This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

Author:Kalyn Josephson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

CHAPTER 21

MIKIRA

MIKIRA AND QUINN crossed the finish line near the front of the pack, joining a bundle of racers dusted in different colored powders. Quinn had a slice across her forearm, and Mikira could already feel the bruises blooming on her side from the fall. Thankfully, her arm wound had healed enough not to reopen. Medics rushed forward to tend to them and their horses, but oddly, the eyes of the crowd weren’t focused on them.

Whispered rumors flew across the concourse. Mikira caught only pieces of it as she returned to the saddling area and dismounted.

“… an attack on the prince.”

“Thank the Goddess he escaped.”

“It’s the rebels, I’m sure of it.”

Atara lipped at her sleeve, asking for an apple, and Mikira laid a distracted hand on her head. Had a rebel really tried to attack Prince Darius? Princess Eshlin had been on that viewing platform too—why go for one royal sibling and not the other? Granted, Eshlin didn’t have the womanizing, cruel reputation that her brother did, but she was still a royal.

Atara snorted warm air into her face.

“All right, all right.” She undid the girth and removed the saddle, setting them aside along with the bridle. The horse had made it quite clear that while she’d tolerate them for the duration of rides, that was where her patience ended.

Atara’s midnight coat gleamed red with dust, but the enchantment had been weak and short-lived, making it harmless now. Still, they’d both nearly lost control back there.

Did lose control, she corrected herself. The charm had spoken to something in each of them, a hidden seed of fury that took only a drop of anger to sprout. Mikira had come undone in a way she’d never allowed herself before. Had let her anger fuel her first and foremost. It had been terrifying, but it had also been freeing.

Mikira leaned her head against Atara’s. “No one else has ever seen me like that,” she murmured. “I’m not sure I ever want them to.”

The horse pressed comfortingly against her, and Mikira closed her eyes. She could never be that person in front of Ailene or Nelda, never let herself falter. She didn’t have the luxury of a moment’s weakness. She was the one who had to stay strong, who always had to do the right thing. She was holding herself together with nothing more than fury and sheer determination.

All she wanted was to break.

“I don’t know what was more exciting, the race or the attempt on the prince’s life.” Quinn’s voice pulled her back to the present. The girl brought her bay to a halt and dismounted.

Mikira nervously scanned the area. “Say that a little louder, will you?”

Quinn lifted an eyebrow. “What? They’re not even meant to be ruling. They usurped the throne from the last Ranier king’s son.”

Mikira had heard rumors of the lost illegitimate prince, supposedly born to the king’s mistress, but it was the sort of thing one only whispered about in close quarters. It toed the line of treason.

“Do you disagree?” Quinn asked.

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