tightly. With a tug, he tried to lead me down the opposite direction, probably to lock me away somewhere.
I dragged my feet. “No. Wait. I want to go.” I didn’t want to be alone for however long I’d be here.
He stopped. “You do?”
“Yeah.” I’d watch paint dry with them if that was the challenge. As long as I wasn’t locked away again. Or isolated. “What are you practicing?”
“Sword fighting.”
“Sword fighting? How very predictably princely.”
“This isn’t like any sword fighting you’ve seen.”
I exhaled. He sounded like regular, old Flynn again. “Tournaments were way before our time.” They were the stuff of legends. The strongest, smartest Fair Folk in the world arrived at a kingdom to fight in the king-making tournaments. Battles of wits, magic, and physical skill took place over a series of days. No one involved knew what to expect, because magic dictated the challenges.
Their father had won the last tournament in Tuatha after his uncle, who had been king, died.
Anyone, not necessarily a Folk of Tuatha, could end up on the throne. It was a tense—and frankly, scary—time.
“I never thought I’d see you in the tournament for king,” I said quietly.
“And you won’t this time,” he replied quickly. “I fight for my brother. Both Ronan and I do.”
“But what if you win?” The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. Dang.
“Won’t happen. If—by some insane chance—Killian and I are running to a finish line, and he happens to fall into me, pushing me ahead of him, then my first act as king will be to make him king.”
“So…the tournament is a series of foot races?” I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “In the woods? Or is there going to be one of those tracks the humans like to sprint around, like hamsters on a wheel?”
He knocked into my shoulder with his own. This glamour had us nearly shoulder to shoulder, so I barely stumbled.
“We’re here.”
We’d descended a set of stairs and had traveled down another hallway, stopping at a heavy metal door. The air was cooler down here, and heavier, like we were close to water. “Where are we?”
He reached around me to push open the door, and my breath caught at the display of magic and athleticism in front of me.
Flynn had led us to an underground lake. Above us was the stone of the castle, like it had been built directly on top of this place. There was a sandy shore and grass. It was dark, but more like twilight than midnight. And, all around us, fireflies lit up the shadows.
But that wasn’t what had me sucking in a breath. It was the battle happening on top of the water. Killian and Ronan hovered over the surface of the lake, fighting. Metal clanged against metal as their swords crossed. They stepped forward, and back, like they were dancing.
Killian’s face was flushed and his eyes bright, glowing with the exertion from using so much magic.
Ronan, on the other hand, could have been out for a walk. The only thing that gave away how hard he was working, and thinking, was his narrow-eyed glare. When I looked at him, I could see the wheels in his head turning. He expended less energy and effort, because he used his brain to figure out his opponents. I bet, if I asked, Ronan would be able to explain that Killian had some sort of pattern to his fighting.
People always underestimated him. They thought he was just the muscle. But Ronan was smart. Right now, he was probably waiting for Killian to get tired before he really made his move.
Flynn cleared his throat, and Ronan glanced toward us. His eyes widened a second before he growled, “Flynn, what the fuck?” And fell into the lake.
Imogen
I pressed a hand to my mouth to stifle a snicker, but Flynn let his laughter ring out loud and long. As Ronan crested the surface of the water, he immediately glanced our way, looking madder than a wet leprechaun. And that just made Flynn laugh harder.
Even I couldn’t suppress my humor any longer...until the warrior strode out of the water, sword in hand, heading directly for us. Given the untapped violence dripping off of him, I should have been concerned for my life. But I couldn’t seem to stop staring at the way his clothes hugged his body, putting his impressive muscles on full display.
No, impressive wasn’t good enough. His physique was unreal. Like something you’d expect to see carved in stone