“He’s a son of the prince of Grasswall,” Lannahi said.
“Why did he Challenge you?”
Lannahi couldn’t answer this question, but as she wordlessly left the sleigh, Erril said on her behalf, “To take revenge on Sarkal for enslaving his father.”
Hearing the secret she’d been forced to remain silent on for so long finally spoken out loud, Lannahi didn’t feel the expected relief. It occurred to her that the truth didn’t matter. Nihhal had issued a legitimate Challenge. She could either die or surrender. Her situation had not changed.
“Let’s go inside,” she said when her and Ashared’s gaze met.
Erril must have sensed the tension between them because after escorting them to their chambers, he didn’t insist on a further explanation.
“When?” he only asked.
“In seven days,” she replied.
The enchanter clenched his fists but said nothing. A heavy silence fell on the room after he left and Ashared and Lannahi regarded each other closely.
“Why is it so hard for you to believe that I love you?” Lannahi finally asked.
This question clearly wasn’t what Ashared expected to hear because he closed his mouth as soon as he opened it to speak. After a moment, he looked away.
“You’ve never said so.” Realizing that this was a weak excuse, he smiled bleakly and returned his gaze to her. There was no trace of the anger that had tossed him earlier. He seemed embarrassed. “In my family, men do not have luck when it comes to women. I guess… it’s difficult to believe that I could have it.”
When her gaze soften, he approached her and took her hand. “Who is this man to you, Lannahi?” he asked quietly. “Why did he treat you like…”
“…like his property?” she finished when he paused. From his clenched jaw, she knew that he started to realize the true meaning of what had happened in the Black Arena, but she added anyway, “For him, it’s a game, and I was too naïve to realize it in time.”
When Ashared pulled her close, she snuggled into his chest. “Am I a game to you?” she asked.
He tightened his embrace.
“Never, Lannahi,” he said in a voice heavy with emotion. “You have never been and will never be a game to me.”
***
The next morning, the expressions of Lannahi’s companions were as grim as those of the landshapers during her first days in Goldfrost, but she didn’t blame them. How could she? Her chances of winning were close to zero. Words of comfort would be a lie. She didn’t want to spend the last days of her freedom surrounded by gloom, however, so she asked her guards to train together; though futile, it gave them purpose.
When Lannahi asked Souhi to gather the officials of Goldfrost in the council room, Dallal asked, “You aren’t going to send your parents a message, Your Majesty?”
Lannahi would have gladly done it, but since it would only end in her suffocating to death, she said, “You do it.” Seeing his surprise, she explained, “I didn’t have a chance to speak with them after the Arbiter’s announcement, and I’m worried that they might have misinterpreted my behavior. I hope that when they get a message from someone more objective, it will alleviate their worries.”
Dallal didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she endured his attentive gaze without blinking, and he eventually left to fulfill her request. His effort, however, proved unnecessary. Lannahi had barely had time to enter the council room and brief the officials on the situation when the messenger announced that the king of Goldenshadows had arrived via the morning Post Trail.
As an unexpected visit could be interpreted as an attack, her parents and their four guards waited in the entrance hall, patiently enduring the suspicious stares of the soldiers who had escorted them into the palace. Dallal apparently hadn’t had the opportunity to explain the situation because Lannahi saw silent reproach in Sarkal’s eyes.
“Your suspicion hurts me, Father,” she said instead of greeting him.
“I’m a king, Lannahi.” There was weariness in her father’s voice, but in his eyes, hope was fighting with anger. “I can’t afford to discard even the most unpleasant thought, but I assure you that it causes me no less pain than it does you.”
Outside her closest circle, no one knew yet that she had been Challenged and Lannahi sensed the soldiers’ tension. She turned to Nuadd, who had left the council room with her. She felt strange giving orders in the presence of her royal parents, but she had no time for hesitation. “Captain, you and your soldiers may return to your duties.”
The man threw a careful glance first at her and then at the group of newcomers and signaled for the soldiers to withdraw.
“Shall we go somewhere private?” she asked her guests.
Her composure must have touched a string in Sarkal’s soul because he lost patience and, in a voice vibrating with emotion, began, “Lannahi, did Nihhal—”
“He surprised me as much as he surprised you,” Lannahi interrupted him gently, wishing to avoid dangerous questions. She smiled sadly. “I regret it, but there was little I could do.”
