Violet grinned and blew air in Calista’s face, who was sitting directly to her left.
Calista looked alarmed and started rubbing her ears. “Don’t do that!” she shouted frantically.
“What did you do, Vi?” I scolded her as Calista became more panicked.
Violet rolled her eyes. “I’m just playing. I took her hearing so she didn’t have to listen to us being unbecoming.”
I choked on my laugh. “Give it back. You know she hates magic.”
Calista was like family to Violet. She would never harm her, but she definitely liked messing with her. Leaning forward, Violet blew in her face again and Calista glared at her.
“Just playing, Cal,” Violet said. Then Calista did the most awful thing you could do to a person – she stole the bacon off Violet’s plate and popped it in her mouth, grinning. Violet just winked. They totally loved each other.
“So what’s on my agenda today? Go for a little stroll in Central Park? Do some shopping? Fight for my life?” I realized then that I was nervous. This was becoming a daily occurrence. But with the crown so close now, the pressure was really on.
Calista cleared her throat. “The council has decided that there is to be one more task before the final battle – which will probably be tomorrow.”
Violet pulled a small object from her pocket. “Or it could be tonight. Which is why I’m here now.” She placed a glass vial on the table. It had an ornate gold stopper, and the fluid inside glowed with a purple hue.
“What’s that?” I asked her. Knowing Violet, it could be anything. Violet only needed four hours of sleep a night. She had way too much time in the day and was always making potions and practicing her spellcraft.
Violet leaned in closer: “Besides what their points give them, heirs are allowed to bring one weapon of their own into the final fight. It needs to be this.”
Calista spit her water out, spraying the table. “You expect me to let her go into a fight to the death against Selene carrying a tiny glass vial! You’re mad!”
Violet stood, her chair skidding on the tile floor, and faced me. “You know how I get those feelings?” she asked me.
Oh lord. Here we go. If Violet had gotten one of her “feelings,” there was no way I could talk her out of this.
I indicated the vial. “What is it, Vi?”
She swallowed roughly, getting herself under control. “It’s anti-venom for Selene’s familiar.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, words failing me. Larak was one of my biggest worries. He had been known to kill with one bite, and familiars were allowed to fight in the final battle. If Violet had a “feeling” I might be bitten, then I needed to listen.
“How did you get it?” As far as I knew there was no anti-venom for the magical snake, unless…
Violet grinned. “Last night, after you left the roof and Selene was busy with that guard, I took a little sample of the slimy creep’s venom and spent all night making this tincture.”
Took a little sample? One did not simply take a sample of Larak’s venom. She must have magically bespelled the reptile and sucked it from the fangs.
I didn’t even know how that was possible. No one understood the magic borns’ powers. They didn’t have wands or crystal balls. They simply were able to manipulate the mecca energy. Sometimes things worked for them, other times it didn’t. But besides the queen they were the only ones who could utilize the mecca.
“Are you sure this is not going to backfire on you and somehow put your life in danger?” I was very serious as I faced my best friend. I was standing now too, my wolf demanding I get up.
Violet just chuckled. “Of course not. You know me. I always cover my tracks.”
We remained in a stare-off for many minutes, but as always her eyes were eventually too intense to stare directly into – which she used to her advantage often, declaring herself the stare-off winner every time.
Finally I sat. “Okay.” I breathed and clutched the vial to my chest like a life preserver. Going into a final battle with no weapon wasn’t exactly smart, but it wasn’t the first time. I’d once won a dominance fight using a brick I’d picked up off the ground. I could be scrappy if I needed to be, and I was one of the best at disarming and stealing weapons. Violet wouldn’t press this upon me if she didn’t think with total certainty that I would need it.
Plus, if I won the task today, I would probably have enough points to be granted an additional weapon. Which was all I needed.
Violet disappeared again when the guards arrived to let us know we were needed in the main Summit hall. It was time for the third task. Not knowing what to expect, I dressed in my red uniform, cuffs on, weapons hidden about my body, my hair in its traditional braid crown. The snake anti-venom was tucked away in the safe inside my room. Selene or her familiar wouldn’t risk attacking me until the final battle. It would be too easy to trace it to her and she would be executed for treason. That’s why we had rules about attacking heirs during the Summit. In the early years, plenty of the heirs were killed in the first few days. Sneak attacks. Which was not how it was supposed to work. A true queen won through trial, not because she was the sneakiest and most underhanded. There was no honor in winning like that, and the council was all about honor. My people remained close as we made our way through the mansion’s maze of floors and halls. I never saw any of Selene’s dominants or guards; she was probably late again.