“You can’t fight her.”
“It doesn’t involve me fighting.”
He furrows his brow but makes no further argument.
I take a few steps closer to him. “If you can find some way to defeat Helody—”
“You say that like it’s impossible,” he says, his tone bristling with affront.
I put my hands on my hips and lift a brow. “If you’re not the least bit worried, then you’ve never seen her fight, nor must you know of her reputation.”
He shrugs. “I’ve heard about it.”
His arrogance has me clenching my jaw. “She’s going to be harder to fight than an ogre.”
“You doubt I can beat her?”
I give him a pointed look. “Yes, of course I do!”
A corner of his lips quirks up. “Just like you doubted my ability to secure a meeting with Madame Fury?”
“Huntsman,” I say with a frustrated groan. “That was different. You really don’t know what you’re getting into with Helody.”
“I thought you were supposed to convince me to fight her. Were you not just saying your idea revolves around me winning?”
Heat floods my cheeks. I don’t know if he takes pleasure in aggravating me or if he’s this quarrelsome with everyone. When I narrow my eyes at him, I see a hint of amusement playing over his lips. “This isn’t a joke. You could get yourself killed trying to fight her.”
“Is that concern over my life that I smell?”
I open and close my mouth several times before I form the right words. “Well…yes, I’m…I’m concerned for your life. If you die fighting Helody, I’ll lose my chance to face Tris. That was part of Fury’s bargain.”
“I’ll win, Miss Snow.” This time there’s no arrogance in his tone. No teasing. “I’ll make sure of it. But what of you? How will you survive if you face Tris in the pit?”
“All I have to do is avoid any physical attacks while I trick her into making a public confession. Tris has access to magic using all four elements, but she isn’t trained in combat.”
“Neither are you.”
“True, but I know how to make her flustered. I know what irritates her, what qualities of hers to insult. She speaks without thinking when she’s angry with me. It’s happened before. I can use that to my advantage. I can catch her off guard and get her to say something she’ll regret. As soon as she confesses to having poisoned the pie that killed my father, I’ll yield. We’ll lose the duel but will be able to turn the case over to the Alpha Council.”
“You’re sure you can get her to confess?”
I’m not sure, but I don’t say so. This plan is my best hope. “I’ll do what I can. I’ve seen it done in the ring before. I know it’s possible.”
“What if her only crime is that she wholeheartedly believes you killed her husband and seeks revenge? A confession over that will not prove your innocence, nor will it protect you from being punished by her. The Alpha Council will not turn against one of their own under those circumstances. Are you sure you still want to go through with this?”
A surge of panic rushes through me. What if he’s right? Even though I’m certain she killed my father—even if she’d only been trying to kill me—I must admit there’s a chance I’m wrong. And if I am, facing her in the pit could be a death sentence. If she’s innocent but thinksI’mguilty…
It’s enough to make my head spin.
Still, I can’t pass this opportunity up. If nothing else, perhaps I can plead my case and swear my innocence before an audience. That will have to count for something, won’t it?
With a deep breath, I say, “I still want to do it.”
The Huntsman assesses me for a few silent moments, then poses his next question. “What will you do if it isn’t Tris you face in the pit? What if someone else stole my Chariot and set the ogre after us?”
“It has to be my stepmother. Everything lines up. She used a version of the truth to trick Fury into allowing her to use Murtis. A truth only Tris should know about. Fury all but gave Tris’ identity away when she mentioned the Spring Court. Who else knows your weakness to floral aromas and the fact that you had a Chariot?”
“Just humor me,” he says. “I will not agree to Fury’s bargain unless your side of the plan is sound. What will you do if it isn’t Tris?”
