Page 91 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

“Terra, Descendent of the First Earth Daughter. It’s time to go.”

And then she raised her hand, as if to strike.

I sat up gasping,my hand clenched on my pounding chest, the sweet scent of a female—old, ancient almost—pricking at my nostrils, like it had in the dream. I jumped to my feet, preparing for the next surprise from the competitors that had found me last time. But it was not Brita, nor Xinlan I scented. It was not Tey’s smug, condescending face that emerged from the thickness. Swaying dark chocolate hair gleamed in the dusky light that filtered through the trees surrounding the meadow. It framed a rich brown face, with eyes of the deepest blue set atop cheekbones that could cut glass. Her beauty had been obvious when I first met her, but now she looked sad and tormented, somehow all the more striking for it.Cleo.

I drew my blade, though I noticed she was unarmed. She approached me, her long legs in a melodic saunter. By all measures, she seemed to come in peace, but her magic was still unknown, and I wouldn’t be caught unprepared.

Cobal crouched behind me. My chest rose with anticipation as she neared, my eyes dancing around in assessment, searching for co-conspirators lurking in the distance.

“You did not kill your Talpa,” she said, cocking her head at me whilst she approached, her gaze lingering on the ring of gold on my forearm. She had none.

“I did, but then I revived him,” I answered.

She quirked her brow. “Ah, a healer Witch too?”

I shook my head. “I used a human method, just breathing air back into the lungs.”

She gave me a distant look I couldn’t quite place. “I could not kill mine.”

My eyes narrowed, wondering if this was a distraction ploy. “You will be eliminated soon,” I said flatly. “It will be sundown any moment. So, what use do you have for me? Do you plan to kill me, too? For the king’s coin?”

She tilted her face to the sky, absorbing the last bit of sun that peaked through the opening of the Convallis. “I am not here to kill you, Terragnata. I am here to help you win. As I always have been.”

I opened my mouth to object, to question, but she continued. “You won the first event, for you made your Talpa see your beauty within minutes. However, you wasted precious hours contemplating how to kill it, while Tey and Xinlan found their Talpa, completing the first and second tasks. Though I slowed her, Tey was the first to kill her Talpa and won the event of Strength. Livia was eliminated from the first round, and Brita and I…” she paused, looking at the sky again for a moment. “Will be following that path shortly. You know this, I assume, but I’ll say it, anyway. You must be the one to complete the task of Honor first. That is, if youwantto secure victory.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What is your magic? And why do you want to help me?” The words came out more like accusations than questions.

“I have sight. Not in the way of The Sight, like some Witches have, but I can see the truth clearly. It’s not very forward-looking, nor is it always evident, especially if I see a concept I don’t understand. But I know this much is true. If Tey wins the last event, she will win the competition. And I knowthatis not an outcome you would desire.”

“She is also preoccupied with another effort,” I said, and Cleo looked at me with understanding.

“Aye, it’s slowed her progress. She has gone mad…” she trailed off slowly. Recognition flickered across her face. “Terra, youmustdo what needs to be done in the contest of Honor,” Cleo rushed her words as if she was running out of time. “It will be difficult, but much depends?—”

The Fae fell silent. I looked around to see what halted her breath; there was not even a flicker of movement in the meadow.

Until there was.

I could tell we were still in the meadow, because the scent and feel of grass beneath my feet remained utterly unchanged. A glamor had slipped around it, altering the scene, bringing the spectators I hadn’t seen or scented closer, so much closer. All of a sudden, their faces blurred together in a distorted illusion of jeering sport fans in stadium seats, and their cheers were louder, louder; they filled my ears. A blazing-blue line encircled the clearing in which we stood, making it an arena within the arena. And then a gong rang, a sound so intense it reverberated in my chest. I imagined it signaled the sun had slipped beneath the horizon, and the last event was to commence.

Cleo vanished—as if she was portaled away. What kind of Witch power would be required to apply a portal to another being without touch? I guessed the magic was also used on Brita,somewhere within the Convallis. The Talpa remained by my side—apparently a part of the new stage the Skølmaester had set.

And then they appeared, the final contestants. Xinlan and Tey portaled into the ring of blue, which separated our final battlefield from the spectators. I unsheathed my sword and took a few steps backwards to feel if any magic held us within the perimeter. A small shock to my left shoulder confirmed my suspicion.

Tey looked about ready to pounce on me when a swirl of black hair, whipping around in front of her, forced a to pause. Two young girls had appeared before Tey. I could not see their faces since their backs were to me, but they clung to each other, trembling. Tey’s face turned ash white as she retrieved the message from one of their mouths and let out a cry. She wailed so unnaturally I could only imagine what the paper commanded. Sisters, perhaps. I swallowed, trembling a bit myself.

Xinlan, too, watched the scene, her wounds no longer visible, as she waited for her test to come. And just a few moments after Tey’s, it did. An older couple appeared before her—I could see their features from the side. They had hooded eyes like her own. Parents, I guessed.

I pressed my eyes shut, my own shaking intensifying at the tenor of Tey’s sobbing, terrified to see who’d be standing in front of me when I opened them. And then I felt the whoosh of the portal and knew they were there.

My eyes flewopen to see Jana and Leiya standing before me, and the unnatural screeching from the spectator illusion barely registered in my mind. I swore under my breath. Though I was relieved to see Leiya alive and well, my gut twisted inanticipation of what their presence meant. Pure rage lined Leiya’s face as she opened her mouth, extending a crumpled parchment from her tongue. Jana’s paper-thin skin revealed the jut of bones—a whisper of the full Witch I’d known before her days in the Viri dungeon. Despite her now hollow face, she offered me a nod of reassurance, directing me to take it.

Leiya’s expression screamedwrong,something is wrong!But of course, it was all wrong. My hands shook as I retrieved the message from Leiya’s mouth, spreading the sides of the paper wide, and my heart thumped violently in my chest.

Competitor! Welcome to the Contest of Honor. A queen faces many difficult decisions in order to honor her king and her kingdom. Before you stand two traitors of the Viri crown, one of which will not leave this arena with their life. You must honor Viribrum and the king’s wish by choosing which will live, and which will die. The first competitor to complete this task will win this event.

Those who fail to choose will be disqualified and watch both traitors die. Or you may decide to forfeit your own life to spare those who stand before you. This is the way of honor.

One dies, two die, one dies.

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