“You didn’t!” Baelen advances on Elwyn so fast the Elven Commander backpedals into the table. Teilo jumps out of the way, much faster than I expected for the older elf. Bae stops inches from Elwyn, staring him down, and it strikes me just how massive Baelen is, making the older male appear small and fragile.

Elwyn hisses, “Calm yourself, Commander. We didn’t trap any of them.”

Baelen takes a step back, but doesn’t give Elwyn or the others any space. He speaks slowly and deliberately. He doesn’t take his eyes off the other males, but it doesn’t take me long to realize that he’s speaking to me, not them.

“On the night of Jordan and Sebastian’s wedding, the Elven Command saw fit to send a battalion of soldiers to Scepter Peak without my knowledge. Their mission was to capture and kill the gargoyles nesting there. Luckily, your brother found out about it and we tracked down the battalion that night. I ordered the troops to return home before there was any bloodshed.” Baelen half turns to me. “I came to report this to you before Mai Reverie was murdered.”

Elwyn sucks in a breath sharp enough to echo in the deathly quiet room. He hasn’t reacted to any of Baelen’s accusations, until this. Baelen called it murder… not death. Elwyn’s eyes narrow, his mouth pinches, and his cheeks flame. He definitely doesn’t like what Baelen just said.

Baelen doesn’t move from his imposing stance. “Now they say they want us to fight gargoyles.”

Teilo Splendor is the only one of the older males who looks troubled. He takes glances at the others, looking genuinely thrown and confused as he lets go of the table where he’d caught his balance. I consider him for a moment as he straightens his robes. He was also at the wedding for his grandson when the battalion was sent into the mountains. Is it possible that he didn’t know? It’s the first sign I’ve ever seen of a split in the Elven Command.

“The gargoyles won’t be real,” Teilo says. “They will be simulations.”

I focus on him while Baelen keeps Elwyn pinned. “Explain, please.”

“We will use the Heartstone Chest in the same way that we used it for the game of wit—to create a scenario unique to each of you. The only danger is… we will not see what you see. You will fight the gargoyle in your mind. To us, you will both simply be sitting in the chairs of truth, but to you it will be very real. It will be like… a dream from which you can’t escape until either you or the gargoyle is dead.”

I consider him again. “So once we start, we can’t stop.”

“Correct. For that reason, we will allow you to have as many Storm Commanders around you as you need to protect your body while your mind is elsewhere.” He turns to the rest of the Elven Command and for the first time, there’s a thread of anger in his voice. “Your body must remain sacred until you choose to share your power.”

Well, he’s certainly the first Elven Commander to think so.

“If you can’t see what we see, how will you know if we’ve won or lost?”

Teilo says, “If you lose, the Heartstone Chest will open and reject your heartstone.”

“I don’t like it.” Baelen takes a step back, this time toward me, placing himself protectively between me and the Elven Command. “Princess, you’ll be too exposed.”

He’s right. It’s bound to be a trick. If my mind is elsewhere, if I don’t know what’s going on around me, I’ll be vulnerable to attack. Not only that, but I won’t be able to see Baelen to know if he’s okay. A shudder racks my spine at what could happen while I’m in the simulation.

“You might not like it,” Elwyn spits, “But our decision is made. You will present yourselves to the arena tomorrow morning at the ninth hour. You are dismissed.”

I spin to Elise. She’s wide-eyed, waiting closer to the door. Her lips part but I shake my head. Whatever she wants to say will have to wait. Baelen is also tight-lipped as he leaves the War Room with me.

Halfway down the corridor, right before I reach the safety of my Storm Command, he murmurs, “Be careful. Don’t trust them.”

I spin to him, keeping my voice low, not much above a whisper. “Wait, Baelen, please.”

He stops in the middle of the corridor, but his expression is hooded, tense. I need him to hear what I have to say, but I’m not sure if he will. Maybe he’ll hear the words, but he won’t really hear me. There’s a thick invisible wall between us and it gets wider with every passing second. Maybe he thinks he’s making this easier for me by pushing me away, but he isn’t. As fast as he’s building a barrier between us, the more clarity I have about the choice I need to make.

The Elven Command might try to delay the inevitable, but neither one of us will lose against the gargoyle tomorrow. And when that happens we will fight each other. I have Sahara’s potions—my last source of hope. But if they don’t work, if I can’t pull it off in a way that convinces the Elven Command that I’ve won, then either Baelen or I will die. And the truth is… I made my decision a long time ago about which one of us I would protect.

I meet his guarded eyes, knowing that if I don’t speak now, I’ll regret it. He believes that I would rather kill him than yield and I need him to know that’s not true. I need him to know that will never be true.

My throat constricts and I can barely get sound out. “Seven years ago, I made a choice.”

He doesn’t react and I’m not sure if he heard me, but I have to keep going. “I wouldn’t let you die then. I won’t let you die now. When I have to choose between you or me, I’ll choose you.”

A frown mars his forehead and confusion swirls in his eyes, but it only takes a beat for him to process what I said. I know that he really heard me when he sucks in a sharp breath. He flinches and it’s like I punched him in the heart.

I can’t tell him about the curse, I can’t tell him why, but I just told him that it’s my life or his.

“Marbella… please tell me what’s going on. You have to let me help you.”

“I can’t.” I shrug through the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I’m tired of keeping them in. I’ve been keeping all my emotions bottled up for days now, trying to stay calm, trying to stay focused, trying to believe that we’ll both live. But it’s too much and the weight of it all is dragging me beneath the surface.

I’m suddenly swimming in tears and trying to blink them away. Baelen takes a step toward me, clearly without thinking, because his arms flex upward as if on instinct and he reaches out to gather me into his arms.

Before he can get anywhere near me, the blunted end of a spear lands on his chest, halting him.

“Remember where you are.” The quiet hiss comes from Reisha, now my fiercest protector. She shoots a warning glance at the far end of the corridor just as the Elven Command appears there, exiting the War Room. At the same time, Elise circles me, wedging herself between me and Baelen, ushering me away. “Quickly, Princess. We need to leave. Now. Commander Rath, I suggest you do the same.”

I have no choice but to hurry down the corridor, glancing back to see Baelen take a side exit. I gasp for breath as we emerge from the building into fresh air. Elise immediately drops us into a sound bubble.

“That was dangerous,” she says.

“I know, I’m sorry. But he would have stopped before he touched me—”

“No, I don’t mean Commander Rath. I mean the Elven Command.”

I eye her with alarm. “What is it, Elise?”

She speaks in a rush. “I felt it, Princess. I couldn’t see it before, but I’m certain now. One of those males is using sorcery.”

My heart skips a beat. “Which one?”

“I thought it would be Teilo Splendor, since he studied spellcasting, but it’s not him. In fact, he’s the only one who isn’t tainted and I’m not sure if that’s because he’s chosen not to be part of it or because he really doesn’t know, but surely he has to suspect—”

“Elise! Who is it?”

“Gideon Glory.” She shudders, her whole body quaking, causing her to miss a step. Her breathing has increased and her hands are shaking. “The darkness around him was more terrible than anything I’ve ever seen. Now that he’s killed Mai and set the curse, the shadow around his body is… I can’t even…”

“And the others? You said they’re tainted? Is he controlling them?”

“There weren’t any binding spells around them. They aren’t wielding sorcery but they’re willing participants.”

I sway, trying not to lose my footing. “They murdered Mai. They want my power.”

“Which means they still think they can get it somehow.”

“How, Elise? If Baelen dies, then I win and they can’t touch me. If I yield and Baelen wins, then he’ll get my power, not them.”

“They must have a way they think they can get it.” Her concerned eyes meet mine. “I’m worried, Princess. Something isn’t right about this next trial. I’m worried they’ve concocted this plan so they have the chance to attack you.”

I exhale, dread and fear mixing in my stomach. “I’m going to need every one of my ladies in that arena tomorrow morning. Please, can you get a message to Jordan and Sahara? I’ll need them there too.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll wear my armor. And gloves. Please find out if there’s any Elyria web left and I’ll sew the gloves onto the armor. I’ll sew myself into a freaking facemask if I have to. I’m not going to make it easy for them.”

Elise is thoughtful beside me. She stops shaking as we consider my defense, seeming to find courage in knowing we have a plan. “I will spellcast a shield around you. If any of them try to get near you, I’ll cloak their bodies so they won’t be able to make contact.”

I don’t ask her if spellcasting can defeat the dark sorcery Gideon Glory is wielding. I suspect that it can’t, but saying so won’t help. All we can do is try.