They all turned simultaneously when I entered. The first one clapped his hands together. “Ah! The Osterhase! Right on time, you are. We’ve got your space all set up, nice and proper.”
I scanned the tent. There was a bench for sitting, a table with water bottles and what looked like energy supplements, and several pots that had very obviously held gold coins at some point. Now they held elaborate arrangements of actual golden eggs—real gold, gleaming and heavy-looking—nestled in green moss.
The second leprechaun gestured proudly to the decorated pots. “We wanted you to feel at home. Gold eggs for the Easter celebration, yeah? Seemed fitting.”
It really wasn’t. Easter eggs were supposed to be edible, not metallic. But I supposed leprechauns couldn’t understand that.
“Barnaby!”
I spun around to find Grix squeezing through the tent entrance, his tablet clutched to his chest. He took one look at the decorated pots, and his face went completely blank. “Well. They certainly tried. No one can say leprechauns are known for their taste.”
The third leprechaun’s face flushed red. “Oi! We worked hard on those arrangements!”
Grix tapped something on his tablet screen and shrugged. “Hard work and good taste are not always correlated.”
I moved quickly to intervene before the leprechauns could get more offended. “They’re beautiful. Really festive. Thank you so much for setting this up.”
The leprechauns looked mollified, and the first one patted my shoulder. “You’re a good lad. We’ll be cheering for you out there.”
They filed out of the tent, still muttering to each other in Gaelic. I was left alone with Grix and the aggressively decorated gold pots.
Grix pulled a familiar white bakery box from his bag. “Here. Hazel sent these. She couldn’t be here because she’s human, but she wanted you to have them.”
I took the box and opened it carefully, selecting a chocolate. Was that blood orange I smelled? Hazel was a goddess. With this under my belt, there was no way I could lose. “Where’s Brok? Is he here somewhere?”
Grix adjusted his glasses while continuing to scroll through his tablet. “He decided to keep his distance. Presumably so it doesn’t look like you need a trainer holding your hand for the competition.”
That made sense. I’d been working so hard to prove I could do this on my own. Having Brok hovering would undermine that. But it still would have been nice to see him before everything started.
I bit into the chocolate, and, oh wow, there it was. Pure joy flooding through me, spreading from my tongue down through my chest and into my limbs. Hazel understood joy better than almost anyone. She could put it right into food and make you taste it.
Grix cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. I ate another chocolate but tried to listen to him anyway. “So… any news?”
Grix sighed but didn’t chastise me for my decision to feast. “The challenge will start soon. King Oberon will make opening remarks, announce the competitors, and explain the structure. Then you’ll begin.”
Opening remarks. Announcements. Structure. This was really happening. “I see. Thank you for keeping me posted, Grix.”
“Don’t thank me. We’re not out of the woods yet.”
It sounded like a warning, the kind of thing a kobold would say when they wanted to be helpful. My fur suddenly stood on end.
I stepped outside the tent and immediately saw movement near the meadow’s far entrance. It was Reynard. Or rather, Vixen. The Osterfuchs had decided to use their female form again.
Today, they had chosen a cute pink and black jogging ensemble. They were wearing so many studs that my own ears twitched in sympathy. Their tail was perfectly groomed, and their claws were adorned with bright blue crystals. Isengrim lurked by their side, once more wearing one of his expensive suits.
Grix had followed me out of the tent and now stood beside me. “Your competitor has arrived. The Osterfuchs looks confident.”
“They look like they already know they’ve won.” The anxiety crept into my throat despite the chocolate joy still humming in my system. I grabbed another piece quickly.
Grix hummed under his breath, then took a chocolate for himself. “Confidence isn’t the same as competence. And overconfidence can be a weakness. The Osterfuchs assumes they deserve this Title back based on history alone. You’ve actually been doing the work.”
That helped a little. It was true. I had been working hard. Training with Brok, improving my speed, gettingmy joy back. I wasn’t the same exhausted rabbit who’d been struggling six months ago.
Vixen and Isengrim disappeared into their own preparation tent on the opposite side of the meadow. It was right next to the platform where King Oberon’s throne had been set up. Of course it was.
But it didn’t matter. I’d come too far to let Vixen beat me now. “I can do this, Grix. I can’t fail. Not after everything Brok and Hazel did for me.”
Grix didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. I already had all the answers I needed in the chocolates my human friend had sent me.
