Chapter 158

With the cooler weather came shorter days, and by the time Eli climbed atop his black stallion, Aeros, to face off against Cassius in the final match of the tournament, streaks of pink and orange painted the horizon. They’d both earned their way to the match through tough battles, and at one point, Eli thought perhaps Reeve might defeat him when the other man had won the first two points, but Eli had recovered, and much to the queen’s dismay, he was ready to square off against Cassius.

Across the arena, Cassius brought his enormous beast, Snowduster, to the starting line. Dressed all in white, astride a white steed, Cassius looked like a noble warrior of the goddesses come to do battle with a villain. Eli was wearing red and blue, the colors of his province, but his horse was black, and in his darker colors, he may as well have been a malicious entity squaring off against the man sent to protect the valor of the princess. The idea that good always triumphed against evil was generally one of Eli’s mantras, but today he’d just as soon see the man in black win the day.

He took a moment to take Kit in before he lowered his visor. She was a bundle of nerves, as she had been most of the day, but this was even more pronounced than earlier. She was having trouble sitting still. Her hands were clenching and unclenching, her foot tapping, and her face was scrunched up to one side like she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. He would’ve thought her distress endearing if he didn’t realize she was actually fearful that one of them would be injured. As much as he wanted to win, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Cassius’s safety, and he felt confident in saying that his opponent felt the same way. A glance at the queen told him she would love to announce this was a battle to the death—and then allow Cassius ten or fifteen brutes to help him to victory.

But the queen bit her tongue. Eli knew he’d pay for this one way or another, though he had no idea what she might try. The fact that he had a chance to win when she’d already told him not to come anywhere near reaching this point was enough to make her see red. He was certain she’d find a way to tamper with something so he’d kept a close eye on his horse and all of his equipment all day. Still, it wouldn’t surprise him if Aeros suddenly pulled up lame, or his jousting pole was made of a different substance than Cassius’s.

Nevertheless, he’d gotten this far, and he needed to do whatever he could to win, regardless of the consequences. The knight marshal gave his signal, and Eli moved into position. Another word from the man in charge, and the two horses began to move toward each other.

Eli was always cautious on the first pass, particularly against a new opponent. He didn’t have a lot of experience in official tournaments, but he had jousted unofficially several times in the army when they had little else to do. This equipment was certainly different—more professional and sturdy—but it was the same concept. He needed to get a read on when was the best time to strike, and in order to do that, he had to be vulnerable to attack on the first pass.

Cassius was weighing him out as well. It was apparent by the way he held his lance, the way Snowduster ran at only three-quarters speed down the lane. When it took Cassius just as long to get his lance into position to strike, Eli thought he might be calling for a mercy pass, but just before he reached the center of the tilt, Cassius lowered his lance, and the levee indicated he was ready to engage.

Eli lowered his as well but not squarely, not in position to hit Cassius’s ecranche unless he pivoted it at the last second. Scoring wasn’t Eli’s intention this pass, though. By the time the two were on top of each other, he felt as if he had a good indication of Cassius’s style, and when his opponent hit him squarely in the shield and splintered, Eli wasn’t taken aback at all. He’d seen what he needed to know.

The queen joyfully announced, “One point for Cassius of Warchester Keep!” The crowd cheered, though Eli heard several boos as well. He wasn’t surprised that Cassius had won the hearts of many onlookers, but being from Eastbury, one of the closest provinces, and having lived at the castle most of his life, Eli was aware that many people were pulling for him. He turned Aeros around, handed off his spent lance to be checked, and prepared for another pass.

This time, he wouldn’t be giving Cassius anything, nor would he be holding back on Aeros’s speed. The two horses were similarly matched in quickness, though Snowduster was far larger. There wasn’t another horse in the realm that could out-do Aeros when it came to speed and agility. Eli would’ve bet anything on that. So when the knight marshal gave the word, he pressed Aeros on and went flying down the lane, lowering his lance across the tilt at just the right second.

Cassius wasn’t expecting Eli to have already figured out his technique, so when the commander’s lance came down precisely before Cassius lowered his, it hit squarely on the shield, shattering into a thousand pieces. Cassius didn’t have the opportunity to line up his hit correctly and missed. When Rona announced the point, all of the enthusiasm from before had drained from her voice. “One point for Eliason of Eastbury.” Still, the crowd went wild with cheers, any boos drowned out by those in favor of the hometown Representative.

When Eli turned back around at the end of the pass, he could see that Cassius was actually laughing. His fist thumped the chainmail over his chest twice, quickly, which Eli assumed meant “you got me.” He was glad the other Representative wasn’t taking this too seriously because he genuinely liked the man and knew he was important to Kit. Thinking of her brought his head around for a moment. She looked whiter than freshly fallen snow. At least the tournament would be over soon, regardless of who won. He took the new lance from the squire standing nearby and awaited the signal, thinking the same trick wouldn’t work twice. He’d have to change it up a bit or give the third point over to Cassius.

As soon as the knight marshal gave the order, Eli took off, just as he had the time before, but this time, right as he and Cassius were about to collide in the center of the tilt, Eli pulled back on Aeros’s reins just slightly enough to throw Cassius’s aim off, and when his lance came down, it was no longer in the proper position. Eli used the change in speed to his advantage and landed a second blow on Cassius’s ecranche.

When the queen made the announcement this time, Eli didn’t even have to turn his head to know she was seething. The tone of her voice when she announced the point for him was enough to tell him he was already in more trouble than he’d ever been before.

May as well make it worth it.

If he won the next point, the match would be over. If Cassius won, then it would be down to the final point. While it might make it more entertaining for the onlookers to reach the fifth point, he was ready to end this, and by Kit’s expression, he could tell that she was ready as well. She looked like she might be sick to her stomach at any moment.