would see just how serious I was. The only fighting allowed to happen during the King’s Tournament took place during the tournament. Anything else would lead to disqualification.
The prince showed his sharp teeth to me before bowing his head. “Fair point, well made.”
“I will remind the Folk of Emain Ablach of their correct practice space. And I apologize for the trouble.”
Surprised, the prince nodded. “I accept your apology.”
He followed me to the practice arena in a much better mood than the one I found him in. His clan waited, arms crossed and teeth bared, as we entered, but the prince held up his hands, approaching them good-humoredly.
I did as I promised and read the riot act to the company from Emain Ablach. By the time I had everyone where they were supposed to be, and not ready to spill blood, hours had passed.
I had barely gotten to my own practice space when I was interrupted again by one of my father’s advisors. “Your Highness, it appears competitors from Tír fo Thuinn have just arrived, and we are completely unprepared.”
I sighed. Tír fo Thuinn was the Land Under the Waves, and its Folk had very specific needs. For one, their space had to be under water, and any land practice had to be completed in close proximity to it, as they had to submerge themselves often in order to access their magic.
They were extremely late to the tournament, but there were no rules about entering, so with a longing glance at my sword, I went about solving our newest problem.
And that was how my day was spent. I smoothed ruffled feathers and—not to brag—stopped a war between two kingdoms before it could start.
Overall, it was a pretty successful day, if I ignored the fact that I hadn’t trained for the tournament at all.
I headed to the now-empty practice space as the sun lowered and the lights within the castle were lit. Yes, I was exhausted, and no, I didn’t expect that it made a lick of difference if I practiced or not, since Killian was the only important competitor in this tournament. But I would practice anyway.
Closing my eyes, I gathered my magic to summon a competitor against which to practice. As the image of a Folk from Tír fo Thuinn appeared, I smiled. In his hand, he held a trident, while in the other, the blue flames of fire that burned beneath water.
I lifted my sword and conjured a magical shield. This was going to hurt, but let the battle begin.
Imogen
I watched Anlon eating breakfast through the portal Flynn had created before he left to “keep up appearances.” So far, all I’d discovered about the princes’ cousin was that he didn’t have an ounce of humility and failed to close his mouth while chewing. Delightful.
Hearing Killian finally stir in the bathroom, I sat up straighter on the couch and waited for him to appear. He’d been in the bath for at least an hour, and I’d started to worry about him. Well, worry more.
The door opened, and he walked straight into the bedroom, seeming to not even notice me. Not willing to leave him alone for yet another hour, I followed him and watched as he collapsed on the bed, covering his face with his hands.
“Killian?” I said softly, not wanting to startle him. “Can we talk?”
He released a ragged breath. “I don’t want to talk about it, Imogen.”
Well, too bad. I did. What I saw scared me. I loved this man, and I was watching him unravel.
“How do you feel now?” I asked.
“Fine.”
I snorted. Classic Killian. “You don’t have to be tough with me.”
“What do you want me to say? My head is pounding. I feel like someone punched me in the stomach and in the face. Even my hair fucking hurts.” He dropped his hands to the bed and turned his head to stare at me. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes.” I crawled next to him, careful not to jostle him too much. Tucking my legs beneath me, I pushed my hair behind my ear and clipped my jaw. Ouch.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry about this.” He brushed the edge of my jaw, trailing a gentle finger over the bruise he’d left when he’d started flailing.
“I know you are, and I want you to forget about it.” I touched his forehead with my pointer and ring fingers and dragged them over his forehead. He shut his eyes and let out a breath, so I kept