Page 36 of A War of Three Kings

I clap my hands, wielding air to amplify the sound. “Everyone out of the courtyard. Give them space. There is plenty of room on the balconies and the staircases.”

They shuffle out in a stream of bodies. I move to join them, but Aldrin grabs my shoulders from behind, pulls my back against his chest and rumbles in my ear, “Just to be clear, I definitely have stakes in this war.”

Shivers run through my entire body, and I glance up to catch the simmering heat in his eyes. My lips part, but I am completely lost for words. There is such promise in his statement.

Aldrin gives me a little push and I stumble forward, immediately swept up by the crowd. The courtyard empties out until every staircase and balcony is full of guards. I take myplace at the front of the main balcony beside Brianna, who hasn’t moved once since the training began.

She is practically shaking with enthusiasm. “Well, this is terribly exciting.”

“Mmmm,” I say. “Let’s hope no one gets injured.”

Aldrin and Silvan circle each other in the deserted courtyard, eyes narrowed and knuckles white on their swords. They run at each other at a near-impossible speed. The impact of each footfall booms off the pavers.

They leap up and clash in midair, their swords meeting with a deafening crack.

Silvan swings down low, throwing himself down to his knees on a platform of air to take out Aldrin’s ankles in a swipe. Aldrin, who also hovers spans above the ground, forms a base to jump off and backflips to narrowly avoid the blow, landing in a crouch multiple feet away. Silvan allows his platform to dissolve beneath him and lands smoothly on the ground.

“Cute move,” Aldrin calls out as they circle each other again.

Silvan’s eyebrows pinch sharply over his cold glare, but he says nothing.

The two fae collide in a series of attacks and parries, each thundering impact of their swords reverberating through my bones and utterly shaking my nerves.

The amount of force and complete control required for each strike is unnerving. My heart hammers painfully as an irrational fear builds and builds, that one of them might miscalculate and hurt the other.

“Remember to breathe,” Brianna whispers in my ear.

Silvan leaps up a step of solidified air and makes a downward strike at Aldrin, who jumps back and up his own step. The two men spiral up through the air, climbing staircases of their own making that we cannot see, one attack and one step at a time, until they are at the height of the first-level balcony.

I suddenly remember that base jumping isn’t Aldrin’s strength. They are in Silvan’s domain here. I bite my lower lip. I don’t want to watch, but I can’t drag my eyes away.

Silvan makes his next attack and Aldrin drops straight to the ground, landing unscathed in a crouch. The pavers beneath his feet turn to dust and a circle of cracked stone forms around him. When he looks up, there is a devious smirk on his face.

Thick roots burst out of the pot Drake’s tree sits in and the branches expand rapidly, reaching into the air like great tentacles whipping toward Silvan. He doesn’t even attempt to wrestle control of the spring magic from his king.Thisis Aldrin’s strength.

Instead, Silvan slices the closest root about to snag his ankle—then he disappears completely.

Gasps ring out from the humans encircling the courtyard. A huge, proud smile fills my face.

I squint as I search for the distortion in the air that is Silvan’s form. He moves so quickly, it’s a struggle to keep up with him. Woody appendages fly through the space, their movements controlled by slight flicks of Aldrin’s wrist. He almost looks bored.

Every so often, the tentacles are sliced through and fall to the ground. A root finally encircles itself around a thick void of air, smacking its quarry into a pillar of the ground-level portico. The stone gives out, falling into a pile of rubble, and Silvan’s form becomes visible again.

My stomach twists at the sight of blood trickling from his nose, and I shoot a glare at Aldrin. He didn’t need to hurt one of my favorite people for this demonstration.

The root lifts Silvan up a second time and my heart stutters to a stop with fear, but right before he is smacked to the ground, ice engulfs the tendrils around him. With the impact, the entire thing shatters.

I forgot that he is half Winter Court fae by birth.

Silvan stands, shaking his head to get his wits back. He takes a step, but staggers sideways. It flares up all of my protective urges. Aldrin watches him, head cocked to the side. Silvan shakes his head again. Veins pop out on his forehead, and a muscle in his jaw ticks.

I lean forward over the railing, staring at Silvan with a lump in my throat. He could be seriously hurt. When my eyes slide to Aldrin, his casual smile has only grown, and his arms are crossed over his chest.

Silvan’s face turns a deep shade of red. It looks like he is struggling as he slowly lowers himself to his knees. It is as though each muscle keeps locking up.I search for any air wields Aldrin might have over him, forcing his movements, but I see none.

It is as though another part of me takes hold and a magic I didn’t know I had pokes its head above the surface.

I perceive Silvan’s life force burning bright in his chest, but there are delicate tendrils around it that run through his entire body and lead back to Aldrin.

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