“And why would I lie to you?”
The fae king was still talking, but my attention was fixed on Fauna.
She said, “The stories—”
“Are the real lies. They’re false. I’m honest, for the most part. I can tell you for certain that I hate most of the fae.”
“Most?”
“I don’t know. Something makes it hard to hate you.” She just seemed so small and frail. Like a baby animal I had to protect. “Let’s do this. You have my back in the arena, and I’ll have yours.”
“Mmm…”
“You know what the alternative is, right?”
She shook her head.
“We’ll be enemies, going for each other’s throats.” Was I bullying my way into gaining a companion?
“I don’t want an enemy right off the bat.”
“Better to make allies, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I smiled. “Then it’s settled.”
“Um, all right. I guess.” She turned back to the fae king.
I scratched my ear, second-guessing myself over this arrangement. It was too forced, and I wasn’t sure if I’d truly, properly made an ally, but I resolved to keep Fauna safe through the Flower Trials. If I showed her that I’d support her, she’d do the same for me, right?
The fae king gestured to the students. “Another round of applause for these brave young souls.”
The audience did as instructed. The announcements were getting drawn out, stretching for longer than I’d expect them to. As Neremin drawled on, I looked for Charmingface. He was planning something. He’d mentioned a lot of people dying. Should I have asked Kaji to search for him? I hadn’t had any time with the triad or the king alone, either. It wouldn’t hurt to at least try to warn them about the possible nightmare to come.
“The trials will begin on the count of five,” Neremin said, clasping his hands together. Excitement crawled through me. This was a duel on a grand scale. Guilt replaced that excitement as I scanned the troubled faces of the fae. Some of them seemed determined, but even the more strong-headed fae couldn’t hide the undercurrent of worry.
As Neremin counted, Fauna’s humming grew louder.
I shouldn’t have eaten such a heavy breakfast. I thought I might puke.
“Three… four, and five.”
The horn blared as he reached that number.
Above us, a shield made from magic formed.
The doors opened and beasts with tens of eyes crawled into the arena. They looked like big cats but with stony bodies. Zesubeasts. I’d learned about them. I’d also learned that they were impossible to subdue, not unless we used toadstool dust. I doubted anybody here had that dust.
A student across the arena shrieked. Someone beside her pushed her. She fell toward the zesubeasts, tumbling straight into one of their mouths. Her spine was snapped into two, caught between the teeth of the creature.
Gods!
And Aland had said something about fae creatures being friendly?
Her body twitched, and the first victim of the trials died.
Just like that.
I doubted she’d even had time to process her death.
“Lyra!” Kaji screamed.
A sword flew toward me. I ducked, then looked up. The sword was embedded right in the wall of the arena. I looked toward where the weapon had come from and saw Cendri Bellquaine.
He’d tried to kill me?
Chaos abounded as throats were slashed and blood was spilled. I’d never felt more unsafe. It was a bloodbath, filled with screaming bodies and violent souls. Worst of all, one of the triad had me in his sights.
I drew my iron dagger, secretly thanking Micah for giving it to me.
I held it so tight that my knuckles went white.
I had to be strong.
I couldn’t falter.
There was no room for mistakes, because I had to fight to survive.
Twenty-Seven
I shifted into a dragon. It was my best chance of survival. I had not expected, when joining the Flower Trials, that all the fae would come after me once they had a chance. It was as if they’d decided that I was the common enemy. Then again, that had always been their choice. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Take down the vermin dragon-kind first, then have at each other’s throats, right? The things the fae did just for the title of champion sickened me.
Magic poured at me. Blast after blast. Thankfully, the magic of the other fae wasn’t as strong as the triads’. Through using the little bit of fae magic I could control, and with the help of some of the spells Gaius had taught me, I managed to create a barrier for myself. It wrapped around my dragon form, repelling the magic that the fae attacked me with.
Even the trolls had magic. They were particularly good at lifting pebbles. The pebbles bounced off my barrier like useless flies. My barrier wasn’t as powerful as the giant shield over the arena, but as I jumped around with my protection, I felt safe. That safety wasn’t going to last for long. The soul beads Aland had passed to me were already draining. My barrier wasn’t clear in the sunlight; it was a green, shimmering layer that only showed when you looked at it from certain angles.
All this for a stupid title. Who wanted to be Ves Velankuar anyway? A mere name wasn’t worth this bloodshed.
I eyed Cendri from across the battlefield. All the fae left the triad alone. They were either coming after me or going at each other. They probably knew not to pick a fight with the strongest guys in Cardell. The three of them stood next to each other, not leaving their spot since the battling began, as if moving a finger was beneath them. They were likely biding their time and waiting for the bloodbath to end. With no one caring to fight them, they would surely be part of the remaining fifty.
Lucky bastards.
Cendri hadn’t tossed anything at me since that glass sword. What was that about? It was like he’d gotten bored and given up. Was he trying to make a point?
The combatants ran around, avoiding the zesubeasts. The creatures growled at us with their catlike faces, their dozens of beady eyes looking at us as if we were meat ready for the taking. If only I had Mayhem with me. I was certain my ingoria would have my back. The reality of how alone I was crushed me as I faced these enemies. Damn, I missed Mayhem. One could trust an ingoria to remain faithful, and he was a reminder of home. That somewhere far away, there was a family who cared for me and missed me. I was scared. Kael would have probably taught me a couple of things to trick the fae with, and Gaius would have crushed the enemies who dared cross my path. But my ingoria was at the stables, and my family was all the way back at Constanria. Was getting my revenge really worth risking my life?
As I looked over the destruction and saw the wailing despair, pierced flesh, bleeding bags of flesh and bone, I could only think that this was not worth it. War wasn’t. Kaji had been right. Curse the gods. Making decisions with my heart hadn’t been the right choice.
“To your left, Ly!”
I’d been flying about for too long, my mind getting lost in beating my wings against the air. I’d relied on my barrier so much that I hadn’t noticed when it ran out. I banked to my right, narrowly missing a huge spear that a troll had tossed.
It zipped past me.
Heavens!
That thing had almost got me through the heart.
I tucked my wings in and twirled, using my speed to deflect the magic. Another spear shot toward me. I braced myself for the pain. It moved so fast that I doubted I’d be able to dodge it. Someone yelled out a battle cry. Glancing to my side, I spotted Fauna. She used her dark magic to form a tendril of smoke, and with it, she pulled the spear away, saving me.
Gods, she was actually on my side? Unbelievable. I couldn’t even return the favor yet. The gods answered me by giving me an opportunity right away. A creature that was half man, half beast, and with a snout shaped like a wolf’s, ran up to Fauna. He held his giant axe up, looking like he was going to cut her in two.
I swooped d
own and picked up the beastly man with my talons. He screamed as I pulled him into the air. Then I dropped him.
He fell to his death. His body splattered onto the ground. His crack was drowned out by the chaos in the arena. He died just like the rest of the nameless victims.
Victims?
Could I call them that?
They’d chosen this, after all. They were all aware of the consequences. Just like me.
I saw Fauna mutter a thank you to me before she avoided attacks. She wasn’t aggressive, preferring the defensive stance. I was similar. I couldn’t summon the will to kill the other fae out of malice. I realized I was all talk. No action. Where was the rage, the anger, the constant need to enact revenge? Some of that wrath, and the desire to burn my enemies to the ground, would be mighty useful right now. But then I saw a teenage-looking fae begging for his life. He held his hands out in front of him as a green-skinned opponent flashed a row of razor-sharp fangs.
She bit his head right off.
The teenage fae was no more. He looked too innocent to die.
Violence with consequences just didn’t seem fun. Maybe Kaji was right. Maybe I’d been too protected. That I should just remain as a princess. My dragon side always made me more hardheaded, wanting to thrust myself into dangerous situations, but I’d been too sheltered my entire life, with four aggressive fathers to ensure no harm came to me.
This was all a bad mistake.
I heard my name again, shouted by Kaji. But this time, there was no one to save me, and I was too slow to react. A troll threw a spear at me. With his insane forearm strength, the weapon flew through the air and sliced the joint of my wing. I roared in pain. My wing lost its ability to glide. My dragon form crashed to the ground. I hissed a curse, one that none of the fae could hear.
I heard a crack beneath me as I crushed something. I rolled to my side until I could see what exactly I’d smothered. My breath caught in my throat as I spotted a mangled body. It was the green-skinned woman who had bitten that poor boy’s head off. Perhaps she deserved this, but the sight of her destroyed body sent a wave of nausea through me.
I hated myself then. It was the first time in my life I’d seen myself in such a detestable light. Mom told me stories of grandeur and adventure. Of heroes conquering the drae lands. I thought I could train with the evaradraes and be just like them. Now I questioned the image I had of myself. It was a dark feeling. I wasn’t used to not believing in myself. And suddenly I felt resolve drain away like blood from a wound. Maybe it was just me losing my inflated sense of ego. In the face of all this death, I found cowardice, and I just didn’t want to do this anymore. Everything seemed wearisome. How had I thought that this might be grand? The notion of a nice plate of burned meat and a comfortable bed to sleep in after seemed so much nicer. Better than my futile chasing of glory. Glory that no one even had even expected of me.
It could just be that I didn’t have it in me to stomach all this death.
I lumbered about. The sharp ache in my wing refused to cease. I grunted, smoke shooting from my nostrils. Gods, why was it so hard to move? My wings felt twice as heavy as usual, and the resolve in my heart was dying, not giving me enough fuel to continue fighting.
“Ly!” Kaji was shouting at me. He wanted me to not give up. He ran around the barrier that blocked the participants from the rest of the fae, trying to save me, but no matter how hard he pounded at it, he couldn’t get through the shield. If my dragon form could cry, then perhaps it would have.
The troll threw another spear at me, piercing the hide of my tail.
Oh, for Aereala’s sakes!
I turned my head to the opponent who had been hurting me. I snarled at him, but before I could fully crane my head around, a spear punctured my other wing.
It was too much. Aereala’s teats. I found it difficult to hold on to my dragon form. Perhaps I served as too large a target. I called my dragon back into my skin. It was likely a bad decision, but with so much chaos numbing me, my ability to think was blurry, and so I reacted out of instinct. Yellow light flashed from my form, blinding me. I felt my body grow smaller, my claws turning into fingers, and there I stood, in the middle of unadulterated carnage, dressed in nothing at all. The next spear that the troll threw flew right above me, hitting a dragonfly-winged figure in the chest. The unsuspecting victim shot right across the arena and was pinned against the arena’s wall. If I’d stayed in dragon form, that spear would have cracked my skull.
I breathed harder. What a close call.
The sum of my injuries hit me all at once. The stench of blood grew stronger. It sent my head reeling, and my knees lost their strength. They caved in on themselves, and I collapsed to the ground. Through my blurry vision, I saw my ivory dagger. The one made of iron.
I should use it to protect myself. I should have never have lost sight of it.
“Are you going to concede?” a man asked. I looked up. Cendri stood right above me, with his haughty expression. As soon as he came up to me, it felt like the rest of the fae decided to not bother me. A quiet halo surrounded us. One that was almost chilling. My head was level with his boot, and how pristine and careless he appeared made him larger than life, as if I was too weak to stand in his presence.
Seeing his cocky face made all that buried anger resurface. Just seeing him riled me, reigniting my fire. He and Nemreth were the reason I’d come here. He’d put me through so much torture. Aland and the fae king, too. I wanted someone to blame. Someone to point fingers at so I didn’t have to look at myself.
When had my emotions become this ugly?
“You’re not as strong as you think you are, princess,” Cendri said. He reached out, offering a hand. “Tell me you’ll submit to us, and we will pardon you from this fight. You won’t have to struggle anymore.” Cendri smirked. How could he smirk during all this pain? “You’ll be deemed a champion, but you’ll be ours.”
“Yours?” I sneered. “You wanted nothing to do with me.” Nearby, more cries of anguish sounded. The fae officials were watching this, all of them cozy and gathered in the upper stories of the arena. How could they condone this? And they did it every single year? The spectacle surrounding me was a clear reminder that the fae were vicious, disgusting beings.
Cendri shook his head. “In light of recent events, we’ve decided to be more forgiving.”
Gods, he still refused to admit that he’d wronged me. I’d showed him Vyni and proven that his accusations had been false. He wasn’t letting this go.
I was tired of the fae’s lies.
Again, the need for revenge came. I wondered where it’d hidden earlier. The bloodlust would have been far more convenient when I was fighting to win.
“How about it?” Cendri asked, glancing at his palm. His smirk widened into a grin.
My self-hatred dissipated, replaced by my revulsion for Cendri.
And so I grabbed his hand.
He thought I was bending to his will.
The triumph in his eyes showed that he believed I’d grown desperate.
Instead, I tugged him toward me and thrust my dagger into his stomach.
Twenty-Eight
Iron and fae did not go well together.
Charmingface’s initial screams had warned me of that. As soon as my dagger went through Cendri’s flesh, his conceitedness melted away, replaced by a look of sheer agony. The thrill of a duel rushed through me at first, but it emptied from me the moment it came. This was no duel. I’d cheated. The man had been offering me a hand—albeit a backhanded one—and I’d used his offer to hurt him when he least suspected it. This was not good sportsmanship. Then again, Kael had always taught me that nothing mattered in battle. Survival was key.
That notion didn’t offset the queasy sensation that swirled through my stomach.
It wasn’t like me to be this underhanded. What had Thesnan done to me?
Cendri’s face turned pale. I dragged the dagger out of his belly. His face contorted again. The blues and greens of
his vest turned into a blackish red. One that smelled too much like blood. I muttered a prayer to Aereala as guilt began to edge into my mind. Cendri lost his ability to stand. He met the ground, one knee at a time.
“Where… where did you get that?” he asked.
I turned to Aland, who was still in the same spot he’d been when the trials started. Nemreth, however, had disappeared. He showed up by my side in an instant, his face contorted into a hideous expression. He shoved me away. I didn’t resist. My mind was filled with too much disarray.
Had I really managed to hurt Cendri Bellquaine?
Where was the joy I thought I’d feel? For a whole month I’d thought about getting back at him. I should feel a rush of glee. Wasn’t that what people got after achieving their goals? It didn’t come. My heartbeat slowed as I sensed my veins growing cold.
“Cen, you’re going to be fine,” Nemreth said. He put his hands on Cendri’s shoulders. “The iron will be out of your system in a day and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”
“That bitch,” Cendri said.
Nemreth’s back was turned to me, while I had an iron dagger in my hand, watching his guard lowered. If I wanted to, I could hurt him terribly, too. I searched the corners of my mind for that desire. It didn’t come.
Nemreth spun to yell at me, “Gods, you crazy cunt. Why did you—”
I cut in before he could finish his accusation. “I didn’t know if he was going to hurt me again, and the trials…” My explanation died on my tongue. Seeing Cendri sweating, watching him struggle like that, made the warrior in me weaken. I stiffened and said harshly, “This is merely a fraction of what you did to me. A month of torture. I missed your vitals.”
Nemreth growled. I thought he might hit me. Instead, he turned back to Cendri. “The trials should be over soon. I’ll have you to the healers after that.”
“Kill that bitch,” Cendri said.
“We’ll punish her, for certain.” Nemreth sucked in a deep breath, as if to calm himself. He then lowered his hands to Cendri’s wound. A green glow emanated from his palms. Healing magic?
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