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But my stomach dropped when I paused, allowing myself to study my opponents, who’d scattered and spread out throughout the arena, apparently hoping to hem me in.
They were all human. Every single one of them stared ahead with glazed eyes, not really seeing this arena or me. Not truly aware of what they were even doing.
My mouth dried. I couldn’t kill glamoured humans, not even if they were being forced to attack and murder me. Even if Ifound a way to fight back without magic, how could I spill their blood to save myself? I’d be a murderer. They were innocent.
They were...
They were armed with weapons, each one of them bearing a glinting sword or pair of daggers. One man lifted a heavy axe with both arms.
“Come here, little girl,” the man with the axe taunted, and I had the chilling impression that his lips were moving, but someone else was speaking.
I gritted my teeth, studying the four humans who were stalking closer, each staring through me with empty expressions. Though they were slaves to the royal siblings and probably ill-treated, they weren’t malnourished or weak. Perhaps they were trained and used as regular entertainment in fights like these, for both men and even the two women were toned and muscled, moving with graceful steps.
My head felt light. Women didn’t fight in Altidvale. It was unheard of. And in proper society, men didn’t hurl punches at one another or engage in bloodthirsty fights with onlookers. Only when one gentleman challenged another to a duel. I didn’t even know how to incapacitate these armed men and women, let alone kill them.
And this was a fight to the death. If they didn’t die, I would.
Footsteps pounded closer as I pled for my magic to manifest.Come on,I thought.You run through my blood. You are a part of me. Defend me now.
I drew on my fear, imagining ice crackling from my fingertips and coating the arena floor.
Sweat dripped down my spine as the axe-wielding man stepped forward, grinning. The other three fell back, allowing him his moment to attack. He leered closer, and I stumbled away, head spinning.
Overhead, the fae were laughing, the roar of their cheers and mocking cries so loud I couldn’t hear my own breath anymore. Couldn’t hear my own pulse. I could only sense it throbbing in my throat and in my head.
The man swung, a flash of blood-red steel in the torchlight.
I swallowed my scream and threw myself to the floor, my knees and palms stinging when they slammed against stone.
Snarling, the man stepped nearer, giving me just enough time to realize the foolishness of my action. Now I was on my hands and knees, an easy target without a simple route of escape. Towering over me, the man surprised me when he didn’t swing his weapon again.
Instead, he aimed a kick at my side. My cry of pain was lost as all the air left my body. I choked and collapsed, my torso throbbing and my chest terrifyingly empty. Spots flickered in my vision while the man laughed, dropping the axe with a clang. I couldn’t move swiftly enough—he seized me in both hands, continuing to laugh. I gaped at his face, which remained expressionless even as that awful, mocking chuckle rumbled through his chest. His eyes were empty as they met mine. This wasn’t him killing me, but the fae controlling his movements, his choices, even his words.
Air rushed into my lungs, providing a moment of blessed relief, and I thrashed in the man’s iron grip, but it was too late. He hurled me across the arena with unnatural strength. I heard the crack of bone as I landed hard, pain ripping through me. Nausea danced along my tongue as I skidded along the smooth floor.
Ice. Snow. Rip this world apart,I begged. Nothing but a moan escaped my lips. Spikes of hot agony flared everywhere, and darkness swam before my eyes. Blood trickled from my nose and into my mouth, filling it with the taste of copper and myrising bile. I couldn’t hear anything but the screams of the crowd now.
I was barely aware when the humans encircled me, weapons raised.
My terror peaked, shredding through me with a helpless certainty. This was the end, and I’d meet it because my brother hated and feared me and left me to die at the hands of these monsters. I’d taste death while these heartless fae looked on, laughing and applauding like this was nothing more than a play at the theater. I’d be murdered in front of Garrick, the man who’d once protected me, but now couldn’t even bother to move from his position beside Queen Nerissa.
Pain flooded me, and somehow, even amidst the blackness flooding my vision, even with my opponents towering over me, my eyes found Garrick in the crowd and locked on him. He leaned forward, his white-blond hair bright in the darkness enveloping my world. His jaw feathered, and for an instant, I thought maybe his gold eyes flashed with emotion. It had to be a trick of the flickering light, because his face remained chiseled as if from stone.
The man with the axe stepped nearer and swung.
I screamed.
In fear.
In agony.
In defeat.
Infury.
The air crackled and something cold and solid filled my hand. The man cried out, his gaping mouth revealing blood coating his teeth and dribbling down his chin. I blinked at the shard of ice clutched in my hand, honed perfectly into a sharp blade. He’d launched himself onto its tip as he’d lunged to deal a killing blow. The ice pierced him clean through—a fatal strike to his chest.
Blinking, his glazed blue eyes cleared, finding mine. There was shock and sorrow there as his arms fell and his fingers went limp. He dropped the axe with a clatter. For one awful, endless moment, we stared at one another. The pain and betrayal and confusion in his bright eyes nearly undid me.
