The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert

1. Northern Hospitality

back, but she made it very hard for him. And when they were finally able to face each other again, she rejected him. Only that he did not accept her rejection… which complicated everything for her.The car stopped, and she blinked a few times, trying to get out of her daze. She promised herself not to go into that darkness anymore. None of that mattered. She would never see him again.She was here, she was alive, and she was about to fulfil her princess duties and marry the man she did not love, need or even know. All for an alliance that her brother, the Western Lycan King needed, for she knew that if the two kingdoms were not working together now, they might both got destroyed by their enemies very soon. Her brother knew that, but King Kai did not. And they were lucky he agreed to all that in the first place.The driver opened the window and handed the papers to one of the northern guards.“Princess Savannah Stormhold,” he announced. “The bride of King Kai Fionnlagh.”The guard took his time to check the papers that were handed to him, and another one joined him, looking over his shoulder.“Is everything okay?” he asked.“Yeah, just one of the king’s brides arriving for the Trials,” the first one replied and handed the papers back.“What did he just say?” Kyle brushed his hand over his red hair. He had this little habit since their childhood.“There must be some kind of mistake,” Zara said reassuringly, checking her iPad. She always kept herself busy.“Of course,” Savannah chuckled. “Relax, Kyle. What else could it be?”They drove into the territory, and she was finally able to see what the high stone walls were hiding.It was a castle. A real castle! Huge, dark, ancient, and gloomy. Just like in history books.Savannah couldn’t believe her own eyes. She was a princess, yes, but she used to live in modern-style mansions. This was… so not what she expected. Even though her brother told her not to expect much from the North.And she didn’t. But she didn’t expect to get into the Middle Ages either.“Not important,” she breathed out. None of this was important. She just had to find Kai. Get married to him fast and be done with it. Then maybe they could work on some kind of agreement as to how their life together would be. Surely, they could agree on monthly visits. Hopefully, yearly, after she produced him an heir. Then maybe she could find her mate, kill him and just concentrate on her child. This was a good enough plan.She and her entourage got out of their cars. And Savvy noticed a woman in a dress too luxurious and open for the ugly and cold weather they had today, walking leisurely in their direction with a much younger girl by her side. The latter had some kind of folder in her hands.But it was the first one that bothered Savannah because she knew exactly who that was.“My name is Elene,” the woman smiled, playing with her heavy golden locks. “I am the Northern Princess and the sister of King Kai.”“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Savvy managed to curl her lips in a smile. “I am…” “I know who you are,” Elene sneered, and Savannah swallowed. Of course, she did. Elene probably knew everything about her family. After all, all this started with her. Years ago, Kai proposed her hand in marriage to her brother. Gideon declined the generous offer. The first time Kai asked for Savvy as his wife was probably just out of spite. It was no secret that Elene was in love with her brother. And now that he found his mate and was happily married, all her dreams about becoming the Luna of the Western Kingdom were gone.She probably hated her. Not that the situation was Savvy’s fault. But she could see that in the woman’s eyes now.“Follow me,” Elene waved to her and started walking. Sighing, Savannah did as she was told.“Your castle is magnificent,” she decided to start small talk just as etiquette required of her.“Thank you,” the northerner smirked and turned to have a look at her. “The other contenders said the same. You will be able to enjoy northern architecture more if you advance in…”“Excuse me?” Savannah was never slow, and she stopped right there and then. She knew a scheme when she saw one. “Other contenders? Maybe the princess will be so kind as to explain to me what that means?”“Other contenders for the title of The Luna of the North, of course,” Elene gave her the most innocent smile. “What else could it mean?”“But I am king Kai’s future wife,” Savvy lifted her chin up to meet the woman’s delighted gaze.“Oh, no, dear. You got something wrong. You are a contender for the position of his wife. Con-ten-der.”  Elene spelt the word for her, enjoying the moment to the core.“There must be some kind of a mistake,” Savannah insisted.“There is no mistake, dear,” the princess of the North said, “You are a contender in The Luna Trials. Take it or leave it.”“The Luna Trials?” Savannah clenched her fists, “You must be kidding! King Kai is of a very high opinion of himself if he thinks that his future wife should humiliate herself by fighting with other women over the honour of becoming his Luna!”“This is the North,” Elene suddenly became sharp, and all her smiles were gone. “The Northerners will never take a Luna who is not worthy! If you want this place, you need to prove that you are the best among all possible options. You need to be of excellent health and lineage, you need to know how to behave, you have to be smart, but most importantly, you need to prove your strength!”They were serious. Savannah realised that it was not a joke. They were absolutely serious. This was happening. The Luna Trials or whatever they called it… It was real.“And by the way,” the princess looked at her with some kind of superiority, “That was minus five points. You will be the only contender to start with a negative point balance.”“There are points?!” now Savvy was pissed. How dared they? She was a princess, for the Moon Goddess’s sake! The whole situation was an insult like none other.“Of course,” Elene giggled as they entered a huge inner garden, “how else would we find out who is the best?”Savannah wanted to say something. She actually wanted to say a lot of things but shut her mouth before she lost more points. She needed to think first before doing anything else. And preferably alone.“Now, wait here,” the princess told her, “Your maid will come for you when your room is ready. But we didn’t expect you until Sunday, so they just started to prepare it. It will be a while.”“That’s quite all right,” Savannah smiled charmingly, switching her fake politeness mode too. She knew how this game was played. “The northerners are famous for their hospitality, are they not?”That was a jab, and Elene’s smile faded. No one praised the northerners for, well, anything. And even if they did, hospitality would be at the end of the list.The princess left without saying anything else, and Savvy knew that it would be hours before she was able to relax in that room they ‘forgot’ to prepare.She motioned for Kyle and everyone else to not come close to her. They were her friends, and she did not want them to see the ugly side of her. She needed that ugly to come out of her somewhere else, so she went deep into the garden to avoid any witnesses to her fury. She found the ugliest rose bush she had ever seen, with strange metallic-looking flowers and growing out her claws, she shredded every single one of them to pieces.It was not fair! It wasn’t supposed to be