“No—”
Brows raised on Aydra’s face. “You don’t want me to come?”
“It’s not that. It’s just…” Nyssa tucked her hair behind her ear, and Aydra could see her chest beginning to heave. “I mean—”
“She thinks you’re intimidating,” Dorian butted in.
Aydra frowned between them. “What? Intimidating?”
“Shut up, Dorian,” Nyssa hissed through clenched teeth.
“Wants to be the best she can be before she shows you anything,” Dorian continued.
“I swear, Dorian, if you don’t shut your trap—”
“I’m quite sure she thinks you’ll disown her if she’s a disappointment.”
The eagle screeched and fluttered its great wings in his direction.
Dorian balked at the beast. “Down, bird,” he muttered, shaking his hands at it.
Aydra took a long swig of her wine, using it to cover the laughter threatening her lips.
Dorian leaned closer to Aydra, whispering in her ear. “She also has a plan and wants to go back to the Forest so she can show up—”
Nyssa grabbed something on her side. The glint of iron in sunlight made Aydra snap into motion, but she wasn’t fast enough. A tiny sliver of silver rushed in front of her face—
Dorian caught whatever it was Nyssa had thrown between his flamed fingers.
“There’s my sister,” he grinned.
“What the Infi is going on down there?” they heard Rhaif hiss. “Behave yourselves!”
Aydra pressed her amused lips together and looked between her youngers. She took the weapon out of Dorian’s hand, noticing the proud smile spread across his features as he smirked at Nyssa. The weapon was not larger than her pinky. A small blade shaped like a feather, razor sharp at the tip and on the sides. Aydra handed it back to her sister, not trying to hide the smirk on her lips.
“Careful. We’ll make mother mad,” Aydra muttered, glaring at Rhaif over her shoulder.
Their attentions turned back to the fight below then, and they saw there were only five left to battle Lex. Lex knocked through the remaining ones, forcing two to yield. Aydra moved closer to the banister, out of line with her brother and sister, and she began to pace slowly despite herself at the sight of Lex beginning to tire. The last three in the stadium were nearly as fast as her.
“I thought you told me not to pace,” Nyssa muttered behind her.
Aydra took her finger out of her mouth and began to bite the inside of her cheek instead. “I lied.” She paused and wrapped her hands around her chest, forcing herself to stand stationary as she stared at the scene on the ground.
Lex was heaving, the scratch on her face showing the reddened ash insides of a Belwark’s core. The three left to yield were dancing around her. The final two would battle one another instead of her. She only had the one left to put on the ground.
Aydra knew she was favoring Corbin, trying to strike down the other two from Bard’s company.
Give her a reminder, Aydra told the raven.
The raven flew off the railing. It circled over the stadium and gave a chortle she knew Lex would hear. Lex straightened and cracked her neck, sword whirling in her hand again. The sun beat down directly on the stadium, light glistening off the iron.
Bard’s Belwarks charged at her. She blocked their advances and shoved them backwards. They were quick back on their feet. They gathered themselves up off the ground and rushed at her again and again. Corbin jumped in, taking care of one for her as Lex struck with the other. And when it was finally only she, Corbin, and the last, Bard bellowed a horn to cease the battle.
“Our final challengers for the title of Second Sun to the Prince,” Rhaif announced. “Belwark Corbin, and Belwark Jhost. A round of pride for our Queen’s Second, Hilexi.”
The crowd cheered loudly. Lex was doubled-over at the knees, but she jolted her sword high into the air upon hearing her name. As she walked off towards the tunnel entrance, Aydra gave her siblings a squeeze.
“Can you two not fight long enough for Corbin to be given the title?” she asked them.
