I rested my frozen gauntlets on the wall of the latest keep we'd taken. My jaw was set as I watched the open clearing for signs of movement, occasionally scanning the trees beyond.

Marcia moved to my side. The normally pristine girl smelled of sweat and the faintly metallic scent of blood. Her dark hair was pushed away from pretty features, upturned eyes ringed with dark circles. "Anything?" she asked.

"No," I said. "And Isarona wouldn't miss her deadline. We have to assume she's eliminated."

"Damn it," Marcia swore under her breath. "Thalor and Julius?"

"Safe. I spoke with them while you rested. They're doubling back to check the shadow keep, then the castle. The more we take, the easier it will be for our enemies to capture behind our backs. Especially if Isarona was eliminated."

Marcia leaned heavily on the wall, the plates of her icy armor scraping and sliding against themselves. "This is my first tournament, you know."

I already knew, but I raised an eyebrow to look surprised. A good leader found ways to build up those who followed him. "Is it?"

She flashed a small, prideful smile that hopefully distracted her from the despair we were all feeling by now. "Yes. Father said I needed to do something to bring pride to our family. Something more than playing pretend adventurer in the Azure Guard. I think those were his exact words."

"Don't let it get to you. We're all gaining experience. It won't matter where it came from when we're high enough rank. And what we do in dungeons does matter. Think what would've happened in Beastden if we hadn't been there to hold back those swarms of ratlings. Or in the Emerald Forest dungeon. If not for us cutting back those poison vines, nobody would've been able to escape when the dungeon guardian rampaged out of the heart chamber."

She placed a hand on my forearm, smiling as she bit her lower lip. "You're a good man, Vitus Ra-Set." Her gaze lingered on mine, long lashes framing light brown eyes.

A good leader also didn't sleep with those under his command, so I patted her hand and gave a small smile. The dismissal was gentle, but obvious enough and I knew she saw it as she looked away, eyes down.

Movement below caught my attention. "Something is moving down there," I said.

Marcia frowned, leaning forward to look.

It was night, and nobody with good intentions should be approaching our keep, but…

"Is that…" I whispered.

"It's the guy with the helmet." Her voice carried a note of disappointment.

"Brynn. What in the name of the gods is he doing here? It looks like he's alone… has he lost his mind?"

I watched the figure approach. He wore a simple iron helmet with two horns and an odd, homemade looking sort of platemail over padded clothing he'd dyed a red so dark it was almost brown. His armor was dented within an inch of its life. It bore crisscrossing scratches from claw marks, blades, and one shoulder was caved in so badly I wondered how his arm was still functioning.

He paused in the middle of the clearing, looked up and seemed to notice us, then waved. "Hey!" he shouted, cupping hands over the darkened area of his helmet where his mouth should be. "I have a proposition. Can we talk? I can come up or you can come down. Whatever makes you feel safer."

"He thinks we're the ones who need to feel safe?" Marcia whispered from the corner of her mouth. "You could handle him in your sleep."

"Enough," I said, holding a hand up to Marcia. I raised my voice so he could hear. "We'll come down and meet you at the gate. Wait there."

I paused before heading for the stairwell, noticing the way Marcia was staring at the ground after I raised my voice at her. She still wasn't used to being corrected. Her upbringing had been castles and trainers all terrified to contradict her. Parents too busy and too important to do more than dote on her and shower her with privilege.

"We can't underestimate anyone here," I said, taking care to soften my tone. "Especially not him. I think he's far more dangerous than anyone knows. He might just be the most deadly person in this entire tournament. So be on your guard, okay? If he is planning on attacking, we need him to think the rest of our team is here."

Marcia looked up. "If he's as dangerous as you think, then maybe we should strike while he's alone."

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I considered. "No. I don't think the protections are working for anybody in his party. We wouldn't just be eliminating him. We'd be killing him."

"And?"

"And he saved us in Beastden by clearing the spawning room. I don't take my debts lightly, Marcia. So we'll speak with him and see what he wants. We only fight if he strikes first."

Her nostrils flared, but she gave a quick nod and followed after me, plated boots clattering on stone as we descended.

My mother once told me being a parent was easier than leading men and women. Parents, she said, were allowed to protect their children at all costs—even when it ran against all logic and good sense. But a good commander needed to love their men and women like children while still being ready to sacrifice them if it was for the good of the cause.

I cared about all the Azure Guard under my care like they were brothers and sisters. I knew how much a top spot in the final tournament rankings would mean for any one of them, and I deeply wanted to bring them the honor and opportunity.

And yet I wasn't sure I was the kind of commander my mother thought I was. Because I knew killing Brynn here would benefit my people. It would improve our chances of winning. It would be eliminating a potential threat when he was alone and his guard was down.

But I felt like I owed him a personal debt. Every one of us in Beastden did.

And tonight, I was going to let that come before the good of my unit, consequences be damned. My mother could scold me later, but I wasn't exactly like her. Nobody was, so I wouldn't torture myself by trying.

The sound of the front gate opening was deafening in the silent night, and I watched the heavy wood rise to reveal a pair of boots in perfect condition, legs, and then the full shape of Brynn Stygos. He seemed taller somehow, and even though he held no weapon, I felt an aura of violence and danger radiating from him like heat.

"Well met," I said, stepping toward him and extending a hand.

He took it, shaking with a firm grip.

Up close, I thought I could sense… power. When I'd last seen him during the drop, I knew he was still a low level Iron. We'd been given a participant list and information about the Aspirants and slaves on the airship. But I'd never felt this kind of power from a low level Iron. The aura I could sense felt more like he was knocking on the door of Silver, but that was ridiculous.

Then again, this man seemed to be followed by impossible things and strange questions at every turn. I felt my body tense in response, every muscle ready to draw my weapon and fight for my life if it came to that. Because debts or not, I really didn't know this man or what he was capable of.

"What do you want, Helmet?" Marcia asked.

Brynn's head turned toward her, but through the darkened slits of his helmet, I couldn't make out his eyes or his expression. It was admittedly unnerving. "Where is the rest of your team?"

The seemingly innocent question made a ball of ice form in my stomach. It made me imagine a predator prowling. Circling. Probing for weakness.

Was he only curious, or was he asking because he wanted to know how many of us he'd have to fight if he struck now?

"Resting," I said.

Brynn nodded casually, as if the answer wasn't of much consequence to him.

"I want to make a proposition," he said.

I hooked my thumbs in my breastplate, head tilting slightly. "We're listening."

#

The front gate closed, and I was ashamed to admit I felt a touch of relief when it did.

I looked to Marcia and she licked her lips, then plastered on a cocky smile that looked forced. "Well?" she asked. "Think we can trust him?"

I nodded. "It's as he said. His plan benefits both our groups, right? We don't need to trust that he wants to help us. We just need to trust that he believes we can help him, and vice versa."

Marica folded her arms and let out a breath. The cockiness she was feigning was already gone. "Did you feel it?" she asked after a moment.

"His level?"

She nodded. "Isn't he supposed to be under level 10?"

"Maybe he found a way to hide his level during the intake process. Some sort of trick."

"That shouldn't be possible," Marcia said.

"And neither should killing an Iron Ranked Eclipsed as a Wood."

"He was Iron when we saw him in Beastden. I felt it."

"Barely Iron. He would've grown stronger fighting his way to the Eclipsed if he'd been Iron when they entered the dungeon. It felt like he had just ascended when we met him."

Marcia's eyes widened. "You think he killed the Eclipsed when he was still Wood?"

"I do. With or without his party, it would take incredible power."

The idea settled on her heavily. I saw it in the way her expression fell and her shoulders seemed to round inward. "Maybe he's foreign nobility? Part of a Divine House belonging to one of the forgotten gods?"

I shook my head. "No. And if he was foreign nobility, my mother would've already figured it out. And we both know Divine Houses of the forgotten gods are myths. Ithariel dismantled them centuries ago."

"Calipha is investigating him?"

"She's aware of him. She's aware of everything that happens in and around Thrask. Foreign nobility would need to declare they'd sent someone. Entering the tourney pretending to be an Aspirant would be an act of sabotage and she would've already pulled him from the tourney for punishment."

"Then what is he?" Marcia asked. All her annoyance with Brynn seemed completely forgotten, replaced by something that resembled fear.

"For now, I think he's an ally. That's all we need to focus on. We fulfil our end of the bargain and hope they fulfil theirs."

"And what happens when we've done our job and he doesn't have any more use for us? He has a whole army of slaves and Aspirants. If he's as dangerous as you think, would we stand a chance if they focused on us?"

"I think we'd take many of them down with us," I said.

Her eyes went a tick wider. "You really think he could defeat us? Even with Thalor and Julius?"

"I don't know. I think we're more than a match for anyone in this tourney. But there's no use underestimating our enemies. And I think it would be especially unwise to underestimate him. For now, his plan benefits us. If they want to try to fight us after we've done our end, then we'll make sure it's a bloody contest. I can promise that much. Whether we're victorious or not, we'll make any who come for us pay dearly."

That, at least, drew a small smile from Marcia.

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