But it had suddenly all made sense. I wasn’t in any danger. Neither was Rosalina. Sure, I’d been nicked a few times, but that’sjust how Justus works.You don’t learn if you don’t get hurt, especially someone as thick-skulled as you, Daytonales.
Rosie had come around, especially when he mentioned something about stew and a warm place to sleep. The door to the cabin opens and she steps out. Her hair falls in salt-thick waves around her face, and the top of her nose is slightly burned. The sun has brought out a small splattering of freckles on her cheeks. It’s cute and reminds me of Farron.
“I feel like every inch of me is covered in sand and salt and more sand,” Rosalina grumbles.
“After you eat, there’s a stream nearby, and you may make use of my extra clothes,” Justus says, then turns to me. “She’s one of the reasons you lost the fight.”
“Huh?”
Rosie walks closer. The firelight sparkles in her hair and eyes like it wants to join with her. She sits down, giving me a quick smile, before turning to Justus.
“Is it so wrong to protect your allies?” she asks.
“It is if it puts you in jeopardy. You can’t protect anyone if you’re dead.” He ladles a cup of stew into a coconut bowl. “You two will have to overcome that if you’re to fight in the arena together.”
“Dayton told you about that?” Rosalina gives a quick nod of thanks as she accepts the stew.
“No time to waste,” I say.
Justus hands me my own steaming bowl, and I eagerly bring it to my lips, taking a sip and swallowing sweet potato, pineapple, and gummy roots.
“So, you trained Dayton?” Rosalina asks.
“He unfortunately forced that task upon me,” Justus says.
I can only laugh at the memory. “Damocles and Decimus were both trained in the palace, but I used to get bored with my lessons and sneak out. I was only a child at this point and preferred to play with the other kids in the foothills around Hadria. They told me stories of an ancient fae warrior masquerading as a goat herder outside the city. I thought if anyone could teach me to beat my brothers in combat, it was him.”
“I believe the words you first said to me were, ‘Teach me to be a hero,’” Justus says, sipping his own bowl.
“Well, I figured only a hero could beat them,” I reply.
“So, you agreed to take Dayton on as your student?” Rosalina’s eyes light up. There’s nothing that girl loves more than a story, and I intend to give her a good one.
“Oh, it wasn’t that easy. I went up there every day for a month, and every day he sent me packing, saying he was just a goat herder and he had nothing to teach me. But on the thirty-first day, he said I obviously had energy to burn, and I might as well be useful while I was up there. He had me shovel the goat pen.Buthe corrected my hold on the shovel and when I sparred with Decimus later that day, I didn’t drop my swords.”
Rosalina looks between us eagerly, urging us to continue with her eyes.
“It went like that for a while. Work, work, work, with the occasional hint. It wasn’t until I told him I had signed up for the Luminae Games that he finally relented, and our training began.”
“Because you were achildentering into one of the most dangerous arena fights in all of Summer.”
“That child became the youngest to ever win those games,” I say, downing my stew and holding out my bowl for more. “Thanks to your training.”
“What are the Luminae Games?” Rosalina asks.
“A specific type of tournament that makes use of an ancient artefact recovered from the Above,” Justus explains. “The artefact, known as the Orb of Ancestors, allows the royal family of Summer to commune with the memory of past leaders and great gladiators who gave their lives upon the sands.”
“But during the Luminae Games, we use it for something else,” I say.
“The orb is used to bring ancient warriors back to the arena,” Justus says. “Their memory, etched in light, comes to life to fight again, testing the new gladiators of Summer.”
“Trust me, a blade of light can kill you just as easily as a real one,” I say. “After that, our training truly began.”
“I thought I could make you a hero,” he says.
A pit forms in my stomach at the sadness in his words. I know I have to ask, but the words are heavy on my tongue. “What are you doing out here? After the War of Thorns, I looked for you, but you disappeared—”
Justus shakes his head. “I failed Summer. Failed your mother. Failed all of you.”
