How proud her family must be. How proud her people—her soon-to-be king—must be.
New cheers grabbed my attention. I glided my gaze down the mountain, where a massive coliseum loomed in the heart of the bustling market. It was too far away to make out individual details, but I easily spotted the line that stretched around it, countless people eager to get inside.
One voice rose above the cheers, as if by magic. “Next we have... Morgone the Brave!”
Thunderous applause. Ah. The master of ceremonies must be introducing the combatants, one by one.
The next one he introduced—Bambam the Troll—received boos.
Ugh. A troll was fighting for Dior’s hand in marriage? Trolls had towering horns, venomous tusks, and, according to the tales I’d heard, an unquenchable taste for mortal...meat.
Maybe I didn’t envy Princess Dior, after all. What other creatures vied for her hand in marriage? Sorcerers? They had to steal magic from others to survive. Snake-shifters? They brazenly fed on other shifters. Gorgons? If conditions were right, they could turn anyone into stone.
Could Saxon win against such fierce competitors?
If he died, I wouldn’t care. Not more than a little. Probably.
“Come,” Trio demanded, motioning me over. “I’ll take you to the market, as Prince Saxon instructed.”
“There’s no need. I’ve prepared his meal already.” I stood by my cheese loaf. Filling and good for you. Because herbs.
“You lie.”
“How dare you insult my cookery. Even if I planned to slave over a second meal, which I don’t, I wouldn’t go to the market with you.” How many times had this male made me bleed? “I wouldn’t go to an all-you-can-take treasury with you.”
Had Saxon left him behind to punish me further?
Forget caring a little if he died. I would rejoice. In fact, I was already planning the goodbye party.
The pale-haired female said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take her to the meat market. There’s some beefcake I’m dying to inspect up close and personal.” She wiggled her brows.
Beefcake? My stomach forgot breakfast and rumbled an agreement. “I’ve never had beefcake, but I’d like to change that immediately. Please, and thank you.” Then, I would sneak off to the tournament.
She canted her head and blinked at me, as if she’d never encountered such a strange specimen. “I didn’t mean...you know what? Never mind. I’ll get you a freaking beefcake. Well, a vegecake. I don’t do meat. Unless you’re willing to take a chance on squirrel? They’re the chicken of the trees, you know, and the little suckers deserve death by mastication. I said what I said.”
Freaking? Do meat? Did many avian speak as oddly as this one, who reminded me of the witch Ophelia. “I humbly accept the vegecake, but not the squirrel. You’re very kind.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She rushed over to slap a hand over my mouth, her gaze darting left and right. To all those nearby, she called, “She means I’m super bad. Like, terrible. Awful.” Satisfied she’d made her point, she dropped her hand and said, “Lookit, I can tell you aren’t wanting to grocery shop or prepare some kind of recompense meal. You can barely keep your eyes off the coliseum. So do you want to attend the tournament, or what?”
Truly? Had I finally found a fairy godmother? “You’ll escort me there? Yes, yes, yes.”
“The princess is supposed to go to the market, nowhere else.” Anger frothed in Trio’s eyes as he spread his beautiful wings. Whoosh, whoosh. He rose into the air, gliding toward me. “If I must break your legs and carry you to ensure it happens, Princess, I will.”
I didn’t... I couldn’t...move. I needed to move. But I’d frozen with terror, my limbs locked in place. I remained planted, an unwitting target for my worst nightmare.
The pale-haired girl flung herself at him, kneeing him in the stomach and punching him in the face. “Try to break her legs and see what happens,” she cooed at his wheezing form.
Fairy godmother to the rescue.
Smiling at me, she held out her hand. “I’m Eve, by the way. You’re Ashleigh, and you’re happy to meet me, yada yada.”
I looked at her, then her hand. Eve, the hand. Was I supposed to kiss it? She was Saxon’s second-in-command, and she had helped me with Trio. If it was avian tradition...
Whatever. I did it. I kissed her hand.
She sucked her lips between her teeth, her eyes going wide with...mirth? Ugh. What had I done wrong? And oh, wow. Up close, I noticed a faint blue glow inside her irises. It reminded me of both the Enchantian Forest and Ophelia.