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“Alwar, I have something to tell you: I’ve issued the challenge to Benicio. I’m going to fight.”
Alwar’s blue-blue eyes go wide. He’s definitely awake now. “What do you speak of? The Proxy Vow is over. Void. There will be no more Blood Battles.”
There’ll be one more. “One of the men volunteered to be my messenger. I already sent the challenge to Benicio.”
“You cannot do that.” Alwar’s nostrils flare.
Can. Did. “Our marriage only prohibits you from calling on me to fight. You can’t put me in harm’s way. But I can choose to risk my own life.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because now your war has been put on hold again. The Proxy Vow is reinstated since there are two proxies available to fight.”
It’s something I learned from Benicio: look for the loopholes. As for the No Ones, they’ve thrown out the old rules, but they still have to eat. Let’s just say that my last conversation with Bard, when I handed over Tiago’s offering, gave me an idea, and Alwar isn’t the only one able to make alliances. That’s what Bard was trying to tell me before.
“Foolish woman! The Mountain People will attack again. We will be unable to fully defend ourselves.”
It’s not about that anymore. This is bigger than the Proxy Vow—a fact he will face if I win the Blood Battle. If I don’t win, the Proxy Vow will be void again anyway because I’ll be dead, leaving only one proxy. But like I said, I’ve already chosen a side, and I choose a permanent solution.
“Not foolish,” I say to Alwar. “The revived Proxy Vow is the reason the Mountain People let you go and agreed to a temporary cease-fire.”
“What did you offer them?”
This is the part where I have to lie to my new husband. Not because I don’t care about him or his people, but because I do. Their stubborn pride, especially Alwar’s, would never allow them to agree to my plan.
“If I win the Blood Battle,” I say, “I will reinstate the Proxy Vow again, and everyone will pick new human bloodlines—just as you wanted. But the Mountain People will not bend the knee, and we won’t force them. They’ll be given back their old land, where they’ll live quietly. Everyone’s happy.”
“And what of their allegiance to the Blood King?” he asks.
Turns out I was right. Benicio promised the moon and a nice chunk of my world once the War People were defeated and the wall fell. I was quick to point out to Mato that once Benicio gets what he wants—total defeat of his enemies—there’ll be nothing to stop the Blood King from wiping out the Mountain People, basically using them as food, too. That was when Mato advised me that Benicio had taken a vow to never harm them.
I’ve heard that one before, buddy, I thought.
“His vow might be worth something,” I said, “if it weren’t for the fact the No Ones are done. They have a new king now, and he wants change.”
That information turned everything around. Mato saw the same truth I did: Without the No Ones to force Benicio, or anyone for that matter, to maintain the rules-laws-vows of the land, it is going to be a free-for-all. Unless a new system is put into place. Quickly.
“The Mountain People,” I say to Alwar, “have discovered Benicio’s slippery side. They know he can’t be trusted, and as much as they hate the War People, they know you keep your word.” That part is mostly true. The War people don’t particularly care about the No Ones, in that if they make a vow, they keep it out of honor, not because they fear punishment. “I’m sorry, Alwar, but the challenge has been issued. All I need to know is how much time I have to prepare. What weapons are allowed?”
“None. You will each be cut on the wrist and bled for ten seconds before the wound will be closed.”
I raise both brows. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Each proxy takes turns bleeding. The last one standing wins—thus the name: the Blood Battle.”
I thought this was some sort of hand-to-hand combat. “This is a battle to see who can lose the most blood and remain conscious?”
He nods.
But I heard them mentioning “fighting,” “training,” and being “strong enough to win.” Those imply physical combat. Only in Monsterland. I should have known.
“Can you explain why you were so confident I’d win before?” He kidnapped me and issued the challenge, only to have me swept up by a Flier and taken to Benicio.
“The Norfolk women are strong.”
“My mother died in the last Blood Battle. So apparently we’re not that strong.”
Alwar leans down and places a hand below my chin, staring deeply into my eyes. “This time will be different, Lake. All you must do is remain perfectly calm. You do that, and you will win.”
