I couldn’t drive the dagger home now, not in front of the princess. Because despite her wise words, she was not even a teenager. Even though she was born to rule, she did not need to see a cold-blooded death. I flipped Carp over and, using his own belt, tied his hands and feet together then rolled him into the tower.

Ash dragged the limp body of the other Ender in behind me. I noted that his opponent still breathed. We shared a look that said it all. There was enough trouble with how things had gone down in the Pit. We didn’t need to double those issues by doing the same thing in the Deep. We stripped them of their weapons and barred the doors from the outside for an added measure, though I doubted the two guards would be going anywhere fast.

Finley pointed at the party. “Requiem is gone, I saw him leave. But he didn’t take Belladonna with him; hurry.” She bolted away, her billowy blue skirts dancing in the wind. I ran after her thinking I would catch up to her before she got to the crowd. She slipped between people and I was forced to shove my way in. Undine’s pulled away from me, their eyes wide and I knew what they saw. An Terraling covered in blood and gore, her hair wild, weapons in her hands. Again.

“Get out of my way.” I elbowed a woman too stunned to move and too wide to get around as fast as I wanted.

She fell to her butt and when she did, I stared at the scene in front of me. Belladonna was sitting on Requiem’s lap. Her face was streaked with black, the kohl rimming her eyes having run with tears. Requiem didn’t seem to care. Behind him hung a body, stripped of its flesh, green hair still attached, the twins huddling beneath it, their bodies shivering in what I could only assume was shock.

And Finley? She strode right up to Requiem, spun, and pointed at me. “I name Lark my champion, and you will face her, or be banished as is our creed.”

Holy mother goddess, what had Finley done?

CHAPTER 19

Requiem tipped back his head and roared with laughter. “Finley, you are so damn feisty. At least we know our father’s blood runs hot and true.” He gave Belladonna’s left breast a squeeze so hard his knuckles turned white, and her face paled. He looked straight at me as he did it.

Rage lit me up like a shooting star and I grabbed hold of my connection to the earth, letting it run through me.

Except I wasn’t really seeing what he was doing. Didn’t register the blue ticks of magic flowing up his hand until the wave caught me and pulled me into the central tank, once again. I went down, deep, felt something bump me. Knew what it was—one of Requiem’s pets. If I never saw another shark again, it would be too damn soon.

My connection to the earth was still there, still humming along my synapses, and I wasn’t about to let my fear take control.

If I could break down sandstone, break down glass, into finite components of earth then surely I could put the process into reverse. I swam to the surface as I pulled on the sand below us, forming it into a spear. I saw the dark torpedo shape swimming fast toward me and I flicked my hand, sending my sand spear straight up through it.

The shark’s body exploded as the spear nearly cut it in half. I let the spear drop and reform as a second shark dove for the kill. Twice more I sliced the sharks until none were left. Or at least, none left alive.

I swam to the edge. The tank was smooth, impossible to get out of. Except it was made of sandstone too. I drove my fingers into the tank, expecting there to be some resistance.

It was like putting my hand into clay that formed up around my fingers. I climbed out of the water swiftly and onto the throne room floor. Calling the earth’s power, I drew the sand up and hardened it over the water, sealing the edges. Finley grinned at me and waved. “You see, Requiem? She is my champion. Now, face her or be banished!”

Requiem all but flung Belladonna away from him and into Ash. He caught her and pulled her farther away. I caught his eye and he gave me a nod. I would be on my own for this fight. A challenge was a challenge. Requiem noticed none of that as he glared at Finley.

“This is not my first challenge, wife.”

She tipped her tiny chin up. “I know. But it will be your last.”

Oh, if only I had the confidence she did. Requiem stalked toward me. “When I kill you, I think I will have to kill my young bride too. I didn’t realize how devious she was.”

“You weren’t the only one she outsmarted.” I sidled to the left, over the covered tank. I only had the two daggers I’d started with, and the tiny thin dagger of Ash’s tucked inside my vest. Finley had made the final bid for her throne, and it had put not only her life on the line, but mine, Ash’s, and Belladonna’s.

All or nothing, I had no choice but to kill Requiem.

“I’m disappointed, Lark,” Requiem said softly, almost as if he were still trying to seduce me. “I thought you and I were going to get to know each other much better. Your sister, she’s a grand champion in bed, but you with those long legs and Ender stamina . . . we could have had fun together.”

I lunged forward, catching him off guard, sending him stumbling back over his own feet. “Enough talking. Fight or leave. Those are your choices.”

Snarling, he came at me. At least I’d taken care of his familiars. He couldn’t toss me back into the water and hope they would take me out. He no longer had that leg up on me. He stopped suddenly and backed away. “I will not fight you with weapons.”

He lifted his hand and I saw the intent this time. I dropped to the ground as the wind surged around us, throwing people left and right. He was strong, but undisciplined. Untaught.