Page 190 of Court of Claws

“It’s beautiful. How could this all have been made so quickly?”

Odessa looked uncomfortable. “I believe the prince had already commissioned the set for.”

I stared at her. “Laverna made all of this, you mean?”

She nodded. “Some of the pieces were ready. The rest... Well, she worked all night to finish it. She told me to tell you it’s called the Flamebloom Armor.”

The name was as lovely as the pieces themselves.

“Why don’t I help you put it on now?” Odessa suggested. “If you’re like me, you probably don’t feel much like eating before a battle.”

That’s what this was. A battle.

I had never been in battle.

Then abruptly, I thought of the fenrirs, the ambush in Nethervale, the undead children of Meridium.

But those I had fought unknowingly. Not like this. Not with foreknowledge of precisely what I was going up against.Whom.

Avriel.

I slipped on the tunic and leggings, then stood still as Odessa approached holding the cuirass.

“We know a little about the trial today,” she said, as she began to buckle me into it. “No weapons are allowed. Any other ability is permitted. Physical or magical. No limits.”

I nodded.

“Avriel will have plenty at his disposal. We already know his penchant for poison. There’s a chance he’ll try to sneak it in again. I doubt the queen will penalize him if he does. She seems to be taking a hands-off approach.”

“Right.”

“As for Lyrastra... Well, you’ve already seen her skills.”

“I have. Now to discover if she plans on using them against me.” I met Odessa’s eyes. “Her turnaround from enemy to ally has been startling to say the least.”

Odessa cleared her throat. “She fetched this armor for you, you know.”

I raised one brow. “Should I be checking it for poison? Is that what you’re saying?”

Odessa smiled slightly. “No. I think she wished to visit someone on the surface. It was an opportunity to do both, help you and...” She shot me a significant look.

“You mean Laverna? Lyrastra wanted to see Laverna?” My jaw dropped. “That’swho she’s interested in?”

Zorya, what a pair those two women would make.

“Stranger things have happened.” Odessa finished buckling my greaves. “Lyrastra wants to live. She wants things to change. I don’t know how much she cares about winning outright anymore at this point.”

“She claims not a lot. But still...” Still, Lyrastra could easily betray me today. For all I knew, this was all a ploy just to eliminate me entirely, once and for all.

“We’ll all be there,” Odessa said softly. “Watching you.”

She didn’t say anything trite like “We know you can do this.” Or “Make us proud.”

Just letting me know they’d be there was enough. Just like they had been for Draven.

“Thank you.” I pushed past the lump in my throat. “That’s good to know.”

The hour was nearly gone.

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