Page 45 of Crowning of the Sword

“Under these … exceptional circumstances, I suggest you make a case to the Adjudicator.”

Cole looked poleaxed. Ember could almost see his mind working. “Then there is a chance.”

“There is always a chance.” She took Ember’s hand, raising her to her feet. “The girl is hurt. She suffered at the hands of the water sprite. She needs a healer.”

Cole gave a brief nod, and a fae appeared at Ember’s side. Alena gently caressed Ember’s hair, her touch fading as she dissolved into nothing. The fae bore Ember away, and Cole didn’t utter a word.

She was glad to see Mira back in her rooms. A light bandage covered her cheek, and although she looked wan and shaky, she sprang into action as soon as the fae brought Ember in, making sure she was comfortable on the bed and then helping the healer to apply salves to her bruises.

The healer laid her hands on Ember’s sore ribs and closed her eyes. A tingling began under her fingertips, an icy tingle that flowed through Ember’s body, swirling around her midriff before dissipating throughout the rest of her, as clean and refreshing as a mountain stream. She took a breath, and then another, deeper, her ribs no longer hurting.

They helped her to sit, and she gave them both a grateful smile, but to her surprise, neither smiled back. Both were uneasy, and the healer hurried to the door as soon as she was able, leaving Mira to needlessly fluff up the already fluffed up pillows on the couch.

“I’m sorry,” Ember said, although she didn’t know if she was or not. Lissa had brought her retribution on herself, and she couldn’t help it if the trees had killed Lissa in Ember’s defence.

“It isn’t your fault, my lady. It just … makes difficulties.” She gave Ember a wan smile. “Thank you for sending me to a healer. The venom could have proved fatal. I’ve heard there have been many incidents in the prince’s hallways. He cannot control his temper.” Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she flung herself into a deep curtsey. “I apologise, my lady. All I meant was …”

“Don’t apologise. We all know what his temper is like.” Shadows, snakes, smoke, and fear. If he won the tournament, if he became the Sword …

She spent a quiet afternoon in her rooms, sitting on the window seat and gazing out into the grounds. The fairies that hovered around her windowsill hadn’t returned and the eerie darkness of Cole’s temper that influenced his side of the castle crawled under her door as a mist that clung to the ankles and made everything damp and clammy. When a heavy knock at the door came, she jumped.

A guard stood outside, with several others behind him. In his full-face helmet, she couldn’t tell if he was one of those who had dragged her from the forest, and she eyed him with trepidation.

“His Highness summons you to the great hall at once,” he said.

She slid off the window seat and twitched her skirts into place. “You stay here,” she said to Mira. “I’ll not have you come to harm again.”

Mira was surprised but gave a curtsey, and the guards closed around Ember and took her away.

This time she was careful to keep an eye on the cracks and shadows in the halls, but apart from a swarm of black rats, red eyed and yellow fanged, chased off with several well-placed spear points, they made it to the hall without incident.

The doors opened, and the guards hustled Ember inside. It was the hall where she had first dined with Cole and the rest of the teams, although now there was no immense table down the middle, no glittering golden trees lining the walls, no music, no dancing.

Instead, three figures stood on a central round dais: Cole, the Adjudicator and Ashe. Fae clustered around the dais, and she recognised members of both teams, hushed and expectant. The jurors stood among them in silence, the red of their cloaks like scattered drops of blood.

As they brought her in, all turned to stare. Cole’s expression of disgust was almost palpable, and the remaining members of his team viewed her with curled lips and muttered comments. Ashe’s team, on the other hand, looked positively jubilant. She wished they didn’t. They made it look as though she’d sabotaged Cole on purpose. Swirl didn’t look angry though. He gave her a courteous nod, and she took heart from that.

The guards escorted her to a position below the dais, and she looked up at the three of them: Cole furious, Ashe typically blank-faced. Neither so much as glanced at her.

The Adjudicator showed a repellent smile filled with sharp, jagged teeth. He didn’t look angry, merely amused, as if something new had finally surprised him. He eyed Ember and said, “You’ve thrown, as they say, a spanner in the works.” He raised his voice. “Does anyone here know what a spanner is?”

Apparently, no one did.

The Adjudicator continued, “Cole’s team cannot compete in the third game, which makes the winner, by default, Ashe.”

Cole’s face darkened, and he clenched his fists. The Adjudicator laughed, a thin, reedy, mirthless laugh that sent shivers up Ember’s back. “Oh, stop, Cole. Your chances at best were fifty-fifty.”

“The castle intervened! Surely an exception can be made! Lissa wasn’t the only water sprite in the kingdom. Replace her and give me a chance!”

The Adjudicator shrugged. “The rules are clear. Once the teams are announced, no fae can replace a teammate, and the teams must be evenly matched. You signed the contract. You assumed the responsibility of heir when Serafina was … well. Let’s not talk about that. It seems we have our winner.”

Ashe was frowning, not at all as pleased as Ember had thought he would be. His team wasn’t so reticent. They broke into loud cheers and hugged one another.

“Wait!” Cole cried over the clamour. “This isn’t right, this isn’t fair.” He pointed at Ashe. “He should kill one of his teammates, so we’re even.”

Ashe gave him an incredulous stare. “I don’t think so.”

“Without a winner, the Earth is on the tipping point again.” The Adjudicator addressed Ember and there was glee in his voice. “You should see it! Wildfires are out of control across three continents. Heat waves are killing more people than ever! Our worlds are too close. Without a Sword, your world will burn.”

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