We followed her through a small door at the side of the arena into a staging area built beneath the stands. The crowd noise was shockingly loud, even with no one on the playing field. Our escorts awaited us in the staging area, and I rushed toward Barion. He grinned at me and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.
“This is your moment, Reyna,” he said, quietly enough that it was only for me. “With the Dawnguard girl gone, there is no one here who can beat you.”
I nodded and tried to swallow. I hated to disappoint Barion—but I’d have to if I wanted to be eliminated from this contest. I’d make it up to him when we were back in Daybreak. He’d understand. The dinner last night had only proven that I could not be a part of the Nightfall pack. Not now. Not ever.
“Ladies!” A short, severe-looking woman dressed in the leather armor of the Nightfall guards strode in and clapped once to get our attention. “We will be beginning shortly! I will be assigning pairs. You will step into the arena at my word. You will be using blunted swords. The people of Efra expect a show, and the King of Frasia expects a demonstration of mastery. You will be sparring to submission. I do not expect any major wounds” –she glanced around at the four of us— “though of course you all acknowledge the risks.” Rona bared her teeth in a grin.
“Starcrest will spar Duskmoon,” the woman said, “and Daybreak will spar Nightfall.”
I didn’t have to look at Rona to know her grin had only grown larger. Despite my intentions to get eliminated, I couldn’t help the flare of excitement that burned within me. I’d finally have a chance to work out some of my aggression on Rona herself. Maybe I could beat her and then lose to Fina. That seemed like a good idea. It’d make Fina look even better too. A win-win, really.
The woman then strode out of the staging area and into the arena itself. I hurried to the doorway to peek out and watch her.
The sun was shining on the hard-packed dirt, and the stands were completely full. In the center of the stands, higher than the commoners, the king, Duchess Alana, and the four council members sat in a shaded box with servants already pouring glasses of red wine. The king looked exceedingly comfortable in his cloak with his bare feet kicked up onto the rail of the box.
“Your Highness,” the woman called, “Duchess, and all the fine citizens of Efra.” The crowd roared. “I, Rose of Nightfall, Weapons Keeper, am honored to welcome you to this trial of the King’s Choice.” Stomping joined the roaring. Rose looked around, grinning, until it died down. “Our first match-up will be the lovely Lady Adora of Starcrest, and Lady Fina of Duskmoon!”
“What?” Adora squeaked. “We’re doing this right now?”
“Right now,” Fina said. “Come on, it’ll be fine. You know how to hold a sword.”
“I assure you I do not,” Adora said meekly. Adora’s escort nearly had to shove her out of the staging area and into the arena.
Barion tugged me away from the entrance to the arena. “Don’t get distracted,” he said. “You know how that one will go. Focus on warming up.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Rona was in the doorway, grinning as she watched Fina and Adora stalk into the arena.
“Focus,” Barion snapped. “You’re not going to have a lot of time to warm up.”
I nodded and started doing jumping jacks on his count. I focused on Barion’s instruction even as the crowd noise increased around overhead, falling over me like a wave. The crowd roared then broke into laughter.
“I don’t think you’re going to have a lot of time to warm up,” Barion muttered. “Pick up the pace.”
I jumped and stretched at his instruction, until my blood was rushing hot through my veins and sweat began to bead on my forehead and temples. The laughter turned to roaring again, with scattered applause and the thundering of feet on the stands. It’d only been a few minutes, but Fina strode in grinning, and Adora staggered in after her with her face red and an expression dangerously close to tears.
“Nice job,” Rona said with a smirk.
“It was humiliating,” Adora moaned. The back of her dress was covered in dirt. I bit back a grin of my own.
“Sorry,” Fina said, though she didn’t really sound it. “I tried to go easy on you.”
“You certainly did not,” Adora said. Her voice wavered slightly. “I’m usually not so awful. The crowd really got to me.”
Rona laughed coldly, but no one acknowledged her. I pressed my lips together. I really wanted to kick the shit out of her—but I’d have to make sure I didn’t reveal my true skill level. Not if I wanted my loss to Fina to be believable.
“Reyna, Rona,” Lady Glennis said. “You’re up.”
Barion grinned at me. “Show them what you’ve got.” I nodded, and then Rona and I strode out into the arena.
“May I introduce,” Rose bellowed, “Lady Reyna of Daybreak… and Rona of Nightfall!”
The crowd exploded into noise. Rona grinned, waving gleefully at the stands as the crowd shouted and stamped their feet in delight. Then, someone in the crowd howled, a long, low sound. It ripped through the crowd like a contagion, until all the spectators in the stand, despite their human forms, were tipping their heads back and howling in support.
The sound sent a shiver down my spine. In the stands, the king smiled at the howling, but didn’t join in.
“Ladies,” Rose said. “Choose your weapons.”
She gestured to the various axes, swords, and blades laid out on a table under the king’s stand. We approached side by side. I expected Rona to make some snide remark or threat, but she was focused now, prickly, and her eyes flashed gold as she picked up a Frasian broadsword. Had the howling made her want to shift? Even my wolf was attentive to the charge in the air.
I chose a Shiangan single-edged sword, with a tapered blade that narrowed at the hilt and widened slightly toward the top. It wasn’t made quite as finely as the ones I was used to training with in Daybreak, purchased directly from the traders at the port, but it was familiar in my hand and the right size and weight for parrying. I swung it in a few careful arcs, testing the weight and balance as I walked back toward the center of the arena.When I glanced up, the king was watching my testing moves with a curious tilt to his head. Shit. I’d already fallen into my muscle memory.There was a large white circle drawn on the dirt. I took my place at one end and fell naturally into my fighting stance, with my left foot forward and the sword in my right hand. Ten yards away, Rona stood in a similar stance, with the sword gripped so tightly her knuckles were white. Anger and anticipation radiated off her, and she didn’t hesitate to bare her teeth in a snarl intended to intimidate.I took a sl
The cheers only increased in volume, mixed with the thunderous stamping of feet and sporadic wild howls. Rona’s head only dipped lower, her tail tucked between her legs. Lady Glennis looked just as irritated as the duchess as she summoned Rona off the field and back into the staging area.Then I was alone, standing in the middle of the arena with my sword in hand, as I looked up at the king.This could not be happening. I felt like I was standing slightly outside my body. Like at any moment I’d wake up from a terrible nightmare. Spar the king? Was Barion mad?Barion just winked at me. He stood just in the doorway to the staging area, arms crossed over his chest, grinning like he’d just pulled off the greatest scheme of all time. If I had actually wanted to win this contest, I would’ve agreed. But now—now I wouldn’t be losing to Fina as I expected.What did the king want out of this? Would he want to prove something to me? Or was this just a show for his subjects? Fear gripped my heart
I ducked lower and shifted my weight, so I was behind him again, and raised my sword just quickly enough to block another overhead swing aimed at me. With one hand on the hilt and the other palm on the flat of the blade, I pushed back against his sword, grimacing with the effort, digging my heels into the dirt of the arena. “A sneaky maneuver,” he said through gritted teeth. “Your escort spoke truth.” I said nothing, focused entirely on the effort of holding his sword back.Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone. He stepped back, but before I could regain my bearings, he slid his blade beneath my sword, still brandished as if to parry, and flicked it back toward himself.I lost my grip on the hilt and my sword went flying into the dirt.I hopped back into my stance, hands raised defensively, half-expecting another strike.The king only straightened his posture. He stuck the blade of his sword into the dirt like a flag claiming his victory.The crowed exploded into cheers. Had they been
Immediately, I was entranced by the detailed maps drawn carefully in the very front of the book.The city of Efra was bigger than I’d even imagined—and it was smaller now than it had been in the past. The map in the book showed Efra sprawling out across Frasia, its neighborhoods almost reaching Daybreak and the other packs. Huge. As if the city of Efra was the entirety of the continent. Ismoothed my finger down the map. What had changed to shrink the city so much, and to break the land into the separate domains of the packs?Amity and Rue arrived with breakfast, and I dismissed them just as soon as it was set up. I stayed in my pajamas as I sipped my coffee and nibbled at toast, the small tome open flat on the table beside me. There were few pleasures better in my life than a lazy breakfast and a good book.I was only a few dozen pages into the introduction to the book and the history of author Hae Blaylock’s life when a brisk knock at the door shattered my attention. I pressed my li
Except she didn’t feel rested at all. She wanted closeness, other wolves, either the handmaidens or Fina and Adora, or better yet, the king. That wasn’t happening today, though. I padded over to my dresser and pulled out the fine silver knife Barion had given me, sheathed in its leather scabbard embroidered with the Daybreak crest. Sometimes a wolf’s instincts were just a little overactive. I’d been through a lot of stress—the dinner, the sparring, and having the king show up at my door. My wolf was on high alert. Having the little knife on my person would calm her down, certainly. I slipped it into the waistband of my pants.It worked. My wolf settled, the weight of the knife a substitute for her bared teeth, and a tangible reminder of Barion, too. Then I tucked The History of Fae in Frasia into the crook of my arm and slipped out of my room. I didn’t leave a note for Amity and Rue, but I had a feeling they’d know where to find me.I made my way through the halls of the manor undistu
But what would a shewolf be doing creeping around the halls? It had to be a guard, or— Or something worse. Someone sent to find me.I swallowed, my feet pinned to the floor. “Can I help you?” I asked primly, the steadiness in my voice hopefully concealing some of my fear. But I didn’t doubt the wolf could sense the anxiety radiating off me. It crept up the stairs until it was on the balcony with me, its paws silent on the stone floor.Internally, my own wolf raised her hackles.“What do you want?” I asked, low.What did I expect? For the wolf to shift back into human form and explain itself? Of course it didn’t—it just pulled its lip back from its teeth in a snarl as a growl began to build.The yellow eyes fixed on me with the bloodthirsty gaze of a predator.This wolf wasn’t here to scare me.This wolf was here to kill me.11barely had time to acknowledge that truth before the wolf launched off its back feet with teeth bared. I scrambled backward, and my foot caught on the hem of m
“Where are we?” I asked.“My study,” the king said sharply.“Then what’s the room upstairs in the library?” I asked.“My archival study,” he snapped. “Why am I letting you ask questions?”He guided me to one of the chairs at the table and pushed me down to sit. I swallowed. Goosebumps rose on my arms. I was still riding high from the adrenaline of the fight and reeling from the way the king had carried me—I was offended while my wolf was preening. Right now, I was too tired to untangle those reactions. He exhaled. “Are you hurt?”I looked down at my hands. They were covered in blood, sticky and darkening as it dried, and it had reached my clothes as well. Certainly it had flecked my face, too. The same dark blood stained the king’s hands where he had grabbed me.“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s not my blood.” Suddenly, renewed anger surged through me. “Care to explain why I just got attacked in your library?” “Attacked?” the king asked.“Yes, attacked!” I tried to stand up to get in his face
The blood drained from my face. Poisoned. So that was why Barion had insisted I not touch the blade. I simply thought it was the weapons safety he’d drilled into me since I was a little girl. But no —it was poisoned, and he hadn’t told me. I hadn’t intended to kill her, just stop her—but would I have killed her with the blade alone if I’d had to?Yes, I realized. I would’ve done whatever it took to protect myself. My wolf and I were aligned in that way. Her instincts had pushed me to carry the knife with me, and if I hadn’t listened, my attacker would’ve torn out my throat without remorse.“I was attacked without provocation,” I said. I met the king’s gaze steadily. “She tried to kill me. I defended myself.”“A guest of my court cannot be carrying weapons like that,” the king said. “A scuffle should not result on the death of a wolf.”“A scuffle?” I balked. “She tried to kill me! If I hadn’t defended myself—”“A wolf should always defend herself,” the king said. “If a wolf threatens y