“Well, obviously you’re not allowed to use magic, and you have to keep one arm behind your back. You know, to keep it fair.”
“Mira, I’m a trained soldier.” I can feel the strain in his voice not to sound condescending. “Nothing will make this fair.”
“Does that mean you agree?”
His eyes are narrowed, but the corners of his mouth twitch. “Fine.” He tucks one hand behind his back. “You ready?”
I widen my stance into a crouch. “Ready.”
He lurches toward me, clearly wanting to end this quickly. I skirt to the side, eyeing the ground as he turns back again, facing me.
He leans on the balls of his feet, preparing for another lunge.
According to the rules we set, Flynn isn’t allowed to use magic. I never said anything about me.
I can’t use magic in an obvious way, but Flynn just made the fatal error of lying to me. He claimed he wasn’t worried about someone killing the Honorate, and the magic of that lie is still warming my belly.
As he springs forward, I send heat—just a bit—to the frosttipped grass in front of him, melting it. Not enough for him to notice, just enough to make it slippery.
His foot lands on the slicked grass and skids forward.
For a split second, he’s surprised and off-balance.
In that moment, I dart forward, throw my arms around his waist, and tackle him to the ground.
We go sprawling. He crashes onto his back, and I land on top of him.
Flynn gawks at me as I stand. “I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. I cheated.” I’m telling the truth, but he laughs, thinking I’m joking. “You didn’t let me win, did you?” I ask, eyes narrowed as though suspicious.
“No.” He sounds bemused as he pushes to his feet. “You won.”
“Good. I believe this means you owe me answers.”
With a sigh, Flynn puts a hand on my back and guides me closer to the stands, opposite the Petruvians and away from the other soldiers. “What do you want to know?”
“Who do you think killed Arliss Vale? Do you think someone’s targeting the Honorate?”
“I think . . .” He hesitates. “Well, there’s a reason the Shadow Queen is as terrifying as she is. All the Honorate have something to hide.”
“Something worth killing for?”
He hesitates for several seconds. “Maybe. Probably.”
I take a breath. Now for the question Ireallyneed answers to. “Including your father?”
Flynn recoils. “You can’t expect me to answer that.”
“I won, didn’t I?”
He groans. “Of course including my father. He gets letters from the Shadow Queen, same as anyone else. And he’s been paranoid for months.”
Months?Selva Sixmen got a letter from the imposter Shadow Queen two weeks ago—why has he been acting strange for months? “You don’t know why?”
“He never said, and I never asked. Why are you so interested in this?”
“I’m worried about my brother. What if he’s the next target?”
