by Megan Linski
I put her back down on the ground. Her hands rested on my shoulders as she said, “I’m glad you’re not hurt. Though my arm really freaking hurts.”
“We can have Lord Lucien look at it back at the tent,” I said. “For now, let’s get some food in you. You need to keep up your strength.”
I put my arm around her as we left the Field. Only three more rounds to go.
Yet each round after this would only get more difficult. This was just the beginning.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emma
We’d gotten past the first round, but I’d almost gotten killed out there. Miss Dragon Lady had nearly smoked me with one of her bombs. Lord Lucien said my arm was fine, but I wouldn’t be able to move it much tomorrow. He cast an illusion spell to trick my brain into thinking it was okay, so I could use it like normal during the competition without feeling any pain. It would last until the Contest was over, then I’d pay for it the next day.
Ethan had told me I’d made fighting Margot look easy, but I hardly believed him. A couple of those magical balls had fried my hair as they whizzed past. If Margot was the easiest thing to get past in this competition, then we were in trouble.
I was embarrassed about my breakdown earlier. I had to pull myself together. I had completely lost my shit while watching the joust.
I couldn’t do that again. I needed to be strong. For the rest of the tournament, I wasn’t going to show one bit of fear, no matter what happened. I was here. Time to stop crying about it and win.
Though I was afraid we couldn’t win. Not without a little bit of help.
Ethan had ducked out of the tent for a moment to talk to Lucien. I kneeled before the trunk and opened it. I ruffled through the clothes inside and pulled out a small black box that I’d snuck in under my cloak. I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching, then opened it.
The dark necklace— the one I’d stolen from Lady Korva. I’d snuck it out of my dorm this morning and into the tourney tent before anyone noticed. I’d only brought it just in case, and left it behind during the first round, but now it was clear we needed an edge.
I didn’t want to cheat, but this competition was way harder than I thought it would be. There was too much at stake here. Our lives were on the line— not to mention the fate of the country. Ethan and I had to use every advantage we could get.
Queen Antonia told me there’d be big problems if I didn’t make sure Ethan won. She’d make me pay if we didn’t get that crown. She’d go after my mom, my friends… everyone I loved.
Not to mention there was the problem of Elijah and Gabby. They’d run Krystyna through without flinching during the joust. They’d even seemed happy about it. It was so sick and twisted. If they could do something so horrible to her, just to get past the first round of the Contest, there was no telling how they’d ruin the country if they got in control of it.
They didn’t care about people. All they cared about was power.
And people would die if Gabby and Elijah won. Which I wasn’t willing to risk.
I had no choice. My magic wasn’t strong enough to work on its own. I was only a First Year, for crying out loud.
Then came the worst consequence of all. Ethan. I needed to keep him alive. I would do anything— anything— to get him through this Contest in one piece. Whether we won or not, this was a deadly competition. If there were personal consequences to me for saving his life, so be it.
Was Unseelie magic really all that bad? I wasn’t convinced that it was. All my professors had beat it into my head that Unseelie magic couldn’t be trusted, but maybe they were close-minded. Still… Ethan had warned me there were harsh consequences for Seelie fae using dark magic. Was this Contest worth the risk?
Milonna, help me, I pleaded. Tell me what to do.
I got no response from the goddess herself. This was a hopeless decision. Just as I was about to put the necklace back, I turned toward the head of the tent, and my heart leapt into my throat.
It was the hag… the one who had told me I was the Worldweaver. She still appeared as formidable and harrowing as ever— I felt a shiver run up my skin as I took in her frightening appearance. How had she gotten in here? She’d come instantly, silent, appearing in my tent with no forewarning.
My prayer. Milonna must’ve sent her. I extended my hand, revealing to her the dark necklace.
“What should I do? What are Milonna’s instructions?” I asked the hag. “Should I use Unseelie magic, or not?”
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 about us?” 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.
Whoever reached the finish line first was important, but hitting targets along the way with the crossbow was even more critical. The winner of the race received ten points, but there were many more targets scattered around the arena. You could win the race by hitting targets instead of coming in first. I planned to shoot down as many as I could while Ethan dealt with the obstacles.
Lady Magdalina strolled to our side as we came to the starting line. I hadn’t seen my sponsor since the tournament had begun. I didn’t know where she’d been until now. She was wearing a glittering, gossamer dress that seemed so light and airy. I didn’t know how she wasn’t floating above the ground. She was carrying a small, one-handed crossbow, which she pressed into my hand, along with two dozen tiny arrows in a small quiver.
“Stay vigilant, Emmaline,” she said. “Not everything in this race is what it seems.”
She wandered away and took a seat by Queen Antonia, who was in the royal box on the ground level of the arena. Antonia’s cold eyes surveyed me in a clear message— don’t mess this up.
I tied the quiver to my sword sheath, then put an arrow into the crossbow as Ethan lined up with the other shifters. The other sorceresses already had their crossbows at the ready. Gabby pointed hers at me and pretended to shoot, giving a harsh laugh. I rolled my eyes and set my gaze forward.
The shifters anxiously danced on the starting line, eager to break free. I gathered a chunk of Ethan’s fur in my left hand and held on tight. A shudder quivered through his form at my touch. I looked ahead to the jumps. All of them were significantly high, and what was worse, they were all on fire.
Because this wasn’t hard enough. I prayed that Ethan’s fur wouldn’t ignite like a candle when we passed over them.
A gunshot went off, and Ethan sprang forward. The contestants slammed into each other and pushed each other out of the way in order to gain the lead.
Wind blew back my braid, and the snow picked up, becoming thick chunks careening through the air. I clung on tightly with my thighs as Ethan sailed over the first jump. The flames licked at my boots, and I felt heat press all around me. When we landed, Ethan continued running toward the next jump. We hadn’t been burned.
The first target neared; I closed one eye, took shot, and missed.
As Ethan leapt over two jumps in a row, I reloaded and fired twice more. Again, my arrows sailed on past their target. Fuck. I swore, and reloaded the crossbow.
This time, the target was on my left side. I decided to experiment and switched the weapon to my left hand. This time when I shot, the arrow hit right on the bullseye.
I was a better shot with my non-dominant hand. Strange, but whatever. I lifted my left hand again and pulled the trigger. The arrow hit its intended target. I quickly reloaded and shot again. I hit yet another target, and the crowd cheered.
That was the last of the jumps. Ethan was running neck and neck with an alicorn and a dragon. Elijah had taken the lead. Gabby was hitting every target they passed. I picked up the pace, reloading arrows as quickly as I could and gathering points.
The jumps ended and we made it to the next obstacle— the barricades. They were long spikes that jutted out of the ground next to spears that sat at an angle. It looked like some sort of medieval death wall used in battle.
Flying had been banned for this round of the contest, so it was against the rules to soar over the barricades. The task was to find another way around, to show your intelligence. Most of the contestants skidded to a stop as they approached the barricade, eyes flashing as they considered how to get around it.
An alicorn ahead of us tried to jump over the barricades and speared himself in the shoulder. His sorceress had to take a knife and cut him free while he screamed in pain.
Ethan paced at the barricades, taking deep breaths. His tone was thick with frustration. “These damn things! How the hell are we supposed to get through?”
“Calm down. We’ll find a way around it.” I felt insanely pressured to do something. Next to us, Elijah and Gabby were slowly working their way around the spikes. Elijah had changed back to a human, and although it was slow going, the two of them managed to slither on through the barricade like the snakes they were… although Gabby ended up tearing her calf in the process. She cried out in pain, blood spurting through the wound. Elijah transformed into a wolven and hefted her onto his back as they pressed on to the next part of the race.
What Elijah and Gabby had done worked, but I didn’t want to chance Ethan and me getting stabbed with one of those spikes. Other contestants were trying it the same way, and they weren’t getting very far. Especially the dragon couple. They’d almost tripped, and the guy was so big that a spear had stabbed his shoulder. His mate grabbed him and saved him from getting impaled at the last second.
“I have an idea.” I drew my sword and began hacking at the spears. I didn’t expect them to break so easily, but was shocked when the blade cut through the wood like butter. The barricade didn’t react like I expected it to, but I wasn’t asking questions. I just hacked away at the spikes and spears like no tomorrow, until I’d cleared enough of a path that Ethan could jump over and safely to the other side.
The pit was next. A bubbling black pit of tar was the only thing that remained between us and the finish line. A couple of contestants had caught up to us and jumped right into the pit in an attempt to swim across, but they sank instantly. The dragon couple was drowning in the goop. They gasped for air as the goo pulled them downward like glue, preventing an escape.
Elijah snarled as he paced back and forth at the pit’s edge, unsure of what to do. Gabby was barking orders at him, but it didn’t appear that she had any idea what to do.
It was another test of our creativity. There had to be a way across the pit. We needed to use magic. Lady Magdalina told me if illusions were powerful enough, they could become reality. I needed to create an illusion that was strong enough to become real.
I lifted my hands and closed my eyes. I tried to envision something that would help us cross, and ended up thinking of a bridge.
I felt the metal of the dark necklace hiding beneath my cloak glow and become warm. It became hot against my skin, stinging, almost unbearable, but I refused to acknowledge the pain. We had to get across somehow.
I wasn’t using my own abilities to create the spell. I was drawing Unseelie magic from the necklace itself. The snow that was falling from above swirled to create a bridge of ice that crossed over the black pit, conne
cting from this side of the obstacle to the other.
Ethan didn’t hesitate. He raced over the bridge as I sagged forward onto his back, trying to catch my breath. The spell took so much energy. My body felt loose and watery. I was so weak.
“Emma. Can you hear me?” Ethan said softly.
I stirred on his back, feeling like I was going to pass out. My vision was darkening. I forced myself to remain conscious and said, “Yes, Ethan. I’m with you.”
Once the other sorceresses saw what I did, they all copied me and created bridges of their own to climb over the barricades with, though not all of their spells worked. Some illusions weren’t powerful enough to hold their weight— others got halfway up the bridge before the illusions failed and caused them to go tumbling down into the pool. A griffin couple wailed in pain behind us, but I turned my head forward and didn’t look back. I didn’t want to know their fate.
Once we got over the pit, the snow around us got worse. It turned into hail, and the skies darkened as the storm turned into a full-out blizzard. It became difficult to see what was ahead. The weather couldn’t cooperate for five more minutes, could it?
Yet the finish line was in sight, and Ethan and I were in the lead. We were going to win this thing!
Then everything changed in a moment. The blizzard increased its intensity, until all that was around us was a blank whiteness that enveloped everything. The snow was so fierce, I couldn’t see anything. Not the arena, not the other contestants, not the race track. I could barely see the hand in front of my own face. Ethan’s white fur became one with the blizzard.
A crackling sound met my ears as the ground below us turned to ice. A deadly cold settled on my body and deep within my bones. It was an unnatural cold. Something I’d never experienced in my life and had nothing to compare to. We’d had bad winters in Michigan growing up, but this was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. I’d never been so cold. I could be dunked naked in a freezing lake in the middle of the Arctic and it would’ve seemed like summer. This… it was unbearable.