I spend the morning practicing in the gym alone. There are special rules for fencing in these competitions—some of them are much different than the Olympic rules I’ve been used to—and it makes me all the more nervous.

Part of me had hoped William might show up this morning—truth be told, I could use the company. Andrew doesn’t want to pressure me about this competition—and he hasn’t—but I’m still feeling a tremendous burden, both to Andrew and to the people of Montovia. I’m not sure exactly what it is about William, but I can talk to him about things like that. Almost as though he’s my brother.

I smile to myself at the thought. Perhaps I can find a place in this family, after all.

The palace is deserted—or seems to be—when it’s time for me to leave to enter the competition. There’s no sign of Andrew anywhere—he’s probably still dealing with King Maximilian—so I head back to the town square without him, hoping I’ve committed the special rules of this tournament to memory.

I wait for Andrew for what seems like an eternity, almost hoping he’ll arrive to stop me from doing something that might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. If Prince Reginald really is as good as everyone says he is, I probably have no chance against him. And it’s not that I’m a woman, either. I’ve beaten my share of men in fencing competitions, but I’m out of practice. And to say I’m distracted doesn’t really even come close to describing what I’m going through now.

Torn. That’s what I am. Torn between wanting to help Andrew—to clean up this godforsaken scepter mess once and for all—and not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of the people I may very well one day lead. If I marry Andrew…

If I marry Andrew… My heart is still doing weird palpitations at the thought.

Despite Andrew’s promises, he still hasn’t arrived when the tournament finally begins.

The first several rounds are easy—young townsmen who have entered for a laugh, for the most part, though there is one young man who gives me somewhat of a run before I finally beat him.

The quarterfinal is a bit more of a challenge. The man I’m fencing keeps up with me touch for touch until I mount a rally near the end of our joust, scoring three points in a row before time runs out.

I take a seat on the side of the stage to watch the other quarterfinal matches. Reginald beats his opponent easily—he’s quite skilled, and I can see why he’s won most of these festival tournaments around Europe. He’s probably good enough to compete on an international level, though I suppose as a prince, he has more important things than fencing to concern himself with on a daily basis.

The third quarterfinal match is also over rather quickly—the reigning champion of a local fencing club soundly beats another member of the same club. And in the final match, William beats a young duke from a small province in Montovia.

I’m still not sure who I’ll face in the semifinal match. Names are drawn before each round to keep the tournament fair, though I’m almost crossing my fingers that I don’t draw Reginald just yet. I’d much rather face him in the final—I know I can take William, and the other competitor seems like he will be about equal in competition.

A big production is made about the drawing of the names. An announcement is made that Queen Penelope is unable to perform the drawing as is her usual duty at the festival and that instead, Princess Sophia will draw.

She grins at me, then at her brother as she takes the stage. She draws Reginald’s name first. As for who Prince Reginald will face, I swear she cheats—I’m pretty sure I see her put the name back twice before she draws the name of the fencer from the club.

“And in the other semifinal match, Prince William of Montovia will face Victoria of America.” Sophia grins, turning her gaze between the two of us. “Let the semifinal matches begin!”

William is sitting on the other end of the row of seats, so I can’t ask him how he feels about me taking on Reginald in the final, should it come to that. I’m also not sure how he feels about me beating him in front of the Montovian people. It might be better for me to bow out now—somewhat gracefully, at least—lest I embarrass him. That’s really the last thing I want, and not something I had even considered when I entered this competition.

Reginald, I have no problem embarrassing. William, on the other hand… It probably isn’t worth the humiliation for either of us.

He walks over to me, holding his mask under his arm. He glances at the match between Reginald and the other young man before he turns his gaze to mine. “What do you think?”

I shrug, watching the two men spar for a moment. “He’s very good.”

William nods. “Can you take him?”

“I don’t know. Can you?”

He shakes his head. “It’s come down to me and Reginald too many times over the years. I’ve never beaten him, Victoria. I came close once…but it wasn’t really even that close.”

I nod, watching Reginald easily score point after point on the other man with Lady Clarissa cheering for him from the front row.

“It’s up to you, Victoria. I’m used to losing to him. But I do think you can put up a much better fight against him than I’ll be able to.”

I can’t think of any way to respond—there’s no easy answer. I finally look back over at William. “How bad will it be if you lose to me?”

He lifts a brow. “Bad.” He stares at me for a moment before he grins. “Though, I’ll happily lose to you if you can beat that bastard. Especially after what he did last night.”

“Yeah.” I shake my head, turning my gaze back to the match. “God, that guy is a dick, isn’t he?”

“That, he is.” William lets out a long breath. “But don’t feel that you have to do this to prove that as a point, Victoria. Everyone on the continent knows what a dick Prince Reginald is.”

William’s voice must carry, because when the point is done, Reginald turns to look at us.

William chuckles. “And he’s far too worried about what other people think of him.” He’s silent for a moment. “Though, come to think of it, it isn’t as though there’s anything on the line. I still haven’t heard anything from Andrew, have you?”

“No.” I turn to look over the crowd, but Andrew still isn’t here. “I guess if the scepter isn’t on the line, we’re all just making asses of ourselves, aren’t we?”

William laughs. “Some of us more than others, I’m afraid.” He pulls his mask on as the other match has completed. “Shall we then? I’m ready to make an ass of myself so you can make an ass of Reginald, Victoria.”

I look at him for a moment before I pull on my own mask. I’m not sure I really want to make an ass of anyone—especially myself, but also not William.

I know what I need to do. I need to withdraw.

And I lift my épée to do just that when William turns to the judge, his own weapon lifted. “I withdraw.”

My mouth falls open and I start to protest, but William pulls off his mask. “Take him, Victoria.”

I nod, lowering my épée.

William walks off the stage and Reginald takes his place. We both pull on our masks before saluting each other.

As I feared, as soon as we begin to spar, Reginald begins to speak. “I’m surprised Andrew allows you to debase yourself in this manner, Victoria.”

I don’t say anything and try to shut his voice out of my mind, instead focusing all my energy on learning how he responds to each move of mine. He has an interesting way of lifting his elbow each time I parry. I think I can take advantage of it, but it’s a little too early to tell.

We spar for far longer than any other point I’ve had so far today, with Reginald finally scoring the first point.

We reset and begin the next point before Reginald speaks again. “You’re not bad.”

“Thank you.” I see an opening and touch him on the chest, scoring my first point.

He nods and we start to fence again. “I didn’t say you were good, however.”

I don’t answer, trying to find any other weakness of his I can exploit. He may not have said I was good, but there’s no way I’m telling him that he’s very good. By far the best opponent I’ve faced in a long time.

We trade points for the next minute, and he’s up by one point before he speaks again. “You know there is nothing on the line in this match, do you not?”

“Nothing but your pride, Reginald.”

He chuckles. “I have no intention of losing to you tonight, Victoria. Though I do think we can make this bout interesting.”

He must lose his focus for a split second, because I’m able to touch him easily, evening the score again.

“What do you say, Victoria? Are you in?”

“In for what?” We cross weapons again, battling each other in another long point.

“I’ll hand over the rights to Andrew’s precious scepter. Call my father off.”

“In exchange for what?”

He touches me on the shoulder with the tip of his épée, scoring a point. “In exchange for you calling off your engagement.”

My brow furrows and I don’t raise my sword to begin the next point just yet. “Why? Why would you care about my engagement?”

He shrugs. “I don’t. Not about you, at any rate. But your fiancé humiliated my sister. And for that, he will pay.”

I shake my head, lifting my weapon to fight again. “How about if I beat you, you hand over the rights to the scepter, no questions asked?”

“You won’t beat me, Victoria.” He spars with me for only a second, scoring a point on me easily. He looks at me for a moment before backing up behind his line. “Do you really think you’ve scored a single point on me legitimately?” He cocks his head. “Do you think I really lift my elbow like a chicken when I fence? Have you not been watching my other matches today?”

I lift my weapon to spar with him again, and he takes another point from me in only a second.

He backs up again, keeping his weapon lowered. “Do the right thing for the people of Montovia, Victoria. I’ll let you win—you’ll be the hero of this country, winning back their scepter and beating the reviled Prince Reginald. And in exchange, you give Andrew back his ring.”

“So he can marry Justine?” I shake my head. “He won’t marry her, even if I give him back his ring.”

He lifts his weapon and we spar once more with Reginald taking the point after only a few seconds. As he backs up to reset, he speaks again. “No, he won’t be marrying Justine, either. He won’t be marrying anyone. That is what I get from this match if you agree, Victoria. The satisfaction of knowing Andrew will suffer for the rest of his life.”

I look out over the crowd, and there. Near the back of the huge crowd that’s gathered around the stage, I see him. Andrew is looking at me, and though he can’t see me through my mask, I can feel our eyes meet.

And it’s almost like he can hear what’s being said between Reginald and me, even though I know it’s impossible. He’s too far away and our voices are too low for anyone else to hear. But Andrew gives me a small shake of his head.

My heart thrashes in my chest and I’m almost dizzy. If I wasn’t in the middle of a sweaty fencing tournament, I’d run to Andrew now and jump into his arms, telling him exactly what I’ve decided to do.

And though I know I’m going to lose this match—badly—I decide to do what’s right.

My chest rises as I prepare myself for the next point, narrowing my gaze at my opponent.

I lift my weapon and raise my chin. “Go fuck yourself, Prince Reginald. I’m definitely not in.”