He just shook his head and laughed. “Fun.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Good luck, Brax. You’ve got my whole vote today! You’ll do well, son.” I patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure Fenlas hates that he can’t be here.”
“Probably not as much as Greeve.” He smiled. “He’d be down here barking orders at me the whole time.”
“And Kai would be taking bets,” Inok laughed.
“They’ll be home soon enough. It’s time we let you go. Eyes open.”
“You got it.” He dipped his head before we walked away.
The amphitheater was a circular stadium with seats stacked several stories high lining the outside. I sat in front of the fighting pit atop a stage that stood at ground level along with several council members, including Inok. We all wore the traditional attire: lighter clothing for the females, exposing their midsections, and robes of all colors and prints for the males. Most were draped in jewelry, and even the crowd glistened from the sunlight. There was something about the tradition of it all that felt like home. It reminded me that after all of these many, many years, the land of faeries still honored something sacred.
“Did you find Umari?” I asked Inok, leaning to the side so my voice didn’t carry.
“She knows the plan, Your Grace. She and the draconians will stay tonight in the castle and remain for the closing ceremony.”
“We have to get through this day first,” I whispered.
“Fortunately, Brax fights first. That should keep us on our toes.”
“Indeed.” I sat back in my chair until it was time to start.
“We are ready, Your Grace,” a soldier called from the side of the arena.
I stood and walked to the edge of the stage. “Welcome,” I called. The acoustics of the arena carried my voice like a song.
As one, the fae rose and took a knee, even the council behind me, and though I couldn’t see the entirety of the crowd, hateful faces still greeted me.
Morwena had played her hand perfectly. My people outright hated me. They believed I killed for no reason, they believed I hated them, and they all believed I was the worst king to sit atop the flame throne. They knelt from fear alone. This couldn’t go on much longer, or I would have rioting and assassination attempts.
“It is with honor and pride that I open the Trials of the Flame Court. Today we bring together the many fae of the south and celebrate as one. Today we honor what our fathers’ fathers have left behind—a legacy. The Trials are a passageway into history for this kingdom. Some of the greatest fighters to emerge have been immortalized in our stories and our memories.”
I took a step closer to the edge of the platform.
“Today I would ask a favor of my people. We have many new faces joining us from the north. Welcome them. In the south, we honor battling with skill and showing mercy. Fae life is precious. You will not witness death today.”
I could see the uncomfortable movements in the crowd and only hoped I was right. All eyes were on me as I continued.
“The Trials are about more than bloodshed, more than carnage and killing. They symbolize our dedication as a kingdom to learning the skill and art form of different styles of combat. Let us begin.”
“Hooh. Hooh. Hooh,” the draconians called from the sky as they soared on the backs of the cetani and landed in the battlegrounds. The crowd stood and cheered as the beasts marched in circles around the draconians.
As one, they put on the most spectacular show, swinging their bos and flying through the air with dangerous acrobatics. Even I sat on the edge of my seat as one cetani took her rider and dropped him from the sky, just to soar below him and save him from death.
Umari landed in the ring and the crowd went still and silent. Her kohl-lined eyes searched the crowd as she performed. I knew they looked at her and saw Efi, their former queen. Just as I had done. It did not make her performance less powerful. If anything, there was excitement and passion building in the anxious crowd as she moved.
For the grand finale, she jumped onto the back of her cetani and soared straight up into the sky, letting loose a scream. Asha bolted in from the side and twirled higher and higher and then nosedived to the ground, landing on her feet, as cats do, just before impact. Asha pivoted to face me in the center of the pit and bowed low, and all the cetani followed. Then the draconians moved in front of the beasts and bowed as well.
“Today we honor you, Flame King,” Umari announced.
Silence filled the air. No one clapped. No one moved. I doubted anyone took a breath. The tension was so strong it began to hum. Finally, Inok stood and clapped, and I joined him. Only a handful of the fae in the crowd did as well. From the looks of it, it was mostly the new northern fae—the refugees. Things were worse than I had anticipated.
Umari didn’t skip a beat. She turned to the crowd and dipped again, and the spell was broken as they all cheered and screamed once more.
“How right you are to honor our king with silence,” she yelled as she mounted her cetani and shot into the sky.
That wasn’t what they had done at all, but she had planted the thought in their minds, and that was enough for me. Those that were not enchanted by Morwena would not question the silence, hopefully.
