Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“No, right, yeah.” Niall scratched his nose. “We know all that—”
“And she knows all that.” Lennox turned another page. Could he possibly be reading and listening—and interacting!—all at the same time?
Yes, Lennox said.
And eavesdropping, too. Add that to the list.
Noted, he replied.
“So…” Niall leaned forward, putting the book on the couch next to him. “You’re blasé about all that because you think the king will keep you alive longer?”
“Not really. The princess will be gunning for—after me in those games. An oops will be pretty easy to navigate behind the scenes. She seems cunning enough to pull that off. I’m worried about her, actually. She’ll be playing in the shadows, and I need to be very careful not to reveal what I am while also not getting killed. I need to find an ally, which will be very hard to come by. But the king? He’ll take me to his chambers, get super gross, make a move, and realize he has no magic. It’ll be him against me. We should all really hope I can take him. And also that I can escape once I have. Tarian is asking Eldric to dig up and deliver me a map of the king’s chambers. We need plans in place. Many plans in place…except we have no idea what we’re planning for.”
Both guys were looking at her, something strange moving behind their eyes. She couldn’t quite tell what it was, though, so she just asked.
Lennox glanced at Niall before going back to his book.
Niall hadn’t looked away. “You’re confident about all that,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “The games, the king, the princess—you’re confident going into all those unknowns.”
“I mean…yeah.” She looked at that chalice again. “I have to be, right? There’s no alternative. Welcome to my life. Before Demigod Kieran, we had a certain set of problems, mostly to do with staying alive. Keeping a roof over our heads, having food to eat. I didn’t know it then, but that was actually the easiest time in my whole life. I was scared a lot then, but the problems were manageable. They didn’t feel like it at the time, but now I know they were. After Demigod Kieran, it was battles and extreme danger for all of us. Death would’ve been a better path than what had waited for Lexi had we failed. Once that was settled, it was mostly danger just for me. With occasional assassination attempts on the Demigods, obviously.”
They nodded. They were fae. They got it.
She shrugged. “Now I’ve got a different set of problems. Being worried about it, or afraid of it, will drain my energy and deplete my resources to analyze. I need all the facts, all the angles, and then…to stay alive.”
After last night, that seemed like the hardest part of all.
The next day, she wore somewhat formfitting trousers strapped with visible weapons. Her top was loose, the shirt under it tight, and more weapons were strapped to her torso. Her magical knife had a sheath, with a strap over the hilt to secure it in case someone should reach for it. She’d been practicing a quick draw so that the strap didn’t waste valuable time.
“Remember our signals.” Tarian walked with her in his princely attire, his shoulders back and straight, his gait relaxed and unhurried. It was time to present her into the games.
“Yup.”
“If it is your life or theirs, always pick yours.”
“Obviously.”
“After each battle or any time you need it in the holding areas, you are allowed your healer.” He glanced behind him at Faelynn. “Use her.”
“Okay.” They’d been over all this, last night and again this morning, but the reality of the situation was crashing down on Tarian right now, like it had crashed down on her when she’d visited Eldric. He was second-guessing the decision.
Too late now.
“Remember your training.” They turned a corner. Other groups of fae ambled down the hall, the champions easy to spot. They were large, hulking things, most of them, with rounded shoulders and a certain walk that said they meant trouble. None of them looked around at the competition, staring straight ahead intimidatingly.
He slowed her as another noble veered in front of him, centering themselves in a line. At the end of the hall was an archway and various attendants checking people in. The nobles walked away. The champions continued on.
Butterflies filled Daisy’s belly.
Remember your training, Tarian said again, reaching down and taking her hand. Remember Zorn’s teachings. Make him proud.
It was what she needed to hear. The strength she needed to keep stepping forward, one foot in front of the other, heading to a place where she’d be on her own with a bunch of magical fae who wanted her dead.
Tarian stopped her and turned, looking down into her eyes. He put his hands against her cheeks, holding her face gently. You will never be alone, little dove. Faelynn will be on hand. She is skilled in combat, more so than any other healer in this entire kingdom. But remember, you also have this.