through his long hair, which was no longer wet. He must have magicked it dry. I wouldn’t mind having that ability. “I don’t know why we didn’t see it immediately. He never had a chance at the crown while Father was alive. Getting rid of Father, and now Killian, he must think he has a chance.”
“What about you two?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “Surely, he doesn’t think he can beat both of you in the tournament.”
“I don’t know,” Flynn said. “He mentioned a private trainer when I spoke to him yesterday. Maybe he knows something we don’t.”
Ronan grunted. “Or, maybe, he has a different plan for us.”
That was a pleasant thought.
“What do we want to do about it?” Flynn rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. Though he and Ronan didn’t show the physical signs of fatigue like Killian, both were obviously worn down emotionally.
“You should go to the training room today and keep an eye—and ear—out for anything that might help.”
“There has to be something more productive to do with my time.”
Ronan shook his head. “We have to keep up appearances. If all three of us fail to show up, it’ll draw too much attention.”
“Yeah, good point. What are you going to do?”
“Snoop around. Maybe break into a few competitors’ rooms looking for evidence of a glamoured evil being. Nothing unusual.” His face was as dark as a storm, and I pitied the Fair Folk who ended up on the wrong side of his suspicion.
I pushed away from the wall and stepped forward. “What about me?”
“Stay here with Killian,” Ronan said. “He shouldn’t be alone right now. If anything else happens, send us a telepathic message immediately.”
“Okay, but isn’t there anything else I can do?” I hated feeling useless.
“Actually, I have an idea.” Flynn grinned at me then Ronan. “Why don’t we use a spying portal on Anlon?”
“Like the one you used on me in NP?”
He nodded. “We can tie it to him rather than a particular place. That way, you and Killian can keep an eye on him from the comfort and safety of this room.”
Ronan stood. “It’s a good idea.” He turned to Flynn. “Stay here and create the portal before heading to the training room. Make sure to pick up on anything suspicious while you’re there. We still don’t know that Anlon is behind everything.”
“Got it.”
As Ronan passed me, he paused and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Take care of yourself and Killian, okay?”
Surprised but also pleased, I nodded. “Okay.”
Flynn
It was as if the chaos of our morning had bled into the rest of the castle.
Not that anyone knew of Killian’s episode. I was certain of that. But I hadn’t made it three steps outside of his room before I was waylaid by a prince of Mag Mell, one of the sea realms.
He and his entourage had found their practice space inhabited by the competitors from Emain Ablach and were none too happy about it. In this situation, I was going to have to walk a fine line to make this prince happy without offending the competitors. The Folk of Mag Mell were notoriously vicious. I’d heard rumors that they ate their enemies, and from the sharp-toothed grin of the prince, I was inclined to believe it.
“Get them out of my space,” the prince said quietly, his voice strangely melodic, “or I will drown them in the loch and tear their skin from their bones.”
This part of the tournament wasn’t described in any of our books, but it made sense to me that the Folk who came here to fight would be, well, spoiling for one.
Despite my wariness, I slung my arm around the prince’s shoulders. “How very benevolent of you to give them a chance at survival, rather than trounce them outright.” I forced myself to take a jovial tone as I led him away from Killian’s rooms. “I should thank you, as should my staff. I can only imagine the blood we’d be mopping from the floors right now.”
The prince paused for a moment and then laughed. “Indeed! I was much tempted, but better to leave the blood-letting for the tournament.”
“Every tournament has had a competition in which the Folk of Mag Mell excel. Think of the cheers of the audience. It would be such a waste to be eliminated from the tournament before it begins.” I dropped my arm and moved to stand in front of him. Straightening, I narrowed my eyes so he