Chapter 10 - The Bone Circle
744 Words
They weren’t hiding their intent anymore. The Bone-Circle Games were as old as Silvercrest itself—rites of combat meant to test strength, loyalty, and blood. But now, they were being twisted into something else: a stage. A message. A trap.
For me.
I dressed slowly. Not in ceremonial whites, but in deep black—again. My leathers were reinforced at the joints, my boots double-wrapped. I laced a blade to each wrist and slid a curved dagger into the lining of my belt.
Let them try me.
Let them bleed for it.
---
The arena wasn’t hidden. It was carved into the cliffside east of the Keep—open sky above, ancient runes below. The ground was ringed in bones: wolf, bear, human. Some so old they crumbled beneath your step. The Circle itself had rules. You entered with blade or claw. You left when your opponent yielded, bled out, or stopped breathing.
And once inside, no one interfered.
Not even Kael.
I stepped into the stone corridor that led to the Circle.
Dax was waiting.
“They called your name,” he said, voice low. “Officially.”
“I noticed.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“I really do.”
He stepped in front of me. “Selene—”
I looked up. “If I die today, will you still stay silent?”
His jaw clenched. “Not again.”
“Then let me go.”
He stepped aside.
---
The crowd was larger than I expected. Council members stood under shaded arches. Warriors lined the stone benches. Spectators—pack wolves, servants, scouts—watched from behind carved barriers.
They wanted a show.
They were going to get one.
Kael stood at the top of the Circle. His face unreadable.
Lucille addressed the crowd.
“Today, we test loyalty through blood. The girl known as Aira Doe has been summoned by tradition to prove her place. May the gods watch. May the Circle speak.”
I stepped forward.
Jace Ironfell descended from the other side.
My opponent.
Of course.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling.
He hadn’t even tried to hide his disdain lately. Had threatened me once already. Now he got to try and kill me with an audience.
Poor bastard didn’t realize he was walking into his own eulogy.
---
The Circle Master raised his hand.
“Begin.”
Jace struck first—heavy, brute force, all fury.
I slipped left, parried with my forearm blade, and twisted.
He growled and came again, faster. I met him blow for blow. Metal sang. Dust rose. Wolves howled from the edges.
I didn’t fight like Aira.
I fought like Selene.
Every movement sharp. Every strike deliberate. I baited him with an opening, then punished his overreach.
Blood sprayed as I sliced his thigh.
He staggered, then lunged wild.
I ducked.
Spun.
Drove my dagger across his chest.
He dropped to one knee, panting.
The Circle Master looked to me.
“Finish it.”
I didn’t move.
Jace coughed blood. “Go on,” he spat. “Prove what you are.”
I stepped closer.
Kneeled.
And whispered, “I already did.”
Then I slammed the hilt of my dagger into his temple.
He collapsed.
Alive.
But marked.
The Circle Master raised his hand again.
“Victory: Aira Doe.”
The crowd murmured. Conflicted. Hungry.
Lucille didn’t clap.
Kael didn’t speak.
But the message was clear:
I had passed their test.
Now they’d have to find another excuse to kill me.
---
I returned to my quarters in silence.
Dax followed, but he didn’t speak.
He just stood outside the door like a sentinel.
Waiting.
Protecting.
I collapsed onto the bed, muscles screaming. The blood on my arms wasn’t all Jace’s.
But it didn’t matter.
Because I had survived.
Again.
---
Later that night, the courtyard filled with whispers.
Not fear.
Not suspicion.
Something colder.
I stepped out onto the balcony.
One of the stable hands was being questioned by the council guards. A small crowd had gathered.
He pointed up at the Keep.
At me.
“I heard them,” he said. “They called her Luna.”
Silence.
Then Kael’s voice:
“Who did?”
The boy looked back.
“I don’t know. But someone did. During the fight. They said, ‘She fights like the Luna.’”
Kael turned slowly.
And looked up.
Directly at me.
- Writer
