Page 170 of The First Spark
“You killed your aunt,” a legionnaire guffawed, “and now you’re trying to pass off the blame on the Prime Minister. The Duchissa won’t participate in this ridiculous duel.”
“You have no right to speak in the holy presence of the goddess’s Speaker,” growled a Dalian guard, still kneeling. A vein throbbed in his neck as he glared at the legionnaire.
“Holy presence,” the legionnaire mocked, marching down the carpet. “Bullshit.”
Kalie gasped. Iliana shouted for him to stop, and Kalie tried to dive between him and the Speaker, but he shoved past her. Other legionnaires caught her shoulders, holding her back.
As one, the Dalian guards lurched to their feet and aimed their pulsers at the legionnaire.
He froze.
Kalie froze, too. A violet glow bathed the golden hall in shades of purple, and the epicenter was the Speaker, whose hands were clasped atop her knobbly oaken staff. Her gemstone necklace shone as bright as the Dalian sun, and the purple aura radiating from her figure matched the violet energy crackling in her golden eyes.
“I tire of your ignorance,” the Speaker rasped, her multiple voices twining into an ethereal one, “and I speak only to my daughters. Is there to be a challenge for the throne?”
Kalie’s mouth flapped soundlessly. One celestial voice,my daughters…
She nearly fell to her knees.
“Kalie,” Zane murmured.
Her head throbbed mercilessly, but he met her gaze and held it. She could practically hear him screamingtrust me, and after everything they’d been through, she did. She glanced at Mira for confirmation that there was a plan, but Mira had vanished.
Frowning, Kalie turned to Iliana. “I, Princessa Kalista Hannover, challenge you, Iliana Lexington, to Fallé di Azura. I leave my fate in our Queen’s hands.”
“Who is your champion?” As the Speaker lowered her age-spotted hands, the blazing violet glows ebbed and faded. Her aura vanished, her eyes faded to gold, but her necklace flickered with faint purple light.
Zane rose to his feet. “I will stand for my Duchissa.”
Kalie swallowed hard, praying to Azura to protect him. She could’ve sworn the Speaker’s gemstone necklace glowed brighter in response.
“Noble blood indeed runs in your veins. A bloodline destined forlegends,” the Speaker said. Zane’s brows drew together. “And for you, Your Majesty?”
“I’ll fight for her.”
A hulking legionnaire stepped forward, and Kalie gulped. Zane towered over the other guards, but this legionnaire was a mountain of a man, with huge, burly fists and a hardened face criss-crossed by vicious scars.
Zane blanched. “Your Supreme Holiness, I don’t think this man meets the requirements.”
“Princessa Kalista’s champion is correct. Your champion is deemed unacceptable to the goddess.” The Speaker shuffled forward, apparently unconcerned about the legionnaires sizing her up like prey. “In order to represent a claimant, the champion must be born on Dali, have the blood of Dalian nobility, and be a registered Dalian citizen.”
“As it should be.” Iliana eased herself onto her throne. “Give me an hour, Your Supreme Holiness. I’ll find a worthy champion.”
“Then it’s settled.” The Speaker clasped her hands atop her cane, and her gemstone necklace blazed brighter. “The duel will be held in two hours’ time. The goddess blesses both her daughters and wishes their champions the best of luck.”
“And Ariah?” Kalie breathed, wringing her hands. “Mylis?”
Iliana sighed. “If you’d like to pray, I’ll have guards escort you to the chapel.”
Tears burned Kalie’s eyes. Despite the excitement that had thrummed in her veins at the Speaker’s presence, she wished that Zane had come too late. That Carik had already taken her by the time he appeared, and Ariah had arrived here, safe.
Legionnaires grabbed her arms, tugging her away from Zane.Trust me, he mouthed, as two guards seized him and shoved him out the door.
As Zane flexed his fingers,a white-hot burst of pain shot up his arm, and he slouched against the cell’s bloodstained wall, muttering a curse. It wasn’t his sword hand that the legionnaires had stomped on, but it was at least sprained, if not broken. His ribs were screwed up, too—one steel-toed boot to the chest, and he was positive he’d heard something crack. They hadn’t stayed long, but it had been long enough.
An agonized wail shattered through the dungeons, vibrating the iron grate separating him from the dark stone hallway. Zane shivered. Mordir had no mercy—Death didn’t give a damn about the lives of mortals—but he desperately hoped that scream hadn’t come from Mylis.
He grimaced at the coppery stains on the floor. If Landon Grant had located Mylis, Mira should’ve found him by now.
