Soft feather bed.
Oh god.
The hospital they took the losers too.
I can’t have lost, not after all that. My father was going to be furious, and hopefully not at me.
“If you are going to do that again, roll over the other way and aim for the red sneakers. I like my shoes. I’ve had them for a few centuries and they don’t make them like this anymore.” The woman spoke again, her shoes squeaking against the tile floor as she came around the side of my bed, each step splintering my bones.
Damn this pain, I couldn’t push past it, but I sure wasn’t going to show it.
“Did you catch her?” I tried to ask, but the words came out all garbled, more blood filling my throat. Blood and vomit. I couldn’t breathe.
“Hold still,” the woman grumbled, a palm spreading square in the middle of my forehead, her fingers tapping against my nose. The pressure was making my head spin, my stomach lurch, and I gagged.
“Remember what I said about the red shoes, kid,” she said, still tapping my nose.
“Why are you assuming that I don’t like my shoes?” A deep male voice barked back as the woman's hand grew very warm. Warm and comfortable.
Like a hot water bottle that was radiating through my veins, my muscles. I had felt something similar when my mother would use her magic to heal me, but this was stronger, more powerful. More like fire.
Real magic. Eternal magic.
I tried to turn to see who was there, who was touching me, but her hand gripped tighter, her palm spreading over my eyes as she held me in place.
“It’s not that you don’t like your shoes, Thom. It’s that I don’t like your shoes. You look like…”
“Don’t say it.” The man, Thom, warned. The slight laugh in his voice was out of place.
“You need a feather hat.” I could hear the laugh in her voice as he sighed, the sound cut off by more footsteps, these ones didn’t rattle my bones as much.
She was so much more powerful than I expected the Eternals to be.
“Can I get an update?” The new voice said, this one familiar. This one I had heard on the radio and on TV so often that I probably could have picked it out of a crowd.
The King’s brother, Ryland.
I tried to turn, but the warm-handed woman held me down harder, the heat from her hand growing.
“The cave is clear,” The gruff-voiced Thom began. “We moved everyone who had already been bitten to the Academy to clear beds here. We’ve got Etma and the other Skȓíteks healing and releasing those with minor cuts or broken bones. Jos mentioned something about transporting the worst ones to Imdalind, so we moved them together…”
“And this one?” Ryland cut Thom off, and every single one of my muscles tensed, thankfully not feeling like they were going to snap like a rubber band inside of me. I was sure he was talking about me.
“Alive, but it was touch and go there for a bit.” The woman said, all humor from before gone. “She’s awake now so I would go get them so we can question her before we get her bitten and off to Imdalind. Did you guys get a hold of her parents?”
“Unfortunately. Do you know whose daughter this is?” There was a pause, my heart swelling as I prepared for the awe and respect that usually came with my family name. That would fix this. “She’s a Demarco. They are already here.”
“Shit. I’ll go speak to them,” Thom said as more footsteps cut through the mumbling cries of pain from the other victim.
I was no longer so sure they were talking about me. Touch and go? Add such disdain with my name? Ridiculous. The conversation around me no longer made sense, especially now that most of the pain was gone.
I had no interest in laying here in confusion, I needed answers. But, even without pain, I wasn’t moving, no matter how hard I tried. Didn’t help that the woman’s palm was now fully covering my face, the warm weight holding me down.
“Seriously, kid, stop moving.” The lady said, tapping her fingers over my cheekbone now. “You are going to hurt yourself.”
“Perhaps if she could see she wouldn’t be fighting you so much.” Ryland’s voice was as I had always heard it, strong, powerful, and perfectly correct.
I didn’t know who this bitch was, but this was the closest I had ever been to any of the Eternals. Ryland was right there and I didn’t need one of the Skȓítek guards to be keeping me from him. Injured or not this wasn’t an opportunity I planned on wasting. I shifted my weight again and tried to say something that ended up being nothing more than bubbles of drool and blood that drizzled out of the corner of my mouth.
That got her to move.
“Yeah, well, she probably needs to sit up if we are going to get anything other than blood out of her,” The woman said as her hand shifted to my collar bone, the radiating heat moving with her. “But I don’t dare move her until Jos gets here. She threw up a minute ago and fractured another bone in her spine. Add that to the ruptured kidney, a punctured lung, and half a dozen broken bones. A fractured spine is nothing!”
“Fractured?” The word was bubbles of panic and I instantly tried to shift again, my eyes furiously blinking as they tried to adjust to the blinding yellow glow of the fluorescent light.
“Oh, hold up,” she said, her wobbly shape hovering over me as what looked like grey smoke shrouded us, dimming the light and pulling her into focus.
It wasn’t some dumb guard. It was Wynifred. Thomas’s wife. Cail’s mother. I was surrounded by not one, but two of the royal family. Three, as I suddenly realized that Thom was short for Thomas.
Holy sh--
“Ha-ha, will you look at that, she recognizes us,” Wynifred said with a smile that wrinkled around her dark eyes.
“Either that or she is horrified because you told her that her back is fractured,” Ryland said, leaning over me from the other side.
Oh god, his eyes were even bluer from close up. I couldn’t look away, the light sky blue was like pools among his dark hair, pulling me in. I could only hope that Rowan’s eyes were as stunning.
“Naw, I’ve seen that look before.” Wynifred waved her free hand to the side as Ryland stepped out of my line of vision. I tried to turn but nothing happened, well nothing but a lightning bolt of pain down my spine. I winced.
“What is going on?” Again, the words were unintelligible, although thankfully there wasn’t quite as much drool that time.
“Screw it. If this hurts kid, don’t worry. I’ll heal it, or cauterize it, or whatever I need to. I’m sure you have questions, so do we, and we need to have this conversation quick so we can get your magic awakened and send you off to Imdalind so you can heal the right way.”
Imdalind. She hadn’t said the Academy, just Imdalind. The underground city where the royals lived, where magic comes from. Where I would live one day. Soon.
Images of a beautiful homecoming were wiped clean when a wind wrapped around me, lifting me to sitting as both mattress and pillows were lifted and lodged behind me to keep me upright. The motion ripped me apart, my joints and bones screaming as they twisted and moved in ways I was sure they weren’t supposed to. I grit my teeth, desperate to keep my scream inside, but it ripped its way out, splattering blood over the white sheet and buzzing in my head.
Screaming made everything worse. I had never felt anything like this before, and I had put myself through hell preparing for the Gauntlet. This felt like all my bones were on the outside instead of the inside.
Heaving, I grit my teeth and locked the scream inside. Stubbornly refusing to face any of the Eternals as anything less than what I was.
I would not scream again.
Besides, Ryland and Wynifred were not the only ones here.
Mira stood not too far off, eyes bouncing between me and the dozens of other moaning, blood-soaked people in the beds around us. Dozens of us had all been caught up in whatever that girl Gemma had done, although none of them were screaming. None of them had their own entourage of Eternals, either.
Tha
t entourage was about to get bigger.
The King and Queen were headed my way.
Ilyan and Joclyn weaved their way through the rows and rows of beds, tapping the metal frames of those who were still unconscious. They glanced between each one, mumbling about who knows what as they came closer.
As they walked right up to me.
Ilyan towered over Joclyn, their jackets and perfectly tailored trousers stained with blood and dirt. Joclyn even had a massive hole in the knee of the once black fabric. They were beautiful, elegant, and even with the pain I sat up as best as I could to watch them, to watch the long golden ribbons of their crowns twist around each other from the tips of their braids.
“Beautiful.” Of course, that was the first thing I said that made any sense.
“Yeah, you say that now,” Wynifred gave me a wink and put her warm hand back on my shoulder, the palm hot against my bare skin thanks to a massive hole in my shirt. I was actually amazed the thing was held together as well as it was.
Oh well, I had bought the thing last week and had already worn it once before, it was due to be tossed anyway.
“How is she?” The queen asked in a voice so windy that I almost didn’t recognize it as the powerful woman from before the gauntlet.
It was only her voice that was calm, however. Everything else about her screamed of power, the way she stood, the dark glint in her silver eyes as they looked right at me, through me maybe. It was hard to tell. Hell, it was hard to breathe underneath that look and I fell back against the pillows with a gasp.
“Well, you know, I’ve seen worse. She’ll be fine, but I think you're right about the bite…” Wynifred’s rambling was cut off as Mira stepped up to Ryland, clearing her throat and giving the woman a glare like I had never seen before.
Oh. My. God. They were everywhere. Mira and Ryland on one side, Wynifred on the other and the freaking King and Queen right in front of me. I didn’t know where to look.
“Fine. Fine.” Wynifred said, clearing her throat. “My lord, my lady, this is Sia Demarco. She is the witness to the attack. Miss Demarco, I give you the King and Queen.”
Everything in my life had been leading up to this moment. This moment was nothing like I had imagined it. I was not being praised for completing the Gauntlet first, nor was their son anywhere around and wearing a tuxedo. I was covered with blood, my hair a mess, and I wasn’t even sure that I could form coherent words without bleeding all over myself.
Still, I was going to try.
“Your Majesties.” It was mostly understandable, and thankfully limited with the blood and drool combo. The head bow, however, didn’t move beyond an inch, but they didn’t seem to notice.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sia. Although I wish it had been in better circumstances,” Ilyan began, stepping closer to the bed and blocking my view of the Queen. “Judging by your injuries it appears that you were the lone witness to the attack. We believe we have the attackers in custody and have been speaking to others involved, but we are hopeful that you can give us the information we need.”
“I will be of as much assistance to you as I am able.” It was getting easier to speak, thank god. It was going to be impossible to create the right impression if I had blood oozing from the corner of my mouth.
I tried to bow again, that time my head moved a fraction of an inch. It barely hurt, although I was sure that was from Wyn’s burning palm against my shoulder, and her magic that was quickly turning me into a furnace.
“Good to hear,” llyan gave me a smile. “Can you tell us what you saw?”
“There were these Drains… Mortals…” I quickly corrected when Wynifred’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “They were in the last room, the one without light.”
“How many were there?” Ilyan prompted, his voice growing to the same deep tone as before the doors had opened, the rumbling baritone shaking the broken bones in my back. A tiny shadow of pain rippled up my spine and I cringed, prompting another wave of heat to radiate from Wynifred’s hand. I didn’t want to see what condition my shoulder would be in after this.
“Seven, maybe more.”
“What happened?” They all leaned in at Ilyan’s question, except for Mira who took a step back, going into guard mode. God. I was broken to bits and I still wanted nothing more than to be like her.
“I saw them huddled around one of those cards, they were talking about the end and some plan. I didn’t have ti--” I paused, my heart thundering as I lay there. Wynifred’s warmth cascaded through me, weird pricks running up my spine that almost felt like my bones were piecing themselves back together.
I wanted this. I wanted this power. To be among them. This was my place, and there was only one way I was going to get there.
“I didn’t know what they were talking about,” I continued, clearing my throat to make up for the pause. “But there was something about the way they were speaking that scared me. I didn’t have much time, I know you only let so many into Imdalind Academy, and I waited to run, so this might be my only shot…” I paused again, adding a dramatic pout that may not have all been acting. “It was a risk, but I followed them, and when they started taunting others, threatening to throw them into a crevice; I fought them. I tried so hard to stop them. The others got free, but one of the girls with them fell in. The main girl, this girl with a pink mohawk, Gemma I think, she was pissed and tried to push me in too. But I ran, and then they caught up with me, and then…”
I sped up with each word until my voice caught and I heaved, trying to force in a shuddering breath. Okay, so maybe this super-magic healing hadn’t reached there yet. That hurt. I gasped and winced undoing the dramatic impact I had been trying to make.
They were looking at me with pity.
The vile, disgusting look was not one I wanted.
“I tried to stop them, My Lord,” I said softly, hoping to wipe the look from their faces. “I really did. That kind of thing… I can’t believe it.” Pause. Sniffle, I even tried to wipe my nose, not realizing my arm still didn’t move. “Did many people get hurt?” Or rather, how many Drains got hurt. How many Drains were knocked out of the competition? “Did the gauntlet get called off?”
They all exchanged a look, looking from the King to me and back again, before Queen Joclyn stepped out around Ilyan’s towering frame, a darkness fading from her eyes.
Just like before the doors to the gauntlet had opened. The Drak sight.
Oh lord. Had she seen something? Is that why she was hiding behind Ilyan and Mira had been looking at her like a hungry lioness? I had no idea how Drak magic worked, but if she saw both past and future like everyone had said then she could have seen right through me.
But then, if she had known, she wouldn’t be smiling at me the way she was.
Maybe Drak’s weren’t as infallible as the books in school claimed.
Didn’t matter, I couldn’t take back what I had said, might as well amp it up.
“Did everyone make it out alive?” I added a pout to that since I still couldn’t move my arms.
“The Gauntlet completed before the explosion, thankfully,” Joclyn began, still fixing me with that smile.
A damn ugly smile that burned as bad as what she had said.
“The Gauntlet was completed?”
“Yes, all the spots had been filled minutes before.”
My heart sunk, the world shattered, Joclyn’s continued explanation pounding against the back of my fractured skull while the word ‘failure’ buzzed like an alarm.
No. It couldn't be. There had to be a way I could salvage this. I couldn’t be left a fecking Tarn.
“Not many were left in the final task. The injuries were limited. You seem to have caught the brunt of it as you were right before this girl, Gemma, you said?”
“Yes, that’s what they called her. I am so glad she and her people didn’t hurt more. I am so glad I was able to delay her from her plans, so that it wasn’t worse.” That was the closest thing to the truth I had said
all night.
“Did you see how she made the explosion?”
It felt like she was looking through me again. Not only was it creepy as hell but it was sincerely making me question the last few minutes. Before now I probably would have made up some story of a bomb. I had planned on it. But the truth fell out as if it was pulled there, even my voice shook.
God, what was her magic doing to me? It had to be her magic, there was no other explanation.
“Magic. I could have sworn she had magic. That drippy stuff we saw in the videos or in safety drills back in primary school.”
Joclyn nodded, her penetrating silver glare finally pulling away and looking from me, to Ilyan. He didn’t seem fazed. The two stared at each other like they were mind melding, their lips pulling up at the exact same moment before Joclyn strode off back the way she came, Mira taking off after her like she was on a string.
Fecking hell, maybe Drak’s could read minds. Was that what she had been doing to me? I really hoped not, but the creepy showdown wasn’t giving me much hope.
“What’s going on?” Each word caught in my throat. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know.
“The Queen has matters to attend to,” Ilyan said, taking a wide step toward the foot of the bed. The King’s stare was calming in comparison to his wife's. Probably thanks to the color of his eyes. “We thank you for your assistance in this matter, Miss Demarco. As we said, the Gauntlet had finished minutes before the attack, but with what you went through, and the injuries you have sustained, we have decided to give you an honorary place in Imdalind Academy and will administer the bite as soon as you are ready. The bite of the Vilỳ will not only awaken your magic, but assist you in healing better than any of us can.”
I hadn’t failed after all. I still had a place. It may not be first, it may have been last, but it came with honors. It came with recognition and my first meeting with the people with which I truly belonged.
I nodded once, ignoring the pain that ripped over my spine with the motion.
The Gauntlet Page 10