Page 105 of Avalon Tower
Wrythe lifts his chin. “I recognize that you are a knight of the Round Table, but this is obvious favoritism. What, exactly, is the source of this favoritism, I wonder?”
“I’m sure you will agree,” Raphael adds smoothly, “that when we report this to the rest of the knights at the Round Table, we can leave out the part where both Sentinels tried to warn you about the assassin, and you dismissed them as hysterical women because you were annoyed with your wife.”
Wrythe clenches his jaw in fury. Finally, he says, “If she hadn’t maliciously bribed someone to waylay Tarquin, he would have arrived here first. At the very least, he deserves the highest score as well. A tie.”
Raphael lets out an exasperated sigh. “Fine.”
“Tana, Darius, and Serana should be given a high score, too,” I say. “They managed to get the backup we needed.”
Wrythe frowns at me. “I’m willing to give them a passing grade, but this isn’t a free-for-all, Ms. Melisende. We have protocols and procedures in Avalon Tower. Protocols decided at the sacred Round Table.”
“Bunch of bollocks,” Nivene says. “Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks.”
“Passing scores will be fine,” Raphael intervenes, giving us both a warning glare. “I’ll see if they want to retake the trial or if they’re fine with a passing grade. And that’s it. We’re done here.”
“We are done here, Mr. Launcelot,” Wrythe says, “but we’re not done with the trials. In time, no doubt, we will see who truly belongs here and who does not.”
CHAPTER 36
Iwalk down a stone tunnel toward the Knight Riding Court, Tana by my side. Her mouth is set in a grim line, and she seems on edge.
“Neither of us can get culled, you know,” she says, glancing at me. “I’m certain now that we both have an important role to play.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t doubt it. We’ll be fine. Let’s just get through this trial.”
The tunnel runs below the spectator stands. Once, the knights of the Round Table would have ridden their horses through this tunnel on their way to strike each other with lances. Arthur himself probably traveled through this exact passage. But Arthur, I’m sure, felt much more confident than I do now.
For the past several days, we’ve been watching combat trials, and they all seemed so skilled. So brutal.
We’re both in hard leather armor, reinforced with chainmail beneath it, and it weighs me down as I walk, pressing on my shoulders and chest.
Today, it’s me against Tana. The only thing making this bearable is that she was matched with me, probably because we’re both small, unskilled, mediocre fighters compared to the rest.
We step out of the tunnel into the sandy arena, and the bright sun hits my face. It’s September, but it still feels a million degrees in this leather and armor, and I’m already sweating.
I glance at Tana, and she smiles at me. Hopefully, after watching our duel for ten or twenty minutes, the judges will be so bored, they’ll end it out of sheer tedium.
The wind whips at my hair, and my nerves spark. The spectators in the stands are watching us intently. Since I got the replica Excalibur, they’re all paying very close attention to me.
I don’t like being the center of attention, and my pulse races.
Raphael is in the stands. He’s watching me, too, his jaw clenched tightly.
“We’ll do fine,” I tell Tana, more to reassure myself.
“Yeah, sure.” Her voice wavers, and I can hear the worry laden in her voice. “Let’s just get through…” She trails off, her gaze going unfocused. “What? You can’t do this at the last minute.”
“Do what?” I look around, trying to see what has upset her, but everything seems normal—the judges on their platform, the spectators in the stands.
She blinks, frowning in confusion. “I thought…never mind.”
I’m about to ask her what she thought she saw, but Amon calls for everyone’s attention from the platform.
“Today’s trial by combat will be between Nia Melisende and Tana Campbell. We will start in—”
Wrythe suddenly leans in and whispers something in his ear. Amon turns to him and shakes his head. Viviane stands, looking furious. Amon mostly seems confused.
“What’s going on?” I ask Tana.