T W O
Ayden
I
could hear Echo calling my name as they pulled her down the hall. I screamed for her
until
my voice evaded me
, but it was wishful thinking if I thought they
’
d return her. She was gone, and whether or not she
’
d be placed into
the arena was to be determined, a fate that made breathing impossible.
But I had a plan.
I
’
d offer to fight two men at once, hoping I
’
d take Echo
’
s place. I
’
d win and I
’
d set us free. And even if I was denied, I
’
d fight with every last breath I had because she was worth it and just about everything else this life had to give.
Despite my beliefs,
I prayed
to the gods that Adamo would fo
llow through this time.
One of the guards returned for me a little after I stopped hearing Echo
’
s voice and unchained my arms.
“
You
’
re next,
”
he barked. I
’
d known it was true, but not until it was said aloud did I realize the impact it had on me. It was like a tidal wave to my heart, careening me into the oblivion.
I was next
.
“
I wish to speak with the King. I want to offer him an agreement,
”
I said, as his bloody hands reached for me.
“
You
’
ll have time for that after. If you survive, that is.
”
He grabbed me by the shoul
der and began to carry me out. Before he had me out the door
,
I made sure to take hold of Echo
’
s broken necklace, the only thing I was able to grab as they whisked her away.
The glass pendent shone even in the darkness, the frozen bleeding heart a memory of what we shared but have now lost.
I
’
d take it with me and hide it from the eyes of my captors because if they knew I had it, they
’
d surely burn it. If she was taken from me tonight, I needed something of hers to hold on to.
The guards suited me up with armor and handed me an eccentric looking sword. Even though I was unchained, they kept a good eye on me. I was smart enough to know there was no way I
’
d overpower them if I tried to escape.
We walked silently down the halls and through the wooden doors that led to pathways escaping into the
arena
, b
ut my focus was on the gate
that opened to the
sands
. A
s I stepped up, my heart went out to Echo; wherever she was, I hoped she was safe and alive. That she kept strong for the both of us.
Trumpets
played as the A
nnouncer introduced me to the crowd. As I walked into the arena and my bare feet ground into
the
gory sand
s
, people began to shout furiously and throw things down onto the field. Though some were even people of my own, I ignored them and continued to the center of the arena. I was ready.
The A
nnouncer pointed toward the door and I waited for the face of my opponent to appear. But as the doors slid open, my heart went slack. It was as if my eyes had deceived me.
“
So you all know the Royal
’
s
royal
secret by now,
”
he shouted. The crowd grew louder, pointing at me with fingers made for ridiculing.
“
I know, I know. I
t is quite shocking, but the King has found a way to settle this little
tryst
between the two once and for all. I
’
m sure it will please all of us in a heart-stopping way.
”
And my heart did just that.
Echo came out behind the doors and stood fully suited in armor. She walked to the center of the arena and refused to look my way. Immediately,
as if my feet had a mind of their own,
I
went to her.
“
Echo, please tell me this is a joke!
”
I sneered.
A tear dripped from her eyes, but she didn
’
t say a thing.
“
Whoa there, lover boy. This is a fight to the death,
”
the A
nnouncer said.
“
You
’
ve shared enough alone time with her, I think.
”
His big hefty hands pulled me away from her and the other guards crowded around the perimeter of the arena. I begged Echo to look at me, but she wouldn
’
t. Was she seriously going to betray me?
What happened to our plan?
The A
nnouncer held a flag out and he slowly counted to three. The air grew still, a silence so tangible I could feel it running laps around me. The flag went down
, the horns were blown,
and the battle began. As if on cue, Echo circled me slowly
and her
eyes
watched
me like a piece of meat. When I looked at her—
really
looked at her—the hollow gaze she shot me gave way to the emptiness that
was swallowing her whole
. The sword in her hand was
a bit
heavy, yet despite her own strength, she held it with pride.
She charged towards me
then
, sword coming up to stab my middle
. B
efore I could block
or even find a weapon of my own
, it was jabbing into my shoulder. We were face to face, and yet she still wouldn
’
t look at me.
“
Echo!
”
I yelled, as her sword dug into my shoulder.
“
What
’
re you doing?
”
Her eyes met mine briefly and I saw a glint of remorse in them. Seconds, minutes, millennia seemed t
o tick by as she looked at me. B
ut just as quickly, the look subsided and she was angry again. She withdrew the sword from my shoulder and raised it to my neck
, my own
blood spill
ing
down the length of my shirt. My neck arched as I tried to retreat from the sharp edge, but my eyes remained on her.
“
I want you to take the sword, Ayden,
”
she said, tears in her eyes.
“
I want you to kill me.
Do it fast and don
’
t hold back.
”
There was
a
challenge in her eyes.
Right then I knew she had no plans to
kill
me. It was simply an act to pleasure the
hearts
of the civilians, b
ut
I
’
d been so ready to fight anyone—whoever and
whatever
—
that
I never stopped to think about the possibility that my life would have to go by the one I loved.
There was no way I was allowing her do this.
“
No. Echo, you finish this. Do you hear me?
”
“
Ayden, I can
’
t. Don
’
t you see? Life without you is no life at all. Take the sword and kill me. You
’
ll live.
”
She pushed the sword closer to my neck, eyes darting between me and the guards.
She was being ridiculous and stupid. Although I understood, knowing she died by my hands would burden me with the sickest sorrow.
“
Do you believe in second chances, Echo?
”
I asked her.
Her face contorted in confusion.
“
Ayden, not—
”
“
Do you?
”
She nodded.
“
Yes.
”
“
Do you trust me?
”
She nodded again.
An idea dawned on me, and even though I knew it was a thought at the spur of the moment, I went with it.
“
Take a chance on me. We
’
ll escape here and lead our own lives. Just you and me.
We
’
re not going to die like this, not now
.
”
This brought tears to her eyes, but I knew they were tears of joy.
“
Ayden, we can
’
t. They
’
ll stop us
and they
’
ll kill you
.
The King only put me in here because he
knows I am the better swordsman;
Shadow told him
.
”
I asked her again.
“
Do you trust me, Echo?
”
Hesitantly, she lowered the sword and said
,
“
I do.
”
The crowd erupted with anger,
some
shouting out their frustration
while others started pushing their way to the arena. At the same moment, t
he g
uards took notice of our unity and
trudged forward to break us apart. But one look at her told me she
understood
. W
hether we lived to see tomorrow
or died here in this arena, our souls would always live as one.
The two of us against the
two
guards.
As we prepared to fight until death, I knew we
’
d slowly started a revolution. We were burning bridges one by one.
5
WEEKS EARLIER
T H R E E
Echo
THEDIBY, NEW HAVEN
T
he warm August wind blew across my skin, sending
tendrils
of chills
down
my spine. Though I was without my shawl, I welcomed the whipping cold for all that it was worth.
I should have been happy; after all, today was the day I would finally dine with
my dearly betrothed. T
he feeling that consumed my heart said otherwise. I was horrified, and to say the least, scared out of my wits. I tried to push the
thoughts away, but to no avail,
they continued to overwhelm me.
“
Echo, what have you? You seem lost,
”
Everlae whispered from behind me, her hands tangled in my long, dark tresses as she twisted them into an intricate chignon.
I looked away, lost in the evergreens of Thediby.
“
Oh, nothing. I was just thinking—
”
“
Thinking what?
”
she asked, the hint of anxiety lacing her tone. Her Thedibian accent was always strongest when annoyed.
“
I don
’
t know about this. Father is all worked up and Mother can barely contain her excitement. Why do I feel like I
’
m the only one concerned?
”
“
Perhaps because you are,
”
she said, pulling her attention back to my hair.
“
Prince
Noah
is a perfect fit for you, do
you not see? And he
’
s lucky to have someone as beautiful as you.
”
I rolled my
eyes and refused to believe
her
.
Everlae was wiser as my older sister, but
Noah
Eastman was an egotistic
ninny
. He cared little about anything, save his inheritance and the dishonored
wench
he snuck up to his chambers when he believed I was unaware. It
was only because of his father, the King of Delentia,
that he had finally chosen to take me as his bride.
“
All finished.
”
Everlae sat
with her back against the big o
ak tree, staring at me with sheer admiration.
“
A work of art, if I do say so myself. He
’
s going to love it.
”
Shrugging lazily, I said,
“
No matter. He won
’
t be looking at my hair anyway.
”
I fingered the laced edge of my bodice, remembering the way
Noah
had stared at me at the ball last winter, prior to our first meeting. It was as if I were a slab of meat to him, a possession—a title—to be owned.
“
I don
’
t love him.
”
I spoke between clenched teeth and
my fingers
continued to knead
the lace.
“
I
won
’
t
love him. And I don
’
t care what Father says, Ever, I will not be happy.
”
Everlae opened her mouth to speak, her eyes flashing that stone grey
of our father
.
“
You shouldn
’
t say those things, Echo. You know this is your duty, so why do you fight it? Silas and I ar
e happy
. We may have started off on the wrong peg,
but we
’
ve grown on each other. J
ust like you and
Noah
will.
”
I sighed, feeling utterly defeated.
“
I suppose you could be right.
”
With that, Everlae’s mood
seemed to brighten a little.
“
Of course I
’
m right. You were always so strong, Echo. Did you know I envied you for the first three years of your life?
”
She laughed silently to herself.
“
Everyone always spoke about you being the family
’
s next heiress after Caesar—how courageous you would grow up to be. I presume they were correct.
”
I squeezed her hand, allowing the gesture to speak the words I couldn
’
t find, and her slender fingers wrapped around mine in response.
Off in the distance, I could
see
Shadow walking towards us, the metallic clink of her chained boots meshing with the hard packed earth below her feet. Body suited in leathered armor, she looked as fierce as a lion
ess
.
I turned back to Ever with a big grin on my face.
“
She
’
s back,
”
I said.
Ever
’
s forehead
furrowed
with confusion.
“
How do you mean?
”
I shook my head and pointed beyond the trees to where the tall, flaxen Tigress stood with her hands o
n her hips and a brave smile o
n her face.
Everlae was up and running towards her before I could even blink.
“
You
’
re back!
”
she
screeched, taking Shadow into her arms. I kissed Shadow
’
s cheek and
held her close
.
After a whole year enduring the fatalities of war, Shadow had returned to us in one piece.
“
I haven
’
t been away long
, girls.
”
Shadow
smiled
and glanced around the hilled l
awn of the palace
.
“
But I have missed you, nonetheless.
”
“
So
,
how did it go?
”
I asked, breaking the embrace.
“
Yeah, did you get them good?
”
Everlae asked excitedly. She looked up at our sister with a look in her eyes I knew all too well.
Shadow sighed longingly, but held her smile in place.
“
I sure did, b
ut n
othing beats the comfort of home, eh?
”
I glared at the arrows tethered to her back in amazement, taking in everything from her posture to the slight masculine touch she had to her demeanor. Shadow w
as everything but weak,
everything I aspired to be. I wanted to fight along
her in battle, lose myself in
a
frenzy as I fought for my Haven. I wanted it more than I eve
r wanted anything in my life
. But unfortunately for me, Father had other plans in stow.
“
One of you willing to come into town with me
?
”
Shadow asked, tearing me away from my asinine musings.
Everlae looked at me with a frown on her face.
“
Go. I must help Mother
with dinner
anyhow.
”
She turned and began walking
back to the
palace
before I could stop her
.
“
What was that all about?
”
Shadow inquired, as we walked the ways to town.
I feigned ignorance.
“
Oh, you know Ever. She
’
s just being, well, Ever.
”
“
She all right? With Silas, I mean? I know Father can be aggressive about birthing him an heir sometimes. She
’
s
only twenty-three years of age, four years below me,
and you
’
re
only
seventeen
. I don
’
t want him slaving you girls off. The gods know he tried it with me.
”
“
Yeah, she
’
s great. They are still trying, but everything takes time I guess.
”
“
So
,
she
’
s happy? You
’
re happy?
”
Shadow spoke slowly, as if hesitant to ask.
I nodded.
Thankfully, Shadow left it at that and didn
’
t speak of Everlae
again
. Town was just a few miles from the
palace
, but the walk felt like a journey through eternity.
“
You seem frustrated today, Echo,
”
Shadow mentioned as we made a shortcut through a
n alley
pathway.
“
If I didn
’
t know you any better, I
’
d say you were nervous.
”
“
Nervous about what?
”
She pointed to my gown.
“
Your dinner with the Prince. Isn
’
t that why you got all
dressed
up?
”
I glanced down at myself and sighed. I didn
’
t want to talk about Everlae, but that didn
’
t mean I wanted to talk about myself
,
nor
Prince
Noah
. I thought about telling her that the mere thought of gazing at him made my stomach acids burn, but I knew Shadow wouldn
’
t
have been
okay with it as Everlae had
been
. Shadow was rebellious in her own way, yes, but she knew when
it came to the family
’
s wealth
you were to do everything Father asked of you.
“
Yes. A little excited
.
”
My eyes wa
ndered as I searched for another matter to discuss.
“
So why are we going into town?
”
She pointed to the wooden gates that opened to the markets at the end of the streets. Two guards stood around holding swords longer than my arms and stolid, blank looks on their faces. They stared straight ahead as if they were waiting for something to magically fall from the heavens. It was normal protocol since the Hunters had fig
ured out a way to breach the bo
rder
singlehandedly
so many years ago
, but they were foolish to think anyone felt safe. No one had felt secure in this Haven since my Father declared the rules of the
prison arena
, another issue I didn
’
t need on my mind.
“
Just follow me,
”
Shadow continued, taking me by the hand and pulling me forward.
“
Ezily wants to show you something.
”
Ezily?
I turned my attention away from the guards and met eyes with Ezily, Shadow
’
s way-too-friendly friend. Her black ringlets glimmered in the daylight as she waved over at us, the brush of freckles above her nose even visible from where I stood. I never knew her much since she was also a Tigress and moved around cities quite a lot, but from what Shadow had told me, she was very skillful with a knife.
“
Took you long enough,
”
she whined
, pushing us through the gates of the town. Delicious aromas of dragon fruit, freshly baked bread, and recently bloomed strawberries hung in the air, causing my stomach to rumble despite the fact that I had just eaten lunch.
Ole Sampson Greenhorn, Thediby
’
s greatest fisherman, was up to his old tricks again, swindling newcomers into buying pink salmon tenfold the usual expense. The three of us smiled and waved over at him, and he toothlessly grinned back.
Beside his parlor was Miss Bluejay, who worked from her own home and had a bizarre obsession with raspberries. She was the nicest lady you could ever meet, that is, until you went anywhere near her kitchen. The woman insisted that all her customers waited outside, where she could keep a watchful eye on them through the window. Shadow and Ezily always joked that she discreetly stuck her foot in all her pies when no one was looking, but I knew it was something else. The woman obviously had secrets, secrets she probably didn
’
t want anyone to know about. As weird as I thought it was, I really couldn
’
t blame her.