Believe it. Act on it!
Hadrian swung outward to his right. The great sword of Jerish Grelad caught the morning sun on its worn blade and glinted, shining for one brief moment.
It’s more than fighting, Haddy, Danbury said. It’s what you are. It’s what you will be-what you must be. Trust in it.
Hadrian’s knees hit the snow, sending up a burst of ice crystals. He could see the shadow now, the rushing darkness of Irawondona running at him from behind. Pulling against the weight of the spadone, he started the pivot, the collapsing rotation.
It was a blind attack.
You don’t have to see your opponent to kill him, his father had explained. You just have to know where he will be. That’s the key to everything. And if you know, what good are eyes? What good is seeing? Trust in what I’ve taught you and you’ll hit him.
Hadrian continued the spin, one knee coming up, his shoulder twisting his waist as he put his full weight into the arc. He did not look. He did not need to. He knew. He knew exactly where Irawondona was and where he would be.
He felt metal kiss metal as Irawondona tried to parry. The force of the spadone, the weight behind it, was too much to deflect. The metal sang, but there was hardly a quiver to the stroke as it carried through the weak defense, driving the sword from Irawondona’s grip. The spadone continued in its stroke and Hadrian hardly felt the impact as it cut into the elf’s side. Irawondona’s body offered even less resistance than his blade, and Hadrian completed the swing as if he were performing it alone behind the blacksmith’s shop. The only difference was the splash of blood.
The blue torches flared brilliantly white, then went out with a loud snap.
“ Ir a wondon,” the priest of Ferrol announced, and then, looking at Hadrian, added, “It is done.”
“ No! ” Mawyndule cried, raising his arms. He looked as if he was trying to speak when he coughed and blood sprayed the front of his robes. To either side, his guards started to draw their weapons but disappeared with a loud pop.
Mawyndule collapsed face-first. Behind him, Monsignor Merton stood holding the bloodstained Alverstone in both hands.
The elves did not move or react. Instead they stood silently, their faces solemn, their eyes downcast. No one looked at Irawondona and none bothered with Mawyndule; instead they started down the hill toward Royce.
“ Hadrian! ” Arista screamed.
He pushed his way through the elves, then finally past Modina, the girls, and the boys to find Arista kneeling on the ground clutching Royce. The ground was soaked and his friend’s eyes were closed.
“Help him!” Hadrian told her.
“I can’t! I tried!” she cried, her eyes frightened.
“But I won,” he said, and looked to Myron. “The blessing is gone now, right?”
The monk nodded.
“There-see? Do it, do it now! Pull him back!”
“I tried!” she shouted at him. “Don’t you think I tried! I was waiting, and the second the wall was gone, I went in. But I still can’t reach him. Hadrian… he doesn’t want to be saved. I think he wants to die.”
Hadrian felt the strength at last go out of his legs and he collapsed to his knees.
“He sees her, Hadrian,” Arista cried, cradling Royce’s head on her lap. “He sees her in the light. He doesn’t even hear me. All he sees is her and he keeps saying he did it, he saved you.”
Hadrian nodded. Tears filled his eyes and he reached out and brushed the hair away from Royce’s face. “Damn it, Royce! Don’t leave me, pal. Com’on, buddy, you have to come back. I finally did it. I killed the bad guy, saved the kingdom, won the girl, and you’re ruining it all for me. You don’t want to do that, do you? Please, we still need you.”
“What happens if he dies?” Gaunt asked from above him.
“The elves will be without a king,” Myron said in a shaking voice. “The next elf to blow the horn will be king, unless there is another challenger and a fight. But either way, an elf will be crowned.”
“Do you hear that, Royce? It isn’t over. You have to live or we all die. You won’t have saved me after all. Com’on, pal.” He lifted him, cradling Royce in his arms. “You can’t leave now.”
Hadrian studied his face-no change.
“There’s just nothing keeping you here anymore, is there?” Tears ran down Hadrian’s cheeks. “I love you, buddy,” he said, and laid him back down.
Those watching fell silent as they listened to Royce’s breathing. It grew shallower and slower, fainter with each rasping in and out. Somewhere a bird sang, and the wind blew across the hilltop.
“Who is he?”
Hadrian heard a small voice disturb the silence.
“Mercy, shush,” the empress Modina said. “His name is Royce, now be quiet.”
Hadrian looked up suddenly.
“What?” Arista asked.
“Gwen,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Gwen told me how to save him.”
“She did?”
“Yes, something about… It was the last time I saw her-one of the last things she ever told me. I–I didn’t realize…”
“Realize what?” Arista asked.
“She knew.”
“Knew what?”
“She knew everything,” Hadrian replied. “I remember she told me what to do to save him but at the time I didn’t understand. Damn, I wish I had Myron’s brain!”
Hadrian took a breath and tried to calm down. “I was with her in The Rose and Thorn, at the table. Royce was there-no-no, he wasn’t-he was in the kitchen doing something. He was happy-happy about… about… the wedding! Yes, we were talking about the wedding and about how Royce had changed over the years. I felt bad taking him away from her and she said that he had to go or I would die.” He looked back toward the arena, where Irawondona’s body still lay. “She meant this. She saw this! But then she said something else. She said… Oh, what did she say?”
He struggled to remember her voice, her words: He’s seen too much cruelty and betrayal. He’s never known mercy. That was what she had said but then there was something else, something she wanted him to do. You have to do this, Hadrian. You have to be the one to show him mercy. If you can do that, I know it will save him.
“No,” he said, stunned. “Not show him mercy-oh god! She wanted me to show him Mercy!”
He leapt to his feet and grabbed the little girl standing beside Modina. She pulled back, frightened.
“Relax, honey. Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. “Just tell me your name.”
The girl looked at Modina, who nodded.
“Mercy.”
“No-no, what’s your full name?”
“Mercedes, but no one calls me that except my mother-at least, she used to.”
“What’s your mother’s name, honey?” Hadrian asked, his hands trembling as he held her.
“My mother is dead.”
“Yes, dear, but what was her name?”
The little girl smiled. “Gwendolyn DeLancy.”
“Did you hear that, Royce!” Hadrian shouted. “Her name is Mercedes.”
He kept shouting at him. “Elias or Sterling if a boy, right? But there was only one name for the girl, Mercedes. There was only one name because Gwen had already named her! This is your daughter, Royce! This is your and Gwen’s daughter! How old are you, sweetie? Five? Six?”
“Six,” she said proudly.
“She’s six, Royce. That would have been the year we spent locked up in Alburn, remember? Gwen took her
