Page 58 of Raven's Dawn

“They came when I prayed,” I said. “They helped me. But that conversation might be too vast for you to wrap your mind around, your Majesty.”

She laughed in disbelief. “Oh, did they now?”

“They did.”

“Well, if that’s so, I hope they come when you call tonight. Because you’re going to need all the help you can get. You all will.” She looked around the table. “If you want to discuss the air an tagadh, we will. In the morning. After you’ve made it through the maze.”

“The maze?” Laila asked.

“What maze?” Iliantha asked.

“The one in my arena,” Caeda said. “You can choose not to enter it. In which case, I will ask you to leave, but I will need at least ten of you to enter it if you want to work together. The wine you drank will make it particularly challenging. You did notice that earthy taste, did you not?”

I looked down at my empty chalice on the table.

And it breathed.

It floated in toward me, getting bigger, then shrunk down small again. Back and forth, growing and shrinking, closer then farther away.

“You drugged us,” I said. She still looked the same, but much like the chalice, her figure seemed to ripple. “Mushrooms?”

She smiled. “Very good, lad. Yes, I did.”

“What in the actual fuck?” Laila asked. “You don’t drug somebody without their knowledge. Especially not with hallucinogens. We’re gonna trip a hell of a lot harder because we weren’t prepared for it.”

“That’s the point.” Laughing, Caeda stood. “You make it out of this maze alive by morning, and I will have a good way of judging your intellect. I expect my allies to be strong. Strong enough to withstand something far worse than this, and at the behest of an actual enemy. You won’t even be in real danger.

“Honestly, you just seem like a bunch of children to me now. Powerful children, but children nonetheless. If you expect my help with anything, you’ll have to prove yourselves.”

21

RAIN

“Alright, show of hands,” Jeremy said, looking around us. “Who here has and hasn’t taken hallucinogens?”

We were outside the castle now. Apparently, the maze was in the rear courtyard.

And holy hell, if I thought this place was pretty before, it was a utopia now. Every star in the sky twinkled brighter, practically reaching out to me as I reached for them. The streetlamps were even more remarkable, a kaleidoscope of gems twinkling like rainbows, reflecting the flames that flickered in their glass tops.

Mohawk, still perched on my shoulder, looked so much cuter than usual. I took a moment to admire him, smiling as I stroked my thumb down his cheek. He nuzzled his head against mine, fighting the wind that nipped at my pale face. Chuckling, I shut my eyes against his touch.

Hers, maybe? I still wasn’t sure how to check a bird’s sex.

Iliantha snapped in front of my face. “Rain. Did you hear that?”

“I was a teenager in America living in a small town,” I said. “There wasn’t shit to do in high school except for drugs. So yeah, I’ve tripped before.”

“So have I,” Graham said. “Never had to make it out of a magical maze on them, but I think I can handle it.”

“I’m good,” Ezra said, grinning like a child. “I think it’ll be fun.”

Turning his way, I arched a brow. “You’ve done drugs?”

“We went to Woodstock,” Warren said. “Of course we’ve done drugs, Rainbow.”

“Huh.” I propped my hands on my hips. “I never would’ve thought.”

“They loved it,” Ramona said, looking quickly from left to right. “I vowed never to do it again. Yet, here I am.”