Page 96 of Court of Lies and Deceit

Dread rips at my chest.

Maybe we can somehow trick the Unseelie King into another bargain after this. Another way for us to regain our freedom after we lose. Maybe we can?—

“Begin!”

I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth, yanked back to the present by Rosea’s loud voice. Pulling out my dagger, I drop into a fight stance while I summon my magic.

My opponent, however, doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to attack. He slowly unsheathes his long knives while a vicious smile spreads across his face. My stomach twists.

Gripping my dagger hard, I shove my magic towards him in rapid bursts, testing several emotions to see what I can use.

Ice spreads through my veins as I find… nothing.

Just like when I tried to manipulate Draven’s emotions during that very first test for the Atonement Trials, my magic is met with a blank wall. I suck in a shuddering breath, unconsciously staggering a step back. This is a man who has trained himself to block out all emotions in order to better focus on the fight. Or maybe to protect himself from Jocasta or some other fae with emotion magic that he has fought earlier.

My gaze darts towards Orion.

The Unseelie King smirks down at me from where he is lounging on his throne.

Heknows. That fucking asshole knows. It’s no coincidence that I have been matched against this specific opponent. Goddess fucking damn it. He set us up to lose on purpose. Every single pairing in this game has been carefully chosen. The entire deck was stacked against us from the very beginning.

Something thin and black shoots towards me.

On instinct, I leap back and to the side.

My heart jerks as a sleek shadow snakes across the ground where I used to be only seconds before. Landing lightly, I’m already moving before the next attack happens. Shadows shoottowards me, aiming for my ankles, but they streak past through empty air since I dodged before the attack happened.

Across the sand, Oleander narrows his eyes at me.

I grind my teeth, wishing that I had some kind of ranged weapon. A bow or some throwing knives or something that I could aim at his face, which is the only exposed part of his muscular body. But I don’t dare to throw the dagger I have. Both because it’s not suited for throwing, and also because if I miss, I will have lost my only weapon.

Oleander lunges at me.

I yank my dagger up, barely managing to redirect his knife before it can spear through my chest. Metal grinds against metal as his long knife slides along the edge of my dagger. I flick my wrist, forcing it off. He twists and swings his other blade while shadows shoot for my wrist. Panic spikes up my spine as they brush against my skin before I manage to yank my arm away.

But the move makes me lose focus on his blades.

A hiss rips from my throat as his knife slides along the side of my ribs. Thankfully, the thick leather prevents it from drawing blood.

I throw myself backwards before he can bring his other arm around and try again. Shadows flash after me across the sand. I jump, looking like a startled rabbit as I hop from foot to foot to escape the snaking shadows.

The crowd whoops and laughs from the stands.

Clenching my jaw, I whip my gaze from the ground beneath me to where Oleander is standing.

He has two long knives, superior strength, better reach, and shadow magic. And I have one dagger and magic that doesn’t work against him.

Goddess damn it, I need to think.

The shadows shoot up towards my wrists at the same time as Oleander lurches across the sand. I gasp. Yanking my armsdown, I barely make it before the shadows can trap my wrists. But that leaves me unable to block the strike that Oleander swipes at my neck.

I duck, twisting sideways.

A knife whooshes through the air right above my head.

Throwing my arms out, I try to regain my balance again.

Think! Goddess damn it, think!

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