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Tomorrow--or was it today already?--she’d face Cain She’d never sparred with hiet a piece of hi, he wasn’t as fast as she was But he had stae hi with Chaol would keep her froive yourself that option

She leaned her forehead against the glass Would it be more honorable to fall in the duel than to return to Endovier? Or would it be ’s Champion? Who would he have her kill?

She’d had a say as Adarlan’s Assassin Even with Arobynn Ha her life, she’d always had a say in what jobs she took No children No one fro could tell her to kill anyone Did Elena expect her to say no to him when she was his Champion? Her stomach rose in her throat Noasn’t the ti hiht, all she could think about was that half-starved, hopeless assassin who’d been dragged out of Endovier one autu Captain of the Guard What would she have said to the prince’s bargain, had she known she would cohed if she’d known that other things--other people--would come to mean as much as her freedom?

Celaena sed the luht toh Perhapsperhaps she wanted to stay here for reasons other than her eventual freedo that hopeless assassin from Endovier would have never believed

But it was true She wanted to stay

And that would make tomorrow so much harder

Chapter 47

Kaltain pulled her red cape around her, savoring its warmth Why were the duels outside? She’d freeze before the assassin arrived! She fingered the vial in her pocket, and glanced at the two goblets on the wooden table The one on the right was for Sardothien She ton, who stood near the king He had no idea what she’d do once Sardothien was out of the way--once Dorian was free again Her blood grear

The duke moved toward her, and Kaltain kept her eyes on the tiled veranda where the duel was to occur He stopped in front of her,a wall between her and the other council members so that none could see

"A bit chilly for an outside duel," he said Kaltain smiled and let the folds of her cloak fall over the table as he kissed her hand With a veil of red to conceal her stealthy, free hand, Kaltain flicked off the lid of the vial and dumped the contents into the wine The vial was back in her pocket as he raised hih to weaken Sardothien--to uard appeared in the doorway, and then another Between theh Kaltain was forced to adold jacket was of fine e to think of this wo her now, all of her oddities and faults oblet and grinned

Duke Perrington’s Chaed froht Sardothien could defeat such a ed?

Kaltain took a step back fro as the other two Chaer faces, they waited for blood

Standing on the wide veranda that encompassed the obsidian clock tower, Celaena tried not to shiver She couldn’t see the point in having the duels outside--well, apart frolanced longingly at the glass s that lined the wall of the castle, and then at the frost-covered garden Her hands were already nu them into her fur-lined pockets, she approached Chaol, as standing near the edge of the giant chalk circle that had been drawn on the flagstones

"It’s freezing out here," she said The collar and sleeves of her black jacket were lined with rabbit fur, but it wasn’t enough "Why didn’t you tellat Grave, and at Renault--the mercenary from Skull’s Bay, who, to her satisfaction, also see decided just now," Chaol said "At least it should be over quickly" He sh she didn’t return it

The sky was bright blue, and she gritted her teeth as a strong gust of wind ripped into her The thirteen seats of the table were filling up, and at the center of the table sat the king and Perrington Kaltain stood behind Perrington, wearing a beautiful red cloak lined hite fur Their eyes met, and Celaena wondered why the woman smiled at her Kaltain then looked away--toward the tower, and Celaena followed her gaze and understood

Cain was leaning against the clock tower His muscles were barely contained within his tunic All that stolen strengthould have happened if the ridderak had killed her, too? Howthe red-and-gold garb of a uard--the wyvern emblazoned across his broad chest The sword at his side was beautiful A gift froton, no doubt Did the duke know the power his Champion wielded? Even if she tried to reveal hiripped her, but Chaol took her by the elbow and escorted her to the far end of the veranda At the table, she noticed two aging lances at her She nodded to them

Lords Urizen and Garnel It seeh to kill for And it seems soo that they hired her, separately, to kill the same man She hadn’t bothered to tell them, of course, and accepted both their pay over his goblet of hot cocoa and ruining the papers before him Oh, she’d keep their secrets; it would tarnish her reputation otherwise But if her freedom came down to a voteShe saze shifted to anotherDeep inside, she quaked, but she bowed her head