AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is the one chance I’m giving you to turn around and go home.”
I scoffed and he stood up with a hint of a smirk on his handsome face.
“And miss the chance of winning? I’ll stay.”
His eyes gleamed with amusement as he whispered something to a guard on his right. The guard scurried away before the man in black gazed at me again.
“Well, you are not the first woman to compete, but maybe you’ll be the first one to make the top ten.”
He breezed past me towards the crowd of men who waited, and the scent of forest and rain attacked my senses once again. I took my spot with the men in the courtyard. Their eyes seared into me, but I gave them no satisfaction of looking back at them. The man in black's eyes flickered around at everyone before his eyes lingered on me for a long moment.
“Hood off,” he demanded. My hands trembled as I slipped the hood off my head. His golden eyes lingered on me longer than necessary. Recognition wasn't anywhere on his features, and relief filled me. I smoothed my dark braid over my shoulder before meeting his eyes again. He held my stare as one of the other guardsmen spoke to him.
“It will be a shame to beat a pretty thing like you” someone spoke from behind me. I turned and saw a fae taller than the rest of us. He was muscular in a way that indicated that he was probably used to doing hard labor. His light hair was in a long braid down his back and his face was riddled with scars.
“It will be an honor to beat you,” I remarked. Several men laughed at the exchange, but the big gruff male behind me glared. My eyes found the guardsman in all black when his voice boomed over anyone else talking.
“The king is not available, so I will be the one to welcome you all to the seventh year of the trials. There are fifty of you, but in a short time, only ten of you will be left standing. Once the top ten have been announced, you will work as a team to retrieve a particular item. If the item is returned to the Crimson Kingdom, all who survive will be granted a wish of their choosing. You may not ask for the crown, harm the royal family, or make yourself royalty. Otherwise, you may ask whatever you like.” His eyes glanced around all of us. I wondered what the king was hoping to retrieve. What was important enough that they had done this seven times?
“There are rules to the tournament and anyone who goes rogue will be killed and dishonored. First rule: if you hold magic, you are not allowed to use it during the games unless given permission beforehand.”
The men didn’t seem to like that rule, and a disgruntled mutter spread like wildfire in the crowd. The rule suited me just fine.
“You can use it after the games if it will help you recover. Second: no killing each other between trials. The king will announce the trial the day you are to participate. You will all sleep at the castle and be fed. You may form alliances with each other as you see fit, but there will be no tolerance for cheating. Any questions?”
“How many trials are within the game?” someone yelled from the back.
“It usually takes no more than four for the top ten to be announced. These trials will weed out the weak and identify those with a certain set of skills needed to pull off the last task. Many great warriors have come through this competition, but none have returned from the final task.” His dark golden eyes stared directly at me. “If you’ve noticed, there are no Cerithian men here. If you are working for them and we find out, I will personally rip your heart from your chest.”
“Why not just send all of us on the task? Wouldn’t it be better odds?” I asked. I wanted to ask about Cerithia but didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself.
The guardsman watched me for a long moment before responding. “A large group will attract unwanted attention. A small group will be able to infiltrate what we need much more efficiently. We’ve tried sending a large group before and it was a disaster.”
No one else asked questions.
“My men and I will be standing guard to make sure rules are followed. If you have an issue, you will find me or one of my men. Now let's get you all to your sleeping quarters and fed. Tomorrow will be the first trial.”
We all shuffled in behind the guards. If I was mesmerized by the outside of the castle, I was taken aback by the inside. It held the same dark beauty it did outside, but the light from the stained-glass windows made it colorful. It was more whimsical than I thought the Crimson Kingdom would allow. Tapestries hung from the black stone of the walls and gold artwork graced them, too. Beautiful flowers grew on vines up the walls that held every shade of red imaginable.
I couldn’t believe others lived like this. My mind flashed back to mine and Sybil’s home. Thousands of our home could have fit in the castle. It was more beautiful than I would have ever pictured in my mind.
My eyes drifted to the back of the man in all black. There was no doubt that he was in charge. His walk was confident and exuded power. His black uniform stretched over his wide shoulders and showed how muscular his legs were. None of the other men wore any color but red. I turned away when he glanced back at me. Eventually, we came to a stop in front of two plain wooden doors.
“This will be your sleeping quarters. Down the hallway to the right is a second set of wooden doors. That is where you’ll eat. Down the hallway to the left is another set of doors, which is the washroom.”
The men piled into the sleeping quarters to pick out their beds. I hung back, not caring where I slept. As soon as the last male walked through the doors, I followed but the man in black pulled me back out.
“You are not staying here.”
“I’ll be fine.” I struggled to free my arm from his grip, but he held tight. He turned to me, so I was face to face with him. His face held a cold indifference when he stared at me. He didn’t remember me from the dreams.
“No, you won’t. It's a custom that women stay in their own room and private wash area. We’ve had issues in the past.” My heart beat fast at how close he was to me. His golden eyes met my green ones with a demand that I listen to him. Then his eyes briefly dropped to my lips before he pulled away and released my arm.
“You’ll stay down here.” He walked down the hallway, not even bothering to wait and see if I was following. We passed the washroom and dining hall before coming to a singular wooden door. The man opened it and led me inside. The room was simple, but still nicer than my room with Sybil.
A big bed sat in the middle of the room, with dark red linens. I had a big window that I couldn't wait to look out. There was a small desk and lamp, too. Another door in the room led to my own washroom, and I couldn’t wait to shower when he left. As I took in the simple space, my eyes lingered on the bed. Had I ever slept in a normal bed? There was no doubt that it would be better than my lumpy makeshift bed in Exile. He cleared his throat and when I glanced at him, he raised an eyebrow at me. His tall broad body filled the small space of the room.
“Is it to your liking?” The guard stared at me oddly.
