“No!” Gavin coughed from the ground. “That’s not possible.”
I dared to take a shuddering step back. Arsenault easily paced me, keeping the blade pointed at my chest.
“Why did you have to come back?” he snarled. “I let you escape, you stupid girl. I knew you’d run straight to Belsyre. And I was willing to let you have your happy ending. I was willing to let you live out your days in miserable peace. All you had to do was let Gavinwin.Win the Ordeals, win the Relics, win the Amber Throne. But you just couldn’t leave well enough alone.”
“Leave well enough alone?”I echoed. I didn’t know whether I wanted to laugh or cry. “You mean forfeit my rightful place to a grasping cousin being puppeted by a religious zealot with delusions of grandeur?”
“I’m no puppet,” rasped Gavin, getting to his feet.
“Of course you aren’t, Gavin,” Arsenault assured him. “You’re the rightful Sun Heir. I’ve merely been ensuring you got what you deserved.”
“So she’s right?” Gavin demanded. “You cheated in the Ordeals? To make sure I won?”
“I may have bent rules. I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last. The Ordeals were designed to be manipulated.”
“I never asked you to do that!”
“You just never imagined you might lose.” Arsenault made an exasperated noise. “Will I never be free of Sabourin folly? You all think you’re Meridian’s gift to the daylight world. Half of you stride forth into the light without imagining anyone would dare look away from your glory, and the other half plot and connive and coerce because you imagine you deserve everything and anything your heart desires, no matter the cost. Some of you do both.”
He looked at me, then through me, and I knew his eyes were looking into a past I couldn’t see.
“You’re doing this because of my father, aren’t you?” I guessed. “Because of how he treated Xavier during his generation’s Ordeals.”
Arsenault turned his head and spat on the ground. I took the opportunity to edge away from the blade, moving closer to Gavin’s bulk.
“Sylvain was a loathsome lying fraud, and as you can see his blood ran true.” Hatred flashed in his eyes. “He wouldn’t have won the Ordeals if he hadn’t cheated and schemed at every turn. Remy Legarde never would have—” He clicked his teeth together, biting the words to pieces. “I’m just trying to make sure that this time, the true Sun Heir sits upon the Amber Throne. So—hand over the diamond Relic so we can end this once and for all.”
“This is ridiculous,” Gavin snarled. “Ever since I was a child, Papa warned me against these stupid, archaic Ordeals. Hetoldme they would only corrupt me. And you, Arsenault—you were supposed to protect me from them. Instead, you encouraged me to come to this city I loathe, to this palais that only brings back terrible memories. You told me we were following the light of the Scion. But if this is what the Scion’s light looks like—violence, betrayal, vengeance, and death—then I want no part of it.”
Gavin reached for the ambric sunburst Relic hanging from his throat, and snapped the chain.
“Gavin!” Arsenault’s eyes widened.“No.”
Gavin handed the Relic to me. It pulsed hot in my palm, sending a thrill of blood leaping toward my heart. Amber light spilled between my fingertips. Arsenault lunged for me. I dodged, but he caught my elbow and threw me off-balance. I fell to the ground with a cry, banging my knees on the platform. Weight bore down on me—a hand on my shoulder, a knee in my chest. My back struck the ground. The wind blew out of me in a rush, leaving me gasping.
Fingers scrabbled around mine. I wrenched my arm up and out. Arsenault grabbed for the Relic.
Gavin slammed into his godfather with a yell, knocking him off me. I rolled onto my side, sucking lungfuls of air. I still had the ambric Relic—its dull points dug grooves into my palm. I shoved the sunburst into my bodice and levered myself to my feet.
Arsenault and Gavin faced off a few paces away. Gavin had his back to me, arms spread to protect me even though he didn’t have any weapons. A sharp burst of regret speared my heart—regret for having misjudged him, regret for having allowed myself to hate him. He had never been my adversary. He had never been wicked.
He had just been blind and weak and easily led.
“Irefuse, Félix,” Gavin was saying. “You can’t force me to accept something I don’t want.”
“Oh, my boy.” Arsenault looked momentarily sad. “Neither you nor Xavier ever really knew what you wanted. I could never trust either of you to make the right decisions.”
Gavin tensed all over. “You were Papa’s confidant. How can you say such things about him?”
“Your father never treated me as anything except a servant,” Arsenault spat.
“Papa thought of you as a brother.”
“A brother?” Arsenault barked a guttural laugh. “You Sabourins are all so blind. Now move out of the way, and let me finish what I started.”
He tried to lunge past Gavin, but my cousin stepped in his way and lifted his arms. Arsenault collided with his gauntlets with a resounding clang, and stumbled back. Again he tried to rush past Gavin, but the younger man was stronger and lighter on his feet. And unlike before—when Arsenault had disarmed him—he knew what he was up against.
They grappled through that timeless world of staring faces and empty eyes. I scrambled away while they were distracted, looking for something todo, something to use, some weapon—
