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 making noise throughout this fight? I’d heard nothing but the ring of the swords connecting, the rush of his breath, my own blood pounding in my ears. The thunderous noise nearly overwhelmed me. But the king didn’t acknowledge it all. He just watched me, a small smile playing on his lips, his eyes flecked with gold.
Interested. Curious.
I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve humiliated him.
No—I should’ve been worse. I should’ve given up from the very beginning.
Whatever I’d just done here was not the right choice. That was the same look I’d seen in the hallway—and at dinner, before he’d murdered a court member in cold blood. The same look I was trying to stop.
I bowed politely to the king and started toward the staging area. I couldn’t bear to stand here under his unreadable gaze with the cheers and howls of the crowd around me.
Before I made it two steps, though, the king stepped forward and caught my wrist. I was still in my sparring mind, and I reacted on instinct, turning on my heel and then leaning back, using his hold on my wrist for momentum as I directed a snappy kick right at his shin. He barely dodged it, awkwardly lunging back, and bared his teeth at me in response.
“Fight’s over,” he growled, but the corners of his lips were still lifted, and his eyes, now golden, sparkled with amusement.
I met his gaze steadily.
He tightened his grip on my wrist and wrenched me closer. My instincts went wild, my wolf howling to be released—to submit or fight back, I wasn’t sure.
I stumbled forward, nearly falling into his chest, but I caught myself and reeled backward. “Let me go,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
“You did well today, little wolf,” the king said in a low voice. He nodded toward the tear in his shirt. A thin red line was visible on his skin, and tiny drops of blood threatened to spill over from the miniscule wound. “Rarely has an opponent managed to draw blood from me in the arena.”
“Ah,” I said. “My—my apologies, Your Highness.”
He grinned again, showing his sharp teeth. “You apologize for succeeding in another trial?”
“A lady shouldn’t draw blood,” I said. Being this close to the king was making my head feel like it was full of cotton.
“A lady, perhaps,” the king said. “But a wolf should.” “And I am a lady,” I snapped.
“You say that,” the king said with a grin, “but the way you speak to me suggests otherwise.”
My cheeks burned, and not from exertion. I wrenched my wrist out of his grasp. “I’ve said nothing that is untrue, nor anything that the court members do not already know. You’ve shown your true colors.”
He reeled back as if struck.
“A lady has good manners,” I said, “but she is also honest.”
The king’s eyes burned gold, and the air around him crackled with energy. I turned on my heel and hurried back to the staging area. I didn’t want to see him in his wolf form again—and I didn’t want to be struck dumb by its power and forced to bear the full weight of his terrifying attention while the crowds watched from the stands.
I fixed my ladylike mask back in place and beamed at Barion as I approached; playing up my exhaustion, I had him escort me back to my quarters without much fanfare.
T
he next morning, when Rue and Amity entered into my bedroom and flung open the curtains, I groaned and pulled the blankets back up over my head.
“Milady?” Amity asked. “Are you all right?”
I’d hardly slept at all. I’d had dreams of running through the forest, either pursued by the king’s great wolf, or running alongside him. My body ached from the sparring, and I was just exhausted. Emotionally and mentally. The thought of going down to the solarium to play nice with Rona and Lady Glennis, and potentially the king himself, made my head pound.
“I’m not feeling my best,” I said. “Might I have breakfast here instead of in the solarium?”
“Ah, you did put on quite the show yesterday,” Rue said with a smile. “Certainly, we’ll inform Lady Glennis and have a meal brought up.” The girls hurried out of the room.
I sat up with a sigh and pushed my hair out of my eyes. All I’d thought about, and dreamed about, was the king, the king, the king. I was sick of having him dominate my days and now my dreams at night. I’d come to Efra with hopes of learning more about the continent—of travel, and friendship, and experiencing a little bit more of the world than I had before, and then leaving.
If I had a rare morning to myself, I was going to enjoy it, and not think about the king at all. I pulled the slim volume I’d picked up at the bookstore out of my nightstand’s drawer. The History of Fae in Frasia. I opened to the beginning of the book and settled back into my cozy bed.
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
“Adora may be weak with a sword, but the resources she would bring to your court would empower you more than any show of strength on a battlefield.” “The council agrees with you,” the king admitted.I blinked. “They do?”“It’s an obvious choice,” the king said. “Adora is a beautiful woman with exceptional resources at her disposal. She impressed the council greatly during the first trial.”“Wonderful,” I said. “So it’s settled.” A strange dark disappointment washed over me.“The competition hasn’t ended,” the king said. “The council does not make the decision—I do.” I glanced up. “It doesn’t seem right to continue after this.”He took another sip of his drink. “I am not holding the Choice for purely political means.”“You’re speaking in riddles.” My head was spinning. Too much had happened in the past hour—I couldn’t keep up with the king’s tendency to talk around things. So the council had a favorite, but the competition was still ongoing, and Rona was dead. Where did we go from here
“Now,” the duchess said, “it’s time for the final trial. Tomorrow, you will be attending the closing ball for the King’s Choice. You will be expected to face the council again, but this time, you will be presenting to the council.”“Oh?” Adora asked. “Like a diplomatic meeting?”“Yes,” the duchess said. “The council has tested your knowledge of governance and manners, and your physical skill on the battlefield. Now, the council would like to know why each of you wish to wear the Crown of Nightfall at King Elias’ side.”Fina nodded, trying her best to look excited, but I could see the despair in her eyes. This felt like a terrible school assignment—having to stand in front of the council and argue that I wanted the crown? I was good at navigating diplomatic situations, like trade disputes and legal questions, but just standing there and telling them I wanted this seemed like an impossible task. And I could only assume the duchess would be trying to thwart me every step of the way. She
“I know my way around,” Adora said. “I think.” “Love the confidence,” Fina said with a smile.“Walking will do you good if you’re sore,” Adora said. “And it’s warmer inside the manor than outside.”Not that I needed any more convincing. Adora led us through the quiet halls of the manor. Though we passed guards and servants, no one seemed to give us a second glance. I had expected there to be more guards, or an increase in surveillance of some kind after yesterday, but it seemed like the duchess and the council would rather pretend it hadn’t happened at all. I supposed Nightfall violence was only acceptable when the Nightfall wolves were the victors.We made our way to the northern wing of the manor, where the hallways were narrower and the lighting dim.“This is mostly servants’ quarters and prep rooms in this wing,” Adora explained quietly. “My sisters and I would always come this way to play hide and seek when we were here as children. Anything to avoid the boring trade disputes.”