She killed him. Holy fuck, she killed him.
Why?
“There!” I shout in her direction, and a dozen guards run towards her.
I should chase after her. I don’t know how many of the guards are shadow-born, but I doubt it’s many. I could even loose one of my arrows at her retreating figure.
I nock my arrow, but something stops me from shooting.
Why would Calliope shoot Linus in the middle of the tournament final with one hundred thousand witnesses? Why, when it won’t win her the tournament? She’ll be hanged as soon as they catch her.
Why would she risk her life for this?
And then it occurs to me.
There’s only one reason to do something that would cause this much chaos.
It’s a distraction.
I look into the royal box. Ronan is standing at the front, giving orders to Taran. Claudia is being herded out the back by Quinn and Typhon, and the Grand Vizier is shouting to someone in the stands.
None of them see the man on the right, creeping up to Ronan. How could they?
He’s hidden in the shadows.
I look around me, but no one else is looking in that direction. No one can see him but me.
Calliope killed Linus as a distraction. This man is going to kill Ronan.
I don’t hesitate. I don’t think of the consequences.
I nock one of the competition arrows.
I draw the bow.
And I loose the arrow into the royal box.
Chapter Nineteen
My arrow hits its target.
The man collapses to the ground next to Ronan, his shadow dropping as he falls. I survey the box for other threats, but the shadows look clear, and Ronan, seeing the dead man on the ground beside him, lights it up anyway.
The man is dead, and I killed him.
My first real kill.
I thought I’d be sick with regret. I thought I’d agonize over what I’d done, and maybe I still will later.
But for now, I’m just relieved.
Ronan is alive.
Several of the guards rush into the box and start overturning chairs. One kneels to examine the dead man, and then another points out onto the arena floor.
Points at me.
Ronan, who keeps shrugging off the guards to stop them from moving him, looks out at me and starts gesturing and yelling.
