Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3)(31)
Still frustrated, I turned to Serilda. “What do you see with your magic? Anything to do with the Mortans?”
Her blue eyes grew dark and dreamy, and the smell of magic filled the air as she looked out over the water at Morta. After several seconds of silent contemplation, Serilda frowned and shook her head.
“It’s too early to tell. Right now all I see is darkness. It’s almost like a . . . wave rising up, getting ready to drown us all.” She dropped her hand to her sword, as if the blade would protect her from the horrible vision. “A wave that could swallow us, and everyone else here, and all of Bellona.”
“See?” Auster muttered. “I told you that I didn’t like coming to the Regalia.”
Paloma clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, cheer up, Auster. The Regalia is just another arena, and we’ll win this fight, just like we have all the others.”
She grinned at the older man. After a moment, Auster’s lips turned up into a small smile.
“Don’t forget that you do have some allies,” Xenia chimed in. “My cousin the queen arrived late last night. She’s most eager to finally set eyes on the great Everleigh Blair.”
I made a face. There was nothing great about me, except perhaps the fact that I had survived this long, which I often thought had more to do with blind luck than any outstanding skill on my part. But sometimes luck was all you had, and I was determined to make the most of mine.
“You’ve already been reporting to your cousin?” Serilda snorted. “That’s quick work, even for you.”
Xenia bared her teeth at the other woman, as did the ogre on her neck. “That’s because I deal in facts, not vague visions like you do.”
Serilda’s hand curled a little tighter around her sword, while Xenia’s fingers did the same to her ogre cane, as though each woman wanted to battle the other. In some ways, the two of them couldn’t be more different. Serilda was a soldier first, always ready, willing, and eager to dispatch Bellona’s enemies with her sword, while Xenia was a spy, more apt to undercut her opponents than face them openly. Still, underneath all their sniping, I thought they had a lot of mutual respect for each other.
I had certainly learned a lot from both of them. Serilda had taught me how to physically fight for and win my throne, while Xenia’s lessons about dealing with the nobles had helped me keep my crown.
“Well, I agree with Xenia,” Cho chimed in. “I think you’ll have far more allies than you expect, Evie. Everyone knows how greedy and ambitious the Mortan king is, and no one wants to see their people killed and their lands invaded by him. That includes Ryusama.”
Xenia arched an eyebrow at him. “Sounds like I’m not the only one who’s been busy. Did your cousin the queen tell you that?”
Like Xenia, Cho was related to royalty, a fact that I had only learned as we’d been planning our trip to the Regalia. He winked at her. “Oh, I never reveal my sources.”
Xenia huffed, but she smiled a little at his teasing.
“Well, we know that the Andvarians are with you,” Sullivan said. “Heinrich and Dominic are attending the Regalia, along with Rhea.”
King Heinrich was Sullivan’s father, Crown Prince Dominic was his half brother, and Rhea was the captain of the Andvarian royal guards and Dominic’s unofficial consort. Heinrich and I had agreed to a new treaty between Bellona and Andvari a few months ago, and it was nice to know that I could count on his support as I tried to convince Unger and the other kingdoms to align with us against Morta.
“Don’t worry, highness,” Sullivan continued. “We’re all here standing shoulder to shoulder with you. So let the Mortans come, and the DiLucris, and all your other enemies. Because none of us are going anywhere.”
His blue eyes blazed with conviction and determination, and the smell of his rosy love washed over me. He would stand with me until his dying breath, just as I would do the same for him and the rest of my friends.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers. “I love you for that.” I looked at the others. “I love all of you for that, and I’ll do my very best to protect you.”
That was the vow I had made to myself during the Seven Spire massacre, after Vasilia had killed almost everyone I had ever known and cared about, and it was the vow I had repeated to myself every single day since then. So far, I had kept it, and I had no intention of breaking it during the Regalia, not even to try to assassinate the Mortan king.
They all nodded at me. Sullivan. Paloma. Serilda. Cho. Auster. Xenia. I stared at them a moment longer, then turned to face my people.
While my friends and I had been talking, everyone in the Bellonan camp had been gathering in the open field behind us. Guards, servants, nobles, merchants, competitors, spectators. All shapes, sizes, and stations were represented in the crowd, and thousands of people had traveled from all across Bellona to watch and compete in the Games.
I strode forward and stopped in front of them. Slowly, the crowd quieted, and everyone focused on me. I looked from one face to another.
Calandre and her sisters clutching pennants with my crown-of-shards crest that they’d sewn themselves. Fullman and his son Tolliver, both wearing sour expressions, still unhappy that I’d nixed Tolliver from the Tournament of Champions. Diante and her grandson Nico, shooting smug, superior looks at the other two nobles. And dozens and dozens of other nobles, servants, guards, and gladiators I knew from my time at both Seven Spire and the Black Swan arena. All gathered here to represent Bellona and cheer on their fellow countrymen and -women.