by Elly Blake
I leaned toward Kai and said, “A few months ago, these soldiers would have sat in the king’s arena cheering as you died.”
His eyes gleamed. “A few months ago, I would have made a game of lighting these fools up like torches.”
We shared a smile.
As we passed the massive ice statues lining the winding road, their thick shadows swallowed us up and spit us out onto patches of crystal sunlight. I shivered with cold and a touch of nerves as I remembered my first trip up the mountain. The circumstances were quite different from when I came here as a captive, but we weren’t out of danger. The Frost Court could turn on us in a blink.
Finally, we reached the upland where the castle and courtyard were nestled. Spiky turrets shimmered with a cold blue light. Bands of sunshine bounced off facets of ice, fracturing into points that danced over the alabaster ground like handfuls of gems. The first time I’d seen the castle, its luminescent blue-white bulk had seemed menacing, and now was no different. I still felt oppressed by the sheer volume of ice.
We rode through the stone gates past guards and archers, who stood at attention as their king passed. A half dozen guards held white frost wolves on leather leashes, the animals growling low in their throats, their eerie blue stares fixed on Kai, me, and the masters. They’d been trained to hunt Firebloods, and they smelled our warm blood. As Kai’s horse brought him near, one wolf snapped at the air with its spit-shiny teeth. Kai didn’t even blink. He merely controlled his horse’s nervous reaction with negligent ease.
Attentive grooms rushed forward to tend to the horses as we dismounted. Arcus wasted no time. He barked instructions at the soldiers to protect the rest of us, then his cloak billowed out as he swept through the castle doors, leaving a trail of deferentially bowing guards in his wake.
I followed at a more sedate pace, pausing with Kai as he stopped inside the enormous entryway, his eyes following carved ice pillars to the uneven waviness of the high ice ceiling. Cold permeated everything.
Kai’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “This room is exceedingly disagreeable.”
When I glanced at him, I was struck by how out of place he looked. His hair was as bright as a bonfire in the monochrome room. “You talk as if this is your first glimpse of the castle. You’ve been here before.”
His lip curled as he stared at the blue-and-white tiled floor. “I didn’t like it any better the first time.”
“I didn’t much like it, either.” I’d been hauled through by soldiers as a prisoner of King Rasmus.
As the Fireblood masters, ignoring all the stoically silent Frostblood guards, joined us in the foyer, a muted roar of a large, excited crowd trembled through the open doorway.
My gut twisted with memory. I knew those sounds too well. Something was happening in the arena, and I doubted it was anything good. “Follow me. Hurry!”
Taking the quickest route, I led the way through the familiar corridors, down a set of stairs to the castle’s lower level, through an arched stone exit, and to the footpath that led to a back entrance to the arena.
Waving the masters to wait, Kai and I entered the shadowy space once occupied by champions and their opponents before matches. While he turned in a slow circle, his face solemn—perhaps thinking of all the Firebloods who had died there—I moved to the wide opening leading into the arena proper.
A gallows had been erected at the far end, under the king’s empty balcony. Adjacent balconies were filled with colorfully dressed nobles. On the raised platform, two prisoners stood with their hands behind their backs. Next to them, a masked executioner dressed in black stood with arms folded. From somewhere out of sight, a list of crimes was recited in stentorian tones.
My blood heated with shock and fear. The crowd had come to witness an execution—and I recognized the bound prisoners. Lord and Lady Manus had served as Arcus’s staunch allies during the rebellion.
My thick cloak and the cumbersome skirts of my woolen gown slowed my progress as I pushed my way into the crowd. Before I reached the front, Arcus leaped onto the platform, cloak swirling like indigo smoke.
“What is the meaning of this?” he roared, turning to the assembly.
Knees bent and heads bowed in a wave from front to back. Kai caught up to me in the crowd, and we wove through the stunned spectators, now silent but for plaintive children who tugged on their parents’ sleeves to ask what happened, why everyone had gone so still.
A tall, thin, white-haired figure straightened and moved forward, halting a few feet from the platform. I recognized him as Lord Ustathius, the advisor Arcus had put in charge when he’d come to Sudesia. He was also Marella’s father.
“Lord Ustathius,” Arcus said in seething tones. “Explain.”
“Your Majesty,” the lord replied with another bow, speaking loudly enough for all to hear. “On your orders, we continued to investigate the attack that nearly took your life and the lives of visiting dignitaries on the night of the ball. I fear the results have yielded bitter fruit. Your own friends Lord and Lady Manus were the instigators of this heinous plot.”
“What led you to believe this?” Arcus glared down at him.
Kai and I reached the front of the assembled mass, jostling our way to the empty semicircle occupied by Lord Ustathius. Aside from a flurry of whispers, the crowd remained quiet.
Lord Ustathius spoke with his usual pompous air. “You are aware, Your Majesty, that Lord Regier was unmasked after his death, along with his wife. Lady Regier survived, but as it turns out, she was innocent. She had infiltrated the plot—the conspiracy to murder you and the other dignitaries—and was on the point of sabotaging it from within.”
“Nonsense! You can’t possibly be so foolish as to swallow her lies.”
Lord Ustathius drew himself up. “Actually, I do believe her, Your Majesty. Her story was corroborated by Lord and Lady Blanding.”
Arcus scoffed.
The advisor turned to the balconies filled with nobles. I couldn’t help but think he was speaking to them as much as Arcus. “And furthermore, we interviewed three score witnesses and they all agreed that the conspiracy was led by Lord and Lady Manus. A few of them also named Lord Pell as one of their accomplices, but we were unable to question him, as he went with you on your journey.”
“How convenient that I was named as well,” came the mocking tones of Lord Pell, who had accompanied our party over the last two days of the journey to Forsia after visiting his estate. He made his way through the crowd and stood at the edge of the steps. “Do you plan to execute me, too?”
Lord Ustathius’s cheeks flushed with a blue tint. “We will question you soon, I assure you.”
“I will decide what steps you take,” Arcus said. “Untie Lord and Lady Manus and end this wretched spectacle.”
Lord Ustathius hesitated. “Of course I shall obey your every order, Your Majesty. However, it is my place to warn you of the consequences of your actions. Justice must be served. To shirk that duty is to show weakness.”
Arcus prowled to the edge of the platform, his broad shoulders casting a menacing shadow over his advisor. “Then I shall demonstrate my strength by serving as both king and executioner this day. And the first to fall will be anyone who seems reluctant to follow my orders.”
Lord Ustathius’s eyes widened before he muttered a command for the executioner to untie the two prisoners. Before the executioner could comply, Lord Pell drew a knife and sawed at the bonds of Lady Manus and Lord Manus in turn.
“Return to your rooms,” Arcus instructed the two prisoners and Lord Pell, “and take several guards with you.” Lord and Lady Manus halted near Arcus to murmur a few words of gratitude. He nodded in reply, and the trio made their way quietly through the crowd, a half dozen of Lord Pell’s soldiers surrounding them.
“Lord Ustathius, I will meet you in the throne room,” Arcus said. “Immediately.”
He leaped from the platform with ease, his long strides eating up the distance between us. When he reached m
e, he snatched my hand and pulled me along with him, leaving Kai to trail behind. The masters were hovering at the edge of the crowd, presumably at Kai’s instruction. Lord Ustathius disappeared into the crowd, heading toward the exit.
Arcus’s fury came off him in frigid waves, numbing my hand as he clutched it. It was like being swept away by a north wind.
As we passed through the crowd in a blur, I heard snatches of disgruntled complaints and resentful mutterings as the spectators readied to depart. My lip curled at their obvious disappointment, even while the Minax soaked up the threads of their simmering frustration with glee. They’d expected to enjoy the gasping, struggling final throes of a man and woman hanged, but instead were forced to leave without anything more exciting than a glimpse of their angry king. Not exactly the gory spectacle they were used to, as I well knew. How tragic.
An idea dropped shining and bright into my mind.
A filled arena. An empty platform.
I could give them a different kind of show. In fact, this was the perfect opportunity for a performance.
TWELVE
I DARTED A GLANCE AT KAI. HE met my eyes and nodded his understanding. Apparently he’d come to the same conclusion I had.
We’d planned to put on our show during an assembly of the court, maybe a council meeting or court dinner—though we hadn’t figured out how to contend with Arcus’s reaction to either of those options. But here was a crowd filled with Frostbloods, including some of the most influential courtiers with perfect views from their balconies.
There was no better time to demonstrate the threat of the Minax.
I just needed to talk an overprotective king into leaving me behind for a few minutes. Though I hated to lie to him, I had no choice.
“Arcus, stop.” When he didn’t listen, I planted my feet and yanked backward. “Wait! I’m not going with you.”
He rounded on me, taking my shoulders as he said in a low, urgent voice, “I’m not leaving you alone for a second. I’m afraid if I turn my back, you’ll get a knife in yours. Stay with me. I mean it, Ruby!”
“Would you please listen? Look, the Fireblood masters are right over there.” Kai was already assembling them, as we’d planned. “They’ll protect me with their lives. I’m their princess, remember? Let me deal with dispersing the crowd.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “The guards will take care of that.”
“I know, but I want to do this. I need to show your court and this crowd that I’m not at their mercy anymore.”
That part was true. I would relish turning the tables. The arena spectators would be at my mercy, at least for a few minutes.
“Why now?” he asked, his voice rough with frustration. “You’ve faced them before in other ways.”
“Not here. This is the first time I’ve been back since that day.”
He had to know what I meant. It was burned into both our memories. The day I’d last fought as Rasmus’s champion, the day we’d destroyed the throne, the day the merciless and twisted king—Arcus’s brother—had died.
I took his hands from my shoulders, keeping a tight grip on them to show him how strongly I meant this. “I want to stand in the arena on my own terms, not sick and disgusted after being forced to kill, not being protected or saved or pulled along in your wake. I need to face this. Face them.”
After a pause, his eyes filled with understanding. “Very well. I’ll wait for you.”
“No. It won’t mean anything with you glowering threats of death and dismemberment at them if they’re not nice to me. I need to do this without you.”
He squeezed my hands, scanning the crowd, then nodded. “Very well. Do what you need to do. Don’t be long, though. Please.”
He bent and kissed my forehead, a sign of approval and affection for everyone to see, which made me smile at his back as he strode off. His personal guard surrounded him, sweeping out through the main doors.
With a fortifying breath, I turned and motioned to Kai. The Fireblood masters had already fanned out around the perimeter. They would stop anyone from leaving and keep an eye out in case anyone tried to harm me or if things got out of hand.
It was important that no one come to any real harm. This was to be a warning, not a bloodbath.
The spectators on the arena floor were gathering their belongings, preparing to leave. Many had already left. To my relief, it looked as if no children remained. But the nobles in the balconies had stayed, confirming my belief that they had recognized me. They must be curious what the former Fireblood champion was up to, if for no other reason than to gossip about it later.
Good. They were the ones I needed to convince. I only wished I didn’t have to do so by unleashing the Minax on the commoners closest to me. But the members of the court were too far away to be sure I could remain in control.
By the time I climbed the steps to the platform, I was sure Arcus would be safely in the castle out of earshot.
“Good people of Forsia!” I bowed in an ironic imitation of the arena announcer who had once stood near this very spot. “You came to see an execution, but there will be none today.”
The spectators on the ground level muttered and shook their heads. They picked up satchels and baskets. Some were filled with rotten vegetables they’d brought to pelt at the condemned. For a second, I was thrown back into the past, when those projectiles were aimed at me. It helped firm my resolve for what I was about to do.
Before I could shake off the memories, Kai mounted the steps. He wore red, the color of our blood. The combination of scarlet with his golden-red hair stood out starkly against the backdrop of ice.
“Wait!” He held up a hand, drawing their attention. “Another spectacle awaits you!” His smooth voice and engaging grin mesmerized the crowd. “We have brought you a phenomenon so rare and elusive that most people refuse to even consider the possibility of its existence. My companion, Princess Ruby—”
He motioned to me, then broke off as gasps and chatter followed the revelation of my title.
He stared pointedly up at the balconies, speaking clear and loud. “Yes, your former champion is the Sudesian princess, niece of Queen Nalani, heir to the Fireblood throne, and a master of the art of flame. And now she will demonstrate a power so astonishing that you will recall this experience for the rest of your lives. It is neither fire nor frost, but a gift that is wholly unique and incredible. But first, we need a volunteer.”
We waited. The chatter died. Feet shuffled. No one stepped forward.
With a start, I noticed my old nemesis, Lady Blanding, dressed in a plum velvet gown with gold lace and a monstrous matching hat. She lifted her chin and stared down at me with her watery blue eyes. Her jowly husband sat next to her, wearing a bored expression.
“Your kind isn’t welcome here!” someone in the crowd on the arena floor piped up—a belligerent-looking man with a thick mustache and beard, his arms crossed over his wide chest.
Kai wagged a finger at him. “Now, now, I happen to know that many a Fireblood has been ‘welcome’ in this arena in the recent past. Surely if we afforded you some enjoyment with our deaths, we can entertain you in other ways. You are skeptical, sir. Why not volunteer so we may proceed? Perhaps you Frostbloods are not as confident in your gifts as you would have us believe.”
With his courage in question, the man had little choice. He stomped up on stage, shooting us sharp looks of distrust.
“All you need to do is relax,” Kai assured him. “Princess Ruby?”
I stepped closer to the reluctant volunteer. He tensed, despite the fact that he outweighed me by several stone and towered over me by at least a foot. If this man lost control while under Minax possession, he could do serious damage.
My heart slammed my ribs as I lifted my hand. I knew I could control the Minax once it was outside of my skin. I had done it before. But actually going through with this was a different matter.
“Ready?” Kai asked, watching me carefully. I met his eyes and nodded
, then touched the man’s cold, bare wrist with my fingertips.
Leave me, I commanded the Minax. Without hesitation, it flowed out of my hand and into his. A shadow darted through the air and was gone.
I took a shaky breath, feeling lighter but slightly empty.
The Minax could feel the man’s nervousness, his worry that he would do something to embarrass himself with all eyes on him, his hatred and distrust. And as the Minax felt these things, I felt them, too.
I experienced the man’s emotions as if they were my own.
When I looked at Kai, fear and loathing stirred inside me. I saw a shiftless, untrustworthy Fireblood. The sensation was so strange, I shook my head to clear it. With a few deep breaths, I was able to separate my own feelings from the man’s.
Take away his fear, I told the Minax.
Instantly, the man’s nervousness and worry were replaced by serene confidence. His shoulders relaxed.
Remove his hatred, I ordered.
The Minax siphoned it away. The man blinked at Kai, then at me. He exhibited a strange mixture of confusion and clarity.
Part of me wanted to stop now. For once, something good had come from the Minax. I’d been able to lift the man’s hatred from him.
But we were here for another purpose entirely, and that was to show them all what the Minax could do. We needed them to be shocked and fearful.
Make him attack that Frostblood. I focused on one of the guards, someone large enough that they were equally matched.
The possessed man roared and bounded from the platform, his hands jerking out to wrap around the guard’s throat. After a stunned moment, the guard reacted, striking back. They tumbled to the ground in a flurry of limbs. The other guards rushed forward to subdue the attacker.
I willed the Minax to leave the first man and forced it to possess a guard.
Attack the other soldiers! I commanded.