The hag didn’t respond, just stared at me with hollowed eyes. I tried another way. “If I don’t use this, what will happen?” I questioned hoarsely. “Will we survive?”
It was then the hag moved her pale lips. “If you do not seek the power of the dark necklace, the prince will die.”
I felt my mouth go dry. Bile rose in my mouth at the thought. Ethan, dead… I’d do everything I could to prevent that. “Will we win the Contest?”
“He will be king,” the hag responded. “But only if you do what you must.”
That settled it. I remembered that the fae of old didn’t like to be thanked, so instead, I replied, “I’ll remember this.”
The hag bowed her head to me before, in a wisp of wind, she vanished.
A thick weight had settled in my gut. I had to use the necklace, whether it was black magic or not. There was too much at stake.
I put the necklace on underneath my armor, and covered it up with the fur cloak. Ethan didn’t need to know about this. He was too much of a goody-two shoes. He wasn’t willing to bend the rules and compromise his morals in order to keep the nation, and its people, safe.
Good thing he had a queen that had no such reservations.
I’d just closed the trunk when Ethan came into the tent. Kiara and Odette joined him. None of them seemed happy— not even Odette.
“What’s going on?” I asked, intuitively knowing something was wrong.
“Albin’s dead,” Odette said. She sniffed, as if something so horrible was hard for her to say out loud.
“What? The alicorn shifter whose mate died in the joust?” I asked. I wanted to add,who Gabby killed, but didn’t, because I didn’t know who was listening outside our tent.
“Yes,” Kiara said sadly. “It’s awful.”
“How did he die?” I asked.
Ethan’s mouth was thin. “A member of his court went to check up on him after the joust. They found him in his tent with a note saying he wouldn’t go on without his mate. He took his own life.”
A hand went over my mouth. “By the gods.”
Something awful crossed my mind. “Are… are they sure it was a suicide?” My eyes went to Ethan’s, and we were both thinking the same thing. I wouldn’t put it past Elijah and Gabby to finish the job.
Kiara nodded. “There were members of his court standing watch outside their tent. Nobody went in or out during or after the joust except Albin, and people were with him up until the point he was alone. Not to mention the knife used was clearly his— and the note his handwriting.”
My stomach churned. In my opinion, Albin might’ve ended his life, but Elijah and Gabby that had killed him, too. There was no reason for Gabby to do what she did. She could’ve won the joust without murdering Krystyna. She just did it because she gained pleasure from the act.
Gabby might be a princess of flame, but I was one of ice. And I was going to freeze her out of this fucking competition.
“So what are we going to do aboutus?” I asked Ethan. “Albin killed himself, but Krystyna didn’t. And I think I’m pointing out the obvious when I say we need to watch our backs.”
“I’ve already talked to Stefan. He and Theo are going to guard the tent during the competition,” Ethan said. “With two people already dead, we can’t take any chances with people tampering with our things.”
“I’ll taste all your food!” Odette vouched. “I want to make sure there’s no poison!”
“That’s very kind of you, Odette, but I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I said. Ethan had forced some food into me after the joust, but I didn’t think I could take another bite the rest of the day. I was too nauseous.
The trumpets sounded again to summon us to the next round. Ethan and I headed back to the Field, where the contestants were gathered around the gate.
I looked around at the contestants who were left. So many had been eliminated by the joust. There were still participants from every Faction, but I bet they’d be gone after the race was over.
Shifters were transforming for the race. Ethan changed, and I climbed onto his back. I was damn well lucky I’d had horse riding lessons growing up. I loved riding, but never got why Mom let me continue with lessons, as we couldn’t afford it. Little did I know she was teaching me how to ride a shifter.
I’d never told Ethan this, but secretly, I loved being on top of him. He felt so strong and powerful. He could run faster than any horse I’d ever been on. His strides were long and lengthy, and they moved fluidly with my body. I never worried about falling off with him. Being with him in this way just felt… natural.
The crowd roared once again as we entered the Field. It’d been completely changed since the joust. Now the Field was set up like a giant, winding racetrack. Various targets were placed around multiple obstacles. There was a large black pit of bubbling goo, a couple of jumps, and several barricades that the contestants all had to pass in order to reach the finish line on the other side. They were so large not even a dragon could cross over them easily.
