I growled but put down the rest of my bacon rasher and stood. “You finished breakfast already, Master Nial, so perhaps you realized someone had pissed in your Cheerios?”
Adelie giggled, but the glare Nial threw at her cut her off. When he looked back at me, I saw Adelie give him the middle finger. Standing up, Adelie had every intention of following me. Nial put a hand out to stop her. “The last Challenge is not publically given. This one is behind closed doors. Only the Queen Novitiate and the overlords are allowed.”
A queasiness rose in my stomach. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like hiding what the request was from the general public. Still, this whole trial and ceremony thing was older than my own grandfather. I had to play along with the rules. Instead of fighting with the druid, I put a hand on Adelie’s shoulder. “Let me go. It’ll be fine. I can’t expect them to wait more than a day for me to recover.”
She straightened her back, nodded and gave Nial the nastiest look. I wanted to high-five her, but Mister Monitor was halfway across the room at that point, and I had to follow him. I refused to run, but I did power walk to end up just behind him. We strode through the halls to the small chamber where the overlords could hold private audiences if they needed to.
He pulled the door open, and there was no mistaking the anger he was radiating. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“I am Monitor of Challenge and a possible candidate for king. I cannot be present for this issuance. My only instruction as of now is that I will know when you have completed it.”
Well. This was a twist. I knew it was given in confidence, but I didn’t realize even the Monitor didn’t get to know what I had to do. Interesting.
I stepped into the chamber, and Mister Crushed Ego slammed the door.
The five overlords sat in their casual clothes, which were out of place. They were usually all dressed up in for the pomp and ceremony. They loved to remind everyone how powerful they were, waving their dicks in our faces. But there wasn’t a hint of the hauteur I was used to from them. They were gathered around a small, old wooden table.
Stress. Distress. Excitement.
It radiated from them in waves.
My stomach stopped fluttering and started churning hard. They left me standing and waiting for a very, very long moment.
“Gwynnore, daughter of Alaine,” Lord Belshazzar began, standing up. “You have satisfied all of our trials with expediency and enthusiasm. The last trial only barely, when you finally revealed to Lord Pippin that you believed Lord Cato was breaking the law. Thetruth. That was the true test, whether you would tell us of your father’s possible duplicity—even if the Council did want Ginter dead for our own reasons.”
I blinked. Stared. “Wait… You knew he had created a vampire?”
Lord Belshazzar nodded with ease. “Yes. Any vampire he has created has been approved.”
My mouth bobbed without elegance. “You were testing me. About my morals, and where I would let the law apply.”
Didn’t they know I despised my father?
I wouldn’t have saved his ass from death. At least…
No, I wouldn’t have. I did a little mental shake. I definitely wouldn’t save the bastard who had abandoned me. I had told Lord Pippin about it—even if it was out of unfiltered anger.
“Yes. And the Council is pleased with the outcome. We have reached the last trial.”
Lord Xenon stood. “This trial is law. Your last Challenge is in the Law. We cannot change it. We dare not change it. It has served us well this long. But bear in mind always that this is the law, and we must obey it.”
Lord Otto hoisted himself out of his chair. “Our conditions are this. You must complete this task in under forty-eight hours. It must be done in the public eye. And you must not ever tell anyone the true reason for this.”
Cato rose to his feet. “Tradition is tradition. Law is law. If you want the crown, you must follow this to the letter.” His cold facade wavered a moment then snapped back into place.
Slowly, Lord Pippin stood. “Are you ready to hear your final Challenge?”
I nodded, swallowing back the bile that wanted out.
He continued, “The law states that she who would be queen must to prove her dedication to the law, kill the individual who is her most loved one, be they family, friend or mated—including soul mates. No one can be told of this Challenge. The blood must be left to the ages.”
There was no way I’d heard that right. “Could you repeat that?”
“You must kill the individual who is your most loved one,” Lord Pippin repeated the words.
“You want me to kill my friend?” My voice rose hysterically, his meaning hitting like a sledgehammer to my skull. “You want me to killAdelie?”
