I smiled faintly at her assured words. I knew what she meant, but I doubted anyone in the tournament was consideredgood. Skilled, cunning, and competent, sure. But one didn’t compete out ofgoodness. They fought because they had to. They fought for glory and dominance. They fought to keep their power, no matter what it took.
“I don’t know about that,” I responded. “But I’ll try to be better than the others.”
9
Rose
Aheavily built guard with a sleek silver uniform and a bushy blonde beard braided to his waist was waiting outside the infirmary with instructions to take me to the great hall for the debriefing with the other challengers. While I’d been in the palace for several hours already, I hadn’t been able to take in the grandeur around me until now. It was like stepping into a new world, its opulence so very different from our modest structures back in Feywood.
Vibrant tapestries with golden accents against multi-colored backgrounds were displayed along the length of the long corridor, brightening the gray marble walls. Gold candelabras hung from the ceiling, with matching sconces lining the marble and gleaming trim running across the baseboards and ceiling. The dark wood floor echoed with the sound of our footsteps. As we turned down several hallways, I saw servants bustling in and out of chambers, finely dressed men and women with an air of importance around them striding through the halls, and guards stationed at various chamber doors.
I’d never been somewhere so…extravagant. But its beauty was lost on me in the face of the tasks ahead.
“How far are we from the great hall?” I asked the guard, lengtheningmy steps to keep up with him. My father’s small satchel of herbs hung from my leather belt next to my dagger and swung against my thighs as we walked. I’d never had a chance to change from the thick leggings and dark purple sweater I wore when we left Feywood, and sweat clung to every inch of me.
“Not far,” he answered, his voice deep and gruff. His thick beard bobbed when he spoke.
“Where will I be staying? Can someone take me to my rooms afterward?”
He responded with a grunt.
A man of few words.
My eyes scanned the closed chamber doors as we passed, and curiosity got the better of me. “Will all of the challengers be staying in the same wing?”
“Knowing where the others are won’t help you win, girl. Each room is warded against intruders.”
Interesting. Not what I’d asked, but it felt like important information nonetheless. I wondered if all rooms in the palace were warded or if it was only the challengers’. I could banish a simple warding spell easily.
I needed to gain a better understanding of the layout of the palace. If I knew where Emperor Gayl spent most of his time, that would be a good place to start looking for his Grimoire.
We turned right at the end of a corridor, then another left, and suddenly, the hall opened up to a massive entryway. Rich emerald green drapes billowed from the tallest windows I’d ever seen, the bright noonday sun pooling on the wood floor before them. The chattering of voices reached my ears. Across the entryway stood double doors thrown wide open, revealing the grand hall and the mingling guests and challengers.
I straightened my spine and steeled my nerves. This was it. These were the people I would be competing against for the next month, the lords and ladies who would be observing us like animals, and the emperor behind it all. The emperor who, if Lark was correct, had condemned thousands of lives to his curse.
“Are you ready?” my guard asked, looking back at me.
Swallowing, I tucked my anxieties and fears away, covering them with that worn cloak of mettle. My lips twisted upward. “Arethey?”
To my surprise, he met my smile with a slightly more grimacing version, his mouth splitting into a grin across his ruddy features. “Horace Banathery,” he said.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Name’s Horace. Horace Banathery. Might as well get that out of the way, as you’ll be living here for the next month.”
“Oh. Well…it’s nice to meet you, Horace. I’m Rose.”
At that, he snorted and turned away, walking straight into the great hall.
I followed him inside and was greeted by the sight of two long banquet tables set up in the center of the enormous chamber, each holding a multitude of plates with pastries, cakes, slices of meat, cheese, bright fruits, and more foods I didn’t recognize. Servants wandered among guests with trays of flutes balanced on their hands—some glasses were filled with a sparkling white liquid, others deep red, some green, and the occasional dark gray.
“Horace, what’s in the glasses?” I asked before he could get too far away.
“White and red are wine. Green’s a special drink the emperor requests—it relaxes the mind, a bit stronger than regular wine. Stay away from the gray.”
My gaze locked on the nearest servant with a gray flute on his tray. “Why?”
“You’ll be spilling your secrets to anyone who asks,” he responded. I snapped my eyes back to him. “That’s my free advice to you for the day, girl. Don’t expect me to walk you through everything.” He shot me a wink, almost imperceptible beneath his thick blonde eyebrows, before sauntering off to take his stance at the front of the great hall.
