The Lyceum was located in Savannah, in the seat of necromantic power in the United States, and it guaranteed a spectacle.
I had been tried there, as Amelie Pritchard, convicted and sentenced.
I still had nightmares about all those tiers of judging eyes staring down at me.
“Your team was very thorough in assembling its defense of your absence.” The Grande Dame’s eyes glittered with pride. “It’s no small thing, what my son accomplished in this city during his tenure as potentate.”
“I agree,” I said quietly, unsure if I was allowed to speak.
“What you have managed to accomplish is even greater.”
Jaw falling open, I couldn’t find words enough to string together an answer.
“You’ve made impressive inroads in uniting this city and its factions. You’ve overcome more obstacles in the last year than most seasoned potentates face in their entire careers. Others would have balked, or at the very least, asked for assistance. You did neither, unless lives were on the line. You have been determined to make your own way, and I respect that.” She swept her gaze across the crowd. “But tonight, though you acted for the greater good, you failed to complete your trial.” She spread her hands. “The formalities must be observed, you understand, in order for our vote to be validated.”
Hope kindled in my chest, and I couldn’t stop from taking a step forward. “Do you mean…?”
“My son has dedicated years into shaping you as his protégé.” She jerked her chin higher. “Failure will not stain his name based on a coup orchestrated by vampires and their petty feuds.”
A low growl poured from Midas, but I put my foot on his and applied subtle pressure to shush him.
I didn’t care why she gave me a second chance. I was too grateful to hear I had earned it.
The Grande Dame was the sort of woman who could see no fault in her child, not because her child was faultless, though Linus was a remarkable man in his own right, but because of how those shortcomings might reflect upon her.
“Volunteers,” she called. “Take your positions. The gauntlet resumes in ten minutes.”
Exhaustion weighted my limbs, and my brain sloshed from my dunk in the lake, but I could do this.
Glancing over my shoulder, I found my mate smiling at me with such pride my chest ached like it wanted to crack down the middle. Boaz and Addie had found him too. Along with Bishop and Remy. And Linus. I had a long way to go. I had a lot left to do. But it was hard to be down on myself with so many hands ready to catch me when I stumbled.
Amusement played on her lips when the Grande Dame gestured to the starting line. “Ms. Whitaker?”
I was beyond words, hugs, well wishes. I was beyond anything but putting one foot in front of the other. I didn’t know how I would stack up against the volunteers. I might have to crawl out of this thing.
I am enough. I am enough. I am enough.
The pistol fired, the sound echoing in the utter quiet from the spectators. I limped over the line, a knot in my throat, ears ringing, and then I heard it.
Hadley. Hadley. Hadley.
The crowd was chanting my name.
Hadley. Hadley. Hadley.
Forcing my shoulders back, I entered the magical barrier shielding the gauntlet and pulled up short.
The vampires who gutted Sue had been replaced with members of Clan Morton, who inclined their heads to me as I passed without budging an inch. I kept a wary eye on them, afraid it was a trap, but they let me pass unscathed through their territory.
Palms clammy, I summoned Ambrose, but he appeared as confused as me.
The lions, which I hadn’t reached last time, came next.
Gray, alpha of the Kingsman Lions, broke from his pride to help me walk through their patch of territory.
“Thanks,” I murmured to him, confused. “Is this legal?”
“Let them try to stop me.” He kissed my cheek and released me. “Finish strong.”
I lifted a hand in a puny wave then shuffled on to the gwyllgi section. I sucked in a breath when I spotted Hank. He was on his knees, head bowed. I went to him and tugged on his shirt sleeve.
“You don’t have to do that.” I yanked harder and almost toppled myself. “Come on, get up.”
“No.” He turned crimson eyes on me. “Finish strong, beta.”
A silver sheen made it hard to see as I nodded to him and then to the others I passed, also kneeling.
As I crossed into the next section, I heard the click-clack of warg claws on pavement.
“Ambrose,” I breathed, reaching for my swords. “This might get ugly.”
But the wolves fell in line behind me, an escort, and when I crossed into what must be the final section, they tipped their heads back and howled encouragement that swelled in my chest.
The final faction was my own. Necromancers. And I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw her.
The Grande Dame carried a long sword in her right hand.
This was it. The end. I couldn’t defeat her. She was the Grande Dame for a reason.
And frak that was a massive sword. I would have to glue both of mine together to make one that long.
“I am not often surprised,” she said, strolling closer, “but you managed it, Amelie Madison.”
The sound of my birth name on her lips turned my heart to a stone that plummeted into my feet, making them too heavy to lift, let alone run for my life.
“I wasn’t certain until I saw your wraith, but you’re her.”
“I am.”
I barely heard my answer. Scratch that. It was a confession.
Thank the goddess the gauntlet was concealed and muted from the spectators, or I would be toast in more ways than one.
“I’m not a fan of surprises, and this is one that could blow up in the Society’s face should you go rogue.”
