Page 95 of To Wake a Kingdom

A moment later, two Fae guards stomped up behind Maida.

“Lucky for you, Princess, you’re about to find out,” he said as the guards unlocked my cage. They took me by each arm, and we wound through the manicured pathways.

An oval stadium loomed ahead, rising from the landscape like a squat mountain, where hundreds of elegantly dressed Fae filled the stands. Small crystal glasses filled with champagne dangled from their fingertips. Human women in gossamer dresses wandered between the spectators, handing out delicacies nibbled by razor-sharp teeth.

They were here for a show, and I feared I was the entertainment.

Those fears were confirmed when I was handed a sword and a dagger. Polished steel gleamed in the sunlight. A guard shoved me, and I stumbled through a gate, landing in the dirt, weapons scattering.

The noise crested at my entrance, chatter racing through the stands. I forced myself to look up. Directly ahead was a raised platform, where Mare sat surrounded by a group of vicious-looking Fae. Maida and Alban lounged amongst them, like pieces of a matching set.

I picked up the weapons and stood. Slowly, I walked to the center of the ring, wincing at the sting of gravel scraping my soles, my bare feet kicking up dust. Mare and I watched each other, enemies facing off to the death, but the odds of this fight were decidedly uneven.

“Welcome, Princess Thorne,” she said, her voice ringing clearly across the arena.

I straightened my spine, feigning a confidence that was nothing but a lie. “Do your worst, Mare.” I spat the words like bitter regret, and the crowd went wild, cheering and clapping as Mare’s gaze narrowed at me.

“I know you all came for a show.” She smirked, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “And I’m thrilled to present the inaugural performance of my latest addition to the menagerie.” She tipped her head. “I did this all for you, Princess. What do you think?”

I had no idea what to think. Did all of what for me? I said nothing, not wanting to give her any more ammunition to destroy me.

She lifted her chin, once again addressing the crowd. “I think I’ve quite outdone myself with this one.”With that, she spread her arms wide and levered them up as four doors, one in each corner of the stadium, slid open.

I spun on my heels, trying to fit them all into my vision at once, wondering what atrocity waited for me. What wild, many-fanged beast I must defeat not only to survive, but to earn my supper.

Out of the darkness emerged four slight figures. Four women like me, in short, gauzy dresses, leaving little to the imagination and offering even less protection. One carried a sword like mine. Another a battle axe. One, a long broadsword she gripped with two hands, and the last, a bow and arrow, a quiver slung on her back.

They approached and surrounded me, forming a ring of hunger—both physical and mental—written into every line of their skin. The crowd let out a collective hush. They seemed as surprised by this as I was.

“A fight to the death,” said Mare. “The last one standing will live another day and earn herself a special treat.” She grinned at me with a blood-red smile. “Begin!” She clapped her hands, and the crowd lost control.

As the stands vibrated, the women circled me. It was clear they meant to go for me first. The one with the sword and dagger held them like someone unused to weapons. With a cautious shuffle, she swung, missing me by a mile. Evading her with ease, I was suddenly stupefyingly grateful for all those hours I’d spent training with Ronan, Noah, and Em.

Instinct kicked in, and I stalked toward her and knocked her to the ground. Both weapons fell from her hands, and she scrambled back, trembling from head to toe. I raised my sword, ready to deliver a blow.

But I couldn’t do this.

The woman with the bow waited, an arrow notched and aimed at my chest. Long red hair clung to her scalp, sweat running down her face.

I stopped. I didn’t have to do anything. I could let them kill me and escape.

My hands raised in supplication, I dropped my sword and dagger, leaving myself unarmed, my arms spread wide like an offering to the angels. This was the promise I’d made. There would be no more blood under my watch. Not a single drop spilled by my hands.

The women exchanged uncertain glances as they continued to circle, unsure of what to make of me.

“Stop!” Mare shouted from the stands. Her hands gripped the railing in front of her while her nostrils flared.“Pick up your weapons, Princess. I warn you right now—youwillfight back. I know what you did during those days in the castle. I know you thought you could best me. Let’s see how proficient a student you are.” She laughed, nails scraping down my spine. She had done all this for me. Built this stadium to prove nothing I did would ever be enough.“If I think you are not trying, if I think you are not doing your best, they will all die anyway. And I assure you, it will be far slower and more painful than the swift death you can deliver. Their blood is on your hands, regardless, but you can at least make it clean.”

She had me cornered in every conceivable way.

Panic set in as the wall I was keeping against my emotions sloughed away like soil on a drought-ridden landscape. My choices were few—kill them or watch them be tortured. The woman holding the axe seemed familiar with its grip, but that was one weapon Ronan hadn’t taught me how to defend myself against.

A joyless calm stacked itself on my shoulders as the roar of the stadium rattled my bones. My only choice was to end this quickly, for their sake and mine. Maybe I’d even be lucky enough to die in the process.

Before any of them could react, I dropped down to grab the dagger from the ground and flipped it at the woman with the bow and arrow—a trick Noah had taught me. It spun, end over end, and caught above her left breast. Striking bone, it bounced off, but it was enough to send her crashing to her knees. I lunged, grabbing the bow and snapping it over my knee. Scooping up my dropped dagger, I grabbed her by the hair and slit her throat. She was gone.

It all happened so quickly; none of the others had even moved, but now the woman with the battle-axe screamed, running at me. I dodged her swing, and she spun, caught in a circle of momentum created by the weight of the weapon. My sword struck, biting through skin and bone, so deep into her arm it forced her to drop the axe, blood staining her lavender dress. The first woman with the sword and dagger was still on the ground, wide-eyed and shaking. She had never fought anyone in her life.

Eyes cast heavenward, I whispered a prayer for her soul and for mine. For the helpless woman I had been once, too. Then I ran her straight through her heart, and she slumped over, dead.

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