by Everly Frost
Calida’s shrewd, I’ll give her that. She’s chosen a desert so that I will struggle against my greatest weakness: sunlight.
Like other Eventide fae, I’m at my strongest at night when the moon and stars burn brightly in the sky. It’s why the Queen’s Night Guard is made up of Eventide fae.
It’s also why Imatra has slept soundly for the last seven years, knowing I’m watching over her. Most Eventide fae sleep during the day and stay awake at night, but I’m not like most. I survive on as little as three hours of sleep in the middle of the day when I’m at my weakest. The rest of the time, I’m devoted to the Queen’s protection.
Imatra turns to me. “Aura, as the defending champion, you have the right to choose the weapons with which you will fight. As you know, you will both receive exactly the same weapons. What do you choose?”
I take a moment to consider my choice carefully. Calida had time to plan, but I’ve only known for a short time that she is my challenger. I can choose as many or as few weapons as I want, but I need to make them count. When Mia challenged me, I chose the sword because I knew it was her weakest weapon. Calida’s weakness is her laziness and her reliance on her power instead of her skills.
“A bow,” I say, carefully, thinking it through. “With a single arrow.”
Calida casts me a curious frown, but I ignore it.
“Very well,” Imatra says. “It will be so. Thank you, Calida. You may go now.”
As Calida and her family leave the room, Nathaniel’s deep voice draws my attention to him.
He says, “I need to heal your friends now.”
Imatra gives me a sharp look. “What is he talking about?”
“He poisoned the Border Guards and carries the antidote with him. I didn’t tell you because you needed to make your decision unclouded by the fear that the Border Guards might die.”
Imatra covers the distance between us, her soft hand brushing my cheek. “You put me first always. That’s why I can trust you.”
The angle of the sunlight shining through the windows tells me I’m running out of time. “I will take responsibility for Nathaniel Shield while he’s here—regardless of which champion he fights.”
Talsa steps up behind me, finally able to get close to us now that Calida’s family has left. “I will support Aura in that task.”
“Thank you both,” Imatra says. “Talsa, please take Nathaniel’s weapon and prepare a room for him…” Her brow furrows. I don’t envy her decision about where he’ll live for the next three days. She can’t put him far away from the guards because then we can’t keep an eye on him, but closer to her is also a risk.
Her lips purse. “In the room next to Aura’s.”
I take a deep slow breath to stop the sharp gasp that presses against my chest.
I sleep in a room beside the Queen. That puts Nathaniel on the other side of me and too close to her. I can’t hold in my concern. “He shouldn’t be anywhere near you!”
My outburst echoes around us, but Imatra remains calm.
“You will be awake to protect me,” she says.
“What if Calida succeeds in her challenge? She will sleep at night.”
Queen Imatra’s voice softens. “I said he will sleep in the room next to yours, Aura. Wherever you are, he will be. Wherever he is, you will be. That’s the only way I’ll be safe.” Sadness dwells in her eyes. “Now, go. Save the others. May the eventide light bless you and keep you safe.”
I have no choice but to agree. I give her a quick nod. Then Talsa and I bow deeply before we turn away from her.
“Come with me,” I order Nathaniel as I stride away from him.
The moment we exit the room, I pull up sharp as we encounter the Queen’s Day Guard—fifteen woman who are all Sunstream fae, their hair and eyes a dazzling rainbow of gold, orange, and even red. Their captain is Nadina. She’s shorter than the average guard, muscled and strong, a straightforward thinker and a fierce fighter.
“Aura Lucidia.” She acknowledges me with a respectful bow, but she’s immediately on her guard when she sees the Fell. Her quick, abrupt assessment of him softens as she studies his face and chest. Just like Mia, she appears bemused.
Fae are shallow. They love bright shiny things. Right now Nathaniel is shiny and new. If only he were misshapen and ugly.
I cut her off before she can ask questions. “This Fell is my prisoner.”
She gives herself a shake. “A Fell? But he isn’t bound.”
“The Queen will explain.”
Until the Queen makes a public announcement, this won’t be the last encounter I have with a fae who wants to know what the stars is going on.
She won’t question the Queen’s decisions. “Very well,” she says.
The Day Guard parts, allowing us to pass from the room even though their collective attention remains on us. Or possibly on Nathaniel’s broad shoulders or the way his bare chest glistens or maybe the way he seems to prowl like a ruthless dragon with every step he takes.
Nathaniel catches up to me as I stride away. Somehow, despite my speed, he doesn’t seem hurried, but once we enter the maze of corridors, his walking speed increases so that he overtakes me. “Your friends are running out of time.”
I glare at him as we turn a corner, passing through a hallway where the walls are covered in silver vines bearing lavender-colored roses.
“You’re running out of time,” I snap. “If you don’t heal them, then the Law is broken. What does that mean for you?”
“I’ll die,” he says.
I jolt to a stop. I can’t believe what I heard. “If you hurt a fae before we fight… you’ll die?”
He returns my stare. He’s unwavering and impossibly calm. “Yes.”
“But you already hurt them.”
“Before the Law was invoked,” he says. “Their deaths are now the trigger point that will break the Law.”
“Then… if I stop you from healing my friends, you’ll die and this nightmare will be over?”
“Yes.”
A bitter laugh pulls from my throat. “You know I won’t sacrifice them. You figured that out on the other side of the border. I won’t let anything happen to Evander.”
“Yes.”
“Stop saying ‘yes’!” I shout, all of the emotions I’ve been pushing away crashing into me.
With a single step, I close the gap between us, ending up closer to him that I should be. I want to thump him. Shove him. I want to draw my sword and fight him right now. I want to drive him to the ground and… inhale the caramel scent of his skin and drown in it.
Damn Fell. He is not shiny and new to me.
I whirl and continue on my way, forcing my anger into the strike of my boots on the stone floor.
I catch Talsa’s alarmed look as she hurries after me. “Aura? What really happened at the border?”
Double damn. My emotions got the better of me and I let the truth slip. Never mind. None of it seems to matter now.
“The same thing that happened in the Inner Sanctuary,” I say. “This cursed Fell got his way.”
Chapter 7
The wind rushes around us as we emerge onto the landing platform where Mia and the Night Guards remain watching over the unconscious Border Guards. A group of healers is scattered among them, some still casting magic into their allotted patient while others sit back on their heels, shaking their heads in defeat.
Talsa left us at the base of the steps, taking Nathaniel’s weapon away with her but promising to come back as quickly as she can. He watched her disappear as if he were reluctant to be parted with the halberd. I thought for a moment he was going to try to stop her, but his jaw clenched and he followed me up the stairs.
Out on the platform, each Night Guard is bleary-eyed, some yawning. It’s past their bedtimes, but I have no sympathy for them. If I can operate on minimal sleep, they can too.
I raise my voice, using my full authority as the Queen’s champion. “By order of the Queen, all healers will step a
way from the wounded.”
The healers grumble protests and Mia’s head snaps up. She strides over to me, the first signs of real worry making her appear drawn. “What the stars did the Fell do to them? Our magic doesn’t work.”
“I told you that only the Fell carries the antidote,” I say. “Now order the Night Guards to step back so he can cure our people.”
Mia’s gaze flashes across Nathaniel. Even now, she can’t hide the softening of her features as her attention passes from his chest to his stomach and even lower.
Oh, for star’s sake.
I step right up to her and into her face. “Get out of the way, Mia, or so help me, I’ll throw you off this platform right now.”
She lurches backward and hurries away, shouting orders at the other guards, who quickly step to the edge of the platform out of the way.
“Evander first,” I say to Nathaniel.
He’s already moving toward Evander, who lies on his back several paces away. I drop to my knees beside Evander and pull his head into my lap. One of the healers must have removed his mask and now his eyes are closed and his breathing is shallow. His arctic-blue hair is braided back from his face, its lengths falling across my knees.
I can’t keep the emotion from my voice as Nathaniel kneels beside me. “Heal him. Now!”
Nathaniel raises his right hand to his lips to gently blow across his fingertips. A golden bubble appears at the end of each of his fingers. Curling the rest of his fingers into a fist, he presses only his forefinger against the blackened wound on Evander’s shoulder. Golden light spills across Evander’s skin like water, consuming the angry wound and leaving normal skin behind.
Within seconds, the wound is healed and the golden liquid has vanished.
“Aura?” Evander’s blue-gray eyes are like polished stones, but his face is far from angelic. Strong eyebrows draw down into a glare that would peel the skin off any invader. “What happened?”
I lean over him, pressing my hand to his chest to stop him from leaping to his feet. My face is a mere inch from his. “I saved you,” I whisper.
“At what cost?” he asks, his voice a mere breath of quiet air that carries as much accusation as a shout.
I have no answer.
Staying close to Evander, I turn my head to snap at Nathaniel. “Heal the others—”
He’s already gone. Looking around, I find him kneeling beside a Border Guard several paces away. I guess the threat of death has affected Nathaniel more than he let on.
He moves quickly among the wounded, waking them up. Some of them revive quietly. Others jump to their feet before they wobble and collapse to the platform again.
Evander’s expression is unyielding. “Aura—”
“Don’t scold me, brother,” I whisper, meeting his flinty gaze. “I fought as hard as I could.”
His eyes widen. He keeps his voice low. “He beat you?”
My heartrate increases like a thousand drums pounding out of sync. “You fought him too,” I say. “You know how strong he is.”
Evander’s palm presses into my arm. “There’s more you’re not saying.”
So much more. Not only about the Law of Champions, but about what happened at the border, the way Nathaniel survived my power.
“I can’t speak here,” I whisper. “I have to watch Nathaniel now, but come and find me once you’ve recovered. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Who is Nathaniel?” he asks.
“That’s the Fell’s name.”
Evander nods before he freezes again. “What am I saying? I can’t rest today. It’s the Winter Ascending. I have to be there when you fight.”
“Not if you haven’t recovered—”
“Aura.” He gives me a firm look. “I’ll be there.”
I squeeze his shoulder. “Thank you, brother.”
I help him get to his feet and call for a healer to take care of him, handing him off to her.
After they walk away, I’m surprised to find Nathaniel standing in the middle of the platform a few paces away.
He’s finished.
All of the fallen fae are awake and being escorted from the platform by healers and Night Guards.
Mia is the last to leave. She stops by me, a tension in her posture that wasn’t there before. “Who is your challenger today?”
“Calida of the Solstice.”
She relaxes. “Hah. She won’t last two seconds.”
Mia saunters away from me. When she fought me, she fought hard. She wanted my position badly. We both ended up bloody, but I chose to let her live rather than kill her. My first memories are of death. I refuse to kill one of my people if I can avoid it. But there’s some part of me that wonders if she resents me for leaving her alive. She’s not as irresponsible as Calida, but she’s far more reckless since that day. Defeat festers. It sits at the back of the mind like a sore. A bit like my own frustration over the fact that Nathaniel manipulated me today.
As soon as Mia’s gone, I advance on him. “From now on, you will do everything I tell you when I tell you—”
“No, I won’t. Other than the rule about not hurting anyone, the Law requires that I remain free to do what I please.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You tricked me. You said you only wanted to speak with the Queen. You omitted to say that your words would seal my fate.”
“My words?” His eyes darken as if I’m somehow at fault. “Life is nothing but a series of tricks. Fate, destiny—call it what you will—it’s waiting to trip you up at every turn and laugh in your face.”
My fists clench. “Will you laugh if you kill me?”
The color drains from his face, a confusing vision of shock.
“Never.” His hand rises and for a beat, I think he’s going to reach for me before he drops it again. “It doesn’t have to be you who fights me. The choice is yours.”
I recoil from him as his meaning sinks in. “You’re suggesting I throw my fight with Calida today. I could let her win. Let her fight you and die instead of me.”
“Yes.”
“I said if you kill me, not when, you arrogant pile of goat dung.”
I whirl away from him, but he latches on to my hand, deftly lacing his fingers between mine. Heat spears through my forearm. A bright white glow spreads all the way up to my shoulder, so bright that it shines through my armor, nearly blinding me with its intensity.
I meet Nathaniel’s assessing gaze through the glow. His dark eyes are lit up, the stands of his walnut hair cutting across his cheeks.
“I watched you touch your brother—Evander,” he says. “Even your Queen. You didn’t glow. Why does this happen between us?”
Only the stars know.
“I don’t like being grabbed.” I thump my free fist toward his throat, but he avoids the thrust with a deft twist without releasing my arm. He pushes my attacking arm away while he scoops my captured arm against his chest, twisting me so that my back is to him. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight as if he’s giving me a hug. It’s weirdly gentle.
“Stop,” he whispers into my ear. “We shouldn’t fight right now.”
“Curse the stars,” I cry, wanting to ram my elbow into his ribs and my boot against his shins.
“Tell me why you glow,” he demands, harsher than I was expecting given how softly he’s holding me.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me who you really are,” I bite back.
I’m bluffing. I have no idea why I glow when he touches me, but I know there’s more to him. If I’m going to fight him, I need to know everything about him. I need to know his motives, his thoughts, his true character. Even now, I’m filing away into my memory the way he defended my attacks so I can learn his moves.
He releases me and jolts away from me. “You already know my name.”
I regain my balance, shaking my head as I twist to face him. “Queen Imatra said it wasn’t the name she expected. Your name is your occupation. That means she thought you had a different occup
ation. What is it? Butcher? Criminal? Thief?”
His expression is blank in a way that actually frightens me.
It’s the look of a person who has nothing to lose. I know that look because I see it in the mirror some days. My dark days. When I search my mind for memories of my family and find nothing where my memories should be, only the same empty expanse that I sense when I draw on my power: a deep, dark, cold place.
“My true name was taken away from me fifteen years ago,” he says. “I will never get it back. That’s all you need to know.”
He strides away from me.
I guess he was serious when he claimed that he’s free to move around as he wants.
I’m not prepared to let it go. Or let him go, for that matter.
I call out to him before he can reach the stone opening in the tower. “Why haven’t you asked me about the girl?”
He pulls up abruptly, twisting back to me. “What?”
“The girl I cured. The Ebon Rot. Why haven’t you asked me about it?”
Maybe I shouldn’t care.
This morning I didn’t care.
But that was before Fell creatures had a face—Nathaniel’s face—and were capable of emotions. Before the Fell went from being monsters to beings with… possible… worth.
His gaze narrows, dark depths reminding me of the same bleak expanse inside my mind. “It wasn’t the Rot.”
“But you said—”
“I was wrong!” he roars, bleakness consuming his face like a physical force, pushing down on his shoulders so that he hunches.
I take a step toward him.
I don’t know why I’m saying what I’m saying. Why I care. Questions spill out of me and I’m not sure why. “What if you’re not? Your people don’t have to suffer. I could heal the ones who come to the border—”
“No!” His shout echoes around me as he storms toward me.
I backpedal away from him, instinctively reaching for the sword across my shoulder as he descends on me. I’m still wearing my broken armor, but my weapon isn’t damaged.
He pulls up sharply a single pace away from me as my sword solidifies in my hands. His dark eyes suck me in and drown me. I try to breathe against the anger, hatred, confusion, and pain I see in him.
