Disclaimer: I do not own any of the work or characters created by Holly Black

Roiben's POV

Mabry came to me bearing the heart of a troll called Ravus. She claimed he had killed Tamson, her lover, and had been sent into exile with him to mourn. Her version of the truth seemed to be missing something. Something like how I had witnessed her here, in the Unseelie court, making deals with Nephamael and weakening Tamson's armor so he would be killed in a dueling tournament with Ravus. None the less, she had come to me, and I, as the Unseelie Lord had to be fair. I had already decided that she and the Ironsider would duel for the heart.

When I told Kaye of this she had convinced me to bet on the outcome of the duel and we would take sides when the Ironsiders came. I had only agreed to make Kaye happy, although betting on Mabry's revenge was quite entertaining. We wagered nothing except what Kaye called "Bragging Rights". This would be interesting.

I sat on my birch-wood throne waiting for the Ironsiders, Kaye standing near the wall closest to me. The smell of iron filled the room and two humans walked in. The female was covered in dirt, her auburn hair cropped short. Her face had seen hardships in the past weeks and for that she was driven beyond anything else to win the heart of Ravus. The male had also seen many hardships in his short life. He carried a glass sword and was covered in multiple wounds from Mabry tearing the iron piercings from his flesh. I beckoned Kaye to my side to hear her choice. She leaned over, her wings glistening in the candle light.

She put her mouth to my ear and whispered almost conspiratorially "The girl is weak, she has no magic, there is no way she can beat Mabry"

She pulled away and I smiled. My choice from the beginning had been the Ironsider. Although Mabry had the advantage of being of the fey folk, she was driven by greed, weak in comparison to the compassion that drove the girl.

Handed the glass sword by her companion, she began to speak. Her voice held fear, longing, struggle, and powerful determination. Such a strange combination of emotion. While the first three emotions would have made Mabry the top choice, it was the powerful determination that had convinced me that I had won "Bragging rights" before the duel had even begun.