I whirled around in my seat. “Doing her job? Yes, I know. And I suppose you were, too, taking me down to that dinner, acting like nothing was wrong. Did you know what I was walking into? Did you know they were going to drug me?” My voice broke, the strength of my anger fading quickly. “Did you know what they were going to make me do?”
Guilt filled his ruddy features. I don’t think I’d realized how fully the depths of this betrayal had gone until facing him now, someone I’d trusted and had even called a friend—such a rare word in this world of mine.
“Rose, please,” Lark began. “I hate that we put you through this. I hate that I couldn’t warn you or fight against it. But that’s why our mission is so important—to change the way this empire is ruled. To be rid of this struggle for power and not live under the fear Gayl has created. You can see that, can’t you? This is what we’re fighting for. Whatyou’refighting for.”
I blinked back the burning in my eyes and cleared my throat. “Why would Gayl even do this? Why did he push for this trial?”
Lark swallowed. “Our emperor may not be a good man, but he is a brilliant one. He takes pleasure from pain and turns it into aweapon. I don’t know what his exact motivations were, but he’s not a fool. He knows there’s unrest in the empire, and spreading fear through the strongest of each province? Fostering such a deeply embedded hatred for any opposing kingdom, for anyone who doesn’t believe what we believe, and reminding you thatheholds the power?” She leaned back in her seat, looking wearier than I’d ever seen her. “You and I are simply pieces in his chess match, Miss Wolff.”
“It’s time to wipe out the entire board,” Horace grunted from the door.
Lark nodded. “Rissa has informed me that Gayl has sought you out as a sort of apprentice, given your shared Alchemy magic.” Gratefulness flared through me. It seemed Rissa hadn’t openly told them about my heritage. “I understand you’ll be meeting with him more often. There are two weeks until the masquerade ball, and then the third trial will commence soon after. We still have plenty of time.” Lark planted her hands on her desk and stood, summoning conviction into her voice as she locked onto my stare. “You want someone to be angry with? Turn that fire tohim, Rose.”
A series of frantic knocks beat at the door, and Lark jerked to attention, reining in her shadows before motioning for Horace to answer it. A woman with a slight frame and dark hair burst in. I thought I recognized her from the challenger’s feast—another one of the architects, maybe?
“Lark, it’s the trial,” she rushed out, not seeming to care that I was present. “Alaric woke up, so we tried using the restoration potion on Callista, since she was last. But it—it won’t work.”
Lark strode around her desk, alarm instantly on her dark features. “What? What do you mean, it won’t work?”
“She won’t wake up.” The woman’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “She’s dead, Lark. Callista is dead.”
45
Rose
The great hall was eerily silent as Nox and I made our way through the doors. Nobody spoke a word, not even the lords and ladies who’d joked and conversed during the first debriefing like it was some sort of party.
Instead of refreshment tables full of food and drink, chairs were lined up facing the raised platform on the south end. Challengers, guards, palace staff, and guests alike took their seats, all dressed in the Emberfell colors of light blue. On the platform rested a glass box, and even from across the hall I knew what it held.
Callista’s body.
She had never woken from the challenge. When the healers tried to give her the potion that was supposed to wake you after all the other challengers had passed the trial, nothing had happened. She’d already been dead.
They didn’t know exactly how long ago her heart had stopped. The head healer estimated only a couple of hours.
The architects spent the rest of the day yesterday consoling Callista’s family and planning her memorial ceremony paired with the second trial’s rankings. The five remaining challengers were ordered not to leave palace grounds until after the news had beenspread. I passed the time with Morgana and Beau, trying not to think about how easily it could have been me.
Nox and I sat together toward the back of the hall, watching as a few remaining guests filed in. While the space appeared light and cheery with all of the pale blue rushing like a summer’s wave, the mood was anything but. The only sounds that echoed off the stone walls were that of the scribes, once again stationed at the front with their pencils scratching against paper, and awkward shuffles and coughs from those in attendance.
Once the hall was full, Lark stood and walked to the podium. Her dark hair was wrapped around her head, with pearls dotting the braid. She wore a light blue pantsuit that hugged her thick curves. Her tone was somber, showing genuine regret for losing a challenger on her watch.
“We are here today to remember the life of Callista Greyhound. A Lightbender from Emberfell, but more importantly, a Veridian. One of our own, who so bravely represented her people and fought for the chance to bring glory back to them. She was an example to us all, a light in a time of competition who didn’t let the prospect of danger dim her spirit.”
She went on to talk of Callista’s skill during the first trial and other accomplishments of her time back in Emberfell. As she spoke, three women at the front cried in silence, their shoulders hunched over and a handkerchief passing between them. Her family, if I had to guess. The ones who had come with her. I wondered how many people she left behind in her home province. People she would never see again.
This tournament had delivered blow after blow, but this one…this one felt different. More permanent. More threatening.
When Lark stepped down, the three women took her place. Looking at their faces, I could definitely tell they were related to Callista. The oldest one had the same dimples on her tawny cheeks, evident even as her features were crumpled with grief. The other two were younger, similar in age to Callista—sisters, perhaps. All three of them spoke a few words, telling stories of lovefrom Callista’s youth. Sniffles rang out in the hall from guests of the city as they spoke.
I, however, felt only frustration. That they would use this time in honor of her memory as a spectacle for the tournament. Did these guests, these outsiders, think of us as real people? Or were we simply entertainment for them, beings to cheer for or against in this power play of the empire? Even this memorial served a double purpose. Heightened drama for the following rankings. Higher stakes for the remaining challengers. This entire evening would be on display for others to read by morning.
Callista didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve for hersacrificeto be turned into a performance.
Gayl wasn’t even in attendance. I’d searched for him when we first entered, but he was nowhere to be found. Indignation burned within me. He couldn’t be bothered to show honor to a citizen who died under his very roof.
The memorial portion of the service ended, and Lark took her place behind the podium again.
“Now, we will reveal the rankings for the second trial and overall standings for the entire tournament.”
