Page 95 of Ruling the Green

“Yeah? Wait until you try riding me, but facing away from me.”

“Mmm,” she murmured, nuzzling into my neck. “Something to look forward to tonight.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. And I realized that for the first time in months, maybe years, there was something to look forward to. Without strings. Without worries. Without anxiety.

“But first… the tournament,” she said, sounding excited.

“But first, the tournament,” I agreed, decidedly less enthused.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Serin

My uniform for public events seemed to be, well, black. So I was wearing another black gown as I was led across the expansive grounds of the palace toward an area I’d never explored before. The severity of the black was broken up by an elaborate beaded embroidery design in white and light blue across the bodice and around the hem of the skirt.

There was a crown on my head and a small vial of my poison up my sleeve.

I’d done my little test on the redcaps. I’d taken a few mushrooms from my lunch, coated them in the liquid, and dropped it down from our bedroom window to where a few of the redcaps were standing around.

Unsurprisingly, a few of them gathered them up to eat.

I hadn’t gotten to see them get sick as they’d wandered back into the palace afterward. But I’d heard from Vishen and Jet that some of the redcaps had to be carried out on gurneys because they were so sick. No one thought anything of it. Apparently, redcaps weren’t smart enough to avoid berries and mushrooms that weren’t safe to eat.

I hoped that meant no one would draw a connection to what happened to them… and what might happen to someone else if it came to that.

“Wow, it’s huge,” I said as we reached the clearing in the woods.

The trees cleared to a massive round area where the ground was cleared of grass.

Around one-third of the circle was a raised area with seating and tables. On the remaining two-thirds, there was a rope to keep the common fae out of the arena while they observed.

Nira and Vishen moved to our sides as some of the crowd turned and saw us approaching.

But the palace guard moved forward, creating a living wall between us and the people as we made our way to the steps up to the dais.

Most of the important guests were already seated, making us need to pause at each table so Jet could greet everyone. I stood there silently, watching the contestants in the games chatting with each other.

It was a mix of men and women, but definitely male-dominated. I couldn’t help but wonder if Nira had ever competed, if she ever wanted to.

With just a look, I could tell what events each was there for. The jousters wore their steel protective suits. The sword fighters each had protective leathers on and massive swords—some with ornate hilts. The ax throwers were, by and large, the giants of the groups with their broad shoulders and corded arms. Archers had their quivers and bows, and this seemed to be an event many of the women were there to compete in.

All this left me to assume that the men, who had no actual uniform but several small weapons on them, were there for the melee. While none of them looked the same, there was a strange, almost crazed look in their eyes. Like they were itching for the pain, for the bloodshed.

A shiver moved through me, making Jet give my hip a squeeze as we moved to the next table.

That was when I spotted him.

Grimwood.

As if sensing me, his head lifted and our eyes locked.

“My daughter!” he called. Then, looking at Jet, corrected, “My Princess.”

The way his arms were spread as he got to his feet made it impossible for me to continue to stand there like I hadn’t heard him. People were looking. But Jet was deep in conversation with someone I recognized as one of his allies.

Damn.

I moved away from Jet and approached my kidnapper, surprised by the way my nerves jumped.