A Tournament of Crowns by Elise Kova

Author:Elise Kova [Kova, Elise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B09TLMZ9K9
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Published: 2023-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

23

Minister Fawn and the attendants had made it clear that only Solaris and Qwint could sit at the table, but there was nothing mentioned about the ground. Cullen’s silken blankets were now stretched out along one side of the table, the chairs pushed aside. Their plates had turned into platters, ferrying the food back and forth. Evanel, one of Meru’s competitors, had stepped up as barkeep and began ferrying flagons from the common house to their impromptu picnic.

Before Eira knew it, the food was mostly eaten, the rest forgotten in favor of song and dance underneath the stars. The only one who had retired early was Luca; the rest of them were still going strong. Graff was plucking away feverishly at a lute. Sorrah sang wordless notes, swaying at his side. Lop banged wooden spoons and utensils against the heavy clay bowls the attendants had removed earlier with surprising skill as the rest of them danced twirled and laughed.

Eira sat off to the side with Alyss, leaning back with a slight smile. It was easily one of the best picnics she’d ever had. Hard to believe these people were still her competition.

Looking at them now, it almost gave her hope that maybe, one day, there could be true peace—not just the uneasy kind—among their nations. Perhaps, after years of tournaments, those in Meru would cheer just as loudly for their favorite competitors from Solaris as the ones from Meru itself.

She was too old, too jaded, to think that true peace could ever exist for very long. But, in this moment, she felt like dreaming.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you this relaxed in a while,” Alyss commented from her side. They sat back on the fringe, as was Eira’s usual location in group settings. It had also given Eira an opportunity to fill Alyss in on her explorations from earlier in the day. But they hadn’t lingered on the subject. Neither of them seemed too keen on ruining this brief reprieve with the heaviness of Pillars and they had fallen into an easy silence since.

“I know it’s a momentary distraction but…I do feel pretty relaxed,” she admitted. Lavette, Kinnya, and Varren were in the process of trying to teach Cullen, Noelle, Menna, and Sorrah some kind of dance from Qwint. Olivin and Ducot were expectedly off to the side as well, talking between themselves. Eira wondered if they were able to discuss business at a time like this, or if they were able to chat casually as she and Alyss were.

Likely not. The thought sobered Eira. Yonlin was still missing. If Eira were in Olivin’s shoes, there would be no possible way she’d ever be able to focus on anything but finding her brother.

“Sometimes momentary distractions are all we have to get us through the hard bits between them.” Alyss wriggled her fingers over a rock in her palm. She was slowly changing its shape into a rabbit with every pulse of her magic.

“I can’t afford to be distracted.” The sight of Olivin, of his worry, had sobered her.

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