“Right. Sounds wonderful. I’m bringing my katana.”
“You have a better chance of survival if you stick near me.”
She nodded slowly. “And I’m just supposed to trust your judgment. You’ve withheld crucial information about the race until I no longer had the chance to practice. Plus, every now and then you point out that you will kill me.”
Gold candlelight danced over the fine planes of his face. “I will have to kill you. Just not tomorrow.”
Something cold gnawed at her chest. “And you’re okay with that?”
His jaw tightened. “It doesn’t matter if I’m okay with that. We don’t choose the rules. The gods do, and they do not care for our lives. You must choose if you are predator or prey. There is no in-between. And while I’m pretty sure that F.U. was a predator, I’m not sure you’re quite the same.” He leaned in closer. “If you don’t even have the stomach to kill a moth, how do you expect to survive a brutal sword fight while flying on Sotz? You’re better off hiding behind me.”
She shook her head, panic rising in her chest. “This whole thing is insane. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to depend on you one day and then wait for you to kill me the next. And what if I don’t want to play by Nyxobas’s rules? There’s got to be another way out of this tournament that doesn’t involve us killing each other.”
“There is no way out,” his voice boomed, reverberating through her gut. “Just because you’ve found a way to forget all the horrible things that have ever happened in your life does not mean that everyone gets a happy ending. And just because I’ve trained you out of some misguided sense of duty does not mean that I’m your friend. I must either kill or die, and the same is true of you. You mean nothing to me, hound.”
His words hit her like a punch to the gut, and she dropped her fork on the table. “You’re a predator, so you say. I mean nothing to you. And you’re determined to kill me.” Humiliatingly, she could feel the tears welling in her eyes. “And yet here you are, asking me to trust you. Asking me to leave my sword behind while you protect me.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying her. “I feel obligated to give you a fair fight.”
“Before you kill me?” Angry heat flooded her cheeks. “Bollocks. If I’m destined to die—if I’m prey—then what’s the point of going through all this effort? Why go through the trouble of training me at all?”
He simply stared at her, the candlelight flickering in his eyes.
She stood and grabbed a handful of ham to eat alone in her quarters. As she turned to leave, she shot him a final glare. “I’m bringing my katana tomorrow.”
Chapter 32
Ursula and Cera stood on the roof of the manor, looking out over the crater. From the black sky, the pale light of the sun shimmered over Asta’s spire, and warmed her skin through her clothes.
She shielded her eyes with her hand, glancing at Cera. “Thank you for teaching me to ride Sotz.”
Cera shot her a stern look. “You’d better not die today.”
Icy dread flooded her body. “I’ll do my best.”
Cera leaned closer, giving her hand a squeeze. “If you don’t go now, Ursula, you’ll be late.”
Ursula put her fingers to her lips, whistling for Sotz. After a few moments, a shadow passed over their heads, and Sotz landed on the rooftop, just by the building’s edge.
Her stomach turning, Ursula crossed to the bat. Her fingers grazed her katana’s hilt. A part of her wondered if Bael had been right. Maybe she should have listened and left the katana at home. But she couldn’t exactly rely on someone who kept saying he planned to kill her.
Taking a deep breath, she settled herself on Sotz’s shoulders, gripping tightly with her thighs. Sotz clambered to the building’s edge, then took flight over the crater.
As Sotz winged toward the spire, she rehearsed her plan: stay alive. She’d try to stay out of the fight and engage only if attacked.
She soared over the crater, thrilling at the feel of the wind in her hair. As Sotz drew closer to Asta, she tightened her grip on his fur. Around Asta’s peak, workers had erected a great wooden platform that ringed around the spire. And from the platform, a long wooden dock jutted out into the lunar winds, like a wharf.
Ursula circled closer. In the center of the platform, Hothgar stood, flanked between his wife and his giant gong. The other lords mulled around, sipping from silver goblets. How fun to drink cocktails while watching death rain down on the city with a perfect, panoramic view.