When his speech descended into swaggering bravado about how proud he was of the Diamond Court casters, I found myself tuning out and my thoughts drifted back to Sin. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Harpyn had said. The only logical conclusion was that Sin had been with a princess or someone of royal standing in the past, but if it was old news, then why did he feel the need to hide it?
My seat at the king’s table unfortunately gave me a prime view of him at the opposite table. He sat beside Peywyn, who spent the entire meal making doe eyes at an olive-skinned Gold Courtfemale named Elona, oblivious to her partner's suffering. I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the altercation with Harpyn, but Sin barely looked up from his meal the whole night.
Dey tried to be a pleasant dinner companion keeping up the conversation by telling me about some of the other competitors. Apparently the Silver Court was notorious for vicious casters that fought dirty. Jacksyn and his oddly devoted partner Harlix—the bikini clad female—were two of the worst he had heard of and borderline insane on top of it. Thinking back to Harpyn, I wondered how anyone could be worse than him. Their aeriservians, two brothers named Farlix and Forwyn, were the least awful Dey had said, but their egos were so huge that they would likely do anything to win.
The Silver Court sounded like it churned out some real gems, and I made a mental note to remove it from my list of places to visit one day.
The Gold Court was better, Dey had said. More honorable and noble for the most part. They held their own qualifiers to determine who would represent their court, though there were rumors that Vankin had cheated somehow to ensure his lover, Bartyn, would be the other aquiservian champion.
The Gold Court igniservians were a father-daughter duo named Direff and Sarla. Direff was the Gold Court’s Cennux and Sarla was his second. A tiny flicker of sadness hit me, and I hoped Sarla realized how lucky she was to have such a good relationship with her father.
It was the Gold Court aeriservians I found most intriguing. Both Glorn and Nema were nearly 200 years old. Glorn had stereotypical old white wizard vibes, while Nema radiated sweet elderly grandma. I didn’t know how they could possibly stand up against the skills of the younger casters, but I kind of hoped they did well.
After an hour or so of small talk, my father rose to give his closing speech.
“Tomorrow the Elemental Games will begin after the King’s Council has come to a close. I want to remind all of our guests from the Silver and Gold Courts, as well as my own people, that these games are meant to foster goodwill and bring us all together as Rivellans. So do remember the rules this evening. There will be no violence before the games, and no competitor may opt out at this point. You all are committed. Each of our fighters have been assigned a room in the east wing on the third level. Guards from all three courts will be stationed in the hallway to ensure everyone stays in their chambers and has a good night's sleep. Make your courts proud tomorrow. Make all of Rivella proud.” He raised his glass. “Honor to Rivella. Honor to the Source.”
“Honor to Rivella. Honor to the Source,” everyone else intoned with raised classes.
Well, shit. I had no idea where Sin and I stood, but it sounded like I wasn’t going to find out tonight.
When the competitors filed out, I allowed Dey to escort me back to my room, my thoughts too focused on Sin to figure out an excuse to avoid him.
“Good night,” I said, giving him my best fake smile when we arrived at my door.
“Wait, Princess.” He grabbed my elbow before I could fully escape. When I looked down at his grip, he released me.
“What do you want, Dey?” I asked, exhausted from the longest day of faking smiles and playing dumb whenever someone spoke in Rivellan.
He shifted awkwardly, then asked, “Is there something going on between you and Dreisin?”
Well that was the last thing I expected.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “No, Dey, why would you even ask?”
He gave me a boyish grin. “I am just making sure that I do not have any competition.”
I pushed into my room. “Well, you can rest easy because there is no competition.”
I wasn’t lying either. Sin had already won my heart.
“All right then. Good night, Princess,” he said softly. “I will see you tomorrow for the competitor’s breakfast.”
I shut the door behind me and slumped to the floor, absently petting Jenni and Opal as they happily greeted me. Crap. Another formal gathering to attend. Tomorrow was the games, the banquet, the ball, and now we needed to add a formal breakfast? I banged my against the door a couple times.
There was no way I was going to survive it all.
Chapter forty-two
The competitor’s breakfast was similar to the dinner the night before save for the absence of the three rulers. Dey told me they were already sequestered away for the Council but would finish in time for the games. I took my seat beside him and wondered what was being said behind those closed doors. Would he tell the other kings about the prophecy? Or would he let it be a great big surprise one day?
I dug into my breakfast, the tight corset of my long-sleeved, ruby red dress making it difficult to eat... or breathe. When Kiahna arrived at my door this morning, gown in hand, I realized my father was sending a message, if not a punishment, for my rather understated attire last night.
The competitors were divided by court with Diamond at the head of the table followed by Gold then Silver. Peywyn managed to snag a seat next to Elona again who kept throwing shy glances her way, and I was honestly rooting for them. I didn’t know how they would make it work being from different courts, but hopefully love would find a way.
I risked a glance at Sin, but the sight of his completely disheveled appearance didn’t bring me any satisfaction. It was like his very essence had been stripped away, leaving only a shell of the male I knew.
About twenty guards from the various courts arrived a bit later, and Dey told me the competitors were being escorted out to the arena for their designated practice time.
