Page 25 of Royal Hunt
Ferar growled, and the noble standing closest to him jumped. Cassus leaned forward, and ran his fingers through the youngest princess’s hair affectionately. It was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen. Nessian looked angry enough to spit fire.
“Yes, it seems we’ve been a bit overzealous in encouraging the humans to rebel, leaving us short of a few contestants,” Cassus admitted. “Usually each realm had enough that entire teams would win, and split themselves into new kingdoms here. Obviously, things will have to be altered slightly.”
He clapped his hands together loudly, and the heirs flinched. “You won’t be the only contestants.” Cassus’s gaze scanned the hall, landing on Trenton and his men. And Gregory.
And me.
“The Northern Realm has deprived us of many contestants due to their own overzealousness,” Cassus called out. “They will correct this error by sending replacements for those they should not have killed; for the eldest son, and the betrothed. That’s only two, but I’ll take more because I’m feelingannoyed.”
I thought it odd he didn’t count Princess Rowan or Prince Hector. Why was that? Trenton wiped his brow with his handkerchief and pulled at his collar. Gregory’s arms found my shoulders and I flinched, not expecting the contact. My chin had stopped bleeding, but rust colored stains lingered all over the neckline of my desk. I wanted to scrub the dried flecks from my skin, but I didn’t dare move.
Trenton glanced at us, his eyes going wide. “Take my son and his betrothed. That’s two right there, and these three as well!”
He pointed to three of the largest guards in his retinue, but they immediately turned their swords toward him, forcing Trenton to stagger toward Cassus instead.
Ferar grinned, and kicked Trenton’s knees so he toppled onto the steps leading to the dais. “The boy, his female, two of the guards, and you.”
Cassus waved a hand and Gregory and I were pulled forward as if by invisible ropes. Ellis twitched, but wouldn’t look at me. Ferar turned to the three guards, bouncing on the balls of his feet like it was his birthday. “If you fight—”
Ferar didn’t finish before the first guard put his sword through the gut of the second. The third soldier used it as his opportunity to strike the first, but the first man quickly pulled his sword free with a sickening wet sound and bashed the third onto the ground. Ferar pulled his hands apart and both soldiers followed his movements, separating from each other. The wounded man on the ground gasped, clutching his wound. He went still, an expanding pool of blood seeping through his uniform. The men and women closest edged away, eyes darting nervously anywhere but at the body in front of them.
Ferar grinned. “Ah, now there are only two left. Perfect.” He bent down and tied Trenton’s hands behind his back.
The first guard sputtered incoherently, even as Ferar disarmed him and bound his hands faster than my eyes could follow. “I WON! I WON!” The remaining guard insisted. “I killed him!”
Ferar rolled his eyes, pushing the two bound guards forward. “There was nothing to win, you idiot. I simply was going to comment that if you fought we would get a preview of your skills. You assumed, as humans usually do. I suggest that for the hunt you think a little morecritically.”
The guards were dragged forward in line with Gregory and me and the rest of the heirs. Their faces were tight with fear and desperation.
One guard had blonde hair and didn’t look much older than me. The other (who’d killed the third guard) was a grizzled veteran, salt and pepper hair and beard sticking out every which way. He lashed out at Trenton next to him, who scooted awkwardly with his hands tied behind his back to avoid being hit. At a glare from Ferar, they both ceased.
Cassus leaned forward, excitement in his eyes. “Good! Now how about a few more volunteers from the other realms to make it fair?”
The crowd panicked and turned en masse toward the massive doors at the sides of the hall, only to realize they wouldn’t budge. Wails of terror filled the air. Cassus jerked his head at Ferar, who jumped from our platform and landed in the midst of the crowd. They screamed and scattered around him.
Ferar grabbed nobles at random, (or so it appeared), throwing them toward the steps. Invisible bonds tugged them forward to join our sad group. I finally spied my father toward the back of the crowd, his eyes wide and his lips parted in shock. I tried to beg for help by meeting his eyes, but he determinedly glanced away.
That ass.
As Ferar’s mumbling drifted up toward the dais, I realized his choices were anything but random. “Hmm. Wife-beater. Rapist. Ooh, this one has a thing for young ladies. And I do mean young.”
Ferar gleefully sorted through the crowd. He pointed to a woman in a large, pink satin dress. “This one smothered her newborn and said she miscarried.”
A flick of his wrist sent her careening to Cassus’s feet even as he reached out to grab someone else. “This one beat his child so badly his arm broke. Ironic since the child was beaten for not completing his chores fast enough. How quick do you think you’d be with one arm?”
Venom dripped from Ferar’s voice as more nobles ended up on the steps, each one’s crimes aired out in the open for everyone to hear. “This one pimps out young orphan girls for profit. That one stole from his elderly mother.” Soon there were double the number of people on the platform, each one guilty of some heinous act. Ferar’s eyes narrowed as he picked out one last woman. “You. You will—”
“I will go in her place!” a voice cried out.
The crowd gasped, and the heirs stood straighter as a young woman pushed herself in front of a much older one. I could only assume it was her mother. The girl looked around my age, with dark brown hair pulled tightly back against her scalp into a severe bun.
Ferar snarled. “This woman is guilty. You are not. Stand down.”
Cassus made an impatient gesture. “If she wants to compete, who are we to say no? A body is a body, after all. She is young, and will be far more entertaining to watch than the hag of a mother.”
The room went utterly still, the only sound the young woman’s footsteps as she approached the dais, standing just below Gregory and me. I did a quick count in my head. There were eight heirs, and thirty-six nobles if you counted Gregory and I. There were six guards, bringing our total to fifty souls altogether.
One of the men chosen to compete licked his lips. “What if we survive? Are there prizes?”
