Chapter 157

“I would’ve put my money on Drake,” Cassius said, leaning in and talking closely into Eli’s ear without pulling his eyes away from the match. “He’s so much bigger than Danyen.”

“Yes, but Danyen is lithe and quick,” Eli reminded his competition. “Size and strength isn’t always everything.”

Cassius let out a low rumble of a chuckle and pounded Eli on the back hard enough to jar him forward from the waist up. “True, true. Suppose we’ll find out.”

Eli hoped that would be the case. Despite Cassius’s observation that strength and girth were most important, Eli would be willing to take him on—in the joust anyway. A fist fight might be another story.

At least Cassius was on his side where it mattered most. Eli stole another glance at Kit whose worried expression concerned him more than he could let on. He wished he could go remind her that she would be queen soon enough, and she needed to act like one. How many times had he whispered those words in her ear? Lately, she’d been owning that position more and more, but the current situation did not lend itself to her sweet disposition.

Cassius wasn’t the only Representative who would take up arms against the crown on behalf of the princess. In fact, most of them had already come to Eli at one point or another and sworn their allegiance to the princess. Many also spoke of secret pockets of resistance at home, those who would be willing to rise up against the queen if needed, or at the very least throw their strength behind Katrinetta should she seize the throne on her own accord. For some, there had been lengthy discussion about the risks and dangers, coupled with the opportunities and potential for a better life for the citizenry of Yewforia. For others, it had just been a quick nod, a secretive look, and the mouthing of the two words that had become code for their clandestine operation--“le atsa”—ancient Yewforian for “with you.” Eli wasn’t exactly sure who had come up with the phrase, but it was fitting.

Kit had only known about the resistance for the last moon phase or so, and even at that, she had no idea how deep it went. She also didn’t have a clear understanding of how awful the conditions were, particularly in some of the poorer provinces. Rona kept her daughter sheltered from the truth for a number of reasons but most importantly because the queen was aware of Kit’s tender heart. Kit would’ve never allowed this sort of treatment to go on, not if there was anything at all she could do about it. The fact that Rona had allowed Kit to travel into the village near the castle where the princess had seen how the families of her own guard lived was either a slip up on the part of the queen or part of a deeper plan that hadn’t revealed itself yet, and since Rona seldom made mistakes, he doubted it was the former.

Rona wasn’t invincible, though. He glanced over in her direction as Danyen and Drake shook the ground again with their collision. Once again, Danyen stole the point. The queen didn’t seem particularly interested in this match. He imagined she’d rather Drake won since her husband, Remont, the duke, who wasn’t even invited to this tournament, hailed from Danyen’s home province of Farlington, and it was no secret that the queen was no longer interested in her husband in any capacity—not that she ever was. The only thing Remont could give her was an heir, and he’d done that.

Rona had no idea that several of the women sitting near her on the very riser where she observed the tournament were part of the party planning to bring her down. In fact, Eli wouldn’t have been surprised if there were more who would come over to his side, given the information he had. There were some who would never question the “rightful queen” or raise a hand against the crown, but others understood that Rona had already broken the law countless times and needed to be stopped. And the most suitable person to bring her reign to an end was sitting across the stadium from her, anxiously watching two men she cared about hurl themselves at each other, pointy sticks in their hands.

It didn’t take long for Danyen to defeat Drake. Cassius clapped Eli’s shoulder again and admitted he was wrong, and the knight marshal announced the next round. “Jaterius of Rockdale versus Reeve of Erast Hollow!” his deep voice bellowed, and Eli’s eyes immediately flew to Kit’s face.

She looked like she was about to cry. Clearly, she cared very deeply about both of these men and was having trouble envisioning who she might hope would win. He almost laughed at how she wore her heart on her sleeve but bit it back.

Cassius let his chuckle fly free. “She sure is struggling, isn’t she? Poor little bird. I hope this is our first and only jousting tournament. She doesn’t seem to be too fond of the sport.”

“She used to be,” Eli said before he realized it might be offensive of him to share stories about Kit from when they were younger, but Cassius looked curious, not put off. “She used to love to come and watch, back when her father was allowed to attend. She’d sit next to him and hold his hand, and they’d cheer for whoever Kit thought had the prettiest horse.”

Laughter spilled from Cassius’s mouth. “I can see that being the case. Did you ever participate?”

Eli tried to bite back his own bitterness. “Not as a knight. As a shite collector.” Cassius chuckled again. “And I did my fair share of handling the horses. It was more entertaining for me to watch her than the joust, though.”

“I can only imagine.” Cassius was smiling, so even though he was likely jealous of the relationship Eli had always had with Kit, he wasn’t bitter about it. “You’re so lucky to have already gotten to spend so much time with her.”

“I know,” Eli admitted. “I thank the goddesses every day that I’ve had the opportunity to be close to her for as long as I have.” He didn’t mention that he’d also begged those same deities for years to give him the opportunity to win Kit’s heart in a way that wouldn’t be subject to laws or rules of the realm. The fact that he was part of the Choosing at all was nothing less than a miracle. Still, he prayed there was enough heavenly graces left to help them with their current operation because they would need it. Despite the numbers and the strength behind the resistance, Rona wasn’t going to be easily defeated, nor would she be willing to play by the rules. She was underhanded, sneaky, and conniving. More reasons to get rid of her, and more reasons to plead his case to the goddesses at every turn.