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Griffin didn’t seem to think that was the case, though. He didn’t know what he was doing. Somehow, that made it worse. As angry and betrayed as I was, I at least wished he had the sense to know he couldn’t beat the king. I didn’t want to be with him, but I didn’t want to watch him die. No wolf wanted to watch her packmate die.

But—was he even my packmate anymore?

My father had planned all of this. My father had used me as bait, placing me in Efra to give Griffin a reason to challenge. Would a pack leader do that to one of his own?

Did I have nowhere I belonged?

The only thing I knew for sure right now was that the only wolf I could trust was myself. There was nothing I could do to stop this challenge, and with Griffin’s admission, I had no reason to, either. At least the king hadn’t lied to me. He’d confused me, challenged me, irritated me—but he hadn’t lied to me. I sighed. It was a low bar, but he was one of the few men in my life who hadn’t crossed it.

So today, I would look the part of the engaged queen. I would stand in the box of the arena and watch the Challenge, and I would not react when it ended. Griffin didn’t come here for me—he came here for himself, to chase some foolish dream of endless power and meaningless prophecy. Now, he would face his consequences, and he would face them alone.

“All of us here in the manor are looking forward to the wedding,” Rue said as she brushed out my hair. “It should be quite the event.”

“I’ll be moving quarters, I assume,” I murmured. This was all slowly becoming real.

“Of course,” Rue said.

“Will you two still be my handmaidens?” I asked.

“Well, that’s up to you, milady,” Amity said. “Typically the queen has a dedicated staff who have been trained specifically for the royals—”

“If it’s up to me, I’d hope you two will continue to be my primary handmaidens,” I said. “I can’t imagine being here in Efra without you two.”

Rue nearly bounced where she stood. “Oh, milady, we’d be honored!”

“I was so hoping you’d ask us,” Amity said, with a huge grin. “It’d be such an honor to be your handmaidens when you’re queen. We usually just work in the kitchen—never before the Choice did I think we’d be at the queen’s side! Oh, this is so exciting!”

The queen. That was really going to be me. I managed to give them a small smile in the mirror. If they noticed my hesitation, they said nothing about it, too wrapped up in their own excitement as they finished brushing out my hair and adding my jewelry to my outfit. Then, just as they finished, there was a knock on the door.

“Your escort!” Amity said. She hurriedly opened the door, revealing Barion dressed in a plain tunic and pants, standing side by side with Roth in the leather armor of Nightfall.

I blinked, slightly wide-eyed to see the both of them.

“Forgive the formality, milady,” Roth said. “You must understand, with what Griffin of Daybreak has done—”

“She gets it,” Barion interjected, with a wave of his hand. “I’m fine being babysat instead of kicked down to the dungeons. No complaints here.” He stepped across the threshold and spread his

arms wide at the sight of me. “Lady Reyna, you look beautiful. Fit to be the queen.” “Thank you,” I said, casting my gaze to my feet as I did a small bow.

“Let’s get this show on the road, huh, Roth?” Barion said with a grin. He stepped back to clap Roth on the shoulder, who cringed at the touch. “Nothing like a good challenge for the throne to start your day.”

They both walked me to the front of the manor. In the rosy predawn light, the air was still and chilly, but the city seemed to thrum with captured energy in the anticipation of the challenge. Roth stepped away to summon the carriage over, and Barion approached me. “How are you, milady?”

“As fine as I can be,” I murmured. “All things considered.”

“Don’t worry too much,” Barion said. “Griffin’s been training. This may go differently than these beasts of Nightfall expect.”

I blinked at him. Griffin’s been training? How would he know that? And—did he know Griffin was training for this in particular?

Had everyone known about his plan except me?

Before I could question Barion, the carriage pulled up. We rode in silence to the arena. Barion’s presence usually comforted me, made me feel safe, but now I wasn’t so sure. His anticipation was palpable.

At the arena, Roth and Barion bowed and made their way to the staging area, the same place where I had prepared for my battle with Rona. A servant of Nightfall led me up the back stairs to the box overlooking the Arena, where the duchess and the council members sat in their fine chairs.

“Good morning,” I murmured, and took my seat next to the duchess.

The duchess cut her sharp gaze to me, looking briefly murderous before her expression returned to careful neutrality. It struck fear into my heart—as so many things did recently. Did she think I was a part of this scheme? I folded my hands together in my lap and looked out over the arena.

The sun began to break over the horizon, casting golden rays of light over the area. Despite the early hour, the arena was packed full of people murmuring in quiet conversation as they waited for the show to begin.

That’s what this was. It was a show. My heart clenched, and I resolutely ignored it. I wasn’t going to let any emotion show on my face. I would get through this, and then decide what to do next.