Shayde raised a hand. “I felt your worry for her through themarekem.”
Worry? For me? Rhodes could barely stand to look at me.
Crossing the room with steady steps, Shayde stopped before Arrow. “You said I needed to prove my loyalty to Arya. Let this be my test. I’ll protect her—put her life before mine if it comes to that. Leave the obsidian on. Drithan can stay here.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Arrow’s voice cut through the charged silence.
“Done. You leave at first light.”
Chapter 34
My feet finally moved the moment the wooden door clicked shut behind Arrow.
I stormed up to Shayde and shoved him hard in the chest. “Are you fucking kidding me, Snake?”
He said nothing, but his indifferent expression spoke volumes.
My breath quickened. “You’ll take the first chance you get to kill me. We both know it.”
Scarlet stepped beside me, arms crossed. “How can we trust you?”
Shayde’s gaze flickered to her. Something softened—just enough. “You can’t. Not yet. But let me prove it. I’m not the enemy. I swear I’ll put her life before mine.”
Rhodes stepped forward, eyes sharp with doubt. “But without elements, brother?”
Shayde shook his head. “I’m not worthy of the Mareki anyway.” He turned fully to Rhodes. “Drithan will be safe here in the Crest. He’s not the one who needs to prove anything.”
“There’s no way I’m traveling to Tyria with him,” I snapped, jabbing a finger at Shayde.
Scarlet sighed, exasperated. “Fallon, this might be the only way. We need whatever those traitors are delivering at the drop. Shayde is a skilled fighter—I’ve seen it firsthand.”
I turned a glare on her, heart hammering. Without thinking, I shoved the tomes into her chest. She caught them—barely.
“If he’s so skilled, then let’s make a wager,” I said, stepping into Shayde’s space, meeting him eye to eye. “You beat me in a duel, you come to Tyria. If not—well, I’ve probably killed you in the ring and it won’t fucking matter anyway.”
Scarlet opened her mouth to protest, but Shayde cut her off without hesitation.
“Deal.”
My boots squelched in the mud as I stepped into the sparring ring, each footfall thick and wet, the earth reluctant to let me go. Entertainment this late in the Hollow was rare, so word of the duel had spread fast. Villagers crowded the perimeter, eager for a nighttime show. Fire elementals lit the torches encircling the ring, flames tossing shadows across the churned earth. Above, the moon hung low, spilling an eerie silver over everything.
Doryan had been among the first to arrive, and for ten minutes he hadn’t shut up. “Balveer’s seen him training alone,” he murmured near my ear. “He’s better than you think.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not very reassuring, coming from the man who trained me.”
Unease buzzed at the edge of my senses. To the right, River stood beside Scarlet and Nook at the fence. The girls we’d brought back from Mageia leaned over the rail, expressions balanced between intrigue and concern. A few paces away, Rhodes Wylder spoke in low, measured tones with Davis.
Then the crowd parted behind me. I turned—and there he was.
Shayde slipped through the villagers like a blade through water. They opened instinctively, as if he carried a curse. His steps were deliberate, unhurried, confidence coiled tight beneath every motion. He paused just long enough to wrap cloth around his knuckles. He didn’t bother with a shirt, letting the rain wash soot from his bare chest.
I scoffed. “Don’t want to hurt your pretty little hands?”
“I’m taking you to a masquerade ball,” he replied, eyes flat. “The mask will cover the black eyes, but cuts might be harder to conceal.”
I glared.
He didn’t blink.
