Page 34 of The Prison Healer

Don’t let her die.

This was the only way Kiva knew how to keep the Rebel Queen alive. If—when—Kiva survived the Trial by Air, then Tilda would have more time to recover, and Kiva would have bought more time for the rebels to come for her—for both of them.

But ... if Kivadiddie today ... the dead didn’t suffer the censure of the living. Tilda’s fate would no longer be her responsibility.

“So be it,” the captain said when she remained silent, though he seemed displeased. Kiva wondered if he knew who she was, if he remembered her, but then she realized he would be treating her much differently if that were true.

It’s all right. Everything will be all right.

Kiva breathed deeply through her nose and forced the memory away again.

“Kiva Meridan,” called the amplified voice of the crown prince, prompting both her and the captain to look down from the watchtower balcony. “You have volunteered to undertake the Trial by Ordeal in place of the accused Rebel Queen. Today you shall face the Trial by Air. Do you have any last words?”

Kiva had many, none of which would allow her to live if she managed to survive the Trial, so she held her tongue and shook her head. She didn’t dare look toward where she’d last seen Tipp, Jaren, Tilda, and Naari, nor did she look for Mot or any other familiar faces in the crowd, lest she lose her nerve.

“Very well,” Prince Deverick said, elemental magic projecting his voice for all to hear. Kiva had never witnessed such power in effect before. Had this been any other time, she would have marveled at it—and also at what the princess had done in relocating both Kiva and the captain onto the guard tower. Instead of being amazed, however, she was trying not to soil her pants as she waited to hear what was ahead. She would be all right, she reminded herself. She would survive. Shewould.

“Captain Veris,” Prince Deverick continued, “would you be so kind as to explain the first Ordeal to the Champion?”

Kiva swiveled back to the captain and willed him to assume she was this pale all the time.

“The Trial by Air is straightforward,” Veris said. “You’re to jump from here”—he pointed at the slatted floor upon which they stood—“to there.”

Kiva followed his finger with her eyes, her head spinning as she marked her destination.

The top of the eastern wall—thirty feet away.

“That’s impossible,” Kiva choked out around her constricted throat, her confidence vanishing in an instant.

“It’s not meant to be easy,” Veris said, without pity.

Even if the tower were closer to the wall, it still would be a challenging jump. But with so much distance between them, including a bottleneck of onlookers below ...

An incredulous laugh left Kiva. So much for the first Trial being survivable. Regret crept along her spine—mixed liberally with panic—leaving chills in its wake.

“As far as records go,” Captain Veris said conversationally, “the furthest anyone has been reported to have jumped in a single leap was just over twenty-nine feet. This is barely more than that.”

“On theground,” Kiva rasped out. “And I’m guessing that was with a running start.”

Veris remained unmoved. “You can jump, or I can push you. The choice is yours.”

Kiva wanted to tell him exactly what he could do with his choice. Instead, she took a deep breath and stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, placing her hands on the rickety wooden railing to look over the side and gauge the distance to the earth. She pulled back again immediately as vertigo took hold.

“I can’t— You can’t— It’s not—” Kiva couldn’t even get a sentence out. She inhaled again, attempting to calm her rising hysteria.

“We don’t have all day,” came the prince’s amplified voice, impatience threading his tone. “You have thirty seconds, Champion, or we’ll consider you to have surrendered.”

Lights flashed in Kiva’s vision. Surrender meant failing, and failing meant both she and Tilda would lose their lives. Tipp, at least, should be safe, since he’d no longer provide any leverage, but who would protect him once Kiva was gone?

Instead of adding to her terror, the thought steadied her. Sudden clarity made her realize that it was better to lose her life by trying to save it, than to doom them all with her cowardly inaction.

Time. All she needed wastime. If she could somehow pull off a miracle, somehow survive this task ...

Her freedom could be only a leap away.

Sucking in one last calming breath, Kiva summoned her courage and pointed at the railing. “Open this.”

Captain Veris didn’t reprimand her for the command, perhaps thinking it was the last she would ever give. He snapped his fingers, and two guards from within the tower hurried out and undid a latch at the corner of the barrier, swinging it out into open air.

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