Page 62 of The Promised Prince
Renna looked uncomfortably between the two men.
She started talking fast. “Well, we’re down to just sword fighting and then the championship. Then some guy gets a kiss from Seran.”
Trev opened his mouth to speak, but Joniss cut in. “Who says the winner will choose Seran?”
Renna scoffed. “Everyone.”
Joniss turned his face toward her, so his lips were by her ear. “I would choose you.”
Renna dropped her head nervously. “Oh.”
“It doesn’t matter who you would choose,” Trev said bitterly. “You’re not competing, remember?”
“I’m always competing. You, of all people, should know that.” Joniss shot a flinty smile at Trev, then grabbed his sword. “I think I’ll go enter right now.” His mouth twisted downward in mocking pity. “It’s a shame they don’t allow royalty to compete. I would’ve enjoyed beating you.”
Joniss winked at Renna before walking toward the fighting arena.
Trev forced out a breath.
Somehow he had just unwittingly goaded Joniss into entering the competition.
Renna
Renna couldn’tbelieve Joniss had entered the competition. He walked into the ring like a warrior, unsheathed his sword, and crouched low, ready to fight. With each clash and clang of swords, her nerves worsened. She had seen sword fights like this in New Hope, but she had never cared about who won or lost before. Now, a part of her hoped Joniss would win. She found herself flinching and ducking right along with the competitors in the ring. She pressed her hand over her chest as if she could still her beating heart and watched as Joniss defeated opponent after opponent until his arm was raised as the champion. He looked at Renna, his mouth lifted into a half-smile while his chest panted up and down with fatigue.
It was flattering that Joniss was doing this for her, and the jealousy burning in Trev’s eyes gave her more satisfaction than she dared to admit. It seemed like there was some sort of lover’s triangle happening now that she hadn’t even known existed.
The crowd dispersed for lunch while the obstacle course was being set up. Renna found Joniss under a canopy just outside the arena. He rested on a bucket, drinking water as passersby congratulated him on his wins.
“Nice work out there,” Renna said.
“Did I impress you?”
“I think you impressed everybody.” She glanced in the direction of a group of girls gawking at him.
“But I only wanted to impressyou.”
Renna bit back her smile. Joniss didn’t need any more encouragement.
“Officer Doman!” a group of young soldiers called as they walked by. “Which girl are you going to kiss after you win?”
He looked to Renna. “Isn’t it obvious?”
The boys looked her up and down, whistling.
She looked away, trying to hide the red flames creeping up her face. “You might not win, you know.”
“I don’t plan on losing.” Joniss stood, raising his eyebrows in a way she was sure he had practiced in the mirror a hundred times. He took a step toward her, making her body shiver with nerves.
“I’m looking forward to that kiss.” He moved closer until his face was only inches from hers. His eyes swept across her face and down to her lips. Her breathing picked up dramatically, causing Joniss to smirk. “And I can tell you’re looking forward to it too.”
He stepped back and walked away without another glance. Renna let out a breath and rolled her eyes. But as she watched his retreating back, she wondered if he was right. Did she actually want Joniss to kiss her?
She followed Joniss to the obstacle course, and her mouth gaped open at its massive size. She hadn’t expected anything like this. She had heard the obstacle course was another Albion tradition—they had been doing the same obstacle course for more than fifty years. Still, she had expected something ancient-looking, not a large, sophisticated sequence of events.
The course began with a steep wooden wall with four ropes to climb up it. Then there were nets made out of rope to crawl through high in the air that led to a thin beam for balance. Large crates filled with hay were positioned below in case a competitor fell. Across the beam were swinging sacks at different speeds meant to knock a person off. If they made it past all of that, they had to slide down a wall to a landing where suspended wooden logs hung above them. Competitors needed to use their bodies to swing and grab the next log until they made it to the other end. The final obstacle was a large rolling log with a pool of mud below it. Contestants had to make it across the unstable log to the finish line without falling in the mud. If they fell off at any point in the course, they would have to start over. The obstacle course was a race—whoever finished first would be deemed the tournament champion.
The crowd cheered as the first three contestants were announced, but when Joniss stepped out onto the sand, they erupted in a roar. It seemed as though the entire stadium was cheering for Joniss to win.
