Yet again we're in the arena. Unlike the past few days, I get to watch. I get to watch Erie win and call out my family. I'm going to do it. And then she's going to win and I'll get to marry her and she'll be the queen sitting on the throne beside me.

    Morven stands beside me, hand on my shoulder. I was so cruel to him the other day, but he's staying with me. He understands I'm stressed. I don't know how to thank him. Maybe I could look into getting a house planned out for after he and Arroyo get married? They're going to need a room for the nursery, and judging by how their first baby was an accident and was procreated outside a mating chamber, they'll probably need some more rooms. I doubt they'd have one kid and call it good.

    The tension is killing me. Watching the bleachers fill up and the walls of a maze rise, it's hard to stay calm. I turn my head to Morven. "Have you and Arroyo picked a name for the baby yet?"

    Morven panics for a second, thinking someone overheard us. But Mom and Dad are so lost in thought talking to their friends about Jhorlauhin they don't notice. He takes a deep breath before getting a faint smile on his face. "Well, to be honest, I have no idea. Arroyo suggested Zaki, but it's Arroyo. He's got a plan for everything. Like three different wedding cakes he's already paid for in case I change my mind about which one I like the most."

    For the first time in a while, I chuckle. "You still are arguing about the decor colors, aren't you?"

    He laughs. "Yeah, we still are."

    Mom interrupts our conversation by getting to her feet. She stands by the edge of the balcony.

"Again, welcome all to another day of this event! I doubt we need to make introductions, so let's cut to the point." The crowd cheers. "In the middle of this maze, there's a golden trophy sitting right in the middle. The first suitor to claim it wins, and to get there, you have to go through the maze. But throughout the maze are traps, and it's the suitors' jobs to figure out the puzzle to get past. The only rules are no jumping over the walls to skip puzzles and no sabotage." She waits for the crowd to calm down. "Good luck to all of you."

She takes her seat. The moment she gets comfortable is the moment the buzzer rings.

I scan the whole arena. The walls are too tall for me to see over. No lavender insight. I spot Jhorlauhin, though. He's looking too calm for comfort.

Where is she? She couldn't have ditched. No way. She wouldn't give up now, not when this is almost over. I get to my feet, standing at the edge of the balcony. Finally, I see her. I see my darling on the last puzzle. She is a wonder to have already made it past the previous 19.

There are slime-like monsters around her. I know this one, she has to slay them all. But one is a civilian, and she has to use a potion to save them. Kill the civilian, and you're out. I caught Jhorlauhin doing it earlier.

She's looking around at the ten or so translucent blue blobs. I don't know how she does it, but she tosses the potion at one. The slime fades to a green glow before disappearing, which means she saved the civilian. It doesn't take her long to deal with the rest. Just one quick slice with the longsword they gave her and the monsters exploded into light. She completed the last puzzle, and now she's in the final room.

She's almost there. Only a few seconds away. She can do it. She can make it and prove that she's worthy for me—

A buzzer rings throughout the arena. Erie tumbles to the ground. Her face dives straight into the dirt. And looking over her is Jhorlauhin, steel longsword in one hand, and the trophy in the other. He beat her to it. He beat Erie.

Why do I want to scream? There's so much I want to say. So much I could do to him right now for hurting Erie and ruining her chances. But I don't.

Erie meets my gaze, face covered in scratches. I smile. Even though she lost. I'm proud of her. Proud she did her best, proud she could figure out those puzzles, and proud she's made it this far. Fuck everyone who says she isn't worthy of my hand, she's more than enough.

Her soft smile is all I need to move on with my day.

As Morven and I are leaving the arena, I see Mom and Dad talking to some friends.

"I don't think I will ever understand why that Oxrian is here." Another courtier scoffs. My Mom's right-hand man, someone she fought within the war. At his side is his wife, clinging to his arm and nodding along.

Mom shakes her head. "I don't either. First, she embarrasses my daughter in front of an entire ball, then she thinks joining the competition is a good idea."

Dad chimes in. "She didn't mean to fall."

"But she didn't have to join the competition." Mom scoffs. "Doesn't she get it? Azalea does not have a shred of interest in women. I think the other suitors make that apparent."

She's acting like she's correct. She's not. She's nowhere near the truth. Nowhere near knowing of the nights I've spent with Erie behind her back. No idea of the times Erie's lips on mine made gravity disappear. Blind to the love I'm feeling for exactly the person she's talking about. Oh, she's so oblivious it's laughable.

But maybe I'm the laughable one here.

My lack of words is the whole reason I'm stuck in this situation in the first place. If I had told them, told my family about what I've been hiding, maybe it wouldn't have just been Erie in front of me. Maybe I wouldn't be surrounded by men who only want me for my looks, money, or status.

But I can't complain. Even if more women were fighting for my heart, it still would've been Erie. She's still the one I would love to see sitting on a throne more than anyone. And I still want her to be the only one.

Tomorrow. She has tomorrow to win. If not, then I don't know what I'm going to do.