House of Ravens (The Nightfall Chronicles Book 2) by Karpov Kinrade

Wytt, and I notice Prince Kai is already here, but paying us no mind. Fine by me.
    Corinne, Wytt and I take our seats as wait staff from the Castle serve us chilled wine, dried and fresh fruit, a variety of cheeses and crackers and three choices of meat, cut and speared on delicate silver toothpicks for ease.
    I have to admit, getting the V.I.P. treatment isn't awful.
    Trumpets sound as the tournament begins. Two Knights meet in the center of the arena and begin their battle.
    "Miss Night, have you ever been to a tournament?"
    I look up from my assortment of treats in surprise, to find King Varian talking to me. "No, Your Majesty."
    "Pay close attention and you will learn a great deal about each Knight here."
    I nod, unsure of what to say. He leans closer to me and points to the Knights currently dueling. "You see that one, how he keeps missing? He's not watching his opponent's torso, only their arms, their hands, their weapon. He's seeing the move a fraction of a second too late because of that. It's why he'll lose this match."
    Despite myself, and my fear of this man, I hang on his words, anxious to learn everything I can about combat and swordplay. For myself and my alter ego.
    I watch, and see what he's talking about. And he's right. That Knight loses.
    He keeps up a commentary with me and his children throughout the tournament, probing us to notice small details we would have missed otherwise. When Jax fights a Knight in hand-to-hand combat, I cringe, unable to eat or drink until the match is over and he's safe. King Varian pays close attention to Jax and nods at the end. "He has the makings of a great Knight."
    Ragathon frowns even more deeply at that. He's pretty much spent the entire tournament looking like he's sucking on rotten lemons. Poor guy. Must be hard to be so unlikable.
    After many hours, the final three Knights are announced. Jax, Thane and The Seeker.
    When Jax and The Seeker are put together to decide who will move on to fight Thane, I grip the edge of my seat and scoot forward, barely breathing as they fight sword to sword, the clank of metal ringing through the now quiet Arena.
    King Varian makes a few comments, but I don't pay attention. Not this time. I can see my pilot wings on Jax's breastplate as he fights, and Corinne's red ribbon hanging from The Seeker.
    They battle with a ferocity that invigorates me. When, in the last moment, Jax disarms her and wins, I let out a breath in a whoosh of relief.
    Corinne slumps in her chair, and Wytt pats her back. "Cheer up, sister. At least it was Jax she lost to and not Thane."
    Ragathon grumbles, also displeased his protégé lost to Jax. "They shouldn't let Zeniths into these. It's an unfair advantage. Why do we even use that word—Zenith? These people are not the pinnacle of humans, they're the vermin."
    King Varian shakes his head and smiles the way you would at a child who keeps making the same silly mistake over and over. "When Zeniths appeared, the people chose the word," the King explains, "and so we had a choice. To fight the public and make them 'wrong', thus giving them power, or to allow them the illusion of choice, as we slowly worked from within to make their choice work for us. Through subtle marketing and a very effective public perception campaign, we changed the meaning of the word 'Zenith.' They think they chose, but we control what they think and do about Zeniths." He shakes his head at his brother. "But I wouldn't expect you to grasp the subtleties of mental warfare. If we did things your way, we'd just create a bunch of martyrs that would incite the people to revolt."
    It's remarkable how different King Varian and Ragathon are. Not just in looks, though that too. The King is broad-shouldered, muscular, rugged, with brown hair, a handsome face and those purple eyes. Ragathon is hawk-nosed with black hair and dark eyes. He must be using EZ-Eyes to change their color. His natural eye color must be purple. He also lost his accent. He