I stepped back just as Perrick’s sword pushed toward me. He barely missed, disrupting his center of balance, and I took advantage of his misstep. I rushed forward, plunging the tip of my ghostly spear straight through his heart.

A guard’s whistle sounded, and Perrick shook his head, disappointed.

“Good spar, my friend,” he said. “I’m glad we’ll be fighting on the same side once we’re in the arena.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder as the illusion of my spear dissipated into a thin wisp of smoke carried off by the wind. “You’re doing well,” I said. “Besides, you’re much stronger when it comes to the magic.”

“Yes, but it’s the hand-to-hand I’m worried about,” he said. “When we’re all close together on the battlefield, it’s going to be important.”

“We’ll help each other,” I said. “We’ll work together to make sure we win this. I promise.”

He smiled, but there was fear behind his expression. We were all afraid of what would happen once we got to the arena, but there was nothing left to do except train and hope.

Hope.

Something I thought I’d lost a century ago. It felt good to have it back now, and even though I was still a prisoner—this time in the very home where I’d grown up—I was determined to prove myself and win my freedom on my own terms.

Another whistle sounded, and I turned to watch two of my other teammates clasp hands. Morway helped Trention to his feet. The old demon met my eyes and shook his head.

It wasn’t fair that such a wise, ancient demon who had never been trained to fight a day in his life was being forced to participate in these barbaric games. Just thinking about it made my fists clench tighter at my sides.

The guards had singled him out because of me. A couple dozen demons volunteered to be a part of my team in the games, but Reynar still put Trention into the tournament. I had stood up for the old demon while we were mining together, showing that I had a weakness for the man.

A weakness Reynar was determined to exploit.

Many demons still thought the human witches and the Order of Shadows were our only enemies, but I now understood that cruelty and evil intentions were not solely human traits. We had enemies even here inside the walls of the King’s City.

Trention and Morway walked over to join us while other teams continued to spar inside the walls of the training grounds just outside the arena.

“How did it go?” I asked.

Trention sighed. “Like it always goes. I can’t keep up.”

“You’re learning,” I said.

“Not fast enough,” he said. “The games begin in a few days. I’m a liability to the entire group.”

“You’re smarter than anyone in this city. You studied battle strategies for centuries as a scholar and teacher in the castle. We’re lucky to have you,” I said, but he didn’t look convinced.

“You are both strong and kind, my friend, but I fear that once we face our first battle, you’ll see just how much I’m holding you all back,” he said. “Promise me you won’t put yourself at risk just to keep me safe. That will only distract you, and I do not want the last moments of my long life to be ones of weakness and regret.”

The worry etched on his face made me feel helpless. In some ways, he was right, whether I wanted to admit it or not. I looked up, letting my eyes scan the teams around us. Whichever group we were pitted against in the first round of the games would be a full team of five strong demons, each ready to fight for their lives.

No one else had a demon as old and frail as Trention, but he was my dear friend, and I would protect him with my life if it came to that.

Yes, we were at a disadvantage, but I had beaten worse odds in my lifetime.

“The guards said that no one will die in the games,” Rushon, our fifth teammate, said as he approached. “Injuries will be inevitable, sure, but the shamans will be on hand to heal those that fall. We’ll survive this even if we don’t win, right?”

He didn’t sound convinced, and to be honest, I wasn’t buying the guards’ stories, either.

I didn’t doubt there would be shamans on hand to give the appearance of mercy and healing for the crowds, but once a prisoner was brought to a place where no one was watching, if he was injured badly enough, I had no doubt he would be required to give his life’s energy in service to the king.

Anyone who defied that order would be killed, anyway.

At least, that’s how I heard it used to go down when the king’s great-grandfather ran these games as a yearly event. It wasn’t public knowledge back then, either, but I’d heard the rumors when I’d trained with the King’s Guard as a shadowling.

The only demon who survived the games was the one demon who won the entire tournament.

As much as I wanted to win, I couldn’t bear to watch my friends and teammates die. It wasn’t fair.

“Did you see Yuron sparring with his partner?” Rushon asked, throwing a nervous glance toward a towering demon standing at the edge of the crowd. “He’s got to be the strongest demon out here in both magic and physical weaponry. I don’t see how anyone is going to beat him.”

“He’s also the most unkind,” Trention said. “I’ve been watching the way he treats his teammates. He’s a cruel demon. He doesn’t deserve to win.”

“Well, unfortunately, this tournament isn’t judged on kindness or honor,” Perrick said.

I looked over at Yuron, who was currently yelling at his teammates. When he caught me watching him, though, he narrowed his eyes at me and then laughed.

I looked away.

Rushon was right. Out of all the opponents out here so far during our training, Yuron was the one who had caught my eye. Almost everyone out here was stronger in magic than I was right now, but as far as physical weapons, Yuron was my only match.

Unfortunately, when it came down to it, though, physical weapons wouldn’t be enough. I had to find a way to unlock my magic before the beginning of the games.

And I was running out of time.

Today’s training was nearing the end, anyway, which meant another day lost. The suns were going down, being replaced by the beautiful moons of spring. In the streets beyond the walls of the arena, we could hear the demons laughing and gathering together as they all made their way to the castle for the feast.

Tonight marked the official beginning of the festival being thrown in Lea’s honor. A princess returned.

My eyes travelled to the black towers of the castle in the distance. Their pointy tips rose high into the air, and I thought of how I used to look up at those towers as a shadowling in such awe. They were a symbol of strength and power to me then, but now, the sight of them put a bitter taste in my mouth.

My prison here might have been dusty and dirty, but the beauty of the castle didn’t make it any less of a prison. Lea was trapped there the same way I was trapped here.

Tonight, she would be paraded around the entire population of the King’s City as a trophy. She was their possession, and now that they had her back, they were going to give her away to someone new.

I looked away, anger tightening my fists. Trention caught my eye, and I shook my head. I didn’t need him to worry about me any more than he already was. And I didn’t need anyone to know my heart belonged to a princess who would never be mine.

Fate was against us, and no matter how much I loved her, I had lost my chance a long time ago.

All I could hope now was that I survived long enough to help set her free from this place.

“One last round,” Karn shouted, motioning for us to break off in teams. “And this time, magic only.”

He threw a wicked glance my way and smiled. Like every demon on the field of battle, he knew I had no control over my magic.

Three days. If I couldn’t find some way to unlock the power hidden inside of me, this arena would become my tomb and my shame.

We raised our fists for one final training round, our bodies dancing as the first sounds of music floated down to us from the castle.