She froze, realizing it was because she’d rejected him. He’d called her Stella after she told him she didn’t want him. He’d made the change when she let him know that she was not in fact going to be his.
Her eyes burned, her chest wound so tight she could scarcely breathe.
Alexandra smiled thoughtfully. “Which do you think our dear brother meant, Jules?”
Juliana stared wide-eyed at Stella. “Oh my gods. He’s in love with you.”
Stella shook her head, trying to swallow the lump lodged in her throat. “I don’t think it’s that deep. It’s just this bond. It’s very compelling.”
But the words were more wish than truth. And Stella was more raw wound than warrior. She could not have this now when she needed to be clear-headed and strong. When she needed to be the fighter she’d been when she’d saved Teddy’s life.
Stella needed to be someone who could survive. Someone like her parents.
The revelation changed nothing. It couldn’t. When Stella stepped into the arena, she would need to do whatever it took to win. She needed the bond gone. Surely that was a blessing the gods would grant her. She couldn’t bear to face the torment of knowing Teddy so intimately when she could not have him.
A throat cleared from the tent doorway.
Fionn Silver stepped inside and sauntered over to Stella. “Hey, princess.” Juliana and Alexandra both looked at him for a longmoment before realizing he meant Stella. “I need to call in that favor.”
Stella crossed her arms. “If it’s something about throwing this challenge, it’s not going to happen.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Nothing so serious. Besides, there’s no fun in surrender when you can be an outright victor. I promise it won’t take long. We’ll be back in the arena in no time.”
Alexandra stepped forward, her fingers brushing the blade tucked into the back of her armor. She looked to Stella for approval.
“I appreciate the solidarity, but I’ll be fine, Your Graces.” Stella curtseyed and turned to leave, but not before she saw Fionn wink at Alexandra and the princess answer with an obscene gesture.
The dock airwas rotten with low tide, but the pier was quiet and free of its usual hustle and bustle. The percussive sound of boats gently bouncing against the dock bumpers in the rough waves matched the urgent rhythm of Stella’s pounding heart.
Stella leaned against the fence, looking out at the sea. “You need me to dowhat?”
“I need you to wipe the harbormaster’s memory.”
“Of everything?”
Fionn laughed. “No, princess. Just a little bit. I’d appreciate if you could make it look like he just hit his head and forgot.”
Stella stared at Fionn. That wasn’t exactly a big ask. What she’d done on Alexandra was intricate and meticulous. It took a lot of magical finesse to remove a memory without making it obvious that something was missing. But to bluntly remove a chunk of time was relatively easy—for Stella, at least.
She tried to puzzle out his angle. If he didn’t have magic, he wouldn’t have realized the simplicity of the task. Maybe he hoped to wear her out before the magic challenge. As far as she could tell, Fionn did not have magic, and if he did, it had to be meager for Stella to have no sense of it at all after being so close to him.
Witches could always sense magic on each other. Stella could sense it every time Teddy was close, and not just because of the bond buzzing in her chest. His storm magic sent a soft crackle through the air. All of the Savero siblings were like that.
Fionn looked at her expectantly.
“Why?”
He cocked his head and smiled flirtatiously. “That wasn’t part of our agreement. Information is power. I just need this small favor.”
“What if he forgets something vital?” Stella asked.
“You seem like a smart girl. I don’t think I should have to tell you that’s kind of the point,” Fionn said.
Stella tried to read anything else about this request in his eyes, but Fionn’s face was a mask of calm indifference.
Maybe he’d slept with the man’s wife and simply wanted the dalliance forgotten so he could come and go from the Olney ports without being sabotaged at every dock. The harbormaster did have considerable power in Olney City. He was in charge of the comings and goings of every visiting vessel, and while he did have the help of a team of tide witches and several deputies, he was ultimately the keeper of everything related to sea travel. It was an important role because having one man who knew everyone who came and went in Olney meant a wealth of information, all of which funneled back to the network of spies run by her Uncle Evan and Aunt Sylvie.
As if on cue, the dock bells rang out, signaling the end of the day. That meant only a half-hour to get back to the arena to check in for the third challenge.
