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I hesitate. Clearly, she didn’t realize I’d been the one to stop the bear. I’m just about to clarify that fact when Styx speaks up.
“Good thing he was the one to make the kill.”
I tense. “Why is that?”
“Tartarus has strict laws about outsiders killing our own,” Styx says. “And I doubt Legion would have enjoyed having your head on his chopping block.”
At that, I go still, struck silent by the reality of what she’s saying. Legion knew what I’d risked by poisoning that bear. That’s why he’d finished it himself. So he’d be the killer, not me.
He’d saved me. Again.
No wonder he’d been furious.
It hadn’t just been about the bear nearly killing me. If anyone found out what I’d done, he’d have to kill me too.
The realization sends shockwaves through me, but I do my best to shove it aside. When I look up again, Reagan and Styx are both watching me carefully.
“I’m really sorry,” I say. “I had no idea.”
“It’s fine,” Reagan assures me, reading some of my panic. “Legion explained everything. It’s all behind you now. I think Caius read him the riot act for not telling you about the moon fever sooner. If anything, it’s his fault.”
“Oh, I bet adding that guilt to the pile has made him such a peach to deal with,” Styx says with a snort.
At my expression, she adds, “Though nothing will top his first millennia in Tartarus. Gods, he was a bastard to deal with.”
“Were you two friends then?” I ask.
She barks out a laugh. “Uh, no. We made it a hobby to try to kill each other. But we sort of bonded over it and became friends. When he finally got over his pouting, anyway.”
Down on the field, a whistle sounds.
Reagan walks to the railing, glancing at the assembling teams. “Who are the captains?”
“Legion and Klyn,” Styx tells her.
“I figured you’d be down there with them,” Reagan says.
“Caius banned me,” she says haughtily.
Reagan laughs. “For good reason from what I’ve heard.”
Styx looks offended. “Whose side are you on, my queen?”
“Yours,” Reagan says, grinning, “Always.”
“Good choice.”
We all go back to watching the game, which is a much more organized and intense battle than I first imagined. Even from up here, I can tell Legion is brutal. And Klyn is no less competitive. It might be just a game, but none of the soldiers seem to be holding back as they tackle and pummel one another in between shots.
“What’s the occasion, anyway?” I ask the two females beside me. “For the war games? Legion said Caius decided to do a week of them. Is this an annual thing?”
Styx shoots Reagan a questioning glance.
“There was an attack on the castle wall recently,” Reagan tells me.
“Oh. I didn’t know. Was anyone hurt?”
“Yes,” she says quietly. “Several people were killed.”
