Page 109 of Moonmarked

That I hated orders—which didn’t come from Rune—was no surprise, but I swallowed hard and forced myself to look at him again. I said, “If you insist,” like a good little puppy because if Rune was going to stay here, then I would, too. Whatever this sport or match or whatever was, I wasn’t leaving until he did.

And then he was coming toward us.

It was incredible how much he could make me feel just bywalkingtoward me, looking at me with those gorgeous eyes, the blues and silvers blending in so perfectly, his hair all over the place, his shirt halfway unbuttoned. Whoever had made him had done so with a sketch pulled right out of my every fantasy—and I didn’t even care that he was older than me. It somehow made perfect sense. My mind knew it. My body knew it. My soul believed it with all its might.

He bowed his head to me, and to Lyall, and Lyall wasn’t smiling as big as usual, I thought, but he said nothing, just invited us to sit.

The queen and her companions already had.

She looked down at me as we approached, and when we did, Lyall bowed in front of her. I knew he did it for my benefit, to show me that I was supposed to do the same, and I knew that very well. It was the queen, even if she hated me, and even if Iwas pretty sure I hated her in return for the way she’d spoken to Rune. But even so, I curtsied in the best way I knew how.

I thought she would say something. I thought she would at least make a comment, but she didn’t. She just continued to look down at me when I straightened up again, as if she were pleased to see me with my head down, bowing before her.

Fuck, there was just somethingwrongabout her, and I couldn’t even tell you what.

Lyall sat next to her, and waved for me to sit next to him, leaving the chair next to me the only one available for Rune.

Not going to lie, my heart soared at the idea of sitting next to him, especially since I felt the sheerpressureof the queen’s attention. I thought he was going to make me feel better, but there was space between us, too much space, and I couldn’t even feel the heat of him. Couldn’t touch him and pretend it was accidental. Couldn’t even look at him without being noticed.

Then one of the men who sat on the queen’s other side was there in front of me with a tray in hand, offering me one of the glasses on it. I took one with clear liquid hoping it would be water and left the colorful juices alone.

The man said nothing, and his golden eyes were full of contempt, but he didn’t offer a drink to Rune. He just stood up and walked away.

What the hell?

I opened my mouth to ask him, but then I thought to look at Rune first, and the look he gave me was enough to make me seal my lips shut. Like always, he must have known what I was thinking because his eyes were wide and dark, and he barely moved his head to tell meno.

I swallowed hard, no longer even thirsty.

“Don’t worry about Rune. He can get his own drinks. He’s incredibly independent like that.”

My blood turned to stone for a moment—Lyall had noticed, too.

I turned to him, forced a smile on my face. “I was just surprised, that’s all,” I said almost breathlessly.

His smile, for once, didn’t look as genuine as usual—or maybe I was just panicking a little bit.Hopefully.

“Um…so, what exactly is this place?” I muttered, hoping to take both his attention off Rune—and mine. Just for a moment, so I could get myself under control.

Which then made me angry because this was fucking insane.

I was an adult, damn it. I didn’t have to hide what I felt or who I felt it for!

“The Hollow was actually once a place of sacred trials where fae warriors proved themselves worthy of guarding the royal family. However, my great-grandfather, King Morin, felt we needed a better vetting process for our guards after his father was slaughtered by one in his bedchamber, so the Hollow remained empty, just waiting to be used. So, the selection became an actual sport, and the best swordsmen and women in Verenthia now join the game for a chance of winning—and the price is three bags of gold coins.” Lyall waited for my reaction when he said that, like he thought I would know exactly what that meant.

That was probably a lot of money, but the way he was talking…

“And the loser?”

“There are no losers. You either win or you die in theHollow,” he simply said, and my heart fell all the way to my heels.

“Are you serious? You put people in there to die?”

This surprised Lyall. “To play a game—and they willingly participate. In fact, people train for years to be accepted in the Crown’s Gauntlet. Winning doesn’t just make you rich—it makes you respected.”

“My God, Lyall, that’s…barbaric.” I turned to the arena again, terrified of what would come out of those large wooden doors I could see on the other end.

“It’s a sport,” he said, not a hint of amusement left on him.

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