all the high princes to heed her call, I witnessed the unspeakable depths of her wicked nature. Minaeve needed power, life’s energy, to fuel her ability to combat the wilt—the price of safety resulting in the cost of life.
Last night, like a prized trophy, I was forced to watch from the side of Minaeve’s golden throne as she siphoned not only magic but life forces from the three high princes of the Inner Kingdom.
I didn’t bother familiarizing myself with all of their names. What was the point?
I was going to die today.
I’d even wager that the Gods themselves knew my fate was sealed. That all too soon, I would lay my eyes on the riverbanks of the crossing into the afterlife.
There was no hope of surviving these trials, let alone a labyrinth. In Solace, I was training to become a healer. My talents lay in nurturing and in the pursuit of knowledge. Yet somehow, I was selected for this task.
Was I simply chosen to fail?This question plagued my mind in a relentless cycle.
A piece of me still held onto the hope that there was a higher purpose to all this. Perhaps I was destined to be a stepping stone for the next shifter to be the last.
I prayed to the Mother and Father that my death would bring fortune to Valdor. That my life was worth more than a sacrifice to fuel a tyrant’s reign.
The darkened stone hallway leading to the labyrinth’s entrance was silent. The magical fae lights in the corners dimmed, depleting any source of comfort in the abyss beneath the keep of the palace above.The royals thankfully granted me a moment of solitude before I entered the trial of the mind.
Glancing toward my left, footsteps echoed along the gray cobblestones. Inhaling a jagged breath, I braced myself. As the glow of the fae lights unveiled the stranger’s identity, my stomach leaped into my throat.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I seethed in a hushed whisper, my hands shaking. “I told you—”
“You honestly expected me not to see you off before you enter the trial?” His deep laugh was laced with sarcasm and a dash of dark humor. “I’m hurt.”
As he reached the final step, his piercing gaze seized the breath from my lungs. His presence jeopardized his very existence, but still, he washere.
I sighed, shaking my head. “You risk your life coming to see me like this.”
“Ha,” he scoffed. “You speak as if I have a life.”
“You do.” I frowned, my eyes never leaving his. “Youcould.”
“Existing is not living,” he said, stopping a length away and leaning his shoulder against the wall.
His handsome face held lines of secrete sorrows, and I desperately wished I could do something, doanything, to make them disappear.
“It’s more than I’ve got,” I answered, leaning in.
“Don’t,” he rasped, retreating into the shadows along the corner.
“Why?” I asked, following his footsteps and closing the distance between us. “What hope is there for me to win this?”
“Your bloodline is—”
“I’m aware of my bloodline,” I countered. “ButIam not an alpha.”
