Page 136 of A Pact of Blood

Just as important are the brief smiles that flash across the faces of several of our guards. They might not believe I’ll handle myself all that impressively in the arena tomorrow, but my mettle has won me a little admiration.

“Then it’s settled.” My husband rests his hand on my shoulder to guide us the rest of the way to the waiting carriages. “Tomorrow morning, you can show our citizens just how much of a fighter you are.”

As I clamber into my seat, my stomach lurches. Tomorrowmorning.

I know I’ve made the right decision, but the danger in it hasn’t vanished.

In less than a day, I need to be perfectly ready, or nothing I’ve won up until now will matter at all.

Chapter Forty-Three

Aurelia

Ijab the point of my short sword at the side of Raul’s chest one more time. He grins in approval and reaches to touch my cheek. “You’ve got this. Just stay alive for long enough to cut her one time, and the drug will take over and do most of the work for you.”

I exhale in a rush. “As long as I can get the potion onto the blade in the first place.”

The smooth metal feels ominously cool beneath the glide of my fingers. After stealing every spare moment I could once I returned from the prison, I adjusted my sedative until it has only the faintest yellow sheen. With luck, anyone who notices the hint of hue will take it for a gleam of sunlight.

Transferring it onto my weapon is going to be its own challenge. I don’t know what I’ll be wearing for the rite or at what point the cleric will present my weapon. I may have to apply my concoction with thousands of spectators watching.

The memory of how small a human being looks in that vast space when watching from the sidelines doesn’t provide much comfort.

“If anyone can do it, it’s you.” Raul cocks his head at the peal of bells. “Lore and Bas should be here in a moment. Are you looking for a little excitement to cap off the evening?”

He teases his fingers down the side of my neck, and I give him a light swat to the chest. “I only wanted to talk to all of you—briefly, because I really should get as much sleep as I can before tomorrow’s fight. Making sure I survive the rite is more important than having a tumble.”

“Of course it is.” Raul leans in, but the kiss he offers me is an unexpectedly chaste peck to my forehead, as if he’s proving he doesn’t have to play into his rakish reputation. “I’m honored that you trusted me as a teacher.” His grin widens. “And I’m also looking forward to all the ways we can celebrate your victory without worries about the fight hanging over us.”

At a knock on the door, he saunters over to let his foster brothers in. I step to the side and put my sword down on his desk, letting my hand linger there to support my balance.

Exhaustion is already winding through my limbs. It’s more tolerable now that I know the happy reason for my additional fatigue, but it adds to my own worries at the same time.

I’ve put together a mildly stimulating tea blend to help keep me alert tomorrow, but the most potent herbs for that purpose are best avoided in my current state. At least I have more slivers of ruddy root to chew on against nausea.

I should probably have headed back to my bed already, but I wanted to see all of my lovers once more. Whether Raul is so confident in my abilities it hasn’t occurred to him or he’s simply not mentioning it, this could be the last time I speak to them.

There’s only one way tomorrow’s rite can go well and so many ways it can turn into a catastrophe.

The other two men I love slip into the room. Lorenzo strides straight to me and wraps his arms around me in a soothing embrace.

As I tip my head against Lorenzo’s shoulder, Bastien comes to a stop a couple of paces away. The prince of Cotea hesitates there for a moment before propelling himself the last short distance and tucking his own arm around me.

I pull back just enough to give each of them a tender kiss and then gather myself for the discussion ahead. “Do you have every aspect of your plan worked out? Is there any way I can help after the fight is over?”

Lorenzo shakes his head.“You just need to keep playing the part of victor. We’ll take care of everything during the festivities afterward.”

Bastien’s expression has turned even more solemn at the reminder of the immense responsibility they’re facing tomorrow. “You said the sedative should keep her in a deep unconscious state for several hours, didn’t you?”

“I believe so. It’s adapting the one I’ve given Marclinus a few times now, and he’s always slept through the whole night afterward. But with different body types and not being able to dose very accurately…”

It’s possible I won’t just sedate this woman but outright poison her to the death I was attempting to prevent. But making the attempt feels so much more right than giving in to the empire’s brutality without at least trying.

Raul joins our cluster and squeezes my shoulder. “We’ll get her out of there as quickly as possible. Lorenzo will make sure no one notices us messing with the bodies. We’ve got a source for a corpse we can toss in her place. Then we stay concealed and haul her out of the city.”

I swallow thickly. “Are you sure no one will notice that the corpse isn’t her?”

“We’ll bash up the face enough that no one would expect to recognize her. It isn’t as if anyone will have paid that much attention to her exact looks.”

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