Sharp hoofbeats. Bright white. Mouse craned his neck toward it, hoping against hope.

Felix sat tall atop the unicorn, hair blazing gold in the sun. Light shone off the unicorn’s horn and shimmered down its icy white flanks. It reared and let out a fearsome neigh, then winked at Mouse.

“Spar?” Mouse muttered.

Sidd stumbled to a halt. He turned to Felix and roared. Black blood sprayed from his mouth and frothed down his chin. Mouse’s world whirled, and he found himself brandished at Felix.

Stony-faced, Felix raised a hand. “Fire.”

A bolt of fire materialized in the heavens above Sidd, large enough to swallow him up a dozen times over. He stared up, black eye reflecting only flame. He murmured something only Mouse could hear, in a language no one could comprehend, and jabbed his hand up as though he could catch the fire.

Felix dropped his hand. The fire fell.

Orange and red blotted out the sky, brighter than the sun. Mouse squinted against it, staring into his oncoming death. Heat singed his face and crisped stray hairs from his braid. He didn’t forget I’m here, did he?

The bolt slammed home. Heat. Fire. Mouse tensed, but there was no pain. He turned his hands over, patted his body, brushed down his braid. All intact. None so much as singed.

The fire consumed Sidd. It devoured him, burning his fur, his mane, his skin. He roared, then screamed in pain. Forgetting Mouse, he batted at his body with both hands, stumbling back. Mouse scrambled away on hands and knees. Freedom!

Sidd tripped on the stone platform and fell, then rolled around on the floor. It was useless. The fire clung to him with a life of its own, burning and burning until there was nothing left. Sidd’s bones singed black and fell to ash, and only then did the fire die out.

Sprawled over the edge of the platform, legs akimbo, leaned back on his arms, Mouse sucked a breath. He propped himself on one arm and wiped his brow. All around him, soot singed the stone black. A small pile of blackened bones rolled over the stone, all that was left of Sidd. He reached out and fiddled with one, snorting to himself. And here I thought the palace would be less exciting than the battlefield!

A hand appeared at the corner of his vision. Unconsciously, he took it and hefted himself up, shaking his head. “Hell of a fight.”

“Are you alright?” Felix asked at the same moment.

Mouse’s eyes flew wide. He coughed. Shit. He didn’t hear that, did he? “Er, thank you for saving us. I don’t know what we would have done.”

Felix nodded. He kicked Sidd’s bones. “Was that… a darkfoe?”

“High level, at that. We’re lucky Your Majesty was nearby.” Eleda’s spell only annoyed Sidd. His and Cel’s swordplay had done very little. Once Eleda's spell failed to down Sidd, he had no idea what he would have done next. If Felix hadn’t shown up, they would have had to rely on the mercy of the dragon princess, and she clearly did not want to get involved. Thinking back on it, adrenaline surged with fear through his heart. He shifted where he stood. I almost died!

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Felix gave Mouse a glance. “You aren’t injured, are you?”

“My ankle’s a bit sore, but that’s it,” Mouse said, shrugging.

Fear flashed over Felix’s face. He bent down and tried to sweep Mouse off his feet.

Mouse struggled free. “Your Majesty!”

“You’re injured!”

“Barely.” Pushing Felix away, Mouse lifted his head toward the platform.

Blood stained the stones where Sidd had fought, splattered here and there across the stone. A fat puddle marked where he’d broken Reginald’s nose. In the corner, Gawain crouched over the headless referee, busily pilfering his pockets.

“Hey! Stop that!” Mouse shouted.

Gawain snapped up. She hissed at him and skittered away, stuffing something into her underclothes.

Felix took half a step after her, then sighed. “I’ll talk to her later.”

On the far side of the platform, the few remaining nobleladies clung to one another, shuddering and bawling. The dragon princess walked away, already bored, demon princess chattering at her. Sprawled across the center of the dueling platform, Cel shifted, slowly coming back to life.

“Cel!” he shouted, suddenly remembering her. He ran to her side, limping slightly on his ankle.

Felix chased after him, hovering at his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay? I could heal you.”

“Don’t waste your magic. I’m fine.”

“You're limping.”

Ignoring Felix, Mouse knelt by Cel’s side. He put a hand to the side of her face and slapped, gently. “Hey. You there?”

Cel blinked. Her brows furrowed, and slowly, her eyes focused. “Prince?”

Smiling, Mouse slapped her again, harder.

“…ess,” she appended, and groaned. Slowly, Cel rolled onto her side. “I feel like shit. What happened?”

“Sidd got you.” Mouse offered her a hand up.

Cel shook her head one last time and heaved herself upright. “Feels like I got run over by a six-horse carriage.”

Mouse laughed. “Six whole horses. Impressive.”

Cel nodded, then jolted. “Your Majesty!”

Felix waved her off before she could bow. “Never mind, never mind.”

Mouse nodded at Cel, who stopped halfway through her bow and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck instead.

“I’m sorry I missed the duel. I was held up by the council. They wanted me to pick the color of the drapes for the upcoming festival… I tried to escape, but I couldn’t.”

“Tell them you had something to do. Aren’t you the Mage-Emperor?” Mouse scoffed.

Cel elbowed him, shooting a meaningful glare.

What? He doesn’t care. Mouse rolled his eyes.

Felix stared at his feet. “I tried, but they insisted I had to pick them. Something about… honoring the Mage-Emperor or something…”

Mouse gave Felix an appraising once-over. Shoulders hunched, head ducked, feet pointed inward, his fingers knit at his waist, he looked nothing like an emperor. A lost farmboy, maybe, a commoner thrust into a sea of nobility, but not a ruler, a leader.

I have to make this man a true Emperor. Sabelyn and Reginald refused to respect him, and the other races looked down on him. Felix was his only pillar of support, but Felix himself had no power in the human court. For Moussaesa to have a stable life when she returned and took her rightful place, he needed to ensure she had support in the court. Real support. Support with power, support the court feared, not someone who could be stalled by a bunch of low-level councilors over something as stupid as drapes.

He clapped a hand to Felix’s shoulder. Felix startled and looked up, big brown eyes gazing at Mouse.

“Next time you attend court, invite me,” Mouse requested. I’ve got to see how he does now to improve him in the future.

Big eyes blinked. Felix nodded.

Mouse sighed to himself, already exhausted. What happened to that vacation? The easy fortnight or so until the Queen sent Moussaesa to replace him? He shook his head. The palace is more work than I expected.