Page 113 of Fall Before Her Throne

She looked down at the bandage on her arm. “Oh, it’s fine. It’s just a scratch⁠—”

“You needed stitches,” Obi interjected.

She rolled her eyes. “And the stitches are in great shape! Cas helped me change the bandage this morning! I’ll heal up nicely.”

Ciel gave her a crooked smile. “You can if you want to, baby girl, but it’s unnecessary. We know that you’ll pass.”

I appraised her, remembering the words Wynn had said earlier. If she had wanted to kill you, she would have. I’d seen Leona in the field. The past version of me would never have believed she could become as strong and as capable as she was.

“What are the rules?” I asked, turning back to face them. “What’s the test?”

“It’s simple,” Ciel said. “You fight each of us, one by one, hand to hand. No weapons. No breaks in between matches. At the end of the gauntlet, we decide if you make it in.”

“Like sparring?” Leona said excitedly, bouncing up on the balls of her toes.

Wynn shook his head. “Not sparring. Going all out. Nobody pulls their punches.”

This…would not go well for me. Not for four of them in a row, and definitely not when Ryuji had been specifically out to get me. I rolled my shoulders. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“I’ll do it, too,” Cas said. “Leona’s right. We should have done this months ago.”

“All right,” Obi said. “But if Leona wants to participate, she should go first.”

The four Shadows exchanged some sort of knowing glance—one I didn’t understand—before they all nodded in agreement.

Leona smiled, her eyes completely lit up, while she pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail. “Me first? Then Cas? Max last?”

“Sounds good to me,” Ryuji said, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s get going then.”

“Quick question,” Cas said. “What happens if you fail?”

“Caspian and Leona are already part of us. If they fail the challenge, it means nothing.” Obi looked me head-on. “But if Max fails the challenge, he doesn’t have a place among us.”

Leona frowned and opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “I understand.”

“But—”

“No,” I said. “If I fail, I’ll leave.”

I’d come this far. I wanted in, but more importantly, I wanted their respect. Their trust. I knew I had to earn that. At least they were giving me a chance to start.

This was the family I’d chosen. I’d fight to the death to keep it.

“Max…” Leona looked up at me, her eyebrows knitted in concern.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said with a small smile. “I want this. If this is the way I prove it, then so be it.”

She reached up to wrap her arms around my neck, and I hugged her back tightly. My heart swelled in my chest. It didn’t matter what this fight was; I’d live up to the challenge.

“Okay, hanii,” Ryuji said. “You’re first.”

“All right.” She stretched from side to side. “Help me tape my hands.”

While Ryuji taped her knuckles, Wynn, Ciel, and Obi got in a line one after another. After he was done, Ryuji found his place between Ciel and Obi. Cas and I took a few steps back, hovering near the patio railing.

The only time I’d actually seen her spar was when she’d punched me in the face. Besides that—and what we’d been through together with the Albanians—I hadn’t really seen her fight hand-to-hand.

“She’ll be fine,” I said quietly to Cas.