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My heart almost stops.
“The first time I met your great-great-great-grandmother, she was about your age, Lake. My father, the king of Monsterland, had just been challenged by Benicio for a second time. The Blood King saw that my father was aging and his health was suffering, so Benicio used that to gain the support of several kingdoms.
“So, under the rules of the Proxy Vow, a date for the Blood Battle was set, and Mahra Norfolk was summoned.”
“From River Wall?”
“This was before I sent the Norfolk away. She lived in a small encampment not too far from here on the War People’s land. I was charged with preparing her for the battle—slowing her breathing and heartrate, using her mind to block out fear, making sure she ate well and drank plenty of teas. I had it all planned out. If she did exactly as I said, the War People would remain on the great throne.” He pauses, and a hint of a smile dances on his lips. “But Mahra had other plans.”
“Such as?”
“To stay as far away as possible. She wanted nothing to do with me.”
I try not to laugh. “Sounds like she was smart.”
“She was, though I did not see it at first. She was just another human, a lowly First People, without means or land. The epitome of weakness. But I soon learned she was anything but weak. The woman was as stubborn as any War woman I had encountered. A will of iron, too.”
“So what was her plan to win the Blood Battle?” It’s literally a last-man-standing contest. Each proxy is bled out a liter—orwhatever measurement they use—at a time. The one who doesn’t die wins.
“That was what angered me. She had no plan. She said that if she lived, it would have nothing to do with remaining calm. Her body would either have more blood than the other proxy or it wouldn’t.”
“So was she right?” Because clearly she won. Alwar would succeed his father and rule until Benicio came into power.
“No, actually. She and I spent several weeks together—me on her heels every morning, trying to convince her that her thinking was flawed. She would not hear me out.
“Then one day, her younger brother, your great-great-great-uncle, fell ill. He was bitten by a venomous cricket.”
I try not to let that distract me because, fuck, a venomous cricket? Chirp, chirp, sting. You’re dead.
Alwar goes on, “The entire family was certain he would die, and Mahra was distraught. She was barely eating or drinking. With the Blood Battle a day away, I knew this would result in defeat for my father and our people.”
“So what did you do?” There are no doctors here, from what I’ve seen.
“I made Mahra a promise. If she ate and drank and rested, by the time she returned from the Blood Battle, her brother would be cured. I told her there was a plant high in the mountains that could be used to draw out the poisons. But the journey was seven days for a person of their size. I could make it there and back in one, perhaps two.”
“So you convinced her to do it?”
“She put her trust in me, and I in her. When she returned from the Blood Battle, her brother was on the mend as promised.”
“So you helped her win by giving her hope?” I ask.
“No.” He chuckles. “It was her distrust of me that helped her win. She wanted to return home and ensure I kept my word.”
“But you did, right?”
“Of course, but I still used her weakness against her.”
“Okay…sounds a little underhanded, but at least everyone survived.”
“I saw the big picture. If she did not win, we were all in trouble. She finally understood that point when I ensured her brother lived. She and I grew close after that. She trusted me, and I felt a sort of protectiveness over her.”
Did Alwar fall in love with my great-great-great-grandmother?
“It was a mistake on my part,” he adds, “because my father died in a skirmish shortly after that Blood Battle, and challenges came pouring in from all over for the throne. I did not want to see her die, so I chose her mother to Proxy.”
“Oh no.”
“Mahra protested, of course, and made a deal with me. She vowed to do whatever I said if I chose her instead. She swore to train obediently and win. She used my weakness against me that time.”
