The only way for Susi to not give in was to become angry. She made for the darkened archway threshold where she and Marcus had come from. Something happened to her that caused her to stop in mid-stride.

In the doorway ahead, the ghostly image of a little girl with green-blue eyes and Marcus’s strong chin peered around one of the pillars. The moment Susi saw her, the girl ran into the darkness and disappeared. Somehow, Susi knew it wasn’t a ghost, but a premonition.

Visions? Premonitions? Susi was not a superstitious person—not even toward her own religion in many ways—but she couldn’t deny that something strange was happening within this city on a spiritual or other-planar level. Was the girl a sign?

“Are you okay?” Marcus met her side as Susi continued staring into the archway.

“Yeah…I saw—”

“A vision, right?” Marcus asked. “Just something hit you out of the blue.”

Susi looked to him. He was handsome with the sparkles of dew in his hair that reflected pink in the foggy moonlight. “Yes.” She looked down to the disheveled cobblestone walkway beneath their feet.

“I feel like you and I are in this together.” Marcus said.

“In what?” Susi laughed a little.

“You feel it, right?” He stepped out from under the awning and into the drizzle once more and spread his arms as he turned to her. “Whatever’s happening between us tonight.”

“What’s happening between us?” Susi asked.

“It’s like the gods are waiting for us. It’s like they set the table and you and I were meant to sit at it.” He said and began walking back toward her. “I don’t care…if you hate me after tonight. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. But everything has been so enchanting this evening: I think it would be foolish to do anything except tell you how I really feel.”

“I think you’re half drunk and should quit while you’re ahead.” Susi said.

“You know,” he continued pacing in front of her, “you have two more difficult days of the Tornetum ahead of you. If you were my fiancé, I could get you out of the tournament.”

“Wh-Why would I become your fiancé?” Susi made a silly face at him. He was being ridiculous at the moment.

“To save your life,” Marcus waved. “My father has crafted some nasty conclusions for these trials. You must understand that their objective will now be to kill you.”

“I’m not afraid of them.” Susi said.

“But I’m afraid of them for you.” Marcus said.

“Then why don’t you take a stand and put an end to what is quite literally madness? Be a king and end the Tornetum, and the vorago battles.” Susi suggested.

“It’s not so simple,” said Marcus. “People would riot in the streets.”

“But those are the hard decisions you were talking about earlier. Someone needs to make them, and becoming a humanitarian leader with eyes toward the future is very attractive to me.”

Marcus took a deep breath, looking a little frustrated. Susi was no fool. She knew he could no more end the Tornetum early than he could stop the sun from rising in the morning. The Aallandrons loved their blood sports.

A sly look met Marcus’s face before he met Susi’s eyes. “How about a wager?”

“I don’t gamble.” Susi said.

“It’s,” Marcus squinted, trying to formulate the proper words, “not a normal gamble. It’s more of a friendly wager.”

“Again…” Susi shrugged.

“Hear me out at least.” Marcus held up a hand, to which Susi nodded for him to go on. “There’s probably no way I can get you out of the Tornetum, but let’s say you win the Tornetum on the third day. If you win, you become my wife.”

Susi’s heart stopped in her chest at the sudden statement.

Marcus continued before she could reply. “We take it as a sign from the gods. You can spend the rest of your life in my council, and we can—”

“You don’t even know me.” Susi scoffed at the proposal. It wasn’t a direct proposal, but what was a few days difference? “I think you want to be with me for now, but you don’t know what you’ll want when you know everything about me.”

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Marcus took a step closer to her. “But I want to know everything about you. I want to spend my life learning the inner workings of your unique mind.”

“If I can win this stupid tournament.” Susi said.

“It’s only because they’re very strict about the competitors once they’ve started an event,” said Marcus. “Honestly, I don’t even think they would let you off the hook if we were engaged.”

“But you’re asking me to be your wife if I win this competition. We would essentially be engaged going forward.”

“That sounds like a dream.” Marcus said.

“Why do you want to be with me so much?” Susi asked, genuinely confused by his desire for her.

“Because I can see who you’ll be as royalty.” Marcus said with a predictably pompous air. “You’re not only beautiful, but powerful; determined, capable where most wives are mere trophies to be obtained. The things you’ve said in the short time I’ve known you have made me change my mind about everything.”

“We’ve only known each other for an hour.” Susi said.

“And in that time you’ve redefined my image of what a woman should truly be.”

Susi didn’t like that statement, but there wasn’t enough time in the day to explain why what he said was so condescending. She hated that she actually wanted to accept his proposal. It wasn’t because she wanted to be queen, but she wanted to see him transform. Susi knew she could make him better, and the world by proxy. It was whether or not she wanted to leave her order behind for a new life: that was the real question.

“Do you think I can win?” Susi’s voice sounded small for some reason.

“Did you…just accept my wager?” Marcus glared at her.

“No, I asked if you think I can win.” Susi said.

Marcus took yet another step closer. He was now right in front of her again. “I believe my wife will win.”

“I’m not your wife, Marcus Marks.” Susi said, looking up to him. “But I’m always up for a challenge.” She held out her hand for Marcus.

She watched him look at her hand and visibly swallow before taking it. His eyes fixed upon hers. “It’s a deal then.”

Susi held his hand. “Mmm, we’ll see.”

It was as if both of them pulled from their grip. They came together like two magnets. His lips were warm as the cold drizzle dotted their skin. It wasn’t the first time she had kissed a boy, but it was the first time she did it as an adult. She forced herself to step back and part from him. Marcus looked frustrated for a moment before the primal hunger that had been stirred subsided.

“We should go back. I have a big day tomorrow.” Susi said.

“That you do. Come,” Marcus said stonily. “I know a shortcut to the gardens.”

Whatever boundary that had stood between them at the beginning of the evening was gone. The two walked through the drizzle as it moistened the city in a pleasant fog. Most of the shops were closed now, but Marcus took Susi through corridors that connected through the buildings so that she could see the dark interior of the stores.

The two walked across a narrow bridge that passed over the river that cordoned off the gardens, and exited between two guards. They straightened up as the prince and his friend entered their vicinity.

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” Susi said as the two climbed the steps to the castle.

“I think tonight will go down in my memory as one of the best nights I’ve ever had.” Marcus said. He led her in the castle and the two returned to the guest suites of the castle. He paused in front of the door to her room.

“I want to see you again.” Marcus said. “Tomorrow—when you survive.”

When Susi pressed her lips to Marcus’s for the second time that evening, it was for both of them, the perfect, softest kiss. It went on for just long enough to be cordial, a little longer for posterity, and then Susi pulled away. She looked up at him and the two smiled on the same level of sheepish embarrassment for the evening’s conclusion.

“Good night, Marcus.” Susi said. He gave a solemn bow of his head before she stepped inside. The two continued watching one another. She gave him a final smile before closing the door and him away for the evening.

An enormous sense of relief swept over her as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Her uniform had been cleaned properly by one of the castle staff, and lay neatly folded at her side. She lifted it to see that someone had somehow removed the blood stains, which was impressive.

There was so much to think about and consider. She had no intention of dying in the Tornetum, but how could she accept such a proposal from Marcus if she felt confident she would win? Susi had no desire to be queen of Parceta. But how many Talea stories told of great power being bestowed on those who didn’t want it? Didn’t their denial of such power make them the perfect candidate for those positions of influence?

If she wasn’t supposed to want it, then why did some deep part of her hunger to secure that legacy? Why did some primal part of her want to grab Marcus’s shirt front, pull him into her room, and see him ravish her for hours? Was it lust or was it a sweetness she had never experienced and desperately wanted more?

A religious guilt swept over her as she realized she was giving in to earthly desires. Examples from their lessons on life came in the form of experiences. One had to be introspective enough to even realize that they were living out those lessons with each passing moment. Susi felt subject to those experiences, a victim of them because she felt trapped by choices she had made this evening; choices she questioned immediately after making them.

And then a feeling came over her like a warm blanket. Susi was not a fool. She had acted responsibly in accordance with her beliefs. Leaving the Talea order behind did not mean she left the religion behind. She had proved she was an adult, and this was a choice she made as an adult. Yes, Une-Myung, the God of Destiny, had upended her life, but that was the nature of living.

Susi changed back into her monk garb and dropped into meditation on the orange circular carpet in her chamber. She focused on the breath and only the breath as both penance and for contemplation. There was body scanning, but that wasn’t on the menu for this evening. Restricting her focus to the breath would allow her to rejuvenate her mind and body for her next battle in the morning.

The situation with Marcus would resolve itself so long as she trusted her own volition.

And there was no person Susi trusted more than herself.