Page 127 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

My own gaze slid to the man standing a few footspans behind Eadric. The man who had weakened both Cavis and me until we hadn’t had a chance.

Soltor.

I gave him a slow smile. He attempted to ignore me, his eyes darting away, but the color had drained from his face.

“A true challenge must be fair,” Orivan said, drawing my attention. Several soldiers nodded firmly. “That means no use of your power.” He waved his hand at Lorian and me, then flicked his gaze to Eadric and Soltor.

“Fine,” I said quickly. No one needed to know I currently didn’t have any power available.

Orivan looked at Lorian. Lorian nodded. “I agree.”

Zathrian’s grin widened as he stared at me. “This is truly how you want to die, cousin?”

Lorian angled his head. A predatory gleam entered his eyes, his expression tight with feral wrath. The air around us seemed to go still.

For a long moment, it felt as if he wasn’t human, fae, or hybrid. As if he were some other strange, lethal creature that was longing to be unleashed.

Behind us, Marth let out a low, threatening growl.

My cousin’s smile had disappeared.

Lorian addressed Eadric. “Will you face the repercussions of your actions?”

Eadric sneered at him. “Out of all the fae I’ve killed, and I’ve killed many—” he winked at Marth, who took a step toward him “—your death will be my favorite.”

This man…this man had made me watch while Soltor cut into Cavis. He’d ensured my friend’s last momentswere filled with fury and pain and fear.

I wished I could be the one to kill him.

“In that case,” Orivan said. “Step into the arena.” He glanced at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he murmured.

I hoped I did too.

Galon leaned close. “I wouldn’t let you do this if I didn’t know you could kill him. And you can. I know you can do this, Pris.”

Galon’s steadfast confidence helped. Blowing out a shaky breath, I nodded. Lorian leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to my temple.

“Remember what I told you when we traveled to the hybrid camp the first time, wildcat.”

“When it comes to your survival, you cheat. You cheat and you lie. You fight dirty. And you do whatever else it takes to stay alive.”

I squared my shoulders. I might not have access to my power, but Zathrian would have nulled it anyway. And this? This was personal.

I could sense Lorian’s fear. Not for himself. For me. But I knew he believed I could do this. And he knew Ihadto do it. For our people.

“Make them pay,” Marth muttered, slapping Lorian on the back. He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. And then I was following Lorian into the arena.

The word had spread while we were talking. Soldiers had gathered, standing shoulder to shoulder along the outside of the arena. They jostled for space, their eyes wide. I saw several passing each other coin, betting on the outcomes of the challenges. Likely, the odds of mewinning weren’t considered high. Good. I hoped whoever bet against Zathrian raked it in after this.

Lorian and Eadric stepped to one side of the arena. Eadric said something I couldn’t catch to Lorian, his voice a low taunt. Lorian just smiled. A pleasant, unconcerned smile.

I shivered.

“You came here to take my army,” Zathrian said when our eyes met once more. He drew his sword.

I said nothing, merely drew my own.

“I was trained from the moment I was born for that throne.Ihad time magic.Iwas supposed to be king.”

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