Page 4 of Ironhold, Trial Three

We head instead to a large circular room, a set of iron doors on one side, braziers set in a rough circle around the floor. They burst into flame as Lord Darius clicks his fingers, reminding us all of his power.

“You have all been chosen for different reasons,” he says. “Some of you have been chosen for your power. Others have been chosen because you are favorites of the crowd. A few of you have been selected by the emperor himself.”

He looks my way as he says it. That worries me almost more than the rest of it, because I have seen the emperor's eyes on me in the colosseum before. I have assumed that he has been looking at me with hatred because of his prophecy about his own downfall, but any kind of interest from someone so powerful is potentially very dangerous.

“I’ve brought you down here to tell you a little more about the challenges you are to face,” Lord Darius says. “The emperor wants you to be able to put on a good show.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell us what each of the challenges is?” Alaric asks. I can feel the interest of everyone inthe room. The more information we have, the more we will be able to prepare for what is to come.

“I am permitted to tell you something about the first three trials,” Lord Darius says. I can’t tell if he’s happy about being able to tell us that much, or if he feels that it will ruin the surprise. “In the first trial, you will face a deadly maze, filled with traps and dangerous creatures. To succeed, you must only make it to the other side. In the second, you will fight one on one in the circle of flames. In the third, you will fight against one of the others here, in an arena laced with traps and obstacles. Look around. These are the people you will end up fighting at some point during the Champions Trial.”

I swallow as he says those words. I can't stop myself from looking around, trying to imagine which of the people in the room I might end up fighting. The trials sound designed to force us to fight in new ways. The maze will be difficult, but maybe I can get through it without having to fight anyone. The fire circle is obviously designed to push us closer and closer together. The third trial sounds particularly brutal.

Which of them might I have to fight? What if I have to fight Alaric, or even Rowan? I can see everyone there looking around, trying to size the others up. In theory, we all know that we might be forced to fight one another at any moment, either in a practice bout or in the games.

In such trials, I will try to avoid killing my opponents, but the situations seem designed to push me into more and more brutal combat. I have killed before. I have done it when my mind has been caught up, entangled with beasts. I have done it reflexively. I have even unleashed a frost drake on a foe. But I have not set out to do it from the start of a bout. I have always tried to preserve as many lives as possible.

“Will Lyra be forced to wear the dampener?” Alaric asks.

“Of course she will,” Lord Darius says. “She has proved that she is uncontrollable without it, so it stays on until she shows that she is no threat to the citizens of the city. If she removes it, I'll see her killed myself.”

Which means I will have to face the entire Champions Trial at a disadvantage. All the others will have full access to their powers. Alaric will be able to summon illusions. Rowan will have control over the earth. Ravenna will be able to control minds. But I… I will have a fraction of the power normally available to me to let me control beasts.

“In the chamber beyond, you will find an armory,” Lord Darius says. “Normally, we would select weapons for you, but for the Champions Trial, you may choose for yourselves. Pick whatever you wish, and take it with you to train with it.”

He moves to the iron doors at the other end of the room, opening them and letting us look inside. Armor and weapons are set on racks within, shining in the firelight. I move in there with the others, looking from one weapon and set of armor to the next.

“Don't pick anything too different to what you would normally use,” Alaric suggests. “It might feel like a good idea to have heavy armor, but you're not trained for it.”

He's right. I have fought in the Colosseum in scraps of scale armor, wielding a net and trident. Those are the weapons I've trained with, more than any others. It makes no sense to switch them up now, and if I pick armor that's too heavy, it will change the whole way I move.

So I settle for a set of light armor, with a scaled metal skirt, a shoulder guard, vambraces, and a couple of other patches of scale. There are no tridents, but I take a short, leaf headed spear about the same length, and with a bulbous metal base that is obviously designed as a club. There are no nets, so I take a chain instead, with a weight on one end and a hooked blade on theother. It is close enough to the same kind of weapon. It's one I will have to cast and swing, trying to entangle my opponents, but maybe there is more scope to swing it to keep people at a distance than with the net.

The others are starting to pick out their weapons. Rowan has gone for heavier armor than he normally would, with solid plates on his shoulders, scale across some of his chest, and a crested helm. His shield is larger than usual, and he has picked a larger, curved sword.

Alaric sticks to his trusty vambraces, but augments them with some scale armor. He does not have his usual glass short swords, but instead has one longer curved sword and one long knife the length of his forearm. Both are made of the finest steel, etched with gold.

As we all search for our weapons, I can see the others sizing one another up. Some are talking, whispering to one another, possibly making alliances. For much of it we will be able to work together, so I guess that makes sense.

It still doesn't mean that I like it when Ravenna comes my way. She has chosen slightly heavier armor than usual: a close-fitting scale dress with patches of flesh left open, rather than the nearly scandalous patches of armor she is usually given to wear. She has found a spiked chain, and a curved dagger. It seems that she is taking no chances.

“What do you want, Ravenna?” I ask her.

“I want what I've always wanted, Lyra. For us to work together and be friends.”

There is no chance of that. Not after she controlled Naia. She's the one responsible for her betrayal, and probably arranged for her death. I can't forgive that. I start to go to say as much but I feel myself having second thoughts.

Maybe I should forgive her. After all, Ravenna has been a good friend to me. She has done a lot to introduce me to noblesociety, and if we just work together, I'm sure we could achieve so much. Wouldn't it be better if she and I were friends? The more I look at her, the more glorious she seems, almost shining with beauty and-

“That's enough.”

I don't know the voice, and I'm shocked when Vesper steps between us, holding up a hand to make Ravenna take a step back. I was under the impression that he didn't speak.

Ravenna looks momentarily angry, then takes a step back.

“This isn’t your business.”

Vesper stares at her evenly.

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