CHAPTER 8

  I couldn’t wait any longer. I was up by dawn, and as soon as the sun made its presence known beyond the horizon, I made my way out to find Elaith. They had a meditation routine they did every single morning, out in the backyard, facing the great Arcadian star, and I knew that was where I’d find him.

  It was cold out, so I wore a warm, furry green cloak around my dress to keep the morning chill at bay. Despite the early hour, the House already felt like it was in full swing. An army of staff were buzzing constantly from place to place, setting tables for breakfast, delivering supplies from one part of the house to the other, and even polishing furniture.

  Emerald Hall wasn’t pulling any punches when it came to impressing the other courtiers. They wanted every second of the experience to be perfect, out here. I’d never seen anything like it before, though my closest experience was room service at one of the less shitty hotels I’d ever spent the night in, so I didn’t have a matching comparison.

  A servant standing by the door leading outside opened it for me as I neared it. I nodded, he bowed, and I stepped out into the crisp, spring air; and instantly shuddered. Spring was weird. It was too cold in the mornings and at night, and too warm in the middle of the day.

  Walking softly into the backyard, I spotted the fountains gently trickling, water glistening against the rising sun. I saw the benches sitting along the cobblestone path, the lanterns that could be made to light up at night and illuminate the grand patio, with its immaculately manicured hedges and carefully placed flowers.

  This really was a wonderland like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I hated it here. It wasn’t home. It was somewhere else, somewhere other, somewhere I didn’t belong. The best thing I could do was get through this Favoring thing and win my ticket back to Earth, back to Seattle.

  Sure, it was grey, and miserable, and dangerous, but it was home, and there wasn’t anything she could throw at me that I couldn’t handle. Here? I’d come damn-near close to death a couple of times already, and I hadn’t been here more than a couple of weeks.

  I didn’t think I’d last another month—maybe less if the Favoring didn’t somehow kill me first.

  Looking across the massive backyard, I was able to spot Elaith sitting on a bright, orange carpet. They were cross-legged, their hands on their knees, their long, blond locks held up in a tight ponytail, their chin tilted up against the sky. I could only see their back, but I was sure they had their eyes closed.

  Carefully I approached the Fae, keeping my footfalls light and respectful; and silent. I didn’t mean to sneak up on them, and I didn’t know what I’d do if I made it all the way to them without being heard. Fat chance of that, though.

  Elaith’s long, pointy ears twitched. “You’re interrupting my meditation,” came their soft, androgynous voice.

  “Really? I thought you were just sitting here,” I said, though I could feel the pang of guilt tugging at my stomach. Why did I feel guilty? I kind of wanted to apologize.

  “I’m clearly not. What do you want?”

  “Look, I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Or maybe, I guess, I did. But I needed to talk to you, and it couldn’t wait.”

  “And why not?”

  “You didn’t tell me I could die in this competition.”

  Elaith paused, their ears twitching again. They took a deep breath in, then out, then they turned their head to the side, giving me a good view of the side of their face. “I disagree.”

  “You disagree? With what?”

  “That this interruption is warranted. That question isn’t time sensitive.”

  “I think it is.”

  “Yes, but you’re…” Elaith trailed off, though I knew the rest of that sentence was human.

  “You know, I get that a lot around here, and it’s starting to feel a little passive aggressive.”

  Elaith frowned. “I think it’s meant to sound aggressive, aggressive. I must be slacking.”

  A warm flush reached my chest. “Hey, I’m here against my will, participating in a stupid contest I’m totally unprepared for. A contest, by the way, in which I just learned I could die. This is totally unfair.”

  “And?” Elaith turned their head to face the sunrise again. In the short silence that followed, morning birds started chirping overhead. “Life is unfair,” they said on the back of a sigh.

  I walked up behind them. “Are you totally incapable of putting yourself in my shoes?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “Then, why don’t you?”

  “What would be the point? That kind of thing would never happen to me, because I would never put myself in the kind of situation you found yourself in. Arcadia simply doesn’t work like that. There’s a reason why you always hear of humans blundering into this realm, but never the other way around. Why is that, do you think?”

  “I swear, if you say it’s because we’re stu—”

  “—because you’re stupid, exactly. Well done. Now, run along so I may continue my morning meditation, otherwise I’ll be out of sorts all day.”

  That warmth in my chest turned into anger in my throat. Without thinking, I snapped a hand toward Elaith’s ponytail. I was going to grab it, yank it back, and make them listen to me. I was sick of being pushed around, belittled, and insulted. This time, I wasn’t going to take it.

  Only Elaith was way too quick.

  In the blink of an eye, they’d spun around and grabbed my wrist. Their eyes locked with mine, intense, bright, and sparkling in the morning light. Slowly, they narrowed, their lips pressing into a thin, bemused line.

  “Where were you going with that plan?” Elaith asked.

  “You’re hurting me,” I said, as their hand tightened around my wrist.

  “You were about to hurt me. I think it only fair that I hurt you, don’t you think?”

  I shook my head. “I could’ve died last night. I could’ve died because you spent all this time teaching me etiquette and history, instead of teaching me how to fight, how to defend myself, and how to deal with monsters. You have half-assed my teaching, and I’m sick of it,” I added, gritting my teeth.

  “I chose not to teach you how to fight because, again, what’s the point? Even the Duchess doesn’t think you have a chance of succeeding in the Favoring. All you have to do is look like Kadeera, know how to say nice things, and try not to get killed.”

  “Wait, the Duchess told you not to train me?”

  “What does it matter? You’re human. You couldn’t possibly hope to match up to the kind of physical challenges this world will throw at you. Not in a million years of training by the most renowned martial artists in all of Spring.”

  Frowning, I grabbed hold of Elaith’s wrist with my other hand, twisted my body around itself, and reversed the grip they had on me. Elaith’s eyes went from a little unimpressed, to suddenly sharp and alert. I’d caught their attention.

  “I didn’t know you could move like that,” they said.

  “You didn’t ask,” I said.

  “How did you do that?”

  “Train me and find out.”

  Elaith paused, watching the grip I had on their hand. “Beginner’s luck,” they said, and they yanked me toward them. “If you want me to teach you how to fight, you’ll have to prove your worth.”

  “Oh, that’s some fresh bull sh—”—Elaith slammed an open palm into my chest so hard it sent me staggering a few feet back. I stumbled, tripped over my own cloak, and fell flat on my ass on the grass.

  My chest hurt, they’d knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I thought I could taste a little blood in my mouth. “What the hell was that for?”

  Elaith straightened themselves up, ran a hand through their hair, and tightened their ponytail. “Arcadia is going to beat you to the ground, little human,” they said, “Over, and over, and over again, she will try to kill you at every possible turn. Fight for your life. Right now. It’s the only way you’ll survive this place.”

  I watched them, studied their eyes, trying to figure out just how serious they were. It was pretty clear, Elaith wasn’t messing around. The Duchess had told them to teach me how to talk, how to hold myself in a conversation, but not how to fight. It didn’t make any sense. Didn’t she want me to win this thing?

  I unfastened my cloak and let it fall to the grass beneath me. Pulling myself up, I got to my feet and brushed some of the dirt off my hands and arms. “Alright,” I said, “You don’t think I’m good enough, she doesn’t think I’m good enough, but I’m done floating around in this place.”

  “Spoken like someone desperately trying to prove something to the world,” Elaith said, their eyes low, a little grin across their lips.

  “My world already knows my worth. It’s time yours did too.”

  “Then, show me.”

  I balled my hands into fists and tried entering the same headspace I’d had the night I was attacked in the maze. I wasn’t sure what it was I had tapped into that night, what caused me to move the way that I did, but I needed it again now if I wanted to give Elaith a good enough reason to train me.

  They were looking right at me, so there was no surprising them. All I could do was throw myself at them and hope I was fast enough to land a punch. With a grunt, I wound back my arm and surged forward, focusing on delivering a quick blow that would get past their guard.

  As I moved toward them, the world around me seemed to slow, just a little. The wind pushed with a little less strength, sounds dragged out more than they should’ve, and the bird I’d just startled by rushing across the grass looked like it was starting to take-off in slow motion.

  It’s working.

  I didn’t know how long it would last, but I knew, I was moving faster than I should’ve been able to. The only problem was, Elaith could move just as fast as I could. I saw their lips curl into a smile, and just as I went to throw my punch, they effortlessly ducked out of the way, twirling off to the side like they were making fun of me.

  My punch ate the air, and I went tumbling after it, only managing to stay on my feet by some miracle. When I turned around, the world around us seemed to have caught up, and time was moving normally again.

  “That’s interesting,” Elaith said. They started circling me, eyes locked with mine, like a shark trying to decide when to move in for the kill. “Humans aren’t supposed to be able to move like you do.”

  “Something’s happening to me,” I said, “Ever since I got to this place, I haven’t felt like myself.”

  “That’s because Arcadia is changing you, even right now. You’re not supposed to be here. This place isn’t for you.”

  “Trust me, I know. I’ve known ever since I set foot in this place. Why do you think I’m doing everything I can to get home?”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about how you’re going to get back home, but whether your home will even recognize you once you return.”

  “What?”

  “The Viscount was clearly a fool to think you were out of Arcadia’s reach so long as you remained within Emerald Hall. You’re clearly changing, but that’s not entirely a bad thing.”

  “How is that not a bad thing?”

  “Because you’re changing, but it’s happening slowly. And this?” they paused and gestured up and down the length of my body. “I can work with this.”

  Elaith zipped toward me like they were made of lightning, there one instant, and on me the next. I could feel his fingertips brush against the side of my face as I tried, at the last millisecond, to dive away from their strike. Dipping under their reach, I moved in underneath them and tried to hit him in the stomach, but Elaith was already gone.

  Elaith was air.

  Elaith was water.

  I couldn’t pin them down, no matter how fast I was. It was as if they could anticipate my moves before I could make them, and the worst part was, with every punch, every kick, every duck and weave, I was getting tired and losing a little of that speed. Elaith, though? It felt like they could’ve done this dance all day.

  Elaith hooked one of their feet behind one of mine and shoved me hard, making me stumble over it and fall flat on my ass again.

  Panting, gripping chunks of grass with my fists, I stared up at them. “What the hell?” I groaned, frustration bubbling up. “Why can’t I hit you?”

  “Because it’s not about how fast you can move, dear thing,” they said, “We’re all fast, here.”

  “But the guy that attacked me in the maze, I was able to kick his ass.”

  “Beginner’s luck. If you want to learn how to fight like the Fae, you need to do better. You happen to have foundational knowledge on how to fight, but that isn’t going to work against the like of Isolde.”

  “I want you to teach me,” I said. “You must get something out of me winning this thing, right? You’re the au pair.”

  Elaith’s eyes narrowed. “I would be going against the Duchess’ instructions if I taught you how to fight.”

  “I almost got eaten alive by a giant earwig last night. I’m not sure whether it happened or I dreamed it, but it felt real enough. If that was an entry-level challenge, I’m don’t even want to think about what they’re going to throw at me next, and I definitely don’t want to be unprepared.”

  They pressed their lips into a thin line, eyes narrowing. “Alright, fine. But only because I don’t want to remain an au pair for the next hundred years.”

  They offered their hand. I took it and stood. “I’m ready to learn.”

  Elaith grinned again, wide and menacing. “No, you’re really not.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The next few days were a blur I wasn’t sure I’d survive. Elaith had been right. I wasn’t ready for the kind of training I had asked to receive. Every day there were new tests, new physical barriers to break. More speed, more strength, more pain. We’d meet in the morning, under the rising sun, only to part ways again when my body was battered and broken.

  The worst part wasn’t the pain, though. Pain, I could handle. But having to put on a dress later in the evening and attend dinners, and parties, and dances, all while my muscles ached and my eyes could barely hold themselves open. It was nightmarish. I wanted it to stop, but I also knew the next test was around the corner, that it would strike without notice, and I really wasn’t ready.

  Sure, that was more Elaith’s fault than my own. They could’ve been training me all this time, teaching me how to handle myself in a fight with an actual monster. But none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was getting stronger, getting faster, and making it through these trials not just in one piece, but on top.

  I’d always had a hunger for competition, for winning, and this was no different. I hated these people. The Fae were cruel liars who didn’t care about anything or anyone besides themselves. I knew I meant nothing to them, especially those who knew the truth about my situation. And that was why I needed to be better than them, to impress them.

  Yes, that was going to put a target on my back. But having a target on my back meant I was in front of the herd, and I was okay with that.

  “Don’t forget to drink the juice,” Rell said, his voice buzzing into my brain from out of nowhere.

  Elaith and I had just finished a sparring session in their bedroom. I had lost, naturally, and everything hurt. But I was getting better. I knew I was. That thing, whatever it was, that allowed me to slow time around me was becoming easier to use, almost as easy as flexing a muscle. It meant I got hit less often, but whenever I did get hit, it would still hurt.

  “I know I have to drink the juice,” I hissed as I slowly made my way through the hallways toward my bedroom, using the wall for support. “I hate the juice. It tastes like rotten moss on a dirty rock.”

  “But it helps with the healing and the pain. And I love the face you make when you drink it.”

  “You’d think after all this time partying, and drinking questionable drinks at cheap bars, I’d be able to get used to anything. I’ll never get used to that concoction Elaith is so proud of.”

  “I think it’s because it’s slimy and green.”

  “It’s definitely that. And because it smells like plant farts.”

  Rell chuckled. “Anyway, hobble over here a little faster, will you? I’m getting hungry and I can’t exactly call for food by myself.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sure, right away, your majesty.”

  Grumbling silently, I made it to the grand stairwell. I sighed, took hold of the dark, wooden banister, and set myself on the seemingly impossible task of climbing the stairs. My knees screamed with pain, my legs were killing me, and my head was pounding. Every step was a nightmare all on its own; agony like I’d never known before. And I was supposed to be improving.

  Elaith’s smug grin wormed its way into my head. “I’m gonna get that pointy-eared bastar—”

  “—Kadeera?” came a voice from behind that stopped me in my tracks.

  I shut my eyes hard. The Viscount. I couldn’t let him see me like this. I was a mess. A sweaty, banged up mess limping back into my room to lick my wounds. I didn’t think there’d be anyone around to see me. Some servants, sure, but they were basically furniture. They rarely interacted with anyone.

  “Who?” I asked, cringing at myself.

  “What happened to you?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I’ve been, uh, training.”

  His voice lowered. “Training.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I thought your training was complete?”

  “So did I, until I learned we can all die in this competition if we aren’t good enough. If you don’t mind, Viscount, I’d like to take my leave of you. There’s a terrible green juice with my name on it in my bedroom that’s going to make me feel way better than I look.”

  He walked up behind me, then took a few steps up the grand staircase. His shadow loomed, long and dark, and while I was in it, I could smell him. That warm, spring scent he carried was intoxicating, and impossible to escape, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t help but look up at him, but the light was breaking at his back, casting his face in darkness and bathing the crown of his head in a bright halo of light.