“Something like that.” She and Darian share a lingering look before she bends down to pick up her arming coat, wincing with each movement. “That son of a whore really enjoyed having his way with my breasts. If I win this thing, I’m going to spend aweek showing him how much fun it is to have your sensitive parts bitten.”
Darian pulls his fighting leathers on, and the rest of the competitors seem to have concluded that it was time to get dressed as well. Elara doesn’t bother with her armor yet, though, and continues to give me a quizzical look.
Then she shakes her head. “I have to ask, Fiona. Why do all the rest of us look like a herd of demons trampled us, and you’re still wearing your clothes? I don’t even think your hair’s rumpled.”
I pause, not sure what I should say. My hand runs through my short red hair, but I don’t have a chance to come up with an explanation. Someone I know based purely on her description does it for me.
“You little cheat,” Lucine Reden says as she appears from the crowd. Just like the other gods’ champions, I’ve kept an eye on her. After seeing what Azric and Ainslee can do, I know I want to stay far away from any of them.
Queen Lucine Reden is Rivena, the Goddess of Justice’s champion, and she looks the part. She’s taller than me, but more than that, she’s broader than Darian. Her short hair is silver, just like the plate she wears, and her blue eyes seem to burn with fury. Unlike most of the other champions, she’s not older. When she accepted Rivena’s offer eighty years ago, she’d been in her prime, and she looks every bit the part of a champion, capable of holding her own on any battlefield.
She steps closer to me until there’s only a single step between us. “I didn’t cheat,” I say. “The instructions were that if I said my word,I’d die. If I didn’t say my word, I’d live. That’s all. No one told me I wasn’t allowed to defend myself.”
“It’s obvious you were supposed to endure torture, as the test was to prove you could keep a secret.”
I do my best impression of my father, maintaining as much neutrality as possible even though I’m petrified of the woman. Emotions are weaknesses, and the Godforged gathered here will pounce on it in an instant. “I kept my secret. If I hadn’t passed his test, Nyxthos would have killed me. He doesn’t seem to be the kind of god who gives second chances. Why does it matter to you, though?”
Lucine moves faster than anyone I’ve ever seen, her gauntleted hand going from her side to my cheek in less than the blink of an eye. My reaction is so slow that it’s only when the steel touches my skin that I pull away. She didn’t want to hurt me, or my head would be hitting a wall, very far away from my body. Instead, I’m only left with the cold realization of what she could do if she’d wanted.
She gives me a sadistic smile. “No human should have been able to survive those trials. You killed Corentin Maroux, a friend of mine, to survive your trial, and I assume you cheated your way through the Shadow Road as well.”
Without warning, Lucine’s hand moves back to her side, and she stiffens. A sultry voice rises around us. “Now, Lucine darling. You know the rules. No violence in the Great Hall. A shame, really. There are so many in this room that I’d love to…question.” A man I’ve never met before walks out of the crowd, and before allour eyes, he changes his appearance. From the most nondescript man I could imagine wearing a bland mix of dyed velvet, he becomes Azric Cyrus wearing the same black riding coat that’s been embroidered in red.
I’m struck by how everyone, Lucine included, is stunned into silence. A tinge of fear crosses Lucine’s face, but she stands tall, not bowing to her fear. My eyes move over Azric, and I can’t help but recognize that he truly is a perfect instrument for the Goddess of Death and Beauty. Every movement he makes stirs a strange mix of lust and fear inside me. The way his riding coat seems to billow even in the stale air. The way his eyes whisper of possibilities, and yet his face is as cold as death itself.
The desires to run from andtowardhim war inside me, freezing me in place.
He turns to Darian first, a half-smile on his lips, and he says, “Congratulations are in order, Uncle.” He nods his head ever so slightly. “And to you as well, Elara. May both of your trials go just as well as the past two.” Darian gives him a small bow, and Elara doesn’t move, accepting the well-wishes but not knowing how to react.
Then he turns to me, and instead of saying anything, he approaches. “Incredible. A human has survived two trials of Nyxthos. What was it you said earlier, Uncle? That she is Veris-touched? Yet, I don’t sense a single bit of Veris’s magic on her.”
I can’t move, not only because of the way he makes me feel, but also because the entire Great Hall is staring at me. How is someonesupposed to answer that? How am I supposed to react to the Prince of Bones taking such a public interest in me?
He moves close enough that I can make out the individual stitches in his riding coat, and he smiles. “They say that humans are more clever than the High Fae or the Godforged, that they’ve never lost a war with anyone save themselves. No one else thought to kill their captors. And how did you survive the Road? A secret you’ll never tell, I’m sure.”
He turns away from me and addresses the crowd. “Cleverness is a prized trait from Nyxthos. Echo made a name for herself as a champion on the battlefield, but her numbers were always far smaller than her foes. She was forced to do more with less. I applaud your very survival, Lady Fiona. Nyxthos is almost certainly happy you’ve made it this far.”
I don’t say a word, but it doesn’t seem necessary, as he turns back to Lucine. His eyes move from her to the rest of the champions, and he speaks. “It is not our place to decide what is cheating and what is not. How many times did my aunt do something you hadn’t expected? Do you thinkshewould have simply accepted a night of torture? I certainly don’t.”
There are grumbles in the crowd, but acceptance seems to flow through them. He smiles at Lucine one more time, and then he says, “Enjoy your success, competitors. I cannot wait to watch the next trials. Maybe in them, a few more of you will take up Echo’s banner and come up with clever solutions that we can all marvel at for weeks.”
My body’s almost relaxed when he turns back to me. This time, when Azric approaches, he doesn’t stop inches away. He runs his nails over my cheek as he has every other time he’s seen me, and I feel that burning start deep inside. The words he whispers in my ear turn that lust into fear, though. “Tell my Uncle you don’t think your hiding place is safe any longer. I will meet you, and only you, where you heard a story about how to kill two hundred Stormbringers.”
My face shows my shock as he reveals just how little I can hide from him. Before my eyes, he slowly disappears, so similar to how Nyxthos did. He fades, his body turning to shadow, until only the glowing red blade on his hip and his orange eyes are left. Then they’re gone as well.
As soon as I get control of myself, I meet Darian’s eyes. We don’t have time to talk, though, as that’s when Nyxthos appears. With a wide smile on his face, he ignores the threat of violence that had just occurred. Instead, he floats high above the crowd just as he did before.
Slowly spinning, so he can see each of us in turn, he says, “Congratulations to all of you who have passed the first two trials! Your stalwart suffering has been entertaining. You’ve proven you can face your own issues, and you can protect secrets. Now it is time that you prove you can be warriors as well. All champions are their gods’ blades. Remember that I do not carry a spear or a longsword.”
As he finally faces me, I look into those black eyes, and I see the fury in them, even though he’s outwardly smiling. His words don’tfalter as he holds my gaze in a stranglehold. “There are thirty-five of you left. As some of you do not know each other very well, I will give you all a month to separate into groups of seven. I suggest you learn to work with each other.”
He finally turns past me to look at other people, and it’s like I can breathe again. “My champion must be both a blade and a mind, so both will be tested in the third trial. May Veris bless you all. Enjoy the rest of the feast!”
He fades out of view, yet I can’t help but feel a lingering darkness around me. It’s as though Nyxthos is staying, but only near me.
Darian immediately moves to my side, and Ainslee’s there almost as quickly. “What did Azric tell you?” he asks in a hurried whisper.
“He said that our prison cell isn’t safe any longer.”
