AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grumbling, she rose to her feet, snatched the baton from the snow, and stalked the remaining steps to meet me. Eyes narrowed, she set the baton in my hand. “Curses on your crows, Michaela. And your hippos, too.”
Speechless, I stared at her, because, honestly, what could I say to that?
I didn’t have time for her antics. I ran into the forest that housed the targets. The first cropped up quickly. I tossed a snowball and immediately hit the target. A red light and a chirping siren cut the air. The second came after the first turn and my snowball knocked it flat causing the same reaction. Third, fourth, and fifth were no challenge. As I rushed around the second corner in the track, Esme’s voice echoed on the other side of the bushes.
“Come on! I don’t have time for this!” She must have thrown one and missed because an aggravated groan sounded through the woods.
If her target was the same as mine, I understood her frustration. Where the others had been at a decent level, this one was lodged high in the treetops, obscured by other branches. I threw my first ball and missed by quite a few feet. I threw again and it crashed on the branch in front of the target. A third attempt also fell flat. Apparently, I had no reason to be so cocky. I was just as stuck as Esme.
I searched out a better position, but every one seemed impossible. The branches simply blocked anything from my angle.
From my angle.
The thought jarred an idea loose. I needed a better angle. Without thinking about the repercussions, I gripped the trunk of a nearby tree and started to climb. At least my mittens helped me cling to the rough bark. If I could get to the first branch, I was pretty sure I could perch on the limb and hit the target. My footing slipped and I slid down a good eight inches, driving my heart rate even higher. Determined, I started again, locking my fingers into the nooks and crannies available in the trunk. At last, my hands locked around the branch and with great effort, I pulled myself onto the edge and wrapped my legs around it for stability.
For a second, I forgot the competition. My vantage point gave me a better view of the layout. Gwen and Chantal were almost to the edge of the trees. Dagny was still working on her coin and likely creeping toward frostbitten fingers, while Eirene and Sadie had made it to the base of the hill. Close as I could tell, target six was the final one, because on the other side of the trees, Blair waited near a firepit, eagerly watching the forest edge for any sign of me.
“Hey!” Esme’s voice called up from below. “You can’t do that!”
“Says who?” I asked, annoyed that she would call me out. Resisting a wicked laugh like the one she’d given me, I threw a snowball at the target. A larger siren went off, along with red lights flashing from every set.
“Red team wins!” A robotic voice chimed out my victory as I climbed, well no, slid haphazardly from my perch. Once I stood on solid ground, I picked up the pace. Feet sure, I sprinted the remaining distance, pulled the baton from my hand, and handed it off to Blair. The win was as good as ours.
She set the baton on the edge of the firepit. Carefully moving, she balled up paper and started building a teepee around the base. Thudding steps emerged from the target course as Esme rushed toward Fallon where she waited at her firepit. I held my breath as the tradeoff happened. Blair struck a match and lit the papers beneath the kindling.
“How long does it have to burn?” Did we only have to get the wood to ignite? Or was there a time limit?
“Four minutes,” Blair answered.
“Hey!” Esme pointed at us like a child. “No helping! She’s helping Blair.”
Tom nodded from the sidelines, motioned for the cameraman to move in to capture the drama, and gave me a wagging finger to remind me I had to back off. Frustrated, I reversed my steps, putting space between me and the imminent fire.
Why did it matter so much to me that we won? It wasn’t like I was pining for time with Fitz. I wasn’t going to marry him. Was I just obsessed with winning? Or was I trying to be sure the right people were around the bonfire?
Or was it something more?
“Come on!” Blair yelled at her smoldering fire. “Please, just stay lit.”
At least I didn’t see flames in Fallon’s ring either. Starting a fire in cold temperatures wasn’t easy. The air naturally carried more moisture, and the damp conditions made it nearly impossible. She needed to introduce more oxygen by blowing on the flames, but I couldn’t help her and stood powerless on the sidelines.
“How’s the progress, ladies?” Fitz made his entrance, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, looking effortlessly handsome as he inspected each fire. “Lots of smoke, I see. Not many flames.”
He spotted me on the sidelines and took the space next to me. Volume low, he said, “I’m surprised it’s not you in her place, Lady Michaela. If memory serves, you could get a flame going on an iceberg.”
I didn’t feel the need to throw Blair under the bus, so to speak. “Blair will get it, Your Highness. Just wait.” But as the first signs of flame sparked to life in Fallon’s pit, my heart and hopes sank.
Four minutes later, the winner was announced.
We’d lost and the team of mostly nobles had won.
Even worse than having to listen to their celebration was the look that Fitz shot me when he was sure no one was watching.
Positively overflowing with disappointment.
As if I’d failed him somehow.
Michaela
