Fifteen won.
Ruby ran circles around Eleven as she finished, tapping her heels with a spear. The familiar, shaky panic of the shadows hadn’t left me, and grim-faced guards filtered in from the forest. Three’s death hung heavy over all of us.
Too heavy for Two and Four to even speak.
“With eight left alive, your physical training is now over.” Emerald’s soft voice drew our attention. “Your training is not however.”
Elise had been right: there were rounds, and I’d survived the first one.
“You will cease your attempts on each other’s lives tonight.” Ruby tightened the knots of his mask. “Your servants will help you relocate, and you will be on your best behavior.”
“Your new rooms are as much a test as this run,” Amethyst said. “You will be housed within the true grounds of the palace, beyond the River Caracol, and you will be expected to behave as guests of Our Queen. We will be watching.”
They were letting us into the palace proper? With all the lords and ladies and honorable court members who balked at dirt? They couldn’t let everyone beyond the river and wall, and they’d have to trust Opal to behave properly at court. Which meant our next lessons were—
“Poisons, etiquette, and basic medicine training will begin tomorrow after breakfast.” Emerald had to be grinning like a fiend behind her mask because her voice was laughing at us. “At which point, you may resume the competition.”
“We expect you to kill in ways to reflect your growth.” Ruby gestured for us all to stand. “Those of you taking other lessons will still attend tonight. We’ll explain everything else tomorrow.”
Amethyst nodded. “You’ve all done well. We were trying to break you physically. The next part may let you rest your body but not your mind. Rest well. You’ll need it.”
The Left Hand turned away from us to address a crowd of soldiers all sporting various bruises and scrapes. Isidora and Ruby turned to each other, whispering back and forth.
We were dismissed.
Maud walked me back to my room. She offered me her arm once, after catching sight of the bandage around my side and the dried blood dotting my clothes, but I shook her off. I’d already nearly died and made a fool of myself. The other auditioners didn’t need to see how weak I was.
But Isidora said Ruby slept with a lamp, and the rest of the Left Hand had seen the shadows. Surely they’d understand my panic.
When we reached the room, Maud peeled my shirt away without disturbing the stitches. My room was spotless—the tub tipped in the corner, the mice gone, and all my clever contraptions for keeping people out taken apart. She set a washbasin next to me.
“Isidora gave me salve—in my pocket.”
“Lady Isidora dal Abreu?” Maud rifled through my ruined clothes and pulled out a tiny jar.
“Suppose I should get used to using their titles.” I leaned back, eyes too heavy to stay open. “She was nice. Emerald said she treats the Left Hand.”
“She certainly does.” Maud hummed and checked my stitches. “She and Ruby have been inseparable since he won his mask. Can’t blame her—he’s terrifying but polite and protective if he likes you.”
I snorted. “What else you know about her?”
“Only gossip—married Nicolas del Contes five years ago when she was eighteen, sticks close to Our Queen and the Left Hand, and keeps a laboratory scarier than anything I want to do with. Her husband’s a sneaky one, dressing up like soldiers and servants to keep an eye on things.” Maud pushed a tray of food toward me—a small slice of bread slathered in butter and a smaller bowl of berries. “She’s nice though. She doesn’t charge you anything if you’re sick and can’t afford the medicine.”
I knew of Nicolas del Contes—an Erlend who’d sided with Our Queen—but nothing useful. I’d have to worm some information out of Elise.
Elise. Tutoring. I still had to go to tutoring. How had it only been one day?
“Maud?” I waved my arm, too tired to sit up. “I have to go to tutoring tonight. Can you wake me up when it’s time?”
I’d not really, truly slept in days. Thank The Lady we were safe tonight because there was no way I could stay awake through it.
“Of course,” Maud said. “I’ll take you to your new quarters after.”
The door clicked shut. I meant to say “thank you,” but the words didn’t come. I stared at the closed door from my slumped seat on the bed, cheek pressed to the wall, and closed my burning eyes. Only a moment, one small break while the sun still shone and nightmares couldn’t come.
“Up, Twenty-Three.” Maud touched my arm. “Time to move.”
I jerked awake and swung. Maud lurched backward. At least she wasn’t calling me “Auditioner” anymore.
“Don’t do that.” My mouth was cotton and my tongue stuck to my teeth. I downed a cup of too-hot tea. “Don’t touch me before I’m awake. I might hit you.”
A lifelong habit wouldn’t distinguish between Maud and enemies.
She exhaled loudly through her nose. “Good to know.”
“Good.” I waited for her to pour me a second cup of tea, curling my fingers around the mug. Last thing I needed was to get disqualified for hitting someone I didn’t even want to hit. Maud didn’t deserve a bloody nose and no promotion. “Where’s the new room?”
“The Left Hand have quarters near Our Queen, but each keeps residences in the outer circle for visitors. You’ll be housed on Amethyst’s grounds.”
The River Caracol spiraled out from under the palace, natural springs older than Erlend and Alona combined that had been twisted into shape ages ago. Each loop of the spiral served as an extra level of defense for the main palace walls at its center. I’d only now gotten used to the layout of this place.
That was probably the point.
“And I don’t get to know where everyone else is staying?”
Maud dropped a spoon into the bowl and didn’t answer.
I cracked my sore back and muttered, “Fun.”
She smiled.
I stretched my sore limbs and shoveled as much food as I could into my mouth. If our next test was all poisons and healing, I’d be hard-pressed to find safe food, especially with Eleven—her apothecary sigil and fast fingers were a terrifying combination. We’d be learning etiquette too. I didn’t even know where to start with that.
“I look all right?” I fiddled with my sleeves, the well-tailored lines heavy and unfamiliar. Might as well start being proper now. If I was going to work my way into Elise’s good graces for noble information, I’d have to look good. “Good enough for all those honorable court members I’m going to be meeting?”
“Your hair’s a mess,” Maud said without missing a beat. Fair enough—I’d shaved it last winter and it was growing in wild. “Your bottom lip is split, and there’s a hole in your mask. You don’t hold a candle to anyone at court clothes-wise either.”
I touched my mask. A thin slit gaped under my fingers, and the scratch across my cheek underneath was rough and new. I sighed.