Jocasta nods and then sweeps from the room, the hem of her dress snapping around the doorframe.
Flynn stares after her. His jaw could cut marble. Everyone looks uncomfortable. I know I am. Then Aetos starts arguing with me again, which makes Desma miserable.
I grit my teeth, the start of a headache coming on. I want to grab Griffin’s hand and make a break for it. I’ll jump through the window if I have to. Except I can’t.Gah!
Deep breath in. Long breath out. The Gods are telling me I’m some sort of new Origin, which apparently means it’s my job to give Thalyria a fresh start. Griffin crowned me with the symbols of the three realms, joining them together on one circle that perfectly fit my head. If I’m supposed to be not justaqueen buttheQueen, I’d better start acting like it.
My voice rings out, surprisingly firm. “Flynn, sit down. Aetos, I said no. Kato, Carver—find Cassandra and bring her here. We might have some convincing to do.”
Flynn sits. Aetos clamps his mouth shut. Kato and Carver get up and go.Huh.
The pride in Griffin’s unwavering gray gaze makes me feel a little dizzy and alarmingly warm inside. I shift restlessly until Vasili catches my eye. His thick mustache lifts with the hint of a paternal smile, and I remember how all those years ago, he found me starving and drifting through the dusty southern grasslands. He took me to Selena, half carrying me in his arms.
He lifts the blunt end of a knife to his forehead now in a silent salute, but his eyes are troubled, like he fears he might be drinking in his last sight of me.
CHAPTER 28
CASSANDRA IS EXACTLY WHATIHOPED FOR—GOOD ATfollowing orders. I need practice giving them, so that works out well for everyone. She’s also exceptional at reconnaissance. All lean muscle and agility, she moves like a shadow and blends into walls. When she asks questions, people answer. Not because she threatens, but because of a rather disarming smile that includes a healthy set of teeth and a dimple in her right cheek. Piers found her in Mylos three years ago guarding the main temple housing the knowledge scrolls. I don’t know how she ended up being his right hand, but he was smart to hold on to her. Piers may be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.
“Three teams are camped outside the city.” Cassandra draws a map in the dirt and marks the spots to the north and northeast. “They’re each missing a team member, which makes me think they’re hiding creatures in the woods.”
My stomach performs a nervous flip. “Any idea what?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “They could have magic, or just brute force.”
“Don’t forget venom,” Kato adds dryly.
Cassandra nods. “There are eight teams in all. The remaining five, including us, are all housed in the arena. We’re in the middle of the living quarters, with two teams on our left, and two on our right.”
As soon as a team registers for the Agon Games, they’re offered a “suite” in the bowels of the arena, which consists of two rooms with cots, a fully stocked apothecary area, a small privy, and a private bath. The only light comes from torches and oil lamps. The floors are dirt, the ceilings high.Monster-accommodating high. On the eve of the Games, every combatant has to be in the underground rooms, Giants and all. Most participants never leave the arena again.
“Physically, we’re on par. Maybe even better.” Cassandra’s eyes stray to Kato. Of course. She’s female. “But there’s no telling what’s beneath the surface. The teams are heavily Fisan, which probably means more Magoi than Hoi Polloi. I’ve only seen one other woman in the hallways around the suites, but others could be staying in their rooms. I also learned from a talkative Gameskeeper that we’re the only Sintan team—with the exception of the Origin.”
I force myself not to grimace. When Cassandra agreed to risk her life, it was only fair to tell her why. She immediately started calling me the Origin and Griffin the Alpha. And not Alpha Sinta, just Alpha, which is a statement in itself.
“You did well.” Griffin nods his approval, his mien somber. “Anything else?”
Cassandra shakes her head, making her shoulder-length hair bounce. It’s shorter, but curly and brown like mine. “They’re lying as low as we are. No one wants to show their hand.”
Lying lowis an understatement. Only Cassandra has left the suite since we got here. The next time I show my face, it’ll be covered in cosmetics, just like it was when we arrived. People come from all over to see the Games, many of them Magoi or Magoi nobles. I can’t risk anyone recognizing me until we’re inside Castle Tarva with a knife to Galen Tarva’s throat. And preferably to Acantha’s, too.
Flynn squats and uses his finger to draw a tournament bracket in the dirt. “Eight teams. That means three rounds, one less than in the last Games.”
I nod. “And sometimes teams kill each other off completely. We might get a pass into the final round.” I sound disturbingly eager about the possibility of twelve people slaughtering each other.
Well, better than slaughtering us.
“Unlikely,” Kato says, studying the rudimentary grid.
Carver winks at me. “But we can always hope.”
Flynn sweeps his bracket from the ground and then rises, brushing the dirt from his hands. “Too bad we can’t watch the other rounds. Get an idea of what we’re up against.”
As of tonight, all the teams will be inside. As of tomorrow morning, we’ll all be under lock and key and only let out when it’s our turn to fight.
Carver throws a lean, muscled arm around my shoulders, ignoring Griffin’s narrow-eyed stare. “If Cat’s strategy worked, we’ve made ourselves out as weak enough to avoid the more terrifying teams in the first round.”
“Hopefully.” I frown. “Althoughweakis a misnomer. There are no weak teams in the Agon Games unless six people want to collectively commit suicide. But they’ll look for teams that don’t have an obvious advantage, like magical creatures or a known Magoi. Well-matched teams put on a better show. Pit Hoi Polloi against Magoi and creatures, and it’s over too fast. The spectators want gore, and they want it to last. Apparently, that’s more fun.”
