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“Why?” I felt on the verge of tears again. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t have mattered. But Rook and Drusilla had become my whole world these past few weeks, and I had to know. I had to make sense of the world I now found myself in, even if I would be leaving it in less than a day.

Rook sighed heavily. “This isn’t helpful.”

“I’m going to d-die. I’m going to fucking d-die.” Grey clawed at the edges of my vision, and I slumped forward against him.Stupid, stupid little girl. Hopelessness crashed into me.

“Elara, breathe.” Rook’s mouth was right by my ear. “I need you to listen to me, and to breathe. You’re not going to die.Breathe. You’re not going to die. Alright?” He pressed me tighter to him as I trembled. “You’re strong. And brave. And you are not going to die. Breathe. Listen to me, and breathe. I’m here.” His fingers traced circles over the back of my neck, and a tear ran down my cheek. “I know you’re scared. But we’re going to overcome that.”

“H-how?”

“Simple. You are Elara Osunon. Remember what you told me? How good you are at killing Velesians? Well, now you’re going to be good at killing griffins.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on the feeling of his rough fingertips on the base of my neck. “Elara O-Osunon, slayer of gr-griffins, hmm?”

Rook chuckled. “See? You’re a warrior.” He drew back from me and gave me a smile. “You’re going to walk into the Pit, and you’re going to walk right back out of it. Alright?”

I nodded, balling my shaking hands into fists on his chest. “I bet you’re never frightened, are you?”

“Of course I am. You’re fucking terrifying.”

A breathless laugh broke from me. “Oh yes, the quivering Fae princess, you must be shaking in your boots.”

“On a daily basis.” He put a finger under my chin. “I don’t want you to die. Are you ready to listen to me, so we can get you ready for this?”

I took a shaky breath. “Alright. So how does the Pit work? What is it?”

“It’s an arena, a huge arena, and Theron uses magic to change the environment.” Rook explained. “He’s going to have some bait, something there for you to reach, I don’t know what. You need to get across the obstacles, and then that griffin will be in there as well. They’re not easy to kill, but it’s not impossible.”

“So what do I need to know?”

Rook stepped back from me, and ran his hand along his ribcage. “So along here, the griffin doesn’t have ribs, they have a chest plate, it’s like steel. Do not hit it there, you’ll waste energy and risk losing your weapon.”

“Right, avoid the chest.”

Rook’s hand moved under his arm. “At the top of the chest plate is a membrane, and it’s soft. There’s no protection under here. You want to stick your sword in there, and when you think you’ve hit what you need to, keep going. To the hilt, alright?”

I nodded. “Yes, understood.”

He sighed, “Other than that, be fast. Move quick. The griffin can move about as fast as you can, but you’re more nimble than it.”

“What kind of arena will Theron have?”

Rook shrugged. “He likes jungles and forests, lots of trees, lots of places for the predator to hide.”

“Alright. So let’s train.”

Rook shook his head. “No, you’ve had enough training and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt today. You need to stretch and rest and prepare yourself mentally.”

“Alright.” I didn’t want to leave him yet, not yet. I wanted to stay with him as long as I could. I knew he wouldn’t come up the tower to see me that night because I should be resting. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one?”

“Why you like me all of a sudden.” I felt shy suddenly, wanting to hear the answer but also worried that maybe it was nothing more than pity or loneliness that had brought about Rook’s change of heart. “So, why do you?”

“Like you?” He rubbed his chin, narrowing his eyes. “Well, it was your ass really. It’s fantastic.”

I burst out laughing, covering my face with my hands as my cheeks flushed what I was sure was a violent shade of crimson. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

He stepped closer to me, and as he brushed a loose strand of hair from my face the guards around us became insignificant. All I could focus on was the kindness in his eyes, and his lips as he smiled down at me.