4. Chapter Four

I found myself standing in King Orrin’s throne room along with six other girls from the games. Diana was next to me, shifting nervously from foot to foot. She wore a gorgeous emerald gown with pearls sewn onto the bodice.

I glanced down at my own purple dress with crystals adorning the neckline and empire waist. Not something I would’ve selected, yet I liked it. Dark curls fell around my bare shoulders, and I didn’t need a mirror to know my face was heavily painted.

“Hey.” I touched Diana’s hand. “It’s going to be okay. Whatever happens. I promise.”

Her lips quivered, green eyes pooling with tears. “Only one of us can advance.”

This had been the issue from the start. No two female competitors from the same village could win the games. That was part of our initial disdain for one another, among other issues. We were obvious enemies and unlikely allies.

I squeezed her fingers and repeated, “It’s going to be okay.”

It was both the truth and a lie. There were no winners in the games, only varying degrees of losers. The prize for getting to the end was only slightly better than the punishment for early elimination. In a few short days, we would all sacrifice a part of ourselves, for the good of the entire fae kingdom.

King Orrin entered the room. We all bowed our heads as he made his way to the throne, heavy robes lined with jewels trailing in his wake. The royal council came next. They stood at the foot of the king’s throne, facing the female competitors left in the games.

The challenges were done. Six men and seven women remained. This was the final elimination ceremony. Scores no longer mattered. It came down to Diana and me. One of us would move forward with honor and the other with shame. I honestly didn’t know which scenario was worse.

King Orrin cleared his throat. “Congratulations on making it this far. It is a testament to your strength and prowess. Each of you has demonstrated tremendous courage and proven you are worthy.” His gaze landed on Diana and me. “Particularly the two of you.” He crooked his finger. “Zosia, please come forward.”

Diana crushed my fingers in her grip. I smiled at her, even as I steeled my nerves. We had started this competition as enemies. She’d said and done awful things, as had I. Yet, now, we stood here as allies, as friends.

I held my head high as I walked toward the king, dress making a swishing noise as I moved. Iliana snickered as I passed. Traitorous bitch, I thought. She’d pretended to be my friend, and then sabotaged me at every turn. If not for Diana, I wouldn’t have made it this far.

“As you know, there can be only one winner from your village.” King Orrin leveled me with a hard gaze.

His Majesty and I had enjoyed several private talks, where he’d made it very clear that I needed to stay away from his son. He knew about our secret trysts in the gardens, and that I’d given all of myself to Stavros. My cheeks burned as I remembered the humiliating conversation.

This was the king’s chance to be rid of me. Of course, he had no cause for concern, as I’d told Stavros it was over. Just as His Majesty wanted. In exchange, he’d allowed me to continue in the games.

“It should be Diana, Your Majesty.” I twisted my hands in front of me and met his eyes. “She will make the better mate.”

“No!” Her cry echoed in the throne room. Diana rushed forward, putting herself between the king and me. “Zosia is the stronger fae. She will be the better defender. Your Majesty, I beg you. Please.”

This was not how I had imagined this encounter going. I had made peace with my decision. Diana deserved her place in the winner’s circle. She had all the traits the king wanted in his defenders, his wolves. I, however, did not.

“Diana is the right choice, Your Majesty.” I elbowed her out of the way. “You and I both know that’s true.”

The king’s advisors bristled, bothered by my audacity to speak so openly to our monarch. Maybe it was bold of me, but not so long ago, he’d looked me in the eye and forbid me from fucking his son. So, yeah, he and I had crossed the normal boundaries of ruler and subject.

King Orrin remained silent for several long moments, though it felt like an eternity. Diana grabbed my hand. Her green eyes pierced my soul. There were no more tears, either. Her jaw set in her hard line, and she stood up a little straighter. In her emerald gown and jeweled hair clips that fasted atop her head like a crown, she looked like a queen.

“You deserve this,” I whispered.

Diana shook her head and mouthed, “No one deserves this.”

The king folded his hands over the slight paunch in his midsection. “It had always been my intention to have a thirteenth winner, one not bound to a mate. I had assumed the lone wolf, so to speak, would be a male competitor.”

His eyes lit up when he said, “lone wolf”, as if the truth of these games hadn’t reached all the contestants. We all knew the prize. Some embraced the idea, excited to become alphas. Others, like me, were not so keen on the idea.

Magic was our life source. It defined us. Giving that up felt like the worst punishment ever. Bettina had tried to save me from this fate. I understood why she’d thrown a fit. Had our roles been reversed, I would have done the same in her position.

“You, Zosia, have proven yourself a true leader. While your wins in these games have been many, your sacrifices have been greater.” His gaze bore into mine. “You have faced difficult decisions that many far older and wiser will never need to confront. I know you question the choice you have made. You ask yourself whether it was weak or selfish of you.”

I squirmed in my dress, suddenly extremely uncomfortable because I did wonder if giving up Stavros in exchange for remaining a contestant in the games was weak of me. I had caved to the king’s pressure and betrayed the prince and my own heart. So, yeah, I felt pretty weak and more than a little selfish.

“One day, you will understand that your decision took immense strength.” The king inhaled and exhaled through his nose and puffed out his chest. “Born of the truest love no other living fae will ever know. I commend you, my child.” His smile made the roiling in my gut intensify. “Congratulations. You are the thirteenth winner.”

I opened my mouth to respond. Only Gaia may know what I might’ve said. The scene changed too quickly to get out the words.

Thirteen fae, including myself, encircled a raging campfire. The king and queen stood together in the center, near the flames. I wore a simple white gown, with a heavy cape made of white fur to keep me warm in the cold night air. Stars twinkled around the full moon in the sky, directly above the firelight.

One by one, the king invited the male winners forward to announce their mate selections. I had little interest in the ceremony, my destiny had already been decided. Iliana beamed across from me, the diamonds in her tiara glittering in the light of the flames.

Stavros would say her name, claim her as his wife–his mate. I had no one to blame but myself. Their union was my doing. I had told the prince to pick her, the obvious choice. It was the match the kingdom wanted for him, even before the games.

Does she know her win is a technicality? I wondered. Does she even care?

Diana and I stood together. She sucked in air when the king called Lucien forward. He wore his blond hair loose tonight, the strands just brushing his shoulders. He was a fierce competitor, with a stoic demeanor, which was all I knew of him.

Diana had confided that she hoped he would choose her. He’d shown her kindness, a rarity over the past few weeks. Admittedly, I envied her. They seemed like a good match, and she would likely live a happy life by his side.

I would never know that life.

When Lucien called her name, he extended his hand. The king and queen nodded approvingly, giving their blessing to the union.

Then, it was just Zeno and Stavros left for the guys, and Iliana, Demi, and me. The part of me that understood this was a dream knew what was about to happen. Zosia, however, did not. She truly believed the king had sentenced her to a life of solitude.

“Zeno, please come forward and announce your mate,” King Orrin called, waving the broody, dark-haired boy forward.

There was something about him, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. For a second, I was me. Memories of our lives together flooded my brain, warring with Zosia’s loneliness for my attention. Pressure built in my head as I tried to reconcile all the versions of myself.

“I choose Zosia,” Zeno said to the surprise of everyone gathered.

Hearing my name brought me back to the present, the shock of it rendering me speechless. Demi was from his village. They were friends, and they’d been allies throughout the competition. Why in Gaia’s name had he chosen me?

My eyes darted toward Demi. She balled her fists at her sides, expression thunderous. Under different circumstances, she would’ve made a scene. Temper tantrums were dangerous in front of the royal family, however.

Iliana’s glare followed me as I joined Zeno and the king and queen, as did Stavros’ rage. When I chanced a glance at the prince, his face showed no emotion. Only I felt how close he was to losing control. He was okay with me taking on the role of lone wolf. Bonding with Zeno, however, not so much.

“Zeno and Zosia, you shall be anointed as one of six alpha couples beneath the second full moon.” The king joined our hands. “Your bond will seal at this time, giving you great power to defend the fae from all those who mean us harm.”

“I accept this honor,” Zeno said and bowed his head.

I repeated the words and lowered my eyes, still dazed from the odd turn of events.

“Your arm, dear,” the queen said, holding her palm up.

I did as instructed, and she cradled my wrist. Her magic wrapped me in a fiery cocoon. Just as the heat became unbearable, the queen raised her free hand and began to draw. All her fire magic concentrated in the small patch of skin on her fingertip as she burned a mark onto my wrist.

Then, she did the same to Zeno.

He and I held our arms side by side, the matching marks glowing like twin flames. The queen joined our hands as the king said, “From this point on you shall forsake all others.”

The part of me that was Zosia wanted to cry, while the part of me that was Zara couldn’t stop staring at the mark. I, Zara, had seen it before… when Mat burned the same symbol into my wrist.

I started to hyperventilate, the weight of too many lives landing on my shoulders as, once again, the floodgates opened, and multiple memories invaded my mind.

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake. The. Fuck. Up.

Even as I stood at the choosing ceremony with Zeno, our lives bound together. I felt lips on my neck. Strong hands caressing my back. A whispered plea in my ear.

“Come back to me, Zara.”

Ewan held me when I awoke. He never asked about the dream. I wondered if he had dreamt about the ceremony yet. Eventually, we would need to have the talk, and I would need to come clean and tell him why I really rejected our bond all those lifetimes ago.

The cowardly part of me hoped that conversation would be far in the future.

My wrist burned even in the waking world, though Mat’s mark was invisible, and I honestly didn’t know if it still held any sway over me. Maybe he never truly had. Or maybe I had misunderstood the purpose of the brand from the start. I rubbed the skin, an uneasy feeling filling my gut.

If the mark wasn’t meant to control me, what was the point of it?