I swore, if there were awards for performances like this—I’d be winning all of them.
But the yells from the crowd only grew louder, blatant with their dissatisfaction.
“We should kiss,” Naria said. “They’re calling for it.”
It took all I had not to roll my eyes. But, as always, I did what I was supposed to do. I played my role, pulled her in close, one hand snaking down her ass, the other cupping her chin as I kissed her. Softly at first, a show of sweet affection. And then I deepened it, just the way I knew the crowd liked it. All at once, the cheers exploded, and I tried to imagine what this moment would feel like if I actually loved her. If any part of me gave a shit.
If I was kissing Lyr …
A set of doors opened. My chest seized with a sudden flare of panic. They were the same ones Haleika had been brought through, before she changed. Before she faced Lyr … We hadn’t been allowed to see her, to say goodbye. She’d been kept in isolation. Then they put her in a box. A fucking box. That was how I’d last seen her alive. And every time I thought about it, thought of her lying in a coffin, alone and scared, her lover dead, knowing she was turning, and doomed, while passing through those very fucking doors … I wanted to throw up.
Naria squeezed my hand. “What’s your problem?” she asked.
I took a deep breath, willing my mind to clear and blinked until my eyes dried. “Nothing. Just tired.”
“Well, look a little calmer. Or people will talk.”
“Maybe people wouldn’t talk,” I seethed, “If you’d given them less to talk about.”
“It’s not my fault your last girlfriend was frigi—”
I tossed her hand away. “She wasn’t frigid! And she’s your Godsdamned cousin.”
“So?”
“So have some respect. For her, and for me. You might not know this, but there’s more to a relationship than fucking!She meant something to me. She still does.” More than you do, I wanted to say, but I bit my tongue.
“You can be such a dick sometimes.” Her eyes narrowed, her aura flaring with annoyance. She grabbed my hand again, playing off the moment like we were teasing each other. Smiling widely, she carefully stroked the golden diadem resting on her forehead.
The herald’s voice rang out, announcing the entrance of Arkasva Arianna Batavia, High Lady of Bamaria. Cheers rang out from the stadium, but beside me, I felt Naria’s mood change. The annoyance in her aura was replaced by fear as her mother’s litter was carried across the field. She shrunk against me, her grip on my hand suddenly tight. Being in her mother’s presence was the only time I ever saw her meek.
I hadn’t noticed it before Arianna became Arkasva, but the change had been sudden, and there was no denying it. Arianna terrified her daughter. I didn’t know why.
Maybe Bamaria would be great under this new regime. Who could say? What I did know was that ever since Arianna had taken her Seat, I’d felt uncomfortable in her presence. I couldn’t pinpoint why. But seeing Naria’s growing unease only made me think that something was strange about our new High Lady.
The cheers grew louder. Only a handful of soturi wearing the armor of Ka Batavia remained somber. Their gazes flicked to the ground of the arena, to the very place where Harren Batavia had fallen. My throat tightened—I hadn’t let myself dwell on that memory either. Though surely others had to be thinking about it, too. I didn’t believe Arianna would dare have a public appearance here so soon, nor would she dare to associate herself with those events. Not when those accused of murdering Harren Batavia had been her supporters. But the Katurium was the only place appropriate to host Valabellum trials. So here we were.
Arianna’s golden litter, floating atop six mages, came to a stop in the center of the arena. The mages stepped back, their staves pointed as the carriage lowered, and Arianna stepped out. We bent our knees, engaging in elaborate bows and curtseys.
“Welcome citizens of Bamaria! Welcome to our Valabellum trials. Rise.”
As the applause died down, she came to stand between me and Naria, her aura pulsing. She took our hands and lifted them up, as if we were victors in a battle.
“I am so pleased to announce that my daughter, your Heir Apparent, and Lord Tristan Grey, the great vorakh hunter, shall be married the week after the Empire’s great event.”
More applause followed. More cheering.
I shivered. I wasn’t ready. Not to be bound to Naria. Not to be bound to anyone.
Especially not with my new … secret. If that’s even what it was. I was still trying to convince myself I’d imagined the vision, that it had been a fluke. That I hadn’t become the thing that I hated, the thing that I hunted.
“What’s with your face?” Naria asked.
“Nothing,” I sneered, looking over at Arianna.
Arianna clapped. “The trials shall begin shortly. But first, I must bring you news.” She paused dramatically. “As you know, several weeks ago, akadim entered our land, and stole Lady Meera Batavia and Lady Morgana. That night, Lady Lyriana was moved to a secure location, but vanished soon after. We now have reason to believe she was abducted by Soturion Rhyan Hart. He must be brought to justice for his reckless actions. A reward is being offered for the safe and speedy return of all three of my nieces. And a reward has been set for the capture of the once forsworn soturion. Let it be known, henceforth, Soturion Rhyan Hart has lost hispolitical immunity in the South. Today, I strip him of his soturion title. I name him forsworn.”
The sudden bout of angry shouting made me wish I’d taken Bellamy’s offer of a sound-canceling spell. The hatred and prejudice against those named forsworn ran deep. I guess it didn’t matter that he’d killed two akadim, that he’d protected everyone here from a greater tragedy. Fuck. I hated the guy—but even I could see the good he’d done.
