Page 5 of Fae Champion

Ivar knelt before his standing queen, both palms pointed up toward her. His magic, it appeared, was bolstering her voice.

“My people and creatures,” she said in a tone that suggested she and they were fast friends. It only made me all the more nervous.

“A friendly queen makes my asshole clench,” whispered one of the fairies behind me, possibly Cherry.

“Tell me about it,” I muttered, drawing a curious look from Azariah that made me think he wasn’t seeing or hearing the miniature fairies.

“That was quite a bit of excitement, wasn’t it?” the queen asked with an amiable chuckle. Her subjects, however, remained silent as stones. Even the baby had quieted, probably forced into submission by a parent terrified of the possible repercussions of the interruption.

“Now you must allow Azariah to announce the winner so the probatio can continue. As you know, the magic of the Fae Heir Trials forces us to do things in certain ways, and we must uphold their rules.”

I looked to Azariah, then the fairies, uselessly searching for an ally who might fill me in. Pru—I’d have to wait for Pru for details.

“Go ahead, Azariah,” she said, lowering herself back onto her throne. My father sat behind her, his pallor back in the deathly range. His eyes were more shadowed than before, hollow.

Azariah tossed his head and pawed the ground, ripping up several flowers. When he tipped his chin up to speak, the fine hairs of his beard and hooves still fluttered.

“Ladies and gentlemen, critters and beasts, fae of all sizes and colors, we have a winner! Zinnia Who Isn’t Really Zinnia has defeated Russet Sterling, visdrake of Etherantos. She’ll proceed to the third round of fights tomorrow. Russet has brought honor to his clan. May his memory live forever. May his essence voyage to the Etherlands.”

As one, the crowd repeated Azariah’s well wishes for Russet’s departing spirit. Even the queen’s voice,still augmented, showed him an honor I wasn’t certain he deserved.

“Thank you, Azariah.” The queen rose again. Ivar bowed his head toward her feet and pushed his hands up farther.

“You’re probably wondering what happened here today.” She scanned her eager—or frightened—audience. “As you’ve seen, the fighter Zinnia is actually a carrier of royal blood. She’s the recently discovered Lady Elowyn Ashira some of you may have seen at court. She’s a distant relative of the king and, therefore … part of his bloodline. I kept her identity secret to ensure fairness within the Gladius Probatio. I didn’t want anyone taking it easy on her because of her connection to my husband. As you know, the strength of Embermere’s rulers is the strength of all the mirror world.”

Behind her, the king stooped even farther into his weak shoulders. The throne all but swallowed him.

“We can’t afford to play favorites,” she continued. “I demanded she prove her worth to faekind by competing in the fights.”

I imagined I wasn’t the only one taking notice of the glaring discrepancy with all the stuffy princesses waiting in the wings to sweep in only for the second stage of the competition.

The queen appeared unbothered by that blatant hypocrisy.

“As your queen, I take my responsibility to protect and guide you seriously. I must select the heirs mostcapable of doing the same. The Lady Elowyn has proven herself thus far, but the Gladius Probatio isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s far from over.”

Murmurs began among the stands until the queen glared out at them. Silence descended once more.

“She’s to be held to the same standards as every other one of our worthy contestants. She must prove to my satisfaction that she’s capable of all it takes to rule this great land, just as the other female hopefuls will be required to do as well. In Embermere, the needs of the land and its fae always come first.”

“Dragonshit,” I mumbled under my breath.

Azariah whipped a look at me. His big eyes were larger than usual, and his ears were pinned back in alarm.

Fast as a throwing knife, something zoomed straight at my face. I ducked moments before it halted to hover an arm’s length from me.

Several tiny fairy squeaks sounded below me, but I didn’t look. I was too busy staring at a … bloody, severed, floating … ear?

Azariah’s eyes widened until I thought they might roll out of his head. He subtly shook his crown at me. The movement could pass as a natural tilt of his head, but I interpreted his warning.Don’t say a word.

Glaring at the ear, more loudly this time, I repeated, “Dragon. Shit.”

2.SACRED MY ASS. WHO’S THE STUPID IMBECILIC BITCH NOW, HUH?

The floating ear must relay whatever it heard directly to the queen. Though she remained standing on the balcony at one end of the arena, her jaw ground so furiously that I could make it out.

“Don’t. Say. Another. Word,” Azariah grit out through clenched teeth and a brittle smile. He flicked a skittish glance up at the queen, swallowing loudly when he noticed the extent of her fury.

“She’ll skin you alive,” hissed one of the fairies so softly the ear might not register it.

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