The Queen of Blood (27 page)

Below, the practice ring was bare. The thin trees from the prior night had been swept away, subsumed by the earth. The waterfall that frequently flowed down the wood wall was dry. Together, the candidates clustered in the center of the circle of empty earth, while the other students and teachers—as well as their champions—encircled them.

Bells began to ring—morning bells, evening bells, all at once, a cacophony of chimes that drowned out the ordinary sounds of the academy until it was nothing but the peal of notes falling over one another and mashing together. And then the bells stilled, and there was silence.

Above, a flapping of a great many wings.

Daleina and the other chosen candidates looked up. The sky in the circle at the top of the academy was blotted by winged bodies, and Daleina felt them, spirits, dozens of them, their wings overlapping like the leaves in the canopy. She tensed, and she heard the same whisper ripple through the candidates:
Is this the challenge?
Were the trials beginning now, with this?

“Unusual escorts,” Zie said.

“Oh, fabulous. Flying,” Revi said. “I shouldn't have eaten breakfast. No one fly downwind of me.”

Daleina shot a look at Ven, who was squeezed between two masters, his eyes only on her. She didn't know if she was supposed to fight or accept this—was it an attack or merely “unusual” transportation? She didn't feel any malice in the spirits above, beyond what she usually felt, but then she hadn't felt any in the wood spirits who'd tried to crush her.

He nodded, and the muscles in her neck unknotted.

“If I'm ever queen,” Revi said, “I promise everyone will walk to their trials.”

“Then you will make an excellent queen,” Iondra said.

All of them fell silent again, watching, waiting, ready.

Spiraling down, the spirits soared in a pattern. Their bodies were translucent, each of them reflecting the shards of light that filtered through from above, as if carrying the sunlight down to them. One by one, they scooped up the candidates. Daleina forced herself to relax as two spirits clamped down hard on her
arms and lifted her into the air. She could do this.

As if triggered by an unseen signal, the spirits soared together, carrying the candidates up the funnel of the academy. Daleina lifted her face upward as they burst out the top and felt the sun wash over her.
This
was what she loved: this moment, above the world, when she saw Aratay—more than that, Renthia itself—spread beneath her. She saw an unbroken sea of green leaves and, far in the distance, the hint of mountains that could have been clouds, or clouds that could have been mountains. There were farmlands beyond that, she knew, and ice fields. Somewhere, an ocean with islands like jewels. But this, this was
her
Renthia—these forests, these magnificent majestic forests with their tiny villages hidden in trees, waterfalls that tumbled off rocks, sun-dappled groves, shrouded roots that never saw sunlight, thick branches that supported hopes, dreams, lives.

Up here, she felt calm.

She clung to that sense of peace as the spirits flew toward the palace, its spires rising high above the other trees. It seemed to glow in the morning light. They flew toward it and then down. She heard other candidates cry out at the sudden shift, but she didn't. She felt the wind in her face and kept her eyes open even as the air chilled her eyeballs. She saw the ground below them rushing toward them, the branches filled with people, so many people, watching them. When she landed, she looked the air spirits directly where she thought their eyes should be. “Thank you.”

They flew upward without acknowledging her. Around her, the other candidates clustered, about twenty-five in total, ranging from recent students like Daleina and her friends to more experienced students who had been training with their champions for several years.

She expected the queen to arrive in a spectacular way as well, carried by air spirits. Looking upward, she didn't see when the queen walked out of the palace. She felt an elbow nudge her—Revi—and looked to see the queen standing before them. Queen Fara was every bit as exquisite as she'd looked in the throne room, everything a queen was supposed to be, as beautiful as the sky. Her hair cascaded onto bare shoulders that had been painted
with lacelike vines and leaves. Her pale-blue gown pooled at her feet and spread behind her in a lace train. She wore a necklace of teardrop-shaped stones, and her crown was ivy.

“You have come to serve Aratay.” The queen's voice was soft but somehow it carried. It rang throughout the branches, perhaps through all of Aratay. “For that, I thank and honor you. I have been privileged to protect the people of our glorious forests for many years, and it is indeed a privilege, one that asks much of your mind, heart, body, and soul. It is not a responsibility to be assumed lightly, and for that reason, we have the trials.”

It felt as if everyone were holding his or her breath. Hundreds of breaths held, all at the same time. It was a silence that felt explosive.

“It's time to prove your mastery over the spirits. Let us begin.”

Now?

Now.

The queen raised her arms up, and her sleeves fell back to her shoulders. Her bare arms circled in the air, and Daleina couldn't help thinking that their queen had a flair for theatrics. She tried to push the thought down—she should be feeling respect and awe, not cynicism—but you didn't need to dance your arms to summon spirits. Or maybe you did, if you wanted all eyes on you. The people who had gathered to watch all leaned forward, their breath still collectively held.

Ice spirits sailed through the air toward Queen Fara, frosting the summer leaves, crafting icicles on the branches, coating the bridges in a thin sheen of what looked like glass until everything glittered. They circled around the candidates, and an ice wall built around them, creating a circle, and then the ice spirits dispersed, melting into the now-frozen earth and skating up the side of the palace. Snow fell in their wake.

“This is your new practice ring,” Queen Fara said. “Call your best spirit.”

And with that, it began.

One by one, their names were called, and one by one, the candidates stepped into the center of the ring and summoned a spirit. Daleina watched the others as they chose the most impressive
spirit they could. A woman with black skin and yellow hair summoned a fire spirit that howled within a column of fire. Another chose an earth spirit that slithered through the earth and curled around her feet, a massive snake with flat black eyes. Its body was thicker than a person. Linna called an air spirit that looked like a beautiful translucent woman with flowing iridescent wings. Mari called a water spirit that flooded the ring in an inch of water that flowed in like a wave and then pooled around Mari's feet. She stood on the spirit's scaled back.

Daleina tossed her senses outward, brushing the powerful minds of the spirits that the others had called. She felt the tiny palace spirits, watching curiously, hidden and wanting to stay hidden. She felt the city spirits, also drawn to watch, and she ran her mind up the trees toward the clouds. She could coerce one of the smaller spirits, but that wouldn't be impressive—it would tremble, terrified, in the presence of the other, stronger spirits. But she didn't think she could control one of the more powerful spirits. Not like these.

She glanced at the audience, which had grown. Ven was there, and Hamon; they'd traveled fast. She met Hamon's eyes first—worried, of course. And then Ven's. He was, surprisingly, smiling. Why? He had to know she couldn't do this. She was weak when it came to control. In a contest of power to power, she was going to lose. Badly, publicly, humiliatingly, overwhelmingly.

Unless she didn't try to control her spirit. Unless she tried to
invite
one.

“Candidate Daleina of Greytree,” the herald intoned.

Hands sweating, heart pounding, breath fast, Daleina stepped into the center of the ring. She felt eyes on her, both human and inhuman, and she tossed her mind up and out as far and hard as she could.
Come play with me
.

Silence.

And silence.

And then a rush of curiosity as a white streak separated from a cloud and flew in a spiral down toward her. It was an ermine-shaped air spirit—the same one? She couldn't tell, but it dove fast, scooping beneath her, knocking her onto its back. She clung to
it, and it spiraled up, flying her around the ring while the others watched. Linna waved to her. Revi was smiling. So was Ven, Hamon, the headmistress . . . She felt her cheeks stretch and knew she was beaming back at them.

Below, the next candidate was called.

Daleina stayed on the back of the air spirit, circling, as the remaining candidates each summoned a spirit until the ring was thick with spirits and their candidates. Everywhere, she saw feathers and scales and fur, tails and wings, twisted barklike faces and swanlike beauty. She
felt
their presence as well, the heat of their anger and hate prickling on her skin like summer air. Each candidate was focused on a single spirit.

The queen smiled. “You will be ranked based on the order in which your spirit leaves the ring—the one who stays the longest wins.

“Now . . . fight.”

F
ight?

Surely, she didn't mean . . . But she did. On the back of the winged air spirit, Daleina saw the candidates fan out along the edge of the ice wall that formed the trial ring. Each of them was intent on her own spirit, conducting it. Mari's water spirit drew a funnel of water from one of the streams that fed into the palace and threw it at a fire spirit, dousing the sparks that spread from its fingers. The fire spirit roared back and spun faster, a cyclone of flames that bore down on an earth spirit.

Daleina felt the confused question of her spirit:
Play?

She didn't know how to answer. She knew it wasn't as strong as the other spirits, and if it was hurt, she wasn't strong enough to force it to stay.

Fly higher,
she told her spirit,
but stay within the circle
.

She wanted a better vantage point, to see where she could wade into the fray. She winced as a wood spirit tore the mud-flesh arm from an earth spirit. Spirits didn't normally fight one another. This went against their nature, but the candidates pushed them hard, forcing them to attack over and over . . . until one after another, the spirits balked and fled. Some, because they didn't want to cause pain. Others, because they didn't want to feel it. An earth spirit burrowed far into the earth and out of the ring. An air spirit shot past Daleina and the winged ermine, exiting toward the clouds.

Another air spirit targeted them. Its fingers extended like knives, it dove for them, shrieking.
Don't let it catch you,
Daleina told her ermine.
Don't leave the ring. Game!

Game!
the spirit cried happily.

It evaded the other air spirit, and Daleina clung to its back as it twisted and spiraled. The ermine spirit laughed, a high bell-like sound that sounded too wild for the throat of any real creature. It sounded like raw wind, like a storm fresh from the sea. Daleina's head spun, and her stomach lurched, but she held on.

The other air spirit was close behind them.

Down,
Daleina said.
Between!

Crying with delight, the ermine dove down, flying faster and faster as the earth rushed toward them. Closer, it sped between the other spirits, weaving between them as they attacked one another, drawing the other air spirit into their paths. The ermine then veered up, and Daleina looked behind them—the other air spirit had been caught in the wet tentacle arms of a water spirit.

Yes!
She didn't have to fight the others, she realized; she only had to outlast them. Clinging to the ermine, they spiraled up above. She felt the spirit's joy.
Fun,
it seemed to be saying.
Fun,
she told it.
Stay in the circle, but fun
. She then let it do whatever it wanted to do.

It soared.

It dived.

It twisted, twirled, turned, and laughed as it zipped between the other spirits, a bolt of chaos between the serious fighting inside the ring. Daleina saw her friends' faces, fierce in concentration, as they guided their spirits.

It occurred to Daleina that she wasn't playing by the rules. But as the air spirit soared up, wind in her face, she didn't care. It was a solid plan. Last to leave the ring wins. Ven had said that Queen Fara didn't care about how she survived the trials, only that she did. Below, there were only a few spirits left. As she glided above them, she saw a twitch of movement below—one of the remaining spirits had noticed her.

Unfortunately, it too was an air spirit. It launched itself into
the air, and the ermine flew higher.
Stay in the ring,
Daleina told her spirit.

The ermine jackknifed and sped past the other air spirit, which looked like a massive winged lizard. The lizard flicked its tail at them, and caught her spirit in the stomach. Her spirit flew backward, and then caught itself, only a few inches from the edge of the ring.

The lizard spirit chased them. Daleina, glancing back, saw its teeth and claws. It would tear into her spirit's soft fur, rend its wings. Her spirit couldn't fight this. Daleina was going to have to let it flee.

As the ermine flew down close to the earth, Daleina let go and tumbled onto the floor of the ring.
Save yourself,
she told the ermine.

The ermine tried to obey, to evade the claws, but it had come too close to the practice ring. Another spirit grabbed its leg and yanked it down.

No!
Daleina thought.

She looked across the practice ring. The other spirit was being controlled by Airria. Sweat beaded her forehead. Her hands were clenched into fists—the spirit was clearly fighting her control. And Daleina had an idea. She couldn't order her spirit to attack the other spirit. It would never survive.

But she could order it to attack the one controlling the spirit.

As the ermine spirit cried out, Daleina bundled up all her emotion and threw a command at it:
Hurt her
.

Twisting away from the spirit, the ermine dove for Airria. It raked its claws across her chest. Crying out, Airria lost her grip on her spirit. And her spirit instantly fled.

The ermine dove for Airria again, and Daleina tried to stop it.
Stop!
It didn't want to stop, and Daleina did the only other thing she could think of.
Hurt me
. Twisting, the ermine switched its attack from Airria to Daleina. Knowing it was coming, Daleina twisted at the last second so that the claws would scrape her back. She felt it pierce her tunic. And then the spirit was winging up toward the sky, beyond the ring.

She let it go and stepped out of the ring, fifth to last.

Dropping to her knees, she dug her hands into the ground beyond the ice circle. Her head felt as if it were spinning. She felt Hamon's hands on her back, smearing salve onto the wounds. Lifting her head, she looked across the ring—and saw Queen Fara looking directly at her.

Daleina was certain, bone-deep certain, that the queen knew what she'd done, directing the spirit to attack her friend. Queen Fara smiled.

“Knew you could do it,” Ven said, beside her. He helped haul her onto her feet. “Head high, back straight, look like a princess. Everyone's watching.”

Daleina nodded. She straightened and watched the two remaining spirits battle in the ring: a candidate she didn't know, plus Mari. She circled the ring for a better view as Mari guided her water spirit to create a geyser in the center of the ring. She must be drawing water from throughout the city. The geyser stretched higher and higher, and her spirit was within it, spinning faster and faster.

The other spirit, a fire spirit, tested the edges of the water, roaring as it turned streams into steam. Steam flooded the practice ring, and then Daleina couldn't see. No one could. She stretched her mind into the ring, feeling for the spirits, and she felt the moment when the other candidate's control broke and the spirit turned on her.

The fire spirit roared down on the girl.

“No!” Daleina cried with her voice and her mind.

She felt the weight of other minds pressing down on the spirit as well, as other candidates realized what was happening, but they were too late.

The steam cleared.

Mari stood beside her water spirit.

And the other candidate was dead.

A
LL OF THEM GATHERED IN
D
ALEINA
'
S ROOM
,
LIKE THEY USED TO
. Except tonight they were silent, and their silence made the room feel small. Mari sat on Daleina's bed, between Linna and Revi. Iondra was perched on the desk. Evvlyn, Zie, and Airria all sat on the rug on the floor. Only Daleina stood.

Linna stroked Mari's hair while Revi held her hands.

“You were following instructions,” Iondra said. “This self-flagellation is pointless. Queen Fara does not blame you. The people of Aratay do not blame you.”

“We
don't blame you,” Revi said.

“You're all anyone is talking about,” Zie said. “You won the trials!”

“First half of the trials,” Iondra corrected.

Mari only stared at her hands, entwined with Revi's. “I didn't even know her name.”

Zie opened her mouth to say the woman's name, and Daleina nudged her with her foot, hard. When Zie looked up at her, Daleina silently shook her head, and Zie shut her mouth. They fell into silence again. Outside, there were murmurs on the spiral staircase, the current students dispersing after dinner. The night bells were beginning to ring, a cascade that was like a familiar lullaby. Daleina moved toward the window and looked out at the familiar view: the stairs and the interior of the academy. High above, the headmistress would be in her office. Below, the teachers would be preparing the practice ring for the next day. Life went on, even in the midst of the trials. She had to remember this, when she was in the middle of everything. She had to remember who the enemy was. It wasn't anyone in this room. “Airria . . .” Daleina began.

“Don't,” Airria said. “You were clever. You've always been clever.”

“I shouldn't have—”

“You redirected it, didn't you? Toward yourself. That makes us even.”

“But I shouldn't have—”

“Stop, Daleina,” Evvlyn said, her voice heavy, old. “All of us do things we regret.”

All of them were silent, deep in their own thoughts, until Revi, in an attempt to lighten the mood, said, “For example, I regret that I lied to my champion. ‘I shot the squirrel myself.' ‘I didn't forget the fire starter.' ‘I didn't steal these gloves; they were a gift.' ‘Of course I paid for the bread.' ‘Of course I can sense the spirits.'
All our ethics courses, and I fold in the face of the outdoors and the horror of camping.” She mocked herself in a light voice, but the look in her eyes didn't match her tone, and her words fell like rocks into a pond, swallowed whole. She looked haunted. More had happened than she said, Daleina was certain. She wondered how many secrets they each held now and thought of her champion and the notes he received. “A queen shouldn't be a petty thief.”

“A queen shouldn't be a murderer,” Mari said.

“It's not your fault, Mari,” Linna said, covering Mari's hands with her own. “You didn't order the spirit to kill her.”

“Of course I didn't!”

“Then it's not your fault.”

“She's right,” Daleina said.

“But my control slipped,” Mari said.

At least you had control,
Daleina thought.

“I don't deserve to be here,” Mari said.

“You were the best!” Linna said. “What happened doesn't erase that. Mari, you've come so far. Don't talk like that. You're the best of us.”

All of them nodded.

“Is this the part where we all hug?” Iondra asked. “Because that is not in my nature.”

Mari half hiccupped, half laughed, and then she started to cry. Linna twisted and gathered Mari into her arms so that Mari cried on her shoulder. Revi patted her on the back. The rest sat in silence, listening to her cry, feeling her pain. Daleina wished she knew the name of the candidate who died, wished she knew anything about her, so that the woman could be more than a broken body in the middle of a steam-filled practice ring as the ice melted around her, but she'd been taken away quickly, by her own champion. Daleina didn't know if she should go to the funeral. She thought no. If she were the woman's family, she wouldn't want to see the other candidates, the ones who had survived. Or maybe she had to be there, to show respect. It could have been any of them who fell.

“Did I tell you about the time I tried to gather an egg from
a bird's nest? My champion wanted breakfast, and I was determined not to let her down,” Revi said, her voice determinedly upbeat.

“Let me guess,” Daleina said. “Not a bird's nest.”

“Oh, no, it was not. Did you know there are actually flying lizards out in the forest? Well, apparently, there are. And apparently, they don't like egg stealers. And do you know how they express their displeasure? They spit. Goo. All over you. I had it in my hair, up my nose, in my mouth, because of course I opened my mouth to scream, and down my shirt. As a lesson, my champion wouldn't let me bathe until that night.” This time, Revi's attempt to lighten the mood worked. Daleina began to smile, almost.

“My champion thought I had to learn to be less ‘pretty,'” Linna offered. “She wanted me to ditch all my hair jewels, go without bathing, and sleep in muck.”

“What a strange way to train you,” Iondra said.

“I believe she wanted to harden me,” Linna said.

“Did it work?” Mari asked in a small voice.

“I'm already hard,” Linna said with an elegant shrug. “It just made me dirty. After a week, I made sure to sleep in a pile of skunk cabbage and then stick closer to her for the entire next morning. She let me bathe that same day. Champions do have some odd notions.”

“They want the best for us,” Iondra said.

“They want the best for Aratay,” Evvlyn corrected. She'd returned recently from training and had refused to talk about her experience, but Daleina had seen the way she flexed and unflexed her right hand, as if she couldn't control it anymore. Softly, she said, “I've thought about quitting.”

Silence greeted that.

“But I won't, because . . . well, this is who I am now. I wouldn't know who else to be.”

Daleina felt herself nodding. She sank onto the bed beside Linna, Mari, and Revi. They stayed up another hour, talking about their training, wondering what the second half of the trials would be like, and sitting together in the silences between the words.
This is my family,
Daleina thought. These women, in this
place. This was home, and these were her sisters. When they left for their respective rooms to sleep, she felt their presence linger in the air.

She was still sitting on her bed, thinking about them, her friends, when she heard a soft knock on her door. Standing, she crossed to the door and opened it, expecting to see Mari or Revi or Linna.