ChaPter 2 - Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of souls
With a lingering look at the girl he’d spent the last year
fighting to reach, Belias walked to the center of the circle and
called for her: “Aya.”
She stepped over the sword and entered the circle.
As the lower-ranked of the fighters, she walked to him,
clasped his hand, and bowed her head. While her head was
bowed, she whispered, “I wish we hadn’t been matched.”
“You can forfeit at any time,” he answered just as quietly.
She lifted her gaze to stare directly at him. “Likewise.”
He released her hand reluctantly.
The witch waited just beyond them to raise the circle. Belias
scowled at him. The presence of witches—even controlled
witches—made him want to behave in very ungentlemanly
ways. They should’ve been barred from The City centuries
ago. It was one of the things he intended to put into motion
once he took his place in the government.
The witch bowed his head, and Belias turned his back to
him and to Aya in order to address the crowd. “Aya has stood
against and defeated as many fighters as I have. She is an honor
to the ruling class already.”
Addressing the crowd was not typical, but he was ruling
class. He turned to face Aya again and bowed deeply, as if they
would dance.
She said nothing.
Together, they both reached into the bucket and took a
handful of salt and chalk. Walking in opposite directions, they
followed the perimeter of the already-drawn circle; when they
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