13. Chapter 13 #2
It was about leverage.
“Family is everything,” Ren echoed softly. “But sometimes, the family you choose also makes a difference.”
She watched the subtle flicker in Kaelin’s eyes, a brief pause in her polished mask, as if she wasn’t used to someone matching her step for step. Ren’s gaze drifted, not toward Kaelin’s face, but to her hands, the delicate rings glinting in the sunlight.
“Some say blood is thicker than loyalty. And you, Princess?” Ren asked, voice deceptively light. “Do you believe that?”
For a moment, the only sound was the whisper of leaves stirring in the breeze. They rounded the corner of a marble fountain, water spilling in soft cascades that caught the afternoon light.
Kaelin’s lips curled into a very unpleasant scowl that marred her otherwise delicate features. “I believe loyalty is a rare and precious thing. But blood is inescapable.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence weighted with things unspoken. A nightingale trilled from a high branch.
“Training like a soldier, or a pit fighter?” Kaelin’s abrupt voice curled with mockery as her eyes flicked to Ren’s tightly braided hair, a style common among the pit fighters, worn for both practicality and pride.
“Though I am certain the arena is far less forgiving than these soft palace grounds. It’s always the mortals, isn’t it?
So eager to bleed for sport, to claw and bite over scraps like feral animals.
Tell me, do you all pride yourselves on being so marvelously uncivilized, or is it simply bred into you? ”
The words dripped like honey laced with poison, meant to sting. Ren’s breath hissed between her teeth, but she held her ground, her eyes narrowing as she stepped forward, the tightness in her chest unfurling into something molten and sharp.
“I fight because sometimes, when the world gives you nothing, the only thing left to do is fight,” Ren asserted, her voice steady and firm.
Kaelin’s smile faltered for a moment, just enough for Ren to catch.
But then the mask smoothed back into place, and Kaelin’s lips curved again.
“Fighter pits have their uses, but some battles require more subtle blades. You fight like a gladiator. All flame and fury, as if you think the world will bow to brute force alone.” She let the words linger, her tone light, almost amused, but her eyes gleamed.
“I suppose that’s the difference between a fighter and a strategist.”
Ren met Kaelin’s gaze without flinching. “Or maybe it’s the difference between someone who’s been in the ring, and someone who’s only ever watched from the stands.” The weight behind Ren’s words was unmistakable — another subtle pushback.
Another challenge.
And for a heartbeat, Ren thought she saw it in the subtle tightening of Kaelin’s clasped hands. Not amusement, but the faintest hint of something sharper. Recognition .
But that recognition turned sour, as if the fae princess remembered who she was talking to, and she abruptly turned, as if cutting off both the conversation and Ren’s subtle challenge.
“Then perhaps you should’ve stayed in the ring where you belong – covered in dirt instead of pretending you’re worth my time.”
“It’s a good thing my worth isn’t something you get to decide.”
“No? The world doesn’t seem to agree with you.”
Ren’s jaw tightened. She felt the heat rise in her chest, a low burn of irritation she couldn’t quite swallow. How in the hell was this creature related to Talen?
“You talk about worth,” Ren spat. “Go live your perfect, pampered life, Princess. Let others fight and die to keep your throne polished. I hope it’s sparkly clean – ”
The world flipped before she could finish. Kaelin moved so fast Ren hadn’t even seen her – just a blur of motion, before her back slammed into the dirt, breath torn from her lungs.
The princess crouched low, pinning Ren with a forearm braced across her collarbone, their faces inches apart, so close Ren could smell the faint sweetness of wine on her breath.
“Careful what you wish for, mortal ,” Kaelin murmured, her breath brushing Ren’s cheek. “Keep mouthing off like that, and someone might make sure you choke on that dirt you love so much.”
Ren snarled, trying to get up, but Kaelin’s strength surprised her. “Oh, I’m shaking. Tell me again how polished your throne is while others do the scrubbing. You probably even have handmaidens who wipe your own ass . ”
“You think I’m bluffing?” Kaelin retorted.
“Do you know how easy it would be to end you here and now? A flick of my wrist, and you’re gone before you even understand what struck you.
Humans are brittle things; pathetic, really, compared to what we are.
It’s foolish to mouth off as if you stood on the same step as me.
” Kaelin leaned down to murmur into Ren’s ear, “You’re not my equal, Ren.
Not by a long measure.” As she spoke, Kaelin’s fingers brushed a loose strand of hair from Ren’s forehead with almost tender precision.
Ren jerked away. “ Fucking hell, don’t touch me.”
Kaelin only smiled. Then she rose in one smooth motion, the air seeming to shift with her departure, leaving Ren sprawled in the dirt and burning with fury.