The Jewel hadn’t been able to fit through the gap I had used, so it had climbed above the rocks to try to cut me off ahead… but it had stopped. I could see it, standing less than ten feet above me, its huge, knotted form writhing, inhaling, exhaling, its tongue flicking and licking the air. It was looking for me, trying to sniff me out, and the best I could do was lie in the puddle and hope it couldn’t see me.

  Because if it suddenly figured out where I was, there was no way I would avoid being jumped on, flattened, and possibly impaled.

  I slapped my hand over my mouth to try and silence my breathing, but even the small sound of my hand dipping out of the water to wrap around my mouth had been enough to draw its attention. It didn’t look down, though, but left, then right, and then around.

  My heart thundered inside of my chest. I thought for a dizzying moment, if it could hear my breathing, it could hear my own heart thumping inside of me, and that meant I was dead. It meant that this little stunt with the dirt and the water had bought me a couple of seconds at most, but that I was well on my way to shuffling off my mortal coil.

  And the Fae were here for it.

  They didn’t know I was human, but they were watching all the same… only unlike Isolde’s bout with whatever beast she had faced, the crowd was deathly silent, now. It was as if it had held its collective breath at the same time I had, and now we were all waiting together, watching the Jewel to see what it would do next.

  Lucky for me, the Jewel moved off, having decided I wasn’t anywhere near it.

  I can’t believe that worked.

  It couldn’t smell me, and as long as I kept quiet, it couldn’t hear or see me. I had found its blind spots. All I had to do now was decide whether I wanted to win this trial or not. There was nothing stopping me from getting up, turning around, and heading quietly for the nearest exit; and given the alternative, it was a tempting proposition.

  The absolute last thing I wanted to do was try to stick my hand in the Jewel’s mouth and pull that gem out of its throat. But everyone here expected me to fail—or at least, Invidia did, and I could’ve cared less about anyone else’s opinion.

  I hate myself sometimes, I thought, as I pulled myself out of the puddle of water.

  I made sure I was covered in dirt before moving carefully between the rocks, keeping a careful eye for the monster as it trundled around looking for me. It was blind to me, and I had masked my scent well enough that it couldn’t smell me. The only thing I had to do now was make sure it couldn’t hear me, and that meant as long as I was careful and didn’t make any sudden moves, I would be invisible to it.

  That was the idea, at least.

  And even if worked, what then? As I saw the beast rolling slowly over the broken hills and rocks, I couldn’t imagine a world where I would be able to stick my hand in its mouth and complete the task. That thing had teeth as big and as sharp as knives. I was asking to get shredded.

  It spun around, sharply, and my instincts forced me to hide behind a rock, but my foot had slipped and caused a tumble of stones. The creature stopped moving, sniffed the air, and then slowly turned around. I could see it, moving slowly toward the sound. In a few moments, it would be on me. I had to move, but I was running out of hiding spots.

  Half-panicked, I grabbed a stone from around my feet and hurled it across the arena, intentionally striking a hard, jagged boulder. The impact made a click that drew the beast to it. It roared, then charged, and I used the blanket of noise it was causing to chase after it.

  I bounded across the dirt, trying to keep my footfalls light, my dagger held tightly in my hand. I knew what I had to do—the inspiration had come to me like a bolt of lightning—the only problem was, I would get one chance. One shot. If I missed, if I screwed it up, then I was going to end up maimed, or dead.

  The Jewel lunged at the rock I had struck, wrapping its long tendrils around it. Had I been on the other side of it, I would’ve been pinned to the rock, hopeless, and moments away from getting eaten. But I was on the other side of the Jewel, rushing toward it as light as a feather, my knife poised and ready to strike.

  Once the monster had secured itself around the rock, it reared its head as if it was about to gobble it up. I didn’t have a choice but to jump on one of its thick, root-like legs and use it to leap even higher.

  I was trusting my instincts, trusting the strange, mystical speed I had learned to use over the last few weeks, because I didn’t have much else to go on. Time seemed to slow around me as I soared through the air. The beast began to turn, but I was moving fast enough to wrap one arm around its rope-like, stem of a neck, and plunge my dagger into the back of its bulbous head.

  I had to guess where the gem was going to be, and I only had a couple of seconds to do that before the dagger pierced it skin. I also had the problem that, while my reaction time was heightened, this creature was also supernaturally fast. One of its vine-arms was already curling around one of my ankles.

  “Please work, please work!” I yelled as I pushed the dagger into its weird, purple head, hoping it would punch through before the creature could yank me away.

  The tip of the knife pierced the Jewel’s head, the rest of the blade followed, and before I knew it, I was up to my elbow in sweet, slimy, green goo. It felt weird, and cold, and it smelled green, if green had a scent. The Jewel roared, and bucked, and kicked, but I held onto the stem of its neck, let go of the knife, and started searching the back of its throat for the gem.

  I could feel its tongue brushing up against my hand, both smooth and bristly at the same time. I knew I was close, but I had no way of seeing what I was doing. Another vine wrapped itself around my other leg, and then a third vine came up and closed around my neck and started pulling.

  I kept searching, rummaging around in the back of this thing’s throat and holding on for dear life until, finally, my hand closed on something that felt like a rock. I pulled at it with all my might, ripping it from whatever was holding it in place with a wet snap.

  The creature suddenly went completely limp. It collapsed into itself, and I went after it, falling onto its large, long-limbed body. I was panting, covered in dirt and goop, and exhausted. The crowd around me was still eerily silent, no one saying a word… until I opened my palm to the sky, revealing the green gem resting in my hand.

  A wave of cheers erupted from the stands followed by rumbling applause. The man who had introduced me and the challenge had started talking, but I could barely hear him over the noise. I thought for a moment he had said I had beaten Isolde’s time by a hair, but I couldn’t have been sure, and with the way I was feeling, I didn’t really care.

  I shut my palm and turned my eyes onto the podium, where Invidia was sitting. She had her hands placed gently on her lap and a stern look on her face like she was about to give me an earful from a distance. Invidia nodded once, lightly, then raised an eyebrow.

  I exhaled, let my head rest on the corpse of the monster I had just defeated, and let the cheering of the crowd carry my thoughts all the way up into the clouds.

  I had done it.

  Not with magic, or with crazy acrobatic skills, but with good old fashioned human ingenuity and initiative.

  Take that, Arcadia.

  CHAPTER 6

  The Fae came to remove me from the arena, carrying me out on their shoulders. I wasn’t in a position to argue or to fight with them, so I didn’t, and that made the experience a lot less stressful than if I had decided to rebel.

  Back in my room, I was allowed to bathe, to let my muscles recharge—I was even brought something to eat. It was a plate covered with something like bacon, and hash browns, and vegetables. I cleaned the plate, then asked for another, but I didn’t finish the second one.

  Stuffed, I gave myself permission to take a nap, to rest, to recover all of the energy I had spent fighting that creature. Combat really had taken it out of me. It was probably a good thing I hadn’t decided to join the army a few years ago, like I had wanted to.

  I wouldn’t have survived; I just wasn’t built for it.

  I still wasn’t sure how I had done in the competition, or where I fared in comparison to the other girls. For all I knew, I had failed, but judging by the cheering and the applause I had received as I was carried out, I didn’t think so. When someone knocked on my bedroom door, I almost jumped at the chance to open it, expecting Elaith.

  But it wasn’t Elaith.

  It was Thea.

  She smiled at me, her violet, piercing eyes shining brightly on me. Thea’s skin was a little tanned, now, having soaked in a some of this perpetual spring sun. She was looking healthier than she had the last time we had crossed paths. I hadn’t seen her since before my adventure in the woods, but I had forgotten the Fae didn’t like to be touched, so I was surprised when I hugged her, and she didn’t hug me back.

  I peeled away slowly, putting my hands up. “Right, “I said, keeping my voice low, “Sorry, I should know the Fae don’t hug.”

  Thea’s smile didn’t fade. “It’s okay, really. I’m getting used to it.”

  “Please, come in. I wasn’t expecting to see you. I didn’t think they’d let me have visitors, if I’m honest.”

  “Turns out winners get perks.”

  “Winners?”

  Thea’s sharp eyes narrowed. “You don’t know?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know anything. They kind of carted me out of the arena without filling me in on what had happened.”

  “Rude.”

  “Tell me about it. How did I do?”

  A smirk spread across her face. “You won.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “No, I’m serious. You won. By a hair, but you won!”

  “I beat Isolde?”

  “You did.”

  “I,” I pointed at myself. “I actually beat Isolde, and all the others?”

  “How does it feel?” she asked, smile beaming.

  “I… don’t know. I think I’m in shock.” I sat down on the bed. “Holy hell. I didn’t think in a million years I’d win.”

  “Neither did anyone else—least of all the people who bet against you.”

  I looked up at Thea. “People bet on me?”

  “Oh yes. What else do you think this competition is good for? The House that wins gets prestige, but everyone else has a shot at making some real coin if they back the right contestant. You just made a handful of Fae very rich, and an even bigger handful of Fae very angry.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about that…”

  “Good, I guess? They’re talking about you now like you’re a real threat in this competition.”

  “Considering in my last conversation with Elaith we talked about how common assassination attempts were in the land of the Fae, I don’t think it’s a good thing that I’ve pissed a bunch of them off.”

  Thea shook her head and sat down next to me. “Could you just be happy that you won, at least? It’s what you wanted, right?”

  “I did. I mean, I do. I just blanked for a moment, didn’t really know how to process the information.”

  “So, forget about the whole assassin business and just forge ahead, kick their asses, and win this whole thing. They’ll have to take you seriously then.”

  I nodded, took a breath, and ran my fingers through my hair. “I gotta say… I have no idea how I won.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I shrugged. “My au pair didn’t tell me anything about having to pull a gem out of the thing’s mouth.”

  “Really? That’s weird. They know what the trials are ahead of time. Maybe Elaith wasn’t told?”

  “Why wouldn’t they have been told?”

  “I don’t know. Could be they just missed it…”

  “Or someone’s trying to sabotage me.”

  Thea leaned in and lowered her voice, like we were co-conspirators discussing a secret plan. “Invidia, you think?”

  “Could be. Elaith told me she’s been stunting my training since the beginning. I don’t think she wants me to win.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want you to win? She stands so much to gain from your victory.”

  “I’m not sure. It kind of keeps me up at night, you know? Thinking about it, trying to puzzle it out in my head.”

  “Either way, you won right now, and that’s something to celebrate.”

  “I know you think I should, but I really don’t even think I have the time to do that. The next trial is tomorrow. I’ve been told Elaith is cooking up a potion for me to take, something that’ll knock me out, but will fix the bumps and bruises and have me feeling fresh as a rose in the morning.”

  “It doesn’t seem fair that you’re being thrown into the next trial so quickly.”

  I shrugged. “I’m getting used to not fair being the norm around here. I just wish I could…” I trailed off, thinking about him. Silvan.

  The Viscount.

  “Could… what?” Thea asked.

  I frowned. “I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t say anything.”

  Thea’s eyes lowered. “You cannot do that to me.”

  “Do what?”

  “You can’t make it sound like you have something you want to tell me, and then not say it. That’s cruel.”

  I shook my head. “It’s stupid.”

  “What is it?”

  I looked up at Thea, meeting her gaze, then I looked over at the locked window in my bedroom. Dust motes danced in the shaft of light breaking from outside. I could hear the birds chirping on the ledge, voices out in the backyard, the Fae of Emerald Hall living out their lives—and I was stuck in here, a prisoner, just like him.

  “It’s about the Viscount,” I said.

  “Oh?” Thea asked. “What about him?”

  “I haven’t seen him since… well, we got separated when we came back to the house. I don’t know where he is, or how he is, or…”

  “… if he’s thinking of you?” she prodded.

  “Shut up,” I said, though the flush of red to my cheeks couldn’t be helped.

  “Don’t try to deny it, I’m not an idiot. It isn’t every day that someone goes running out into the forest chasing the person who stole their heart.”

  “It wasn’t like that.”

  “Sure, okay. You can keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, I can tell you that they have the Viscount under lock and key too. He isn’t going anywhere, but he also isn’t getting visitors.”

  “So, he’s really under arrest?”

  “Locked down hard…” she paused. “He took full responsibility for what happened—told Invidia that he didn’t give you a choice but to follow him into the woods. He made you do it.”

  I shot to my feet. “He did what?!”

  Thea stood as well. “Wait, wait, listen to me, okay? Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “He can’t do that, Thea. I went after him because I wanted to. Somebody tried to kill him! If we hadn’t gone to that forest, he would be dead right now.”

  “Maybe, but he isn’t, and neither are you. If Invidia wanted him dead for treason, she would’ve done it by now. I don’t know what her game plan is, but it doesn’t involve killing either of you, so sit back down… please.”

  I wanted to ignore her, but she had a way with words that was difficult to avoid. Defeated, and deflated, I sat back down. “What am I supposed to do from in here, Thea?”

  “Participate in the Favoring. That’s all you have to do. Trust me, the way things are in the house right now, you don’t want to have to worry about anything else.”

  I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Damn. It’s my turn to have kept my mouth shut.”

  “Okay, well, you didn’t, and you made me spill the beans on you, so how about you return the favor?”

  “Spill the beans?”

  I shook my head. “It’s a thing humans say.”

  “But… why do you say it?”

  “Because… when you spill beans… it just, it gets every—could you forget about that and tell me what you meant?”

  Thea took a deep breath. “One of the good things about being a nobody is that you don’t get paid a lot of attention, so I hear things. Lots of things. Lately I’ve been hearing some things that have me a little concerned.”

  “Concerned? Is this about Invidia?”

  “No, it’s about the Sprites in the house.”

  My eyebrows arched. “The… Sprites…”

  “Yes. The ones that fan the Fae on hot days, the ones that live in their fireplaces, the ones that make pretty water displays on the fountains in the backyard—those Sprites.”

  “What about them?”

  “They’re prisoners too. Slaves, captured and brought here to fulfil a specific purpose or function.”

  I swallowed hard. “Like you.”

  Thea nodded. “If not for you, Vito would’ve turned me into a living statue and had me sitting on a rock for hundreds of years. That’s what the Fae do. They bring you into their Houses, and they make you do things for them.”

  “Like me…”

  “Like all of us. Anyway, I’ve heard them talking recently.”

  “Talking? I didn’t think they could…”

  “They can, and they do, especially if they think no one’s listening—and I’m no one.”

  “What are they saying?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, but if I had to guess, I would say they’re planning something.”

  “Do you know what they’re planning?”

  “I don’t speak Sprite, but I can feel them, their emotions. They’re always nervous, always shifty, always waiting for the coast to be clear so they can whisper to each other across rooms.”

  “So, you don’t have any idea what they’re planning, or even if they’re planning anything.”

  Thea scowled. “I’m telling you, something’s up. If Rell were here…”

  I lowered my head. “He would know what they’re up to.”

  Guilt and sadness punched me in the gut at the same time. I remembered Rell’s last moments alive, relived them in my mind. I saw the way his own people attacked him, saw the bright flash of light in the forest as we tried to escape.