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But he hesitates because the first ring has already swung wide on to face us and so he has missed the best point to anticipate the jump. His lack of confidence is a knife pinning his foot to the floor.

I spring past him and onto the first ring. Hooking fingers along the curve I shove off with my foot and launch myself to the next ring before Kalliarkos has even left the platform. I’m no longer breathing hard; I’m flying. He is not halfway along as I scramble up the ladder and grab the victor’s ribbon at the top of the tower. The feel of the cloth in my hand never gets old, even on the practice court.Advertisement

This is how it should be.

This is what I live for.

17

Grinning seems like a child’s cheap boast but I can’t help it. By the way the spectators are staring I can tell I have surprised them.

Kalliarkos reaches the ladder and with a hand on the lowest rung calls up, “You didn’t even hesitate! How do you do that?”

His face is so open and welcoming. I like his eyes, the way they flare, how dark they are, the thick curl of his eyelashes. There is a smudge on his cheek I would wipe clean in a comradely way if he were an ordinary adversary, but I never could touch a lord like him.

Once my heart has stopped pounding, I climb down. “You have to take enough time to study the rhythm and the pattern, not just plunge in. Once you decide, you can’t hesitate.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” He laughs as if he doesn’t care that I’ve beaten him. “You have it all in your head already. Now you just have to teach me.”

A bird has been trapped inside my heart, wings beating. “I guess now that I’m here there’s nothing to stop us from working together every day if you want.”

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Then I hate myself, remembering my mother and sisters.

“Are you all right?” His brows draw down in concern.

I look around but we’re still alone. “It was a shock to leave my family.”

He leans against the ladder like we have all day to gossip. “Do you really have three sisters and no brothers? What’s to become of them?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter as my jubilation shatters into dread. Yet it astounds me that he even thought to ask about them.

“Being here is a great opportunity for you. I can give you news about your father’s campaign. Any prize money you earn you can give to your family.”

I must blink ten times as his words sink in. If I pass muster, Garon Stable is the best place I could be.

He smiles as if my startled expression is the best reward he’s ever been given. “Didn’t you already think of that?”

“I didn’t ask to come, my lord.”

“I deserved that! You would say it was easy for me to forget how you got here, wouldn’t you?”

His casual stance and confiding words confuse me. “You don’t act like—” I bite the words back, recollecting prudence and propriety.

“Like what? Go on.”

“The way lords are supposed to act.”

“The way my uncle Gargaron takes what he wants when he wants it? The way my grandmother is the sweetest woman you could ever meet, until her will is crossed? The way my sister…” He shifts so his broad shoulders press along a rung, and he crosses his arms. “I decided years ago not to be like them.”

Daringly I say, “What did you decide to be like?”

He examines me intently. “Why do you want to know?”

A shrill whistle interrupts us.

“We better go,” I say.

He walks ahead as he must because he is a lord. When we emerge together onto the forecourt, Tana is waiting. I can’t interpret the straight line of her mouth.

“Lord Kalliarkos, if you will, get a cup of broth from Cook. You too, girl. We’re changing up the obstacles and you will run against Gira and Dusty.”

My grin returns. I am so ready to run again.

Tana notes my anticipation with a flick of a finger that whisks a piece of sawdust off my elbow. “You’re not what I expected.”

“Come on, Jessamy. They won’t give us much time to recover.” Kalliarkos taps my arm and flashes another of his grins.

The casual touch of his hand makes my smile vanish. It’s foolish to be flattered by his attention, so I put on my game face. We walk to the dining shelter to drink a cup of broth swimming with bits of meat and herbs like heal-all and brave-man’s-iron. The rich liquid slides down my dry throat.

Kalliarkos sips. “I always hesitate on Rings. It’s like I have to wait until it’s exactly right and I’m exactly sure before I can go in.” pqdm.com