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“No, no, get up.” I linked my arm under hers, motioning Calandra over. “You can’t give up yet. We still need to find the antidote.”
“You must really want to go to that ball.” Aeron laughed. “The trial’s over. Give up the act.”
“Are you serious? That’s why you think I want to find the antidote?” I shook my head in disbelief. “It’s not about the ball. It’s about morals. Principal. Proving the king wrong. Kelvin’s your friend! You should want to find it, too.”
“That’s the point of the trials, Elowyn! You can’t be that dense. Only one of us can live, remember? Kelvin would make the same decision if he was in my position. You can be a martyr all you want, but unlike you, I’m getting out of here.”
My blood boiled. “What makes you think you’re any more deserving to be freed than the rest of us, huh? You act like you’re so much better than everyone here. Prove it. Drink one of those chalices. Unless, of course, you’re afraid you’ll be wrong.”
Aeron scoffed. “I don’t owe you anything. Drinking a potentially lethal potion is moronic?—”
“And yet,” I interrupted, “three out of the five of us who drank are still standing. That appears like pretty good odds to me.”
“You keep talking to me as if anything you say matters. If you’re worried about saving him, get busy finding the antidote.” Aeron waved his hand at me. Dismissed me.
I clenched my fists at my sides, containing the rage that radiated out of every pore in my body as he sat back on the table and stretched his neck. He made me sick. I’d never wished harm on anyone, but he could choke for all I cared, and I’d thank the stars for ridding the world of one less vermin.
Turning my attention back to Calandra and Breana, I rubbed my temples, attempting to collect myself. “Fae love wordplay, correct?”
Breana nodded and glanced around the arena before motioning a finger for us to get closer. Her voice shook as she spoke. “My grandma used to tell me the story about a fae king that was murdered.”
“Murdered?” Calandra repeated.
“By his own brother.” Breana grimaced. “It’s said he used poison to do it. Tricked him into drinking it after losing at a round of cards. He played right into his brother’s trickery, and it cost him his life.”
The wheels turned in my head. “Wait, are you saying…”
She shook her head. Yes.
And my stomach dropped.
I knew King Harkin was evil, but to kill his own family because he was jealous? That was an entirely different level. Breana bit her lip as I came to the realization.
“Okay.” I nodded. “But what does any of that have to do with wordplay?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Tick Tock, girls,” Aeron chided. His feet swung back and forth on the table like a defiant child.
Kelvin twitched, foam forming at his mouth, and his body locked up. I wanted to punch Aeron in the nose again, but he wasn’t worth of my time. Not now, not when only fifteen minutes remained, and Kelvin was only getting worse.
I paced back and forth, mulling over the king’s speech.
“Altruism is a virtue most don’t possess. It’s a potentially lethal risk for those who might not be deserving of such sacrifice.”
“Ugh, what does that mean!” I said aloud to no one, aware everyone was watching me with hawk-like intensity.
A lethal risk was a reference to the poison; I knew that much. But what—or rather, who wasn’t deserving? I fiddled with the tail of my braid. If the king had killed his brother, he must’ve viewed him as some sort of competition. He probably thought he could do a better job. Felt he was superior, more deserving of the title than he was. His ego—his pride — got the best of him.
The competitors.
To find the antidote, we’d have to risk being poisoned to save the other competitors—who may or may not be worthy of saving. The antidote to pride was self-sacrifice!
I stopped walking.
Breana wrapped her arms around her middle. “What is it?”
“What if the antidote is in one of our chalices?” I asked, heading back to my table.
