34

The representatives of the Garon Stable enter the Royal Fives Court in procession, Tana in the lead, Kalliarkos behind her and after him Lord Thynos, then me, with Darios bringing up the rear. To walk into a building I have only ever glimpsed from the outside numbs me. The Royal Court is built of marble and hung with painted silk tapestries depicting famous adversaries of the past. The stairs down to the undercourt are swarmed by women and men who toss flowers at the feet of those of us who are entering. Many call out Lord Thynos’s Fives name of Southwind.

My feet tread on rose petals as I descend. The scent floods me with the memory of my father bringing flowers from the market as offerings for my mother.

Blinking back tears, I enter the attiring hall. Everything is polished to a shine. The benches have cushions. Mats woven of soft reeds cover raised beds where trainers work stiffness out of the muscles of waiting adversaries. Ropes mark out private curtained chambers where the Illustrious await their trials in a privacy the rest of us have not earned. I glimpse the faces of men and women I have seen win on the Fives court. I am walking into my most cherished dream.

That my father will sit in a place of honor on the royal balcony just makes me even more nervous and excited.

I have to concentrate.

Tana takes me aside. “Do not get distracted,” she says.

She leaves to go up top to the trainers’ balcony, from which she will watch the trials. Thynos retreats to the roped-off area to wait in privacy for the Illustrious rounds, which will come much later in the day. Darios leads Kalliarkos and me through a warm-up of menageries.

I haven’t spoken to Kalliarkos since Lord Gargaron told us we would both run trials in the victory games. They have kept us apart, and I can’t help but watch him moving through the patterns beside me. He’s graceful and precise as he moves, although his angles are a little off. It’s impossible not to marvel at his perfect profile with its strong chin, straight nose, dark eyes, and short hair. He flashes a glance at me that is almost as good as a kiss, and I purse my lips and blow a kiss back. Darios whaps me on the butt with his baton.

When Darios tells us to pause so he can adjust my gloves and check my mask, he says, “You have a chance, Spider. Don’t get distracted.”

“I don’t understand why I’m entered,” I say, because I’ve been running this maze in my head. I’m sure Lord Gargaron must have an ugly motive. Perhaps he hopes I’ll lose in front of my father or maybe even means to run me against Kalliarkos. “I’ve never competed at anything like this level.”

“Tana and I recommended you be entered in the first trial today, the one for the most promising Novices.”

“You did?”

He nods, his gaze steady on my face to make sure I understand how serious he is. “Think of this as a test to see how good you really are and how badly you really want this. Any Novice who wins at the Royal Fives Court automatically moves up to Challenger. We think you’re ready for it. You have the potential to become an Illustrious, Jessamy.”

The unexpected praise sweeps warmth into my cheeks. “What about Lord Kalliarkos?”

He yanks hard on the lacing of my gloves. “Keep your eyes on the obstacle in front of you and your heart in the court. As for his lordship, he’ll be placed in the normal manner, according to his victories and a random draw.”

The first warning bell rings.

The Fives have a structure so complicated it is run by accountants. Trials begin with fledglings or the lowest-ranked Novices and work up to Illustrious. That’s why I’ll go in the first trial whereas Kalliarkos, with five Novice wins under his belt, will go a little later.

A fanfare of blaring horns announces the arrival of the king and queen and their entourage, so loud we can hear it even down here.

I want to prove myself. I want my father to be proud. I want to run the prize circuit and pour money into Mother’s hands so she never need want for anything. I want to pay the fee for Maraya to take the Archivists’ exam if Kalliarkos will agree to secretly sponsor her in another city. I can accompany Amaya to the theater and buy her all the masks and ribbons she wants. I will find Bett. As I wait for the second warning bell I stare at the wall and envision in my mind’s eye the obstacles I may encounter and how I will defeat each one.

“Jes.” Kalliarkos steps in beside me and takes my hands in his with such familiarity that my pulse surges like I’m already running. “May Fortune kiss you, as I intend to do right now in front of everyone.”

My cheeks flame.

“I knew I could make you blush again,” he says, his bright face all the laughter he needs. He is the sun, triumphant, and tonight, one way or another, he is going to be mine.

“Leave her be, my lord,” says Darios, coming up to us. “She is already on the court in her mind and so should you be. Do you forget what this trial means to you?”

Kalliarkos stiffens, releasing me as his expression closes up like the last brick set into the door of his tomb. “No, of course not.”

I grab his hand despite Darios’s frowning presence. “May Fortune kiss you as I do.”

Right out where everyone can see and wonder and speculate, I kiss him. It is only a brief touch, but it is my promise to him.

“It already has.” He presses fingers to my cheek, the warmth of his skin and the intensity of his gaze its own kind of blossoming magic.

Darios’s grimace pours vinegar over me. “If you will, my lord, let me guide you through another menageries.” He ushers Kalliarkos away to a warm-up circle, deliberately leaving me behind.

But he can’t take our promises away. I find my own space, as I always have, and with a sure heart pace through cat, jackal, and crane.

The second warning bell rings.

“First trial!” calls a gate-custodian. “Spider, Garon Stable!”

I tug my mask on, adjust it so the corners of the eyes fit perfectly, and enter the ready cage. My custodian hands me a brown belt that blends with my plain brown clothes. I start on Pillars. Good fortune for me.

“First trial! Firecat, Kusom Stable.”

A short, stocky, but exceedingly fit young woman in a silky jacket saunters in and accepts the blue belt. Her lack of height may hurt her on Trees but she’ll have balance and agility like I do and less height to fight against. She looks me up and down, unimpressed by my ordinary brown mask and my ordinary Fives gear, and she flicks a little finger against her chin, a kiss-off before the trial even begins. I’m so excited that she’s honored me with a taunt that I grin. This is what it truly means to be an adversary.

“First trial! Sandstorm, Royal Stable!”

A muscular young man struts in wearing a fancy jacket with the sea-phoenix badge. He’s got to be good to train at the Royal Stable, and by his cocky posture he is pretty sure he’s the best in this ready cage. A custodian gives him the red belt.

I exhale a calming breath into my cupped hands. My thoughts drift to my mother and father, to the butterfly mask and the firebird rug and chair.

The butterfly is a soul given substance. For all its seeming fragility its serenity is too powerful to be quenched.

The firebird can fly vast distances, subsisting only on air and courage. It can mate with any flying creature, for its substance is not flesh but ambition.

They were right for each other but Lord Gargaron tore them apart.

He made an illegal and blasphemous arrangement with the priests in order to do so.

“First trial! Beacon, Garon Stable!”

Looking startled and angry, Kalliarkos bounces into the ready cage as if he is about to jump out of his skin. He fixes the green belt for Trees over his gold silk tunic. His fancy gold mask blazes like lightning. The spray of sunlight from the grille above makes him all gold except for his black hair and dark eyes. There is a lift to his chin and a squareness to his shoulders that he didn’t have before we rescued my family. Confidence limns him. He might be a legend walked out of the past, noble and handsome and upright in all manner of conduct as men of old Saro are said to have been, adhering to the code given to them by the gods in the most ancient times. He is a beacon, in truth.

Then it hits: I am running against Kalliarkos.

Has Princess Berenise paid off someone so her grandson can run in an easier trial?

I meet his gaze. I nod, adversary to adversary, and he nods back as with a message in his eyes but I am too stunned to know what to say or do.

We hear the cheering of the crowd as the first trial is announced. We hear our names spoken but no one chants them as they will chant Thynos’s Fives name when he is announced. You can take a name with you onto the court, but the crowd has to approve and anoint you. Most hopeful adversaries run trials without ever getting the crowd to sing out their names.

“Come with me,” says my custodian, startling me.

With a glance toward Kalliarkos’s retreating back as he goes his way, I follow my custodian up a ladder and down a tunnel to the small chamber where a gate-custodian awaits. I dust my hands with chalk and take my place at the foot of the ladder.

The ugly truth sinks in: This isn’t Princess Berenise’s doing. This is what Lord Gargaron meant when he said I had to pass muster. He didn’t mean the first day at the stable. He wasn’t watching then because it didn’t make any difference how well the girl who let his nephew win performed in practice.

This is the only trial that matters.

Horns blare. The crowd quiets to a low rumble.

Deep in the undercourt the start bell rings.

The hatch opens.