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“How do you know it was him?”
The man stared back without an answer at first. He looked around at everyone watching him closely. His body was tight with tension and his eyes shifted around like he was trying to come up with a story.
“I saw him kill him.”
The guardsman paced silently back and forth in front of the two men. His face did not shift from its cruel glare. He grabbed Tagon by the shirt and pulled him away from the man and towards where I stood. The guard leaned down and whispered something to Tagon, and he whispered a response back. The guard then walked back to Kael.
“How did he kill him?”
“With a knife,” he answered quickly. “Sliced his throat.”
Tagon stood close to me, watching the whole exchange. Whatever had been said between him and the guardsman caused him to look less tense.
Before anyone questioned the man, the guard pulled his sword out and beheaded the fae. Everyone scurried back away from the gruesome scene as blood stained the floor below his lifeless body.
“Does anyone else need clarification on the rules of this tournament?” he bellowed. His voice filled and ricocheted off every hollow space in the hallway. No one spoke a word or even dared to breathe at that moment.
Tagon froze when the guardsman turned around. His black eyes shifted to me, and he noticed the blood coming from my chin but looked back to Tagon. He took a few steps to reach us. Tagon stiffened when the guardsman stopped in front of him.
“If it was you that killed the first fae, then you better pray to the stars above I don’t find out about it,” the guard hissed.
“It wasn’t me,” Tagon assured him.
The guard had killed that man without knowing without a doubt if Tagon was the one lying. It was a power move. Even if the real killer was in our crowd, they were likely to not try that again. My eyes shifted behind Tagon as guards hauled the headless man up and his bloodied shoes hung from his lifeless feet. Everyone returned to the sleeping quarters in silence.
A warm hand on my face startled me when the Captain tilted my chin up so he could inspect my wounds. I had been so focused on the dead fae, I hadn’t seen the guard approach me.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
“I fell when the fight broke out. I’m fine.”
I turned to head back to my room but his shadows stopped me so he could get in front of me. His eyes were void of the blackness that consumed them only moments ago.
“Did I scare you?”
I shook my head. He was scary, but he didn’t scare me. I was impressed more than anything.
“I’ve never seen shadow magic.”
A cocky smile spread across his face. Smug prick.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Sure.” I turned around trying to not get distracted by him. He was already taking up my time when I slept. I didn’t need him lurking when I was awake.
“Today’s the first trial,” he spoke from beside me. “I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do, Thea.”
My name rolled off his tongue like a wicked promise. I looked up at him and breathed heavily. His eyes examined my face as we walked back to my room. There was no reason he needed to follow me.
“What’s your name?” I had been wondering about his name since the first night he was in my dream, but no name I had ever considered seemed to fit him.
“Not really any of your business.”
He cocked his head to the side like he was studying me. Like he was expecting a reaction from me that I would refuse to give him. Normally I would let insecurity take over and shy away from his staring, but I needed to appear as confident as I could. His eyes glanced away, and he tilted his head like he heard someone behind us.
A guardsman in red suddenly appeared, startling me. How had he heard him coming? He muttered something and nodded curtly. He actually wasn’t going to tell me his name? What an ass.
“Best of luck in the first trial, Thea. I hope you’re here a bit longer.” He gave me no smile or any emotion as he spoke. He simply said the words and walked away with the guard. I headed toward my room but stumbled when the ground shook violently as I reached for the handle of my door.
