Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
“Time’s up.”
The guard ripped the journal out of my hand, causing me to smear ink on the page that I prayed didn’t blot out my final answer. The other girls received the same treatment, and the sound of scratching pencils subsided.
My eyes struggled to focus on the glitzy ballroom after being hyper-focused on the rows of numbers.
I dropped my pencil, stretching out my aching hand and wiggling the fingers I’d been clenching the entire time.
I hadn’t completed as many problems as I’d hoped to, but considering my slow start, I felt like I’d done well at catching up on the first couple pages.
The questions had become increasingly difficult, but they were nothing I couldn’t solve. Now I could only pray that the other girls weren’t quite as well practiced with equations.
The guards passed the journals to the front of the room, where a pair of tall, plainly dressed scribes collected them in a short stack. Mara seemed to shrink as the stack grew, her eyes glassy and lower lip quivering. Had she been able to answer any of them?
“What a marvelous start to the festivities,” King Septimus projected across the crowd. “Thank you all for joining us. While the scores are being tallied, please enjoy some music and meet our competitors. After all, one of these ladies may become your next queen.”
The title queen sounded like a curse spoken from his poisoned lips, but the crowd drank up the venom and obeyed his wishes nonetheless.
Musicians strummed up a lively tune that felt entirely inappropriate for the mood, and the crowd dispersed to dance or socialize.
I despised how easily they could smile at a time like this, yet I doubted they felt safe enough to let their smiles slip with Septimus watching.
A few people came up to me, their painted faces looking far too bright with their red lips, exaggerated eyebrows, and overly pink cheeks. I didn’t stick around to entertain them, instead pushing through the crowd with my sights set on Mara.
Mara spotted me in the middle of the room, and seeing me coming gave her the courage to run away from the nobles who had cornered her.
She didn’t stop until she crashed straight into my arms. I held her tight, absorbing her trembles and offering her all the strength I could.
She was breathing rapidly, but she wasn’t crying. I’d always known she was strong.
“M-my lady, I—”
“Hush.” I pulled away to face her, still keeping a solid grip on her hands. “You mustn’t call me that now. People are watching.”
She bit down on her lower lip and nodded while giving my hands another squeeze. I could feel the terror pumping through her pulse.
“When did this happen?” I asked her, keeping my voice low enough that it would be lost under the music. “Did you know anything about this? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No, not really. This corset isn’t very comfortable, but I’d hardly call it harmful,” Mara said, shifting awkwardly as if just remembering the wretched accessory.
“Honestly, I don’t know what happened. It was all so fast. After I was called from your room I was given a suite of my own and told that I’d be entering the competition. ”
The final room she’d prepared was her own.
“They’ve kept me under guard ever since,” she continued, rubbing at her red-rimmed eyes but still refusing to shed a tear. “Until I was brought here. My lad—I mean, Lady Diaspro, I didn’t know the answer to any of those questions. I tried my best, but…”
Her voice turned watery, and she bit her lip again to keep her pesky tears under control. I pinched her wrist to aid her. It made her jump but startled her enough to swallow back her emotions. It was a trick I’d used often growing up.
She can’t cry. Not here.
“It’s all right,” I said softly, praying that it at least sounded true. “This was only the first contest. You’re going to be just fine, Mara. This is just the king’s way of getting my attention; he’s not really after you.”
I wasn’t sure if she believed it, but I could tell that she wanted to.
We both did. She rubbed her eyes once more and took in a long calming breath.
Her eyes were still red, but she truly did look regal when she stood tall.
Her sandy-blonde hair framed her pretty face, and the sash draped elegantly along her waist.
“I assumed as much. The king would have never selected me for…well, me.” She straightened, her resilience slowly returning. “He brought me out last to disorient you, didn’t he? Goodness, I hope my arrival didn’t affect your ability to focus.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “It surprised me, but I was still able to give the test my all.”
“Good.” Mara smiled, the first real one I’d seen all day. “I’d rather lose than let the king win.”
I felt the same way, but there was more than one way that Septimus could win now—killing Mara, killing me, or even killing us both.
A sudden onslaught of ring vibrations startled me. They were too fast and chaotic to be a word, which meant they were trying to warn me about something quickly. I curled my fist around the ring and spun on my heel just in time to come face to face with my fellow ringbearer’s dark twin.
“Lochlan,” I greeted the prince, his brow crinkling at my perfectly timed turn. “What do you want?”
“A cold drink would be nice,” Lochlan said, peering straight past me to glare at Mara.
“If only a servant could fetch me one.” Mara flinched, barely stopping herself from instinctively obeying his request. Lochlan scoffed, flicking his scathing eyes between the two of us.
“Ridiculous…I knew my father was cruel, but I never knew he would do something this repulsive. Two Ivalonians lined up as potential brides? He might as well have offered our crowns to a field of cows.”
Mara shriveled, her head drooping under the weight of Lochlan’s crown. I stepped in front of him, shielding Mara from the prince’s insults.
“Have you already forgotten that you tried to marry this cow once?” I flashed my ring finger at him, twitching my hand like I was ready to pull back on a slingshot. “Funny, I don’t think anyone else here has forgotten how that ended.”
I motioned at the crowd, many of whom were sneaking peeks at our exchange. This was the first time I’d been publicly seen with Lochlan after our duel. It was a gossip’s dream come true to witness.
“It’s easy to be narrow-minded when you’re lacking for choice,” he said, following my gaze around the room but choosing to focus on the other competitors who were scattered around. Watching him take in the other girls rolled a shiver down my spine. “But that no longer seems to be a problem.”
“Do you truly bore that easily?” I asked him.
“The better question is, are you truly that boring?” He smirked, the ravishing smile tempting me to pull a few of his teeth.
“I’ll admit it, Princess, you were a worthy opponent, but does that make you the best?
” He stepped forward, leaning toward my shoulder with a serpentine hiss in my ear.
“Because I’m not so certain anymore.” He moved past me, scanning over Mara with a stiff fold of his arms and a callous chuckle. “Though you may not be the worst.”
With that final lashing at Mara, he disappeared back into the crowd, leaving the poor girl to lick her wounds and me to gnash at my chains. There was a mile-long list of unspeakable things I wanted to do to that prince, but first I needed to clean up his mess.
“Don’t listen to him,” I told Mara. “He’s still angry that I beat his sorry—”
“There you are.” Cedric pushed through the crowd, stepping between Mara and me. “I tried to find you sooner, but I got pulled into a few conversations. Was that Lochlan?”
“Unfortunately,” I said.
“Got it.” Cedric sighed. “I’m guessing he didn’t come over to give Lady Mara a warm welcome.
” He clenched his teeth, his gold circlet reflecting the colorful dancers behind me.
“I’m terribly sorry to separate you two, but would it be all right if I spoke with Diaspro alone for a moment?
” He bowed his head to Mara, offering her a level of respect that I didn’t think she knew how to process.
Her eyes went wide, the red completely vanished as she blinked her heavy lashes a few times before shaping her mouth into real words. “O-oh, of course, Your Highness.” She curtsied a little awkwardly, which was strange because she usually didn’t have any trouble curtsying to me.
She slipped away, allowing me and Cedric at least the illusion of privacy. There were still plenty of nobles, guards, and servants floating around to pick up on our conversation, but it was already rare enough that I got to speak with any of the princes.
“I’m so sorry, Diaspro,” he whispered, his voice gravelly and pained as he clenched his fists. “I had no idea this was the king’s plan. He’s more devious than I thought.”
This is about more than Mara being in danger.
“You saw the way the servants reacted to Mara’s introduction, didn’t you?” I asked. He flicked his eyes toward a passing guard, observant as ever.
“How could I not?” he answered vaguely, waiting for the guard to move out of earshot before lowering his voice again. “They’re scared for her. She’s one of them, and up until a few minutes ago, you were too. Now they don’t seem too sure.”
He was right. All around the room, the Ivalonian servants seemed to be clutching their serving trays more tightly, watching their steps more closely, and holding their breaths longer. Mara was more than a fellow competitor; she was a symbol of what was to come to the rest of them.
“They’re watching to see if I sacrifice Mara to win my own crown”—I swallowed hard, a bitter taste sullying my tongue—“or if I’m truly loyal to Ivalon.”
Cedric cleared his throat loudly when I spoke the kingdom’s name, covering up my voice as best as he could. I wasn’t sure what was permissible or not anymore now that Mara had been introduced as an Ivalonian participant, but Cedric was wise to play it safe.
“The king promised to destroy your reputation, and he seems to be making good on it,” Cedric said a little hoarsely. “If you fail, you lose the Aemastians, but if you win, you lose the others.”
“There’s no such thing as winning anymore,” I admitted, feeling a similar sensation to when I was first tasked with marrying one of the three brothers. Things had felt hopeless then, too. “It’s back to surviving.”
“We have the results from the first challenge!” the steward called over the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention back to the front of the room.
The lively chatter made it seem like he was announcing who was best dressed for the evening, but the underlying tension was thick enough to suffocate in.
“In sixth place…we have Lady Mara of Ivalon!”
I couldn’t look at Mara, but I could feel the Ivalonians looking at me. Mara’s loss was no surprise, but they were all aching to know where their princess-to-be stood.
“In fifth place, Princess Avalyn.” The steward continued reading off the names in rapid succession. “In fourth place, Princess Ciara. In third place, Lady Sybil.”
He paused to take a breath, but I didn’t think anyone could breathe yet.
“In second place, Lady Diaspro,” he said brightly. “And that leaves Lady Brisa in first.”
“Lady Diaspro came in second?” a random voice trickled through the crowd. “How impressive!”
“Yes, but she’s nothing compared to Lady Brisa,” another voice chimed in. “Rumors say that her knowledge is unmatched. The others hardly stood a chance.”
The whispers should have been a compliment. It was clear that I hadn’t done my best, but even my best would have fallen short. Unfortunately, the only thing the Ivalonians heard was that I’d done my best—
I’d done everything I could to beat Mara.
How do I survive this victory?