“Challenge? Like the old duels?”
Her brow knitted together. “Yeah. This is a conflict between a Seelie order and an Unseelie kingdom. In the Old World, Seelie-Unseelie disagreements were often settled with a fight between champions.”
“Surely they wouldn’t resort to something so arcane.”
She lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “No idea.”
We were in one of the corridors that housed offices and rooms for official business. She gestured to an open doorway up ahead where two pages came hurrying out and then went in different directions.
“Maxen’s in there,” she said. “While you’re speaking with him, I’ll hunt down a change of clothes for you.”
She angled off down the hallway before I had a chance to respond.
I stepped into the room she’d indicated, expecting to find Maxen with his usual crowd of officials. Instead, it was just him with one assistant. As soon as he saw me, he dismissed the page and asked her to close the door as she left.
Weariness fought with apprehension, dragging at my muscles but at the same time infusing me with jittery adrenaline. Reining in the nervous energy, I lifted my scabbard over my head and set it down on the conference table that stood between us and rolled my stiff shoulders.
“What’s going on, Maxen?” I asked quietly.
His sapphire eyes were unblinking and red-rimmed with fatigue.
“Periclase is livid about Nicole,” he said. His chest rose as he drew a deep breath. “Taking her seems to have become the spark to the dry tinder of unrest between the Stone Order and the Duergar kingdom.”
I folded my arms. “Do you know what’s in the latest petition?”
He nodded. “They’re asking for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Periclase is demanding you be turned over to the Duergar for whatever punishment they deem fit.”
I scoffed. “They can’t do that! Nicole is part New Gargoyle. She has just as much a right to be here as there, if she even is Periclase’s daughter at all.”
“So far, we can’t prove she’s New Garg. But as Periclase’s petition points out, she does have clear Duergar features, even if they’re not ones that make it obvious she’s his blood.”
I hadn’t been looking for Duergar features in her face. She certainly wasn’t built like them. But a case could probably be made for what Periclase claimed.
“So now what?”
“We have a chance to counter the petition,” he said.
“Okay, so do it. Put in a counter-filing that says they’re full of shit.”
He walked around the table to stand in front of me, leaning one hip against the edge and crossing his arms in a partial imitation of my posture.
“Because their petition includes the claim that Nicole is Duergar royalty, this is very grave,” he said, as if he hadn’t heard my suggestion. “They’re saying we kidnapped a Duergar princess.”
“Um, again, he has no proof that Nicole is his daughter,” I said.
“They want to execute you. That’s the punishment they’ve put forth.”
“What?” I barked the word so harshly my voice cracked.
He held up a hand. “It’s very unlikely the High Court would see that as just. But that’s Periclase’s game, here. He’s requesting a punishment too severe for the crime, putting us in a position of countering with something lesser, but that doesn’t go too easy. He’s trying to back us into a corner so he gets you either way.”
I felt queasy. “You think he actually wants me dead?”
Maxen’s face screwed up, and then he shook his head. “I don’t think so. But he’s definitely calling you out. And he’s not going to let you get off easily.”
I pushed my fingers into my hair, suddenly remembering what Emmaline had mentioned. “What about a challenge of champions? Me against their champion?”
His eyes went huge. “Petra, a challenge of champions is a battle to the death. Besides, you aren’t the official champion of the Stone Order.”
“Who is? Do we even have one?”
“It’s Oliver.”
Duh, of course. “Oh, yeah. I knew that.”
“But that’s beside the point,” Maxen said. “We couldn’t put you in that kind of position.”
“Why not?” I asked. “Periclase is demanding my head, even if he doesn’t truly want it, and he wants me to answer for my supposed transgression.”
Maxen just looked at me, his lips pressed into a tight white line.
I gave a little shrug. “I can take whoever Periclase puts up against me. Duergar are tough, but New Gargs are better swordsmen. Hell, you could probably kick their champion’s ass, and you’re out of practice.”
A ghost of a smile passed over his face.
“Besides, Oberon can step in, end the duel, and declare a winner before anyone dies,” I said, starting to dredge up bits of knowledge from my long-ago history lessons. “Isn’t that what happened with the last dozen-odd challenges?”
“It is,” Maxen conceded. “But that doesn’t mean he’d do it this time.”
“Doesn’t matter, then. I’ll just kill my opponent.”
His eyes dropped to the floor before raising to meet mine. “I don’t like that you even suggested this,” he said, his voice soft.
“Why?”
“Because it might actually be the best counter-petition, and it could end in you losing your life.”
“But it won’t,” I said. “How long can you stall before filing the counter?”
“We have twenty-four hours to answer.”
“Can you put a stipulation in there that if we win the challenge they have to drop their other appeal about trying to absorb the Stone Order into their kingdom?”
His brows lifted. “I’ll have to look into it, but that’s a great strategy. We might just make a politician out of you yet.”
I snorted. “Oh, hell no. Don’t get greedy, Maxen. Okay. Here’s what we do. Find every way possible to delay the process. I’ll use the time to train here at the fortress, make sure I’m totally brushed up on all my moves, and do everything available to make sure my stone armor is as strong as possible. Then we do the challenge, win it, and get the Duergar assholes off our backs.”
“I’ll talk to Marisol,” he said. “But understand that she might not go for it, and the final decision is hers.”
“Hey, if she has a better idea, I’m all ears,” I said, spreading my arms wide.
“I’m going to find her now,” he said, already heading for the door. Before opening it, he paused and turned. “Petra . . .”
The look he gave me was so raw, my breath stilled. I saw many things in his eyes—admiration, gratitude, a little fear, and that small spark that had always burned, but that I’d always brushed away.
I waved him off. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
He gave me a slight smile and left. A moment later, Emmaline entered.
She stopped short when she saw my face. “Are you okay?”
I slowly filled my lungs and gave her a nod. “Yeah, just fine.”
And I realized with a calm sense of knowing that it was true. I wanted to face the Duergar champion. I wanted the chance to get Periclase off my back and show him he couldn’t push us around anymore. Us. Maybe my connection to my people ran stronger than I’d thought.