Cassian nodded. “He loved her all the same. He wanted to bring her and her family into the city and give them magic. This was the only way.”
Did he really just say that?Fiona. No wonder her family looked so healthy. Regalis probably made sure they had medical care and food and?—
“Why didn’t he?” I asked.
“Someone must have found out. They poisoned him. He died before he could sponsor her. Upon his death, the heir mark came to me, but the sponsor mark was missing. I knew then he’d given it to another, but I didn’t know who. Tell me what my brother said to you in his dying moments. Please…” The way his voice cracked broke my heart.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “He was very calm. He seemed to know he was dying and was unafraid.”
Cassian nodded, looking relieved. “Sounds like Reg.”
“He had maybe been poisoned? There were black veins growing up his face.”
“Yes, I saw the… body. Creator’s death. A poison no Elite with healer magic can fix.”
I nodded. “He asked me if I washungry. I was digging through the trash for food outside a party. I told him I was hungry all the time, and then he gave me the mark.”
“That’s it?”
What he’d said to me was treason. Even speaking it out loud now would be illegal.
Silence stretched between us.
Cassian took two steps towards me so that our bodies were nearly touching. His scent enveloped me, and I inhaled: sage and cedarwood, just like his brother. Warmth spread throughout my chest as I peered up into his deep blue eyes.
“My brother and I aren’t like the rest of our family,” Cassian said. “We don’t believe in the class system. We think magic should be for all. I want my brother’s death to mean something, and I think since he couldn’t bring Fiona and her family up from the Dregs, he wanted to make the same statement withyou.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. What he was saying… it was unheard of.
I nodded. “He said,Magic for all. Equality,” I told him in a small voice.
A grin washed over his face, and my knees quite nearly went weak with how handsome he was when he smiled. “Good.” Cassian nodded. “Then I will do everything in my power to help you win. For Regalisand Fiona. For the Dregs and the magicless. You, Brynn, were my brother’s dying wish, and I want you to win this.”
I nearly fell in love with him right then and there. What was this Elite heir talking about? Not believing in the class system? Wanting me to win? It was crazy, and I loved it. I had someone in my corner, someone who believed I could win this.
“What do I do to win?” I asked, feeling excited for the first time. I had a powerful Elite heir rooting for me.
He nodded. “We don’t have much time. Change into this while I talk. It was made for Fiona, but it should fit you, more or less.”
Fiona was slightly curvier than me, and a bit taller, but itwouldfit. He gave me his back, facing the door, as I dropped my tattered clothes and slipped on the sleek black jumpsuit.
“What happens next is pretty much out of your control.” His voice ricocheted off the walls. “The weapons choose the warrior, and then based on that, the wolfkin chooses the warrior because they want the weapon. At the end of the trials, the winner gets a new form of magic, but the wolfkin, for his or her service, gets to keep your weapon. It’s their entire motivation for protecting you.”
I nodded. I knew most of that, and then I shylystruggled to zip up the back of my jumpsuit. It was made of some fancy type of material I’d never felt before.
“So I need to get a good weapon so that a powerful wolfkin will choose me?” I asked, still struggling with the zipper. “How do I get a good weapon to choose me? Are they magically… alive or something?” I didn’t really know how a weapon could choose a person.
“That is where it’s out of your control. Some say the Creator chooses which weapon will glow when you approach it. Others say the magic in the weapon can feel the strength in the person, and will only activate for someone of equal power.”
I grunted, and then there was a knock on the door.
“Can I turn around?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I need help with this zipper,” I said, and then turned to give him my back.
He sucked in a breath, and I peered over my shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
