House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,84

and then ushered him toward the rest of the competitors.

Kerrigan reached out and grabbed his hand, a tingle racing up her arm at the slightest touch.

Fordham turned around in confusion. “What?”

“The raven,” she told him. “Get the raven medallion.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Trust me,” she said earnestly. “Like last time.”

He looked at her shrewdly before nodding. “All right.”

And then Sinead was tugging her away from Fordham and pushing her down into a chair. “I don’t know what you two were up to, but I need to set this nose and heal your injuries. You could have internal damage.”

“I want to watch the tournament.”

Sinead brooked no argument. She just got to work. After only a few minutes, Kerrigan was so exhausted, she thought she was going to pass out entirely.

“What is happening?” Sinead asked incredulously.

“Healing draws on a person’s energy, right?” Kerrigan muttered.

“Of course. It draws on us both.”

“I have none. I’m… spent.”

Sinead stared her down. “And what were you doing that exhausted your magic?”

Kerrigan sealed her lips and stared back at the woman. She wasn’t going to tell her a thing.

Sinead sighed. “Fine. I don’t want to use all of my energy either. It is much easier when it flows through both of us,” Sinead said with another pointed sigh. “I will finish your nose and jaw. They’re both broken. Then, you can go watch the tournament. Once you have had something to eat and drink and rested, we’ll have another session.”

The next half hour of healing was an effort in self-control. She could hear the cries for the competitors and had no idea how Fordham was doing out there, how any of them were doing. But once her jaw and nose were set, her entire body felt so much better.

She thanked Mistress Sinead and then hastened to the box to watch the rest of the event.

Kerrigan gasped when she got a glimpse of the arena for the first time. Even though she had seen images of what would come in her vision, it was nothing compared to seeing the entire arena flooded. A man-made lake now resided within the arena, and overtop was the interlocking platforms. Each of them could move on their own. The ladders and ropes to climb between them weren’t connected but dangling, so competitors had to jump to reach them and haul themselves up.

“Gods,” she whispered as she came to stand beside Valia, the Society steward.

How was Fordham supposed to climb with broken ribs?

“What happened to you?” Valia asked, knotting her blonde hair into a plait at her back.

“Something unfortunate.” She smiled at the other girl though. “Don’t worry. I got a few licks in myself.”

“You’re absurd.”

“Thank you,” Kerrigan said, returning to the task. “How does it work?”

“Each competitor has to find and put together three medallion parts and then climb to the top of the platform. The first eight competitors to finish advance to the final.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Did you not notice the platforms are moving?” Valia inquired. “And there are Society members stationed around the arena, soaking the various platforms. If someone falls into the water, they’re automatically out. No second chance.”

Kerrigan shuddered as her vision whipped through her once more. A push and Fordham falling. Gods, he’d be out of the tournament. How was she supposed to warn him of that now that he was already out there, scrambling around on those moving platforms with a broken ribs?

“Oh,” was all Kerrigan managed.

“Yeah. Oh.”

Kerrigan watched Fordham, who somehow, despite his lack of magic and the amount of pain he surely was in, still managed to move through the platforms, hoisting himself up and finding medallion pieces. She watched him pick up a piece and look at it, and then his eyes found hers. It must not have been a raven piece because with a clench of his jaw, he put it back.

“What is he doing?” Valia asked in shock. “Why would he put the piece back?”

“Maybe it doesn’t fit?”

“Unlikely. All of the medallions were cut into three pieces.”

Kerrigan said nothing. She knew that the raven medallion was three uneven pieces. And though she had no idea why he needed them, she knew he did.

A bell sounded from the master of ceremonies’ box. Kerrigan jolted.

“What was that?”

Valia pointed to the top, and Kerrigan saw with shock that Audria had already finished. She’d climbed to the top of the platform, and she was standing victorious with a medallion clutched in her hand.

“He just put back another piece!” Valia cried. She whirled on Kerrigan. “What