Emberwood if he's a king, he's a priest and god too

Their clarifications had relief warring with the anxiety buried in his core, iced and clenched. This test was different. The boy could feel it in the glint of Merrick's smile, in the way Avicus ignored him in favor of the hunt. They were going to spill blood and expected him to do so as well.

He quailed at the thought. He'd known coyotes, spoken with and enjoyed them. This was no intruder! So why did they hunt it rather than leave it be?

The question screamed in his mind but was pressured into the silent spaces, echoing soundlessly. He felt he might be sick.

Pinioned, Ashlar could only follow. His heart hammered and he hoped, fervently, that the coyote was long gone. Too far for them to follow, too far for them to find and fight. He was certain he'd do nothing but disappoint, thrown into a true battle when he'd not even won a spar.