Chapter 7

T he woman was striking, extraordinarily so, even in this world of beauty and grace. She was slender, with well-defined muscles. Peculiar markings were etched across her pale skin, which looked as though someone had traced scallops across her with a graphite pencil, and then dusted them with shimmering powder. Her long, golden hair fell down her back in shimmering waves, caught up at her temples with sapphire clips that complemented the ocean blue of her gown. Sheer, clinging layers showed off the planes, curves, and dips of her body, and she wore gold circlets around her forehead, throat, and wrists. Every movement she made was like a dancer's, deliberate and elegant, and as she approached them, she slowed her walk so that they had ample time to admire her. She made Ember feel heavy and gauche, as though she had just emerged from the swimming pool, when the buoyancy of water became the relentless pull of gravity.

She didn't acknowledge Ember at first, just walked straight past her, and kissed Cole on the cheek. He slid what seemed like an automatic arm around her waist, and only then did she deign to utter a languid greeting to Ember.

"Hello."

"Hello," Ember echoed.

The woman inspected her closely, taking in Ember's hair, face, shoes, and dress, making Ember feel like a prize pig at the fair. Without taking her eyes off Ember, she addressed Cole, "I apologise for staring, Your Highness. I've just never seen one up close before."

Cole's mouth creased in amusement. "Ember, this is Lissa. Lissa, play nice."

Lissa pouted in a way that showed she quite like the look of her lips when she did so, and said, "I thought you liked the way I played."

They exchanged an intense, intimate glance that told Ember volumes about their relationship. They were clearly lovers, and she was clearly in the way. Feeling stupid, she was about to make her apologies and request to be shown back to her room, when she caught sight of strange markings on Lissa's neck; three creased flaps that opened and closed with every breath she took. Gills. Lissa had gills.

"Your Highness is sure to have a fascinating story about why he's brought a human into our midst, just before the tournament," said Lissa, seemingly unaware of Ember's fascination with her neck. "Could it be a strategy which you haven't yet discussed with your teammates? A gift to win over the Adjudicator, perhaps?"

Cole gave her an impatient frown. "She was in danger. I took it upon myself to remove her."

Which wasn't exactly true, Ember thought. He had removed the danger as soon as he had turned Bruno inside-out. But the mention of a tournament piqued her interest. "A tournament?"

" The tournament," Lissa said, with a lift of a perfectly arched eyebrow. "The games to determine who will be the Sword, and who will be his Blade. Of course, we all know what the outcome will be," and she gave Cole a smile.

Cole, however, didn't smile back. "The result is far from guaranteed. Both teams are evenly matched." He explained to Ember, "Lissa is on my team, defending our honour in the water, the captain of the Waves."

Well, that explains the gills, Ember thought uncharitably, but aloud she said, "And what is the Blade?"

Lissa let out a peal of laughter, staring at Ember with incredulity.

"She doesn't know," said Cole. "How could she? What do humans know of us?"

" The Sword rules all in the Kingdom of Swords," said Lissa. "The other kingdoms must have two sharing rulership, but the Swords are such fearsome warriors we only need one. Whoever loses the tournament will be the Sword's second, his blade to wield, the power inside the throne."

Ember nodded as though she understood, but there was too much to take in and her head was spinning. All she wanted was some quiet and space to absorb everything she'd seen so far.

"Ashe shall be brought to heel," Lissa continued, "and all will be well."

This earned her a smile from Cole, and she blushed prettily, whispering in his ear. He nodded, and she turned to Ember. "Enjoy yourself. The tournament only happens once in a fae lifetime. You will see marvels."

Ember wasn't sure how to respond to this, but it didn't matter. Lissa was already threading her way through the crowd, people falling back from her and whispering in admiration as she passed. She looked as though she was used to attention and liked it, Ember thought. She envied Lissa her lazy air of self-assurance, as though she deserved every single covetous glance. Most of the time, Ember just wanted to fade into the background, unseen, unheard, unchallenged.

"Our leaders get elected," she said. "It's just a big popularity contest."

Cole laughed. "Then the throne is mine already. My cousin is rather … grim. He can be formidable. But so can we."

He took Ember's hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow again, walking with her toward the door that the dancers had gone through. "That's how we ended up in Earth. We were arguing over a small rule, and our powers came together and then …" he made a ‘poof!' noise, like an explosion. "It's been happening more often, as the tournament draws near. I'll show you."

The guards standing at the doors bowed as they approached, the doors swung open, and Cole led her through.