Next day at dawn, Nyx was standing in a circle of stones; an old amphitheater that existed long before the five kingdoms. It was on a neutral territory where all five territories converged.
In the center, the thrones were arranged in a perfect circle. Raziel led Nyx toward the center.
"They're already here." Raziel said with his hand on her back.
He'd barely let her out of his sight since they'd left his den. Nyx could see the four kings watching from their thrones.
"The center." Raziel murmured, guiding her toward a circular platform in the middle of the five thrones. "Stand there. Don't move unless told so. Don't show fear. Don't…"
"I know." Nyx squeezed his hand and then released it. "I've done this before."
"This is different. This hasn't happened in…" He trailed off.
"Three hundred years. Three hundred years since all five kings sat in judgment together." Darius finished.
"And she's the reason." Sylthis added. "The little human who survived."
Nyx walked to the center platform without waiting for further instructions and stood there looking at all of them.
"I was told you wanted to discuss me. So discuss." She said.
Raziel tensed at her confrontational tone, but the other kings were impressed.
"Direct. I like that. Most who stand where you're standing would be weeping or begging by now." Korran chuckled.
"I don't beg."
"We've noticed." Zephyr said. "You've survived two trials through stubbornness alone.
"You've been marked." Sylthis spoke immediately after.
"Marked?" Nyx repeated in surprise.
"By shadow magic." Sylthis stood up, and descended from their throne. "Umbra's power is in your blood now. We all can smell it."
Nyx knew that shadow magic had healed her, but she hadn't realized it would leave a trace.
"So what?" She asked.
"So that makes you complicated." Sylthis stopped in front of her. "Shadow magic changes people, human. It seeps into your mind, your soul, your essence. It turns you into something else."
"I'm still me."
"Are you?" Sylthis tilted their head. "How do we know you're still you and not Umbra's puppet? How do we know every word you speak, every decision you make, isn't influenced by shadow magic whispering in your subconscious?"
"You don't." Nyx said. "But you didn't know who I was before Umbra touched me either. You just assumed I was a normal human based on three hundred years of prejudice. So what's changed?"
"What's changed is that she's proven herself, twice. She's earned the right to be trusted until she proves otherwise." Razeil immediately joined the conversation.
"Has she?" Sylthis looked at Raziel. "Or has she earned the right to be watched more closely? Tell me, Lion King, if she's so trustworthy, why does she plan to return to Umbra after the trials?"
"That's her choice to make." Razeil replied.
"Or is it Umbra's choice, planted in her mind through shadow magic, making her think it's her own decision?" Sylthis looked back at Nyx. "Tell me, human. Why go back? What did the Shadow King offer you?"
Nyx took a deep breath before responding.
"Answers. Umbra offered me truth."
"Truth about what?" Korran asked.
"About why there are five kingdoms instead of one, about why you're so afraid of what I might learn that you're interrogating me like a criminal instead of treating me like someone who's survived your trials."
Darius laughed.
"She's got teeth. I'll give her that."
"Teeth don't matter if the bite is poisoned." Sylthis replied. "And shadow magic is the worst poison of all." They turned back to Nyx. "My trial will answer some of the questions you're so eager about. It will also show us who you really are.
Three days from now, you'll face my trial. If you're Umbra's creature, it's better we find out before you dig your claws any deeper into the other kings."
The jab at Raziel was impossible to miss.
"I'll be ready."
"Excellent." Sylthis walked back to their throne. "I love it so much when prey walks willingly into the trap."
Razeil immediately stood up from his throne and walked toward Nyx. He held her hand and took her away with him.The moment they were out of the circle of stones, he exploded.
"That was a setup!" He said. "You could have asked for more time. You're still healing and not ready for psychological warfare with the most manipulative king in the Beastworld!"
"I didn't have a choice."
"You could…"
"No." Nyx pulled away from his grip. "If I had refused, I would have looked weak,and guilty, like I had something to hide. Everyone would have assumed Umbra darkened me, and you would have lost your political standing defending me."
"I don't care about political…"
"You should. You're a king. It's your responsibility to keep your people safe. I need you powerful, Raziel, not weakened by defending someone who is a liability."
"You're not a liability."
"Aren't I?" Nyx gestured toward the circle. "Other kings think I'm Umbra's puppet and honestly…I can't prove I'm not."
"What?" Razeil was surprised.
"I can't prove the shadow magic didn't affect me. I don't know what it did."
Raziel stared at her for a moment, then he cupped her face and forced her to look at him.
"You're you. I know you. Whatever the shadow magic did, it didn't change the core of who you are."
"How can you possibly know that?"
"Because you're still arguing with me, still choosing the hard path over the easy one, still here instead of running." He brushed his thumbs across her cheekbones. "You're still the woman who called me kitty while being terrified for her life, the woman who crawled through a forest on broken bones rather than quit."
"That was probably stupid." Nyx chuckled.
"It was amazing." Raziel replied. "I'll prepare you for the trial. Sylthis's trials are different from the others."
"What are they exactly about?"
"Psychological warfare, manipulation, mind games that make you question everything about yourself, and your memories. Sylthis doesn't break bodies, they break minds."
"That's comforting."
"People have gone mad in Sylthis's trials.Some are still in serpent asylums, unable to differentiate truth from lies."
This was the first time Nyx had seen real fear in Raziel's eyes. It wasn't fear of losing her to death; it was fear of losing her to something worse.
"I won't let that happen to you. I'll prepare you, and when you go into the serpent territory, I'll be as close as they'll let me."
"But I have to enter alone."
"I'll be at the border, waiting and watching. The moment anything goes wrong…"
"You'll start a war between kingdoms."
"If it keeps you safe? Yes." He replied without hesitation.
"Thank you." Nyx said.
"For what?"
"For caring. Even when I don't make it easy."
"Nothing about you is easy." Raziel smiled. "That's why you're worth it."
Before Nyx could respond, Kira emerged from the trees.
"My king, the training grounds are prepared. If she only has three days, we need to start immediately."
Raziel nodded.
"Ready?" He looked at Nyx.
"No." Nyx admitted. "But let's do it anyway."