Free House of Ravens (The Nightfall Chronicles Book 2) by Karpov Kinrade Page B

It's hard not to be with the small town of Vianney thrown into festival mood overnight by the announcement of the tournament. I have to give credit to the local business owners who must have been up all night preparing for this impromptu day. Normally, they aren't even open on Sunday, let alone out with booths and baskets hawking their wares to everyone.
    Corinne, Wytt and I walk through the crowded line of vendors and excited students until we're standing in front of the Arena entrance.
    This is the first time I've seen the Arena up close. Modeled after the amphitheaters and arenas of Ancient Rome—but far larger—it was built in the middle of Vianney Park, with rounded walls of stone. Inside, the stadium is made of stone mixed with marble, with a center staging area for battles.
    "Where should we sit?" Corinne asks.
    I look around. "I'm not sure. But, can you guys wait here for a second? I'll be right back."
    "No problem," says Wytt.
    I thank them and run off. I need to find Jax. I ask a few people who direct me toward the entrance where the Knights prepare for battle. It's a large room under the arena seating and is full of Knights in a flurry of preparation. I easily spot Jax, one of the few not running around like a headless chicken. I'm a bit nervous, even a little shy, as I approach him. "Hey."
    He smiles and sets his sword down on a table near him. "Hey."
    I wring my hands and try to keep eye contact with him. "Look, I know things have been hard, and you had your reason for keeping secrets, and I just want you to know, I forgive you. You're still my best friend, and I don't want to lose that."
    His face visibly relaxes. "Scarlett, I hate keeping secrets from you. I hate that I had to lie to you. I can't tell you how much it means that you've forgiven me."
    I stick my hand in my pocket and pull out the wings he gave me the day my parents were killed. "I wanted you to have this. As a token. The ribbons felt a little…"
    "Clichéd?"
    I laugh. "Something like that."
    He accepts the token and sticks it to the breastplate of his armor. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."
    "Be careful," I say.
    "It's not a tournament to the death. I'll be fine."
    Men. "Maybe not to the death, but people do get hurt playing with swords."
    He chuckles. "I promise to be careful while playing with my sword."
    I want to grab him and shake him for making me feel so many conflicted things. Instead I smile, wish him luck again and go back to my friends who are waiting for me by the entrance.
    Wytt waggles his eyebrows and winks at me. "Methinks the lady has indeed bestowed upon her favored Knight a token of luck."
    "Shut it, Wytt," Corinne says. "Leave her alone."
    We're about to choose a seat wherever we can find one before the Arena fills up, when Evie speaks into my ear. "Your grandfather requests your presence in the V.I.P. seating."
    I look up at the same time Wytt and Corinne do. Likely they got the same message from their father, because the Chancellor, King Varian and the other Grandmasters are all seated in a special box not accessible from general seating. I'm about to ask how to get there when an Inquisition Guard arrives. "Princess, Prince, Miss Night, I've been sent to escort you to your seats."
    Corinne and Wytt look nonplussed, so I go without objection. They're probably used to this. I'll have to get used to it, too. I'm not a Princess, but I'm no longer anonymous either.
    When we arrive at the V.I.P. Box, Ragathon glares at me. "What's she doing here?"
    My grandfather clears his throat and frowns at the belligerent Grandmaster. "She is my granddaughter, and as such is entitled to enjoy today's festivities here, with her family. Just as the Princess and Princes are allowed to join you and your brother, the King."
    He doesn't say those last words like acid thrown on Ragathon's face, but that's certainly how they land, and I smile inwardly. I might start calling him Grandfather if he keeps this up.
    King Varian nods to Corinne and