“Okay,” I said hesitantly.
More minutes ticked by without a word from Balbus or the prince, and my stomach roiled. My magic still rumbled in my belly—that constant feeling that I’d grown so used to in the past few months that I hardly noticed it anymore—but whenever I dipped into it or tried to access it, it felt as though I was tugging a heavy blanket through a tiny hole.
Thankfully, my magic responded if I pulled hard enough—like I’d had to when I’d mistphased back to my room—but it was resisting me. As if something tried to stop it.
“Ilara, what’s wrong?” my sister asked me quietly.
“It’s my magic. It’s not responding normally.”
The worry in her eyes grew just as my door flew open, and Balbus rushed into the chamber.
His hair was in disarray, his cloak fluttering behind him. “Lady Seary, I offer a thousand apologies, but the prince is unable to come. The king has summoned him and is refusing to let him leave the throne room as the royal party prepares to depart for the stadium.”
All of the blood drained from my face. “So the final test will continue?”
“Yes, my lady. But the prince did send for Murl, who shall arrive shortly.”
I twisted my hands but took some comfort in that. Maybe, just maybe, the healer had been able to find something to fix my magic in the texts he’d consulted last night.
Everything became a blur as I was whisked from my chambers by two guards I didn’t know. Cailis was forced to stay behind, and when I asked them if I could talk to Matron Olsander, that was denied too.
Before I could blink, I was on my way to the stadium in a jostling carriage pulled by four domals. The one blessing was that Murl had arrived just in time to jump into the carriage before it departed.
I grabbed his hands. “Did you find anything in your books last night?”
The carriage passed through the castle’s wards, and the streets of Solisarium appeared around us.
Murl shook his head, his expression grave. “I’m sorry, my lady. I did not. Perhaps if I had more time, I would have been able to.”
I let out a breath, the reality of what was happening falling upon me. “So I have to partake in this test even though my magic is weakened.”
His eyes dimmed, and he squeezed me tightly. “I’m so sorry, my lady. I tried to bring you several potions that would give you temporary strength and speed, but the guards took them off me, stating that no potions of any kind are allowed before the final test.”
I sat back as distant cheers flowed through the carriage’s windows. With each creak and jostle, we were getting closer to the stadium. Closer to where I would battle Georgyanna with diminished magic. Closer to where my fate would be decided.
When we arrived at the stadium, I didn’t have time to ask Murl anything else, let alone thank him for everything that he’d done and had tried to do.
I was escorted out of the carriage as spectators cheered and went wild. Fae were everywhere. Not only flying in the air, but lining the streets, and the cheers coming from inside the stadium told me that thousands of citizens were present.
Four guards ushered me inside as the crowd threatened to swallow me.
My heart beat harder and harder and harder. I still hadn’t seen Norivun, and I searched frantically for him in the crowd. But he was nowhere to be seen, and then I was inside the stadium and being led down a stone stairwell. I asked repeatedly what was happening but didn’t get a response.
Anger began to swirl inside me, but I pushed it down. Nobody would tell me anything, but I knew the guards were only following orders. Either the king or Sir Featherton had silenced them.
When we reached the bottom of the stairwell, the guards led me through a narrow tunnel underneath the stadium. Footsteps and hollering came from above, echoing through the stone walls.
We stopped at a room underneath the large complex, and one of the guards shoved me inside. “Wait here.”
He closed and locked the door, and my breaths were coming so fast now that I felt lightheaded. Nothing but cool stone and shimmering candles surrounded me. There weren’t even fairy lights to illuminate the space.
I closed my eyes while trying to steady myself and prepare for what was to come. I had no idea what lay above me or what the final test would entail, but I couldn’t lose even if my magic was impaired.
No matter what, I had to win this test and marry the crown prince.
It felt like much too soon, but not long enough, before the door to the tiny room opened, and I was ushered out and taken up another set of stone stairs.
Guards surrounded me, as if I was a prisoner. The irony of it made my stomach twist into knots because if I won this Trial, I would be the continent’s queen. All of these guards would bow to me and do as I commanded with Prince Norivun at my side. We wouldn’t have a marriage like his parents. I knew my mate would treat me as an equal and seat me beside him on my own throne.
When we reached the top of the stairs, the sun shone down brightly into the open stadium. Frigid air swirled about as the pale-green sky was clear and cloudless, as if the gods were smiling down on us and the capital’s celebration.
“You’re to wait here until the test begins.” One of the guards pointed to an area on the arena’s floor. A small X had been placed there.
I took the position as instructed and waited for whatever was to begin, but the second the crowd became aware of my presence, they went wild.
Screams and yells cascaded through the stadium. A flash of purple across the arena caught my attention. Georgyanna stood opposite me, coming from a tunnel on the other side of the open arena, emerging from it just like I had.
At least a quarter of a millee separated us. The stadium was so huge that it could easily seat thousands upon thousands of the capital’s residents.
And not one of those seats was empty.
Ignoring Georgyanna, I searched the crowd, trying to find the prince. My eyes fell on the dais in the middle of the stadium, hovering directly over the arena and undoubtedly with the best view. Now that I’d spotted it, I didn’t know how I hadn’t immediately zeroed in on it.
King Novakin sat on his throne, his sons at his side. My breath sucked in. I could practically feel the power emanating from Norivun. He sat rigidly in full-black attire, royal embellishments on his chest and shoulders, and the shining silver crown on his head made him look every inch a royal. It was the first time I’d ever seen him wear a crown. But it was a prince’s crown, small and simple, nothing like the crown perched atop his father’s head.
Despite his resplendent attire, it was the look on Norivun’s face that truly captured my attention. His features were a mask of fury encased in ice, and the way he stared at the king with murder in his gaze made my heart beat even harder. He looked as though he wanted to kill the king.