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Cato makes a soft sound, jarring me from my own anger. I glance over to find him focused so intently on the knight, it raises the small hairs on the back of my neck. Surely he won’t attack them? The champions are somewhat above the laws during the Trials, but there are limits to that grace. Civilians might be considered collateral damage in our fights, but the Minor Court would never allow a champion to harm one of their members. If he attacks the knight, he’ll be killed. The thought leaves me cold and shaking. I have to do something. Quickly.
I tentatively place a hand on his thigh, mostly because it’s the closest limb to me and I want to shock him out of his clear rage. He jumps and looks at me, then at my hand on his bare thigh, and then at me again. His shock is a twin to mine; part of me can’t believe I touched him like this. It feels intimate in a way I’m not sure I intended … but I don’t hate.
My skin heats again and I jerk my hand back, but I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. Cato looks mocking now, not murderous. “And you, Knight of Wands. How did you gain your position? Because, last I heard, all you fuckers operate the same way. Isn’t your aunt the king?”
Nonnie bristles, eyes flashing, but they keep their focus on Vesper. “Cute little rabble you’re moving with, Vessie. You couldn’t manage to join a legitimate alliance?” They nudge Vesper’s braced foot with their leg. “How’s the old injury holding up? Seems like you’re limping—more than normal, I mean.”
That motherfucker.
Vesper sighs as if bored. “Nonnie, as always, what your insults lack in creativity, they make up for with abundance.”
Nonnie blinks. “Typical Sword. Talking in circles instead of dealing with things honestly.”
It’s too much. I can’t stop the bitter laugh from erupting. “Honesty. From a Wand? You must be joking. Your people are more crooked than the rest of the courts combined.” I don’t know if I believe the last part, but my hatred for the Wands runs deep. The harms of the other courts are more theoretical than anything else; I know they put their own benefit over the safety and health of the rest of the city, but with the Wands I actually see it. “Have you assaulted any small children today? Or are you waiting to make your quota until after you drop us off?”
Nonnie twists slowly to look at me. They take me in with a single sweep, weighing my value as a human being and discarding it immediately. “I know you,” they finally say. “You’re the champion from the Dregs.”
“I’ve never met you before.”
“I’m aware.” They wave that away. “But I’ve heard of you all the same. You’re fighting above your skill level, little girl. Sit there and be quiet.” They motion between themself and Vesper. “The adults are speaking.”
My skin heats, my anger spiking in a way sure to get me into trouble. I open my mouth, but Cato gets there first, speaking with a lazy arrogance that pissed me off so much the first day we met. “You’re a lot of bluster and not much bite, aren’t you? Playing superior when you’re acting like a petty little bully to the Wheel of Fortune here. Pathetic.”
“Given the opportunity, I’d show you bite.” Nonnie sneers. “Too bad none of you are worth the effort, seeing as how you’ll all be dead by sunrise.”
“Is that a threat, Nonnie, dear?” Vesper has a look on their face that I’ve never seen before. It’s downright vicious. “If I were you, I’d be more concerned about the potential for your sister stabbing you in your sleep and taking the knight position.” They give me and Cato a mock-sympathetic look. “The Wands have such a high turnover rate when it comes to their court positions, you see.”
“Vesper, you remain an absolute cunt.”
“Takes one to know one,” Vesper replies without missing a beat. They glance out the window. “Oh look, we’re here and this torturous conversation can finally end.”
Nonnie all but throws themself from the carriage, their anger so strong I swear it leaves a rank stench in their wake. I clear my throat. “They seem nice.”
Cato barks out a laugh. “Sure. As nice as one of the monsters in the wilds. At least they don’t have a voting position within the Wands. Once we’re Cinque, we won’t have to deal with them often.”
“It’s pretty to think that’s the truth.” Vesper sighs and stretches out their left leg. “Nonnie is actually preferable to the others; for all that they’re a nightmare to speak with, they’re a terrible liar. Come on.” They leave the carriage with stiff steps, their back straight and proud.
“Kestrel.” Cato stops me with a hand on my arm. “Thanks.”
Damn it, now I’m blushing again. It’s remarkable how Cato can fluster me with only a few words. “I don’t want you dead.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s exactly what you were thinking when your hand was on my thigh.”
I yank on his grip, and he lets me go easily. “I was thinking that if you attacked the knight, you’d be executed. We need you alive to take down the Chariot. That’s all. I have a vested interest in getting to the end of the Trials alive.” I flee the carriage.
Cato’s laughter and words follow me. “We all do, Moon. We all do.”
It cannot be overstated how carefully Death must be dealt with, both as a concept and when one of Their champions does survive to become Cinque. When one is so closely linked with the end of life, there is only so much leverage that can be used against them.
—EXCERPT FROM THE MAJOR ARCANA: A TREATISE ON THE HISTORY OF THE OLD GODS
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ONLY A COUPLE of days ago, I was walking through these same doors with Mouse by my side, nerves making me nearly sick as I worried about all the possible scenarios that could play out during the Culling. Returning with the nine surviving champions is strange. We’re supposedly here to be celebrated, but it’s difficult to focus on that as we walk into the arena proper and see the tiers filled to the brim with purple and black. Wands, more than I’ve ever seen in a single place.
It makes my legs lock up and my spine turn to stone. Once again, only Cato’s hand on my back keeps me moving in leaden steps down the stairs to the tier closest to the sand. Close enough to feel the way it amplifies the heat from the Sun coming through the open ceiling.
There are tables set up here, each piled so high with food that the pure waste distracts me for a moment. I make myself look at the crowd again. The Cups and Pentacles both had plenty of guild members present. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Wands. If there are people wearing other colors among the overwhelming purple and black, they’re too few to detect.
