Ash placed the tip of his blade on Jenus’s jugular.
“Do… you…surrender?” he panted.
Jenus growled at him from the ground, causing Ash to put more pressure on his blade.
Jenus let his head fall back onto the stone.
“I surrender,” he whispered. “I surrender.”
I felt my whole body go weak with relief. Ash had done it.
Ash dropped the sword to the floor with a clatter, and I rushed forward, not caring how inappropriate it might have seemed to the watching sentries.
“You did it!” I breathed, as Ash picked me up in one swift movement and gathered me up into his arms.
“Thanks, Shortie,” he murmured against me. “Once again, I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I didn’t want to let go.
I heard the sounds of polite clapping from some of the ministers, and Memenion shouted out a sincere congratulations, but other than that, the pavilion had fallen silent once again. This was a wildly different atmosphere from the original kingship trials.
“I should get off you, shouldn’t I?” I whispered in Ash’s ear.
His low laugh rumbled against me.
“Probably,” he replied, and I could feel him smiling.
I dropped down, and looked for Tejus and Hazel. They were standing a few feet apart, and Hazel was beaming broadly, mouthing a ‘congratulations’. Tejus was smiling, but it didn’t meet his eyes. It must have been painful for him to witness, to know that Ash had just become king of Hellswan. Tejus’s birthright—his home. Hazel followed my gaze, and as she looked at Tejus her face softened. She gave him a reassuring smile, but I noticed that she didn’t dare touch him…
Oh.
You idiot.
I’d spent all day worrying about Hazel and her future, and then the trials, that I’d completely failed to notice the massive, huge, horrifying pink elephant in the room.
Oh, my God.
If Hazel had become a sentry because she was intimate with Tejus…then where did that leave me and Ash?
My face must have gone white, because Hazel rushed up to me, her eyes full of concern. “Ruby, what’s up? Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah…I’m fine,” I replied slowly. “I just…realized something. But it’s nothing,” I amended. “I think I left something at the castle.”
“What?” asked Hazel, looking at me oddly.
“Um, my…lucky penny.”
“Your lucky penny?” Hazel repeated.
“Yep.”
“Okay. I didn’t realize you had a lucky penny. Clearly you didn’t need it?” she questioned, talking to me like I was a small child.
“No. Obviously not.”
“Right. Okay, you need some sleep,” she asserted, clearly thinking that I was starting to go mad. The annoying thing was I wanted to talk to her about it—desperately—but this just wasn’t the right place or time…and it would probably be more sensible to talk to Ash about it first.
I felt my body go cold with dread. Were we never going to be able to be…close to one another? The thought was horrible. I really wanted to be with Ash, in every way. But if I had to make the choice…
Stop.
There was no point making imaginary decisions about it until I knew for sure. There might well be a way to stop that from happening. Someone would have to know a way, surely?
“Congratulations, Ashbik!” One of the ministers stepped forward. His cry was booming, but I could tell by his dead, black, shark eyes that he didn’t mean it. No one here, other than Memenion or Tejus, wanted Ash to be king. Let alone emperor.
“The coronation will begin tomorrow morning,” the minister continued, “and then the trials will re-commence.”
King Ash of Hellswan.
I wasn’t actually sure if I liked the sound of that.
Jenus
Defeated by a kitchen boy.
I had never suffered such shame in all my life. And with my brother watching, his lips twitching into a smile as the boy degraded me. I should never have had to battle him—that crown belonged to me! It was mine by right. My father had wanted me to wear it; the kingdom had been promised to me—I had always been the favored son in his eyes.
Now I was ruler of nothing. A dank cave, if I wished it, but I had no other home to go to. I’d had one chance to regain power, and I had single-handedly destroyed it. But no wonder! I had been half-starved, unable to syphon off anything other than small rodents that made the mistake of scurrying into my path. All the other creatures had stayed well away.
I was still lying on the cold stone of the pavilion floor. Warm blood still seeped into my robes.
Dusk was here, the shadows of the surrounding forests creeping up over me. I had half expected guards to seize me and return me to my hell hole, but none had arrived yet – I could see them up ahead in the distance, no doubt discussing what should be done with me. Tejus and the kitchen king had already left…I supposed they no longer considered me to be a danger… too weak to pose a threat.