Page 62 of Trial of Thorns
They want Rev dead. My stomach clenches, lungs struggle to pull in breaths. Who? Who wants him dead? Who ordered it? I clench my jaw and pull my own darkness tighter around my soul. Keep calm.
Rev wants me dead, I remind myself. He will kill me if I give him the chance.
I don’t have any other choices. If everyone else decides Rev must die, there is nothing I can do to change it. I need this alliance.
“So, during the trial, our first order of business will be to eliminate our opposition.”
“You want to kill Rev,” I say, annoyance clear in my tone. Mostly, I’m fed up with his games, but I have to make him believe I don’t care.
“Yes.”
“What is the reward?”
“Money. Influence. For me, it lands the crown right on my head.”
Obviously. Though, I notice Kari’s jaw clench. She’s placating him too, I realize. She wants the crown.
“And for me?” I ask.
“A promised pardon.”
Chills wash over me.A pardon—meaning all of my crimes would be forgiven. I could go back home and live a normal life,withoutwinning the trials. All I have to do is go along with this plan and survive and I’d have the freedom to return to my homeland.
“The queen promises this?” I ask, prying perhaps harder than I should. There are very few people who could grant such a pardon. Right now, the options are the High Queen or the ruler of the court the crime was committed against—Rev’s father. A third option would be Drake, if he is presumptuous enough to assume I’d wait for him to win the trials, survive the Schorchedlands, and inherit the crown.
“Yes.”
“How?” I whisper, my whole world shifts under me as I consider this. “Why?”
“She too recognizes the threat this enemy holds over us all, and it’s a worthy sacrifice.”
Rev. A threat to the whole realm. I shake my head, not understanding.
I am Caelynn of the Shadow Court. Murderer of the High Heir. The symbol of rebellion in our realm.
And somehow I am the lesser threat? To other champions, I understand. He’s likely to win. But to the queen?
I’m not sure I believe him. Perhaps he can obtain a pardon, but is it really the queen’s promise? Is this really the reason? I consider the possibility that Drake just doesn’t want to tell me that it’s really Rev’s father orchestrating the hit on his own son. Because that’s what I’m thinking is more likely.
I know one of his secrets. Does Drake now know it too?
“She’ll marry you off to another court,” Kari admits. “You’ll have to agree to this in order to earn the pardon.”
“Ahh,” I say quietly. That’s unfortunate, but it does quiet some of my questions. A marriage to a court official with little power would absolve the rebellion threat. But I would be free.
And trapped in a new way.
The fae take royal pardons seriously. They would assume if I was pardoned, it’s for good reason so the hatred would—eventually—dissolve. Only the Luminescent Court would continue their hatred.
“This is the redemption you seek,” Kari says.
“By killing the other Luminescent Court heir?” That’s how I redeem myself? Kill the male I missed the last time? I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is so screwed up I can’t even think straight.
“Some enemies hide their danger until it’s too late,” she says. I swallow. That’s how I justified Reahgan’s death all those years ago.
“Rev needs to die for the betterment of us all.”
“We need to know if you’re in,” Drake says, stepping forward. There is no doubt in his eyes. Why would I decline? Rev is my enemy. Rev wants to kill me.
