‘Okay, what about Grenda?’ he asks next.
‘Grenda? You haven’t told me Grenda’s weaknesses.’
‘And that’s because she hasn’t got any. Not that I can spot. If Grenda’s after you … you run. And then you climb something. That’s the one advantage you’ve got on her. On most people.’
He’s not just flattering me. This is the second time we’ve scaled the wall to get to this viewpoint, and each time, I’ve been comfortably seated long before he’s reached his final handhold. Although he was right in saying it’s only an advantage over most people, not everyone. Not with the way Kyor scaled the temple. Instinctively, I search the crowded traininggrounds for the prince, only to find him missing. Obviously, he doesn’t think he needs to be here.
‘If it does turn into sparring,’ Benny carries on, still talking about Grenda, ‘try to get three on one at a minimum. That’s the only way any of us will stand a chance. That said, from what Loch’s heard, she’s pretty honourable. I can’t imagine you needing to watch out for any of the knights, to be honest, unless the whole trial is just to kill as many people as possible. In that case, you’re screwed, but so are most of us.’
At the mention of Loch’s name, I seek out the islander. Since the vow ceremony, he hasn’t said more than ten words around me. It’s good to know that he’s still talking to Benny.
Benny and I remain there for the next half hour before heading back down the wall. I take a different route down, choosing to go as much horizontally as vertically. The workout it gives my arms is just as good as swinging a sword.
I’m about ten feet from the bottom when I jump down, but as my feet hit the ground, I notice something. Markings on the wall. Knife marks. Hundreds of them scratched in a tally. They stretch several metres across, the older ones looking as though they’ve been there for years, if not decades. Though there are hundreds of new ones, too, where the chiselled rock is still sharp, the wind and rain not having yet had time to weather it down. I run my fingers over some of the smoother notches, my eyes drawn to certain ones. Ones where the marks are stained deep brown. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to them, no pattern, so maybe it’s to do with the knife used to cut them into the stone.
I push the mystery of the marks aside and head back into the centre of the arena. Knowing why they’re there won’t help me stay alive.
Zelle is free and drinking from a water fountain. My plan is to ask him for a daylight session, but as I approach, a shadow sweeps past me, brushing against my arm.
‘Hey old man. Time to have a proper fight?’ The intonation of Kyor’s address makes it sound like a term of endearment.
‘I think Kultavaris was just coming to ask me the same,’ Zelle replies with a flash of a smile. He really is everything Kyor isn’t. Honourable. Polite. Not an arsehole.
At the sound of my name, Kyor twists around and looks at me as if he wasn’t aware he’d pushed straight past me. Yup. Arsehole. He sniffs once, then turns back to Zelle.
‘Well, how about I tire you out for a bit? Then there might be the slightest chance Thorn can last two minutes.’
Zelle looks at me. It’s clear he won’t accept without me agreeing, but the last thing I want is Kyor watching while I practise my footwork.
‘As you will, Your Royal Highness.’ I shrug as if I couldn’t care less.
I smile a little as he bristles at the remark, but a moment later, he’s walking out into the arena and stripping his top off.
‘It looks like I came at the right time,’ Llinos says, admiring the prince’s physique.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her since Benny and I left the library and I can’t help but rush to apologise. ‘Llin! I’m so sorry. I swear, it didn’t even cross my mind that Caroline?—’
‘It’s fine.’ She squeezes my shoulder as she beams. ‘It’s fine. I know you didn’t know. And we’re together again now.’
‘I’m so happy for you.’ A surprising heat burns behind my eyes as I remember the way she spoke about Caz.My everything.
‘Me too.’ She grins. ‘By the Mother, I’m not letting her go again. Good Gods, have you seen the muscles on that man?’ Her eyes shift away from me, and I know exactly who she’s looking at.
‘I’m sorry, but weren’t you just saying how happy you are to be reunited with the love of your life?’
‘I’m just appreciating the human form,’ she replies.
‘Yeah, well, that particular human is an evil narcissist who ruins lives.’
‘Oh, I know. I just find it funny that you’re still looking given it’s your life he ruined.’
She’s not wrong. It’s hard not to look. Having stripped off his top, Kyor is now walking barefoot across the sand. Those circles of Wrohelm aren’t the only tattoos on his body. There’s also an orthogonal-shaped rune at the top of his forearm that I’ve never noticed before.
As he and Zelle begin moving, it’s absolutely impossible to drag my eyes away. The way he holds his sword is so light, so gentle, and yet as he swings the blade in towards Zelle, the amount of power in the strike is phenomenal. The clatter of metal sounds out around us, drawing the attention of anyone in the arena who hasn’t yet stopped to watch. Light reflects off Kyor’s skin, highlighting each curve of his muscles. His pivots are perfect, and his body moves in a fluid arc as he leans away from Zelle’s blade.
His eyes meet mine, and though it’s only for a moment, a millisecond,I know exactly what he’s saying. He’s telling me that when I get to the arena, he’s what I’ll be up against. And I’m toast.
‘Benny,’ I say, whipping to my side. ‘Tell me he’s got a weakness?’
