“I will get up, and I will fight some more.”
Flynn’s eyes flick to Jocasta before boring back into mine. “This is one of those decisions you’ll have to live with.” He looks at Griffin, too, the same somber message in his heavy dark-brown stare.
Jocasta glares at Flynn. “Why are you so sure I’m incompetent?”
“I don’t think you’re incompetent,” Flynn answers harshly. “I don’t think you’re prepared forthis!”
Carver tilts his head back against the closed door, his eyes at half-mast, one foot propped up against the wood. His relaxed stance doesn’t fool me at all. “I think our opponents will see you’re the weak link, and we’ll spend all our energy defending you until we finally run out of muscle. Guess what happens then?” he asks, his tone both biting and soft.
Jocasta whips out a knife and throws, planting the blade in the aged plank not an inch from Carver’s sword hand. I arch an eyebrow. Even if she’s gained the skill, it takes balls to actually make a move like that, even with Selena here to clean up the potential mess.
Carver straightens off the door, scowling. He rips the knife from the wood and then hands it back to his sister. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Then maybe you don’t know me,” Jocasta says. She turns to Griffin. “What do you think?” She’s not asking for his sanction, just his opinion.
“I don’t want you out there. You’ve always had the heart of a warrior, but you don’t have the training for this.”
Jocasta’s chin stays perfectly level. She turns to me. “Cat?”
I don’t want an opinion. I don’t want an opinion. I don’twant an opinion.“You’re not prepared, but who ever is for something like this? Everyone is here by choice. I won’t order anyone to fight, and I won’t turn you away. The Gods are with us. I put my faith in them.”
Jocasta nods once. “Then I’m in.”
Flynn pales. His mouth works for a moment, but he doesn’t speak again.
Everyone is quiet until Selena says a single word. It’s from the old language. I don’t recognize it, but the magic blackens my vision and knocks me off my feet. Everyone else lurches, even Griffin, which means whatever she said was helpful, not harmful. Obviously.
Griffin helps me to my feet, and I lean on him more than I probably should. I can’t catch my breath. My heart is racing, and my last meal feels like it’s ready to come back up.
I swallow once, twice.Ugh.“What was that?”
Selena’s smile is enigmatic at best. “Let’s get some rest.” She moves fluidly into the other room and then douses the torch.
Typical.I swallow again, trying not to pant.
Kato covers Cassandra with a blanket, pulling it over her bloodless face. Guilt and anxiety churn in my stomach, and I lose the battle not to be sick. I lurch toward the privy and then vomit, overwhelmed by the sheer awfulness of the last half hour and the weight bearing steadily down on my shoulders. I start shaking and can’t stop.
Kneeling down next to me on the floor, Griffin keeps my braid out of the way and rubs my back. When I finally sink back onto my heels and wipe a shaking hand across my mouth, he hands me a cool cloth. I refresh myself with it and then drink the water he offers.
The sharp bite of magic still gnaws at my skin. “Whatever Selena just did hit me hard,” I say roughly.
Griffin looks at me oddly. Worry creases his brow, and the lines stand out starkly. I should have told Jocasta no. We should have found a plan B.
“You can still stop her,” I say in a low voice for just the two of us. “Stop all of this.” I almost hope he will.
Griffin grips the back of my head and kisses my forehead. Against my skin, he says, “I could. But I’m letting you out there, aren’t I?”
“It’s not the same. I’m made to fight. And survive. A week ago, you wouldn’t even let Jocasta out of Sinta City.”
Griffin takes my hands in his before meeting my eyes again. His are troubled. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but something tells me this is the course we’re meant to follow. I wish to the Gods Cassandra wasn’t dead, and that Jocasta wasn’t taking her place, but the gates are sealed now, and there’s no replacing her with anyone else. Either Jocasta fights, or we’ll be forced to withdraw.” He squeezes my fingers. “We need to be out there on the sand tomorrow. Ifeelit.”
Griffin’s instincts are uncanny, and I think, deep down, I feel it, too. “It could go badly for her. For any of us.”
Griffin rises, pulling me up with him. “She knows that,agapi mou. So do I.”
I’d feel almost normal again after emptying my stomach, except that dread over what’s ahead is like an ice-cold block of marble inside me. Everyone is still exactly where we left them in the main room, the tension in the air thick enough to suffocate the lot of us.
It’s Flynn who moves first. He takes a downy white feather from the pouch at his belt, holds it between two fingers, and then drops it at Jocasta’s feet.
