The roar of the crowd swelled as Stella and Teddy entered thearena. Gone were the pits from earlier in the week. Now the ground was sunbaked and cracked, dust trailing them as they crossed the field to line up next to the rest of the competitors.
Stella squinted at the bustling crowd. Ladies sat fanning themselves beneath the early summer sun. Vendors walked through the stands, handing out glasses of lemonade.
Stella felt Arden’s gaze before she saw him. She smiled with what little reassurance she could muster and was relieved when she saw that he had a pink rose pinned to his lapel as if he was carrying her favor.
It was a romantic gesture—a way to let her know she was still on his mind and in his heart—even if she’d kissed his Argarian counterpart the night before. She wanted to appreciate it, but the sight of it left her feeling terribly guilty. She’d managed to ignore the sneaking sense that she’d betrayed him by kissing Teddy since it happened, but looking at him now, she felt rotten.
However, she had more pressing problems to handle. If Rett and his friends had access to an Unsummoner bracelet, they could use it on anyone in the competition. She needed to stay far away from them, and she needed to make sure Teddy didn’t do anything stupid like try to pay them back.
They’d talked about it at length on the ride back to Olney that morning. Their goal for this challenge, assuming they didn’t have to be at each other’s throats, was to steer clear of the rest of the field and let them pick each other off.
Stella scanned the royal booth and met her mother’s eyes. Cecilia visibly relaxed when Stella smiled at her, then drew a finger across her throat and tapped her ear. The death whispers. Cecilia had heard them, too.
Stella shrugged, feeling suddenly selfish that she hadn’t even worried someone else might have been hurt. When Rett and his minions didn’t do anything, she’d assumed all was well. She glanced down the line of competitors.
Eleven of them. Stella counted again and came up with the same number.
“Teddy,” she whispered. “Who’s missing? Did someone end up being too injured to compete after the last challenge?”
Teddy looked down the line. “Not that I know of.” He scanned the group. “Reever. He was fine when we saw him at the pub the other night.”
The mercenary’s absence made Stella uneasy, but there was no time to worry about him. Not when they were about to embark on the one challenge that could give her an edge.
Endros was already poised on his throne on the gamemaker’s dais. He rose from his seat of honor. “Welcome back, competitors. It seems we’re one short. I’ve sent several hunters to remedy that, but rest assured that his blood is probably burning by now. I’m sure he’ll show up soon, but time is of the essence, so we’ll get started. This is the memory challenge and I’m quite excited about this one. In honor of the origin of the Games, I have decided to send you on your own short quest.”
Three women stepped into the sunlit arena. Stella squinted, shading her eyes as they walked closer. She didn’t recognize two of them, but she knew the third from seeing her mother’s memories. Though she hadn’t been seen in almost twenty years, Raven Whitewind looked exactly as she had in the memory Stella prized of the first time her parents had met.
Stella gawked at the woman and the crowd broke into a flurry of loud whispers.
“Who is she?” Teddy whispered.
“That’s Raven Whitewind. She’s the seer who used to bond guardians and witches for the Gauntlet. She?—”
“Bonded your parents,” Teddy finished.
Stella nodded. “People thought she was dead. She’s been gone for most of my life.”
Endros held up his hands, and the crowd quieted. “The point of this challenge is to honor and remember our history lest we make the same mistakes again. And so, I’m granting you this chance to go and take your own Gauntlet journey as they did in the old days, but with a twist. The challenge is simple. You’ll each be given an enchantedmemory stone with which you can retrieve the memory even if you do not possess memory magic. You must go to the Muddled Mind Bar and Boarding House and retrieve a map from my son.”
Urgent whispers rushed through the crowd at the reference to the god of influence and manipulation. Stella had never met Cato, and her mother had always refused to speak about him.
Endros allowed the murmurs to die down before he continued. “You’ll then go to the cave marked on your map and retrieve the memory stored there. The original creators of the Gauntlet have been kind enough to grace us with their magic once more, so even those of you who do not possess memory magic will be able to secure the memory in your stone just by bearing witness. The trick is not losing yourself inside the illusion of it.”
The tone of his voice and the way Raven wrinkled her nose in response made it clear that the witches’ cooperation had been less than enthusiastic.
“What kind of memory?” Fionn asked.
Endros narrowed his glare at the mercenary. “As we all know, memory is an integral part of Olney culture. As the saying goes—we must remember our mistakes so as to not make them again, right?”
The crowd tentatively applauded in agreement.
Endros held up a hand. “That is why I have enlisted the help of the loved ones of each competitor here today. The witches retrieved memories from your friends or relatives who had particularly hard-earned lessons from their lives.” Gasps went through the crowd and Endros smiled indulgently at them. “Yes, yes, everyone must pay a tithe to these Games. Otherwise, they won’t bring us together. They’ll just tear us apart.”
Teddy fidgeted beside Stella.
“Now, I’m sure our lively crowd is disappointed to not be able to watch this entire challenge, but I do have a treat,” Endros continued. “There will be a daily screening of the returned memories at sundown each day. So you will get your entertainment.”
The crowd offered a mix of applause and apprehensive murmurs.
