by E. M. Moore
Soren’s hands gripped the the wood post before us. His knuckles tightened as T.J. moved out of the way, putting more space between him and his opponent. Closer to us now, I could see that he was favoring his shoulder though. His black shirt was wet there, making it almost shiny, and I knew he was bleeding.
Stephan moved past us, his face pale. He looked at me. “When he wins, he’s going to need care.” His hands trailed over my fingers as he walked away, and I saw true sickening sadness there. It was a wonder why Stephan had even come out to watch at all. He just didn’t have the heart for this stuff. He was too good. Too kind. I wanted to assure him, but at the same time, I knew I needed to be right here, no matter how badly a part of me wanted to be with another part of me somewhere else, reassuring him that though there was evil in this world, we weren’t all overcome by it. This was just a means to an end, and as soon as we defeated Dumont, we could go back to our everyday lives where death, and injury, and loss weren’t even on our radars.
The crowd erupted on the far side of the grassy arena when Torrent once again managed to hit T.J. with his medieval weapon. Their jubilant response was cut short though when T.J. kicked out at the bad leg of the beastly warrior. His leg buckled, and for a moment, he was off balance. T.J., again, struck out at him with the blade tip of his weapon. More blood seeped down his chest, and the vampire roared, a deafening cry that would’ve silenced the night creatures of the forest if they hadn’t already been silenced. He didn’t yell out of pain or agony, but out of exasperation. He fumbled forward, impatient swings of his weapon toward T.J.’s body, which he neatly dodged all the way across the fenced-off area until one last swing down when T.J. narrowly avoided the head of it. Instead of the spikes breaking his skull, it smashed through one of the wooden posts, wood splintering everywhere. The first row of Dumont’s clan reared away, hands shielding their faces and cries rising up until Torrent pulled the spiky ball from the Earth again, following T.J. into the middle of the arena.
Torrent charged him again and at the last second, T.J. dove and rolled out of the way, his weapon flicking out and catching his opponent in his bad leg again, a gash opening up on his calf, hobbling him. But T.J. didn’t get out of the exchange unscathed either. The weapon had hit his foot and he could barely put weight on it as they stood facing one another once more.
“Kill him!” a voice bellowed.
I looked across the grassy area to find Dumont, his face pulled into a mask of scowling rage. His nostrils flared as his barreled chest rose and fell with his quick, thunderous breaths.
That man, he was clearly furious, staring down his warrior as if he’d slighted him. It made my stomach twist in disgust, and the next attacks by Torrent were quick, and clumsy in his earnestness to end the match. By all means, he should’ve been a sure winner from the outside looking in. He had brawn, strength, paranormal abilities that T.J. could never have, but he lacked a few things we didn’t. A reason to fight. The understanding of a leader, who now, as I looked down past my princes and caught sight of Gregor and Isabelle, I understood even more. They stood stoic, their hands entwined with shock and horror pulling at their eyes and corners of their lips. Skin creases marred their usually perfect faces. A shot of pride overwhelmed me.
“Come on, T.J.!” I screamed, knowing full well that he probably couldn’t hear me, but did it even matter? He was putting his life on the line for the rest of us. “Take your time! Wear him down!”
“There you go, Young One,” Soren said. “All is not lost.”
At that, T.J. spun out of the way of another of Torrent’s attacks and thrust out with his blade. It sunk into the vampire’s bicep. A smile poured from me, but in the next instant, I winced as T.J. ran away without his weapon in his hand. He scrambled for a stake at his hip while Torrent pulled T.J.’s weapon from his arm and bent it over his knee. The stake portion splintered off, the metal core gleaming underneath as it fell to the grass in a useless heap.
Terror struck me, but as I looked on, T.J. faced Torrent with a curved smile. I held my breath and looked to my right. Soren’s knuckles had turned white. With both fighters broken and bloody, a thousand different things ran through my mind. I should’ve told T.J. I liked him. Though it wasn’t in the same way he liked me, I did care for him. He was a great fighter, a great friend. Moments should never be taken for granted. They should be lived to the fullest extent because you never knew when you were going to be facing down the likes of Torrent. A problem as insurmountable as one could seem. But still, as T.J. stared him down, he didn’t look like the hurt, broken warrior that he was. He still looked calm underneath the mask of blood and limping. He looked confident though he had but a small stake in his hand. All odds were against us. In some ways, they always had been, but I never stopped believing.
“Attack,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. My hands clenched at my sides as I saw Torrent take his first step toward T.J.. He brought the spiked metal ball down with a roar. Unlike the other times though, T.J. didn’t move fast enough. It crashed into the same hurt shoulder and T.J. tumbled to the ground. Torrent stood above him, smiling like he was a victor to his prey. T.J. scrambled backward, his hands and legs sinking into the trampled grass as he tried to get away.
Torrent was right on him though. He ran forward, sinking a heavy knee into T.J.’s chest as he pulled his weapon above his head.
I stopped breathing. My heart even stopped beating.
Everything moved as if in slow motion even though when we were talking about vampires, that simply wasn’t possible. Torrent swung his hands down like thick mallet heads grasping the very thing that could kill T.J. in an instant. Beside me, Nicolai tensed, still as stone as we both watched wide-eyed at the scene before us.
I leaned toward Soren as Torrent brought the crushing blow down. It was like watching something I knew would hurt like hell, but couldn’t take my eyes off anyway. The spiked metal was almost there now, but then, a quick movement. Torrent stilled. T.J. moved his head as the medieval weapon fell just a hair’s breath away from his skull and fell to the ground. I leaned closer, gasping when I saw T.J.’s hands move away from Torrent’s chest.
Torrent fell to the side and T.J. scrambled out from underneath him and got to his feet. He stared down at the broken piece of his weapon sticking out of Torrent’s chest. He’d grabbed the splintered wood and impaled Torrent with it at the last possible second. The crowd hushed at once. Torrent shuddered. His breaths became laborious. T.J. glanced at Gregor and whatever he saw there, just walked—limped—back toward us, leaving Torrent in the middle. It was clear he couldn’t go on, was possibly fighting for life at that moment. I couldn’t even smile for T.J.’s victory because a harsh sadness overwhelmed me.
Then, a sudden blur. Soren ran forward, but it was too late. Dumont was already there, his foot on the splintered stake, pushing it further into Torrent’s chest. As soon as it sank all the way in, Dumont turned, a frenzy of clothes and darted away, his followers not far after him. A gaping hole filled their side of the circle, the leadership having all gone with their warrior’s death. Somber and slow, a few of the vampires from the other side walked to where Torrent lay and pulled him up by the shoulders to carry him away. I watched all this, slack-jawed, more surprised than I should’ve been.
I was instantly grateful Stephan wasn’t there. He would be…furious, and sad.
T.J. limped toward us and Lex, Samuel, and Soren rushed forward, taking away our warrior with the dignity he deserved, leading him away as the rest of the crowd stayed eerily silent, hands reaching out to him as T.J. made no emotion.
He wasn’t overjoyed. He wasn’t proud.
This had all been just a means to an end.
7
Stephan was waiting for him.
I stood back as he worked over him, watching as Lex and Matthews congratulated T.J.. Our eyes met a few times, and I nodded, but what was there to say really that anyone else hadn’t said? I was glad he was alive. I was glad he won. That just me
ant we were one step closer to putting all this behind us. One step closer to realizing that Gregor wouldn’t have to go in there to fight that lunatic Dumont.
I waited everyone out, until Stephan shooed everyone from the room and sent for aides to take T.J. inside. Hesitantly, I walked up. T.J. reached out and I squeezed his hand. Stephan tried to give us space while also clearly interested in the exchange.
I cleared my throat. “You did good,” I said. “I knew you would.”
“It was a little scary for a second there.”
“Nah,” I said, lying through my teeth. “Like I said, those girls are going to flock to you now.”
He stifled a laugh, then cringed and moved on the bed, hissing in pain until he got into a comfortable position. Stephan came over, but there wasn’t anything for him to do. T.J. just needed to rest and recover. He would live, and he did all of us a great service.
“Do me a favor, Stephan?” T.J. said. He looked to me. “You and your brothers better do right by her.”
Stephan laid a hand on T.J.’s arm. “No one will take better care of her. You can trust me on that.” Stephan peeked at me then looked back. “Thank you for what you did out there. I knew you were brave, and strong but…” He shook his head.
“I know the feeling,” T.J. said, laughing and then wincing again.
“I can give you more pain reliever…”
T.J. shook his head. “It’s not all physical…”
Two women dressed in white, nurse-like uniforms came in. Stephan helped move T.J. to a gurney and the other two vampires wheeled him away. I watched after him until two hands surrounded me, pulling me into a warmth I wasn’t sure I deserved. “That was tough to look at. Do you need anything?”
“Just you,” I said, pulling his hands closer.
He kissed my cheek, his brown hair tickling the skin there. He bent at the waist, pulling my legs up and we ran out of the tent, into the estate, through the halls until he placed me gingerly on the bed—my bed. I breathed out, pulling him around me again.
“Where are the others?”
“Christian said they were going right to the meeting. Lex and Samuel are done deciding so…”
“We’ll know soon,” I said, patting his hip.
“Soon,” Stephan said.
* * *
Nicolai
The tension in the room mounted. With the reassurance that T.J. was going to be okay, there was only a little bit of happy chatter around. All of us saw what happened out there—well, not Stephan, but he wasn’t here anyway. The rest of us, we saw what it took for T.J. to do what he did. Picturing Ri do that…
Nope. I shook my head.
Lex stood. I caught her gaze and held it, trying to look as menacing as possible. They sure as fuck were not going to pick her. She didn’t have to know we didn’t let it happen. She couldn’t know. She’d be furious, but what else could you do when your reason for living was the one out there making all the sacrifices and you were in your nice, cozy fucking cocoon doing shit?
“Samuel and I have come to a decision.” She took a deep breath, her lips frowning.
My fingers braced against the chair and I started to stand.
Mom shot to her feet beside me. “Stop!” Every eye turned to her. She was shaking. Her face was white, terror-stricken. She took in a few gulps of air, her face never leaving the smooth of the wood finish on the table before her. She shook her head. “I can’t stop myself from saying this. I won’t stop.” She turned her eyes upward and met Lex’s gaze. “After seeing that out there, I’m making a request of you. You both,” she finished, looking at Samuel too.
My heart stammered. My mother was a brilliant, beautiful woman, but she hardly ever spoke up at Council meetings. She left all that up to Gregor.
“I can’t sit here and listen to whatever names you’re going to say, and with saying what I’m about to say, I know full well how selfish I’m being. But, I can’t help myself. For the sake of my family, I ask only one thing. That Ariana be kept off the list.”
My stomach plummeted. There the words were. They were out there. And with it, if Ariana found out, would be beyond pissed. Her eyes would flash and she would storm around with the passion that lit her soul inside her. But it was what every one of us were thinking even though we were being spectacularly unfair. Who were we to make demands? Rulers, sure, but that was the exact reason we shouldn’t be saying any of this.
Gregor shifted in his seat. Lex blinked.
“I know full well the weight of my words and I’m willing to take any consequence given to me, but I am pleading, begging, with you. Do not send our Ariana into that pit. She’s too…special.”
“Isabelle,” Gregor chastised, reaching up to take her hand.
She pulled hers from his grip and stepped away. “I know, I know. Who am I to say who should live or not? I can’t just sit here and listen to you all make decisions about those I care about. I can’t.”
Christian stood and moved toward Isabelle. He put his hand softly on her arm and she immediately turned toward him, her chin resting on his shoulder as she hid her face from us all.
“She has to live,” Isabelle whispered. “She has to.”
I wasn’t sure if Lex could hear, but Samuel certainly could. He stretched his neck and then bent over to whisper in Lex’s ear. She nodded, her eyes glassy as she watched the scene before her.
Samuel stood, squaring his shoulders as he caught the attention of Gregor. “We have the names of the remaining fighters. They were chosen due to many characteristics, chief among them skill, and bravery. As Isabelle has just said, our minds were even more made up after watching T.J.’s brave showing. We need fighters like him. We need those who will take us to victory, so it won’t come down to the fifth fight. In fact, we’re hoping it won’t even come down to the fourth fight.” He looked around the room. I moved to the edge of my seat, my fingers digging into the table in front of me. I willed the shape of his lips to take on another name. I willed them to speak about someone else, all the while, deep down knowing how hurt Ariana would be if she could see inside me to know what I was really thinking. My throat closed as Samuel began. “Our next fighters are…”
8
We lay on my bed waiting for the news. On the outside, I looked like the perfect picture of patience. On the inside though, I was a screaming mess.
Stephan was the first to move. Not surprising. He probably heard the rest of them coming up the stairs and making the slow walk to my door. Did they hesitate out front? Did they whisper to one another at all?
These were some of the things I wish I knew, and would’ve known if I’d been a vampire. I hated being in the dark. If I’d had a clue about what the verdict was, my nerves wouldn’t have been eating away at me when I finally did turn to find all of them staring at me—even Stephan—as if he was at the meeting too. As if he’d heard it first-hand like the rest of them.
I moved to the edge of the bed, my hands curling into the comforter. Staring at them all together still gave me a little thrill. They were mine—all of them. However this turned out, I should be grateful. If they wanted me to fight, I’d fulfill the reason why I was brought here. No one could wonder then. No one could ask why the Ravanas brought an outsider in with no training, no skills. I wouldn’t be seen as the odd man out ever again. I was brought here to fulfill a duty, and if I was chosen, I’d have done it. Actually, not just if I was chosen. Being chosen was just the first step. And if that happened, I wouldn’t receive anymore snide looks from Zeke or worry about him trying to test me or jump me or hate me.
But if I didn’t get chosen…look what I had in front of me. I had this to come back to. I had these arms, these legs, to wrap around me and keep me safe for the rest of my life—no matter how long that was. Someone else would carry the burden of the fight. Someone else would carry the weight of this world on their shoulders, and we would just have to live with the consequences. But there was that word. That so important word. Live. At least we kn
ew we would live.
Soren said if we lost, he wouldn’t hesitate to leave. That after the fights ended, I should take off with my princes. We would do that, taking anyone close to us along for the ride. We might not have the structure around us, but we would have one another.
They formed a semi-circle in front of me, and then Connor stepped forward. I shouldn’t have been surprised. They were always sending Connor in to make me feel better emotionally. He had a beautiful spirit, one that made mine want to rally to meet his.
My gut clenched. It took me a second to realize the truth, but it was plain as day in front of me. Connor was the one they’d chosen to tell me the news, and if Connor was the one telling me the news… Well, then.
He held his arms out, and I walked into his embrace. He nuzzled his cheek against mine and squeezed me to his chest. “I’m sorry, Princess. They didn’t choose you.”
I squeezed my eyes closed and let the words sink into me. They didn’t choose you. They didn’t choose me. My mind was a war of emotions. Relieved. Upset. Confused. Startled. Safe. I clung to Connor and buried my head in his chest. “I don’t know what to think.”
He pulled away, his hands coming to rest on my cheeks. “I’ll tell you what you can think. You can look at me. You can look at the rest of us and know that now this is settled, there is literally nothing that can take us away from each other. No matter what happens, we’ll be together—the five of us—just like it was meant to be. You have me and my brothers by your side for as long as you want us.” He took a deep breath. “And this doesn’t mean we’re going to lose. We have excellent fighters. We’re already winning. They gave us a gift. The gift of knowing we’ll all be safe together for a long time to come.”
Stephan moved to just in front of me, his green eyes bright. “Isn’t that what you always wanted deep down, Ariana? To have a family again. I remember watching you go through life as if you were going through the motions. You didn’t have anyone to come home to. It was just you, fighting in a cruel world for yourself. Now you have us, and you’ll always have us.”