Page 121 of The Only Way Out Is Up

“Sorry for what?”

“That… I didn’t tell you.”

“Because you knew I’d try to stop you?” I shake my head. “I don’t understand. At the ball he was trying to bait you into exactly this move. Now you’re walking right into the trap?”

“I thought—” She takes a deep breath. “I thought winning the tournament would be enough. I’d get my Council seat, and Devon and Gestian would back off. But they won’t, they’ve as good as declared war already. This is the only way to get ahead of them. If I can beat Gestian, force him to admit what he did—”

“And did you think for one second about me?” I snap, angrier than I’d realized. “I’m the one risking my life in this tournament. I thought we had a deal. I win this for you, and me and mine are taken care of.”

“Of course we have a deal!”

“Unless Gestian fucking kills you!” I want to grab her shoulders and shake her. “Then what the fuck am I supposed to do? You think Devon and the rest are going to protect my family?”

“I don’t—” She stops, swallows. “I can beat him.”

“The last time you fought him I had to rescue you, remember?”

“I was hurt and half out of my mind.” She stands up straighter. “I can beat him.”

“Well, now you’ll get your chance, assuming Vripiai doesn’t get to you first.”

“I thought we’d fight after the tournament,” Ky says. “I needed a public place to make the challenge, but I didn’t expect… this.” She shakes her head. “Has Alzimyth lost his mind?”

My righteous anger collapses a little. “That’s… probably my fault.”

“Your fault?” Her eyes narrow. “What did he say to you?”

Too much, with consequences I’ve barely begun to think through. “That I have some special talent for sigwork. He wants to take me Above with him. Said I should abandon the tournament.”

“Abandon—”

“I turned him down, obviously.”

“You…” Ky blinks. “You turned down a chance to go Above? Why?”

I shrug. “My family. You. But mostly because I don’t trust him. It felt like I was signing up for Above’s version of a workhouse.”

[Reminder: and me, of course.]

And you, of course.

“You turned him down,” Ky repeats, wonderingly.

“Yeah.” I glance back at the judge’s platform. “I don’t think he took it well.”

“Apparently not.” She shakes her head, then rolls her shoulders, one after the other. “All right. So what now?”

“Now?” The anger has run out of me, like pus drained from a wound, and I feel hollow but clean. “Now we win, I guess.”

“Any thoughts on how?” She puts a hand on her sword. “I’ve been practicing to beat Gestian, but if he does send that snake after me…”

“Star will handle Vripiai.” I hope; certainly no one else can. “You concentrate on your own fight.”

“What about Quech? You know he’ll be coming for you.”

The possibility has certainly been haunting me. “I’ll worry about Quech. I just need to keep him occupied.”

“Okay.” Ky grips her sword. “Okay okay okay. We can do this.”