Chapter 212 - Noble Trials

Chapter 212 - Noble Trials
Rhiannan POV

The castle buzzed like a fucking hive from the moment the sun came up.

By breakfast, the Great Hall was packed with the hundred chosen participants for the Noble Trials.
Platters overflowed with eggs, roasted meats, fruit, pastries, honey cakes, fresh bread, tea, juice, and enough food to feed a small invading army. Which, considering our recent activities, felt appropriate. The candidates were dressed in ceremonial gear, though some looked significantly more comfortable than others.

A blacksmith sat stiffly in polished armor that clearly wasn't his usual wardrobe. A forest witch had flowers growing out of her sleeves. One older woman was calmly eating sausage while three younger candidates beside her looked ready to vomit from nerves. I liked her immediately. Reyna stood at the head of the long table with the council behind her. Silver and navy robes draped over her frame, her eyes faintly glowing with Oracle magic.

Once everyone had eaten, she raised one hand. The room quieted. “Today, we build something unshakable.”

Every face turned toward her. “You hundred souls will step into greatness. Some of you will become Nobles, our guides and advisors. Some will become Lords and Ladies, chosen voices of the people.”

She looked across them slowly. “Today, we see your truth.”

Fuck. Good line. FaeNet apparently agreed. Comments exploded so quickly Sasha had to slow the feed.

@VillageMama44: I'M CRYING AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED.

@GoblinTaxGuy: FIVE GOLD ON THE OLD LADY EATING SAUSAGE. SHE FEARS NOTHING.

@PhoenixFanatic: KAZEM BETTER WIN SOMETHING OR I RIOT.

Voting predictions were already forming. Supporters spammed hearts. Flames. Tiny crown emojis. Someone had already made collectible candidate cards. Of course they had. Reyna led the hundred contestants through the long eastern corridor.

I followed with my mates and council. Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, spilling fractured reds, blues, and golds across the stone beneath our feet. Then the doors opened. The newly constructed Noble Trial Grounds stretched before us.

Three massive rings. Each one carved with ancient runes. Each one humming with enough magic to make the hair along my arms rise. The first shimmered gold.
The second glowed green-blue. The third was black as fucking death. I stared at Reyna. “Still hate that one.”

She smiled. “You haven't even seen what it does.”

“That is precisely why I hate it.”
~

VALLEN BRIGHTSHARD POV

I adjusted the crystal plate over my shoulder and breathed slowly through my nose.

In. Out. Again. The armor felt too clean. Too ceremonial. I preferred forge leathers. Something I could burn without some royal attendant fainting. My fingers closed around the small pendant beneath my collar. My father's. He'd died during the Emberreach shortages. Not in battle. Not dramatically. He'd frozen because the regional lord had decided coal shipments mattered more to wealthy districts than mining villages.

That was why I was here. Not for a title. Not for some shiny fucking chair. Food. Fair wages. Heat through winter. Things people shouldn't have to beg rulers for.

I kissed the pendant. “The forge taught me pain.”

The horn began to rise. “The rebellion taught me resolve.”

I stepped toward the glowing ring. “I didn't come this far to choke now.”

The horn screamed, and I stepped inside.
~

LILINDA WHISPERBARK

I had never worn silk this expensive in my life.

It kept getting caught on my fingers. Annoying shit. My gray curls were tied back with a simple vine circlet I'd grown myself that morning. At least that felt familiar.
The rest? Hundreds of people watching.

Millions through FaeNet. Royal council members studying us. A Goddess sitting above the field. None of that was familiar. I had spent most of my life beneath whispering trees. I liked trees. Trees rarely asked about tax policy. Then the visions started.

Drought. Children rationing water. Officials ignoring villages until people began dying. Another tyrant rising because everyone assumed someone else would stop them. I couldn't unsee it. So here I was.

Political power. Wonderful. I looked around at the younger contestants. Several dismissed me instantly.
Good. “Let them underestimate me.”

The runes beneath my feet brightened. “I'll outlast them all.”

I stepped into the ring.
~

KAZEM OF THE ASHEN TIDE POV

The cameras loved me.

Not my fault. I rolled my shoulders and let my black cloak settle behind me. Charred edges. Phoenix thread. Dramatic as fuck. Perfect. People had called me traitor once. Then criminal. Then corpse. That last one didn't stick.

Funny thing about phoenixes. Death rarely ended the argument. I'd burned. I'd risen. I'd watched the same rulers who condemned me destroy communities while congratulating themselves for maintaining order. Never again. FaeNet was vomiting fire emojis beside my name. I grinned.

“I'm not here to bow.” The ring ignited in front of me. “I'm here to fucking lead.”

Then I walked straight into the flames.
~

Rhiannan POV

From the raised dais, I watched them enter.

Vallen. Lilinda. Kazem. One after another. A hundred people who might soon help shape the future of the kingdom. Azarion stood beside me holding my hand.
Liam rubbed slow circles against my lower back.
Bless that vampire. Kaleb and Arwen barked orders along the perimeter while Elisha patrolled overhead, wings cutting through the morning sky. Sable stalked the outer wards like an irritated shadow.

Everything was going perfectly. Which should have been my first warning. The sky cracked. Not thunder.
Magic. A violent black fracture flashed across the upper wards. The entire shield above the Trial Grounds rippled. Once.Twice. Then buckled inward. Gasps tore through the crowd. I shot to my feet. Bad fucking choice. Pain immediately pulled low through my abdomen.

But Sasha's voice drowned everything out. “MAGICAL BREACH DETECTED.” The wards flashed again. “REPEAT. UNKNOWN ASSAULT DETECTED.”

My heart stopped. The shield held. Barely. Hairline fractures of black energy crawled across its surface before Sasha reinforced them with blinding gold. FaeNet descended into panic.

IS THAT AN ATTACK?!

GET THE QUEEN INSIDE!

WHAT THE FUCK JUST HIT THE SHIELD?!

Someone below shouted, “Do we stop?”

Reyna didn't hesitate. “No!” Her voice boomed with divine force. “Let them see we do not bend.”

She turned toward the rings. “CONTINUE THE TRIALS!”

Another pain tightened across my stomach. Harder. I grabbed the edge of the dais. “Fuck.”

Liam dropped to his knees in front of me. “Babe?”

“Don't babe me.”

Another contraction squeezed low enough that I stopped breathing. His face changed. “Oh, fuck.”

“Yeah.”

Kaelith appeared at my side almost instantly. Sereth followed. Brimma arrived carrying something that looked suspiciously explosive. Kaelith pressed glowing fingers to my wrist. “Breathe.”

“I am breathing.”

“You are threatening the air.”

“I think I'm having contractions.”

Azarion went completely still. Absolutely not the reassuring reaction I wanted. Sereth's eyes began glowing. Brimma snapped her fingers. “Towels. Calming draught. And nobody panic.”

Every single one of my mates panicked. Silently. Which was somehow worse. Kaelith pressed her palms against my belly. “Possibly false labor.”

“Possibly?”

Another cramp hit. I doubled forward. “But it better fucking wait.”

Liam stared at me. I pointed toward the arena. “We have shit to do.”

Azarion apparently disagreed. One second I was standing. The next I was in his arms. “Fuck this noise.”
His wings flared. “You're done.”

“Excuse me?”

“You're not popping out triplets on a battlefield.”

“I wasn't planning on it!”

“You rarely plan your catastrophes.”

Fair. He started toward the castle. “If you drop me, I swear to all things sparkly…”

Azarion tightened his hold. “Baby, I'd let a god eat me before I let your ass hit the ground.”

“That was disgustingly romantic.”

“Good.”

Behind us, Liam turned murderous. “LOCK IT DOWN!”

Sentinels moved immediately. “Double the northern quadrant! Caster crews to the outer shield!”

Sable was already gone. One moment he stood beside the ward line. The next, he dissolved into shadow. Squad officers followed. I hated leaving. Every part of me wanted to stay. To see what had attacked us. To know where Lorelei was. But another contraction crushed that argument. “Motherfucker.”

Azarion looked down. “Still want to stay?”

“Shut up.”

By the time they got me into the royal chambers, Kaelith and Sereth had constructed a nest of pillows big enough to qualify as architecture. Brimma activated twelve additional wards. Three of them exploded into glitter. I stared at her. “Necessary?”

“Yes.”

No hesitation. Terrifying woman. Kaelith examined my belly while Sereth flipped through her Book of Fate.
Finally, Kaelith exhaled. “Not labor.”

Everyone relaxed at once. I almost cried. “Thank fuck.”

“But close.”

The relief died immediately. She continued. “The dark magic triggered a defensive response in your body.”

Sereth's fingers traced a glowing line across one page.
“The triplets felt it too.”

My hands went over my belly. “They're okay?”

“Yes.”

That was all I cared about. Sereth smiled faintly. “They're extremely active.”

One kicked me hard enough to prove the point. I winced. “Little assholes.”

Brimma cracked her knuckles. “Born ready.”

Sasha suddenly appeared above the bed. “Perimeter report incoming.”

My entire body tensed again. Sable's image formed beside her. Behind him was scorched earth. Blackened grass. A leaf burned around the edges. Even through projection, I could almost smell it. Rot.

Sable crouched and rubbed ash between his fingers.
“Dark magic.”

My stomach sank. “Lorelei?”

His demon eyes lifted. “She was here.”

Silence filled the room. Cold. Heavy. I pressed one hand against my belly. Sable stood. “She didn't get through.”

His mouth curled. “Good.”

I knew that look. “Let the Bone Bitch try again.” Darkness rolled around his shoulders. “I want her to see what happens when she fucks with us.”

FaeNet was already losing its collective mind.

LORELEI ATTACKED THE TRIALS?!

AZARION CARRIED RHIANNAN OUT LIKE A FUCKING WAR BRIDE.

SQUAD THORNE IS ALREADY ON IT.

THE BABIES ARE OKAY, RIGHT?!

I stared at that last comment. My hand rubbed slowly over my stomach. “Tell them.”

Sasha tilted her head. “What?”

“Tell them the babies are fine.”

Her expression softened almost imperceptibly. “Broadcasting.” Seconds later, a message appeared across FaeNet.

THE QUEEN AND ROYAL HEIRS ARE SAFE. THE NOBLE TRIALS CONTINUE. THE CASTLE HOLDS.

I leaned back against my mountain of pillows. Outside, three Trial rings still burned. A hundred candidates were still fighting for the right to lead. Our army was defending the perimeter. My children were safe. Lorelei had tested our walls. And failed. I smiled.

Fine. Let her test us. Let her watch.

Let her learn exactly what Veltherion learned too late.

We did not fucking bend.