Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(111)

But perhaps the biggest surprise was that the people—my people—were waiting for me.

Nobles, competitors, merchants, servants, guards. Old, young, rich, poor, and everyone in between. They had all flocked to the plaza along the waterfront, and they all started yelling, screaming, and cheering when they saw me standing on the rise above them.

“Evie! Evie! Evie!”

The chant rang out over and over again, and people waved pennants and flags, many of which featured my crown-of-shards crest. I felt like I was staring out at the living, beating heart of Bellona, and it was one of the most wonderful sights I’d ever seen.

This was what I had always secretly dreamed about when it came to the Regalia. The cheers, the excitement, the support. Now that it had come true, I realized that it was far more meaningful than just a childhood fantasy.

Even if Maximus killed me and my friends today, Bellona would live on through her people. And that thought brought me far more peace and comfort than anything else had over the past year.

“You should wave to your people, highness,” Sullivan murmured.

His words roused me out of my reverie, and I lifted my hand, smiling and waving. The people cheered even louder. I kept right on smiling and waving as I wound my way down the steps and across the plaza.

As I headed toward the bridge, something else unexpected happened. The crowd of people closed in so that they surrounded me, my friends, and the guards, like a moving gladiator’s shield.

“Don’t worry, Evie!”

“We’ll protect you!”

“No assassins are getting to you today!”

One after another, voices rose up in the crowd. Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away and smiled and waved again, thanking my people for their service. Then together, en masse, we crossed the bridge and headed over to the island.

The mood might have been subdued on Fortuna last night, but that was no longer the case. Thousands upon thousands of people had flocked to the island, and more folks were crammed into the plazas and along the boulevard than ever before. Music, laughter, and conversations filled the air, creating a loud cacophony of sound, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. The collective scents of eagerness and excitement filled the air, washing over me like the waves slapping up against the waterfront.

My friends and I climbed the steps and headed up toward the arena on the top of the island. And, as always, comments nipped at my heels as people caught sight of me.

“There she is!”

“That’s the Bellonan queen!”

“Do you really think she can kill Maximus?”

“I guess we’ll find out . . .”

All too soon, we left the steps behind, crossed the plaza, and reached the main archway that led into the arena. Thousands of people had already filed into the structure to watch the battle royale, and their cheers and conversations rang out like a low, rolling drumbeat that went on and on and on.

Even though I had been in this position before, nervous butterflies still danced in my stomach, but I swatted them away. I had beaten Emilie, another gladiator, in a black-ring match, and I had faced Vasilia and won. I could do the same to Maximus.

Paloma must have sensed my nerves, because she clapped her hand on my back, her great strength making me stagger forward.

“Don’t worry, Evie,” she said in her matter-of-fact voice. “If Maximus kills you, I will go into the arena and avenge you.”

I groaned. She said that every single time I faced someone in battle, and I both loved and hated her for it.

“No.” I stabbed my finger at her. “You are not going to avenge me. Remember the plan. If the worst happens and Maximus kills me, then Cho will kill him. Not you.”

Paloma shrugged. “That depends on who gets to the bastard first.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she gave me a fierce look, as did the ogre on her neck. They wouldn’t be dissuaded, so I sighed.

“Fine,” I muttered. “You can avenge me to your heart’s content. Just don’t blame me if you wind up dead.”

She grinned. I gave her a sour look, then glanced around. The others were a few steps away, scanning the crowd, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small gray envelope sealed with blue wax and my crown-of-shards crest.

“Here. This is for you.” I gave the envelope to Paloma. “Just in case I don’t make it out of the arena alive. Save it for when you’re alone.”

Late last night, I had written out everything I suspected about Paloma’s mother and Xenia’s daughter being one and the same. I just hoped it wouldn’t be the final gift I ever gave my friend.

Paloma hefted the envelope. “What does it say? And why don’t you just tell me now?”

“Because it’s private, and I want to give you some time to think about what it says. Just promise me that you’ll open it later, okay?”

She didn’t like it, but she tucked the paper into her own pocket. “I promise.”

By this point, most of the crowd, including the Bellonans, had streamed into the arena, although a few stragglers were still hurrying across the plaza. With every passing minute, the roars of the crowd already inside grew louder and louder.

It was time for me to leave my friends behind.

They knew it too, and they all gathered around me. Paloma. Captain Auster. Xenia. Cho. Serilda. Sullivan. They stared at me with a mixture of love, confidence, and determination glinting in their eyes, and they smelled of the same emotions too, although the strongest was their rosy love for me, and mine for them.