“No, Princess.” Philippa turns her calm gaze from me to Taigan and drops an elegant if slightly abbreviated curtsy. “Prince Taigan, the High King has sent for you. He has decided to host the final trial this very afternoon.”
I gape at her, blank faced. Her words ring in my ears, dull against the influence ofholabella. Then I blurt, “No. It cannot be the final trial.”
Philippa nods.
“But there are two more trials to go, are there not? Five trials for six champions. This is only the fourth.”
“King Alderin has declared that whoever wins today’s trial will be named the true champion…and you shall wed him on the morrow.”
The whole world seems suddenly to spin around me. This is too much, too fast! I thought I had time, time to decide what I would do, time still to make my mad dash for escape. But if my champion is to be decided today and my wedding held tomorrow, then…then…
Taigan turns to me suddenly, taking my hand in his. The gesture startles me enough to sharpen my attention, and I stare at him as he raises my fingers to his lips. “You will see,” he murmurs. “Today is the day I prove myself. And tomorrow you and I shall be wed, our destinies forever joined. We will save the world together, Roselle. You will see. You will see.”
With that, he pivots on heel and strides from the library, leaving me numb in his wake. I’m not sure I even draw breath before Philippa slips her hand into mine, squeezing gently.
“Come, Princess,” she says. “We must prepare you to witness the trial and the triumph of your final champion.”
31
Rosie
“Welcome, Roselle. Here, sit beside me. The view is best from this angle.”
King Alderin stands at the rail of the same balcony from which we watched the first trial. It feels like so long ago now…has it really only been four days? So much has happened, I scarcely feel like the same person anymore.
And yet here I am, facing the same man who captured and tortured me. Offering him the same meek smiles, allowing him to take my hand and guide me to my seat above the arena. Nothing has changed, nothing essential. I am, as I always have been, in his thrall.
The idea burns in the pit of my stomach, even as I take my seat. Peering over the rail, I see no sign of the obstacle course. Instead, all is rock, stalagmites, and jutting boulders—difficult to navigate, but not quite so difficult as lava pits and bone-crushing churn-stones. The prism-reflected sunlight illuminates the spacealmost as bright as day, but at first glance, I can discern no hint of what the day’s challenge will involve.
“Behold, your final champions, Roselle,” Alderin says, sweeping his hand to indicate first the far-right side of the arena and then the far left. Two men stand opposite each other, each clad in armor and bearing a sword and shield. One I recognize at once as Prince Taigan; even with his visor down, it’s impossible to mistake that splendid red phoenix crest emblazoned across his breastplate. On the right side of the arena is Prince Warrick, clad in carefully polished but more used-looking armor, as befits his role of Ranger Prince. Though I cannot see their faces, there is something very solemn and concentrated in their stances. Whatever is about to happen, they are both determined to face it with courage.
“But where is Prince Valtar?” I ask, even as my eyes scan the arena for a third figure. Perhaps he is lurking again, planning to emerge at the last moment, as he has done on other occasions.
“Prince Valtar will not be competing today.”
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach. “What?” I demand, turning to the king. “What did you say?”
Alderin looks at me, his gaze so gentle and compassionate. “Unfortunately, Prince Valtar was discovered to be false. We have suspected all along, of course, but it was finally proven last night that he was, in fact, a dracori pawn of Mhoryga’s all along. He was sent to infiltrate the championship in order to get close to you and, when opportunity presented itself, to kill you.” He tilts his head to one side, shaking it slowly. “It is the gods’ own blessing that we happened to have Seer Tamnaeth in our midst. A clear vision came to him last night, enabling me at last to take action. I hate to think what might have happened otherwise.”
I hear the words, but…but they might as well be spoken ina different language entirely. They are mere sound, battering against my understanding, unable to find a point of access. Because this doesn’t make sense. None of it. Valtar, a dracori? Yes, yes, of course he bears the scar, but he revealed that for himself and gave us an explanation, did he not? He hates Mhoryga and all that she represents. He could never be her servant.
Besides, if he was here to kill me, why did he never do it? He had opportunity—numerous opportunities, including the moment of our first meeting! He could have…he could have…
Whyhadhe been lurking in that alcove behind the curtain? Disguised as a guard while all the other guards were conveniently absent from their posts? Whydidhe climb down the air shafts into my room that same night?
And why did I, with such stubborn determination, refuse to consider any of these questions more closely, dismissing and diminishing them by turns whenever they chanced to niggle at the back of my brain?
Valtar.A villain? An assassin, one of Mhoryga’s creatures? I don’t believe it. Iwon’tbelieve it.
“Where is he?” I demand, rising from my seat. “Where is Prince Valtar now?”
Alderin looks up at me. “This is not the time to discuss such matters, Princess. Let us observe the trial, and then—”
“No!” I shake my head, backing away three steps, my hands clenched into fists. “No, I want to know where he is, I want to know what you’ve done to him. You’re going to tell me now and—”
My words break off in a strangled scream. For in that moment, that same sensation of a door slamming open bursts through my brain, and three voices erupt with a cacophony of roaring. I fall to my knees, clutching my head, my mouth open with a scream I cannot hear.
Somewhere, in some faraway space outside this clamor, Alderin shouts for someone to bring the tincture,now. Soon after, a figure kneels before me, and even through the tumult in my brain, I think I recognize Philippa.
