by F. F. John
Strong arms pull at me but they’re not powerful enough. Ika tries to push me off him, but despite his athletic build, he’s too weak.
Feet pound against the floor and three sets of black boots come into view. Before I know it, I’m lifted off Ika by two soldiers who drag me back to my table. Neith is in tears and her friend has a comforting arm around her. She searches my face and I angle away from her. If I look at her, I might start screaming the way Ika did.
Mehrdad picks glass out of his hair. He grits his teeth at me and thankfully, Adela prowls into my line of view, blocking sight of him. Her arms are folded against her chest and that expression of respect is back.
Sohr barges into the room with three additional soldiers. She barks instructions at them and they march over to Ika. He’s pushing Portan away from him. The men help him up and he yells, “This isn’t over.” His spittle smacks the floor. “I warned you! This isn’t over yet!”
The soldiers drag him out, lifting his feet off the floor. “I’m not done with you!” His threats and profanity don’t end as he’s forced along the length of the hallway.
Once the doors slide shut, the room’s only noise comes from Neith’s soft sobs. My heart twists but then I recall her latest deception.
“Hey, Invier, you okay, buddy?” Seth calls from somewhere to my right but I can’t see him because the soldiers have my arms locked in place. I shrug them off and they release me.
A waiter hands me an ice bucket and I take it to my table, where my seat lies on its side. Seth rights it for me. When I shove my hands into the ice, open cuts sting and I grit my teeth. I watch as Portan removes his vest and drapes it over the back of his chair before huddling with Sohr. Another waiter brings clean napkins for Bel who uses them to wipe Neith’s face.
Titan Reffour breezes in. “What is going on here?” His voice is deep and it brings everyone to a halt.
“The scioness granted the pass to Scion Talum,” Portan starts, “allowing him to go home and—”
“That doesn’t explain why I saw a screaming Scion Ategun, who clearly took a good beating, being hauled out of the building.”
The old man deflates. “Yes, Titan.”
Neith’s father scans the room, his thick brows drawn down on his forehead. Eventually, his glower stalls on my hands in the bucket.
“I take it Scion Ategun’s face somehow met with your fists, Scion Floran?”
I don’t avoid his glare. I know what the consequences of my actions are and I don’t care. Portan warned us not to assault each other, and that doing so would lead to disqualification. I’m fine with that. One way or another, I’m getting out of this stupid Pursual.
“Excuse me, Titan Reffour?” Seth says, wandering into the middle of the dining room. “If I may. Invier actually prevented Ika from hurting your daughter and her lady-in-waiting.”
Seth continues, “Ika was hurling harmful objects at the scioness. If Invier hadn’t stopped him”—he pauses briefly—“she could have been injured. That’s why Ika looks the way he does.”
It’s kind of Seth to speak on my behalf. I don’t deserve his support, and my stomach folds in on itself at the knowledge. I tried to keep him from getting the pass. What good did it bring me?
The Titan regards the broken glass by Neith’s table and moves over to her. Crouching between his daughter and her friend, his face softens as he places a hand on them. Neith whispers and goes into some sort of explanation that is backed by her lady-in-waiting as all three of them watch me.
He studies the room again. “Can someone now explain what happened to Scion Saint Esprit?”
Still, in his seat, James is slumped across his table. Underneath him is one corner of the tablecloth, the rest is on the floor.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Belema
“Perhaps he’s drunk.” Neith’s voice trembles.
No longer fussing with glass shards on his clothing, Mehrdad rises from his seat. “I don’t think so. He didn’t drink that much tonight.”
I hadn’t noticed James during the fracas. I’d been too busy protecting Neith who’d frozen when things went wrong. I still don’t understand why Ika got so upset though he’d been acting strangely during the evening. Same with Invier. He’s not known for being a brawler so his reaction to Ika was extreme. Or was Neith correct in thinking he’d want the pass? Is that why he got so mad?
Uncle walks over to the table and bends to get a better view of James. When he straightens, a vein in his forehead is pronounced. That’s never a good sign. He returns to Portan and they whisper between themselves.
“Let me take a look at him.” I trudge over to him, avoiding the slivers of glass sprinkled on the ground.
He looks as if he’s taking a peaceful nap. I stoop by his side and whisper his name to no reply. There’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. It could be indicative of hypothermia which could happen if someone was experiencing alcohol intoxication. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I shake him and call again. Still, I get no reaction or response.
I straighten to examine him for any other helpful clues. His upper half and left arm are on the table. His arm holds down the ivory tablecloth in what would be a languid pose, but for his fingers. They grip the white linen fabric as if doing so will preserve the table’s dignity. His right arm dangles and when I pinch his wrist, I get no sign of a heartbeat.
With a hand under his arm, I lift him upright and call his name. “James?”
Prying open one of his eyes with my fingers, his pupil doesn’t dilate. I now check his neck for a pulse. It’s there but extremely faint. “His pulse is weak. We’ve got to get him to a Restoration Room.”
Uncle comes over. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I have no idea; an examination will determine what happened” I pry open his mouth. His airway is red and swollen.
“What do you see?” he says.
“He has an inflamed throat.” I tick through my training on the symptoms of alcohol intoxication and an inflamed throat would make sense if James had vomited but he didn’t. I release his lips and Invier hands me a clean napkin.
“Is that normal?”
I shake my head. “He needs immediate medical attention. Hopefully, this is a case of alcohol poisoning but if not …”
Uncle holds his head in his hands and groans. “Not another one.” With a wave of a hand, two guards scoop James and take him out of the dining room.
Once James is gone, Uncle’s hawkish gaze descends on Mehrdad. “Were you seated at this table with James?”
For once, Mehrdad is speechless.
“I can’t help but notice that your friends don’t seem to be doing well in this Pursual.”
Mehrdad’s lips pull back into a vicious scowl. “I seem to recall that Adela Seltan was in close proximity to him as well. Yet, you’re not asking her if she did something.”
“Leave me out of this Cyra.” Adela glares at him nonplussed.
Uncle could be onto something. Each participant who has died or been injured was a ‘friend’ of Mehrdad’s. Could there be some connection?
“With Ika eliminated for attacking the scioness and Seth receiving the pass, we now have only three participants remaining.” Uncle starts toward the door. “You get an additional day off while we figure out what’s wrong with James and how to create a final competition for the rest of you.”
When he gets to the door, he calls over his shoulder for Neith and I. As we step through the door frame, I chance a glimpse back into the room. Invier’s pained gaze is trained on Neith.
***
“I always take things too far. I always take things too far.” She repeats as she shuffles to her bed. Tears flow as she gulps air. “Bel, he’s going to hate me.”
Leaving her there, I make my way to the bathroom where I scrub my hands under scorching water. I'm happy to wash any germs and saliva that may be on my fingers after holding James’s mouth open. A cool towel waits on the towel tray and I grab it, as a new one pop
s up from below.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“First of all, help me understand, what just happened?” I say, joining her on the bed.
She sniffles and proceeds to tell me about her secret rendezvous with Invier and his request for the pass.
“He asked for the pass?” Now is probably not the time to tell Neith that I don’t like her boyfriend. Any guy who would play with her emotions the way he has is not worth all this stress. Granted, she’s far from innocent, but, I don’t see how they can be together after all this.
She nods. “That’s not all …” The tale turns to her talk with Ika.
“Did you tell Ika you’d give him the pass?”
She shakes her head. “Absolutely not. He walked away before I could tell him what I think of him.” Now, I understand Ika’s behavior. He stupidly believed he could muscle Neith into doing what he wanted.
“And now, Invier hates me.” She sniffs.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I told him I wouldn’t give the pass to anyone.” She flings her hands in despair.
“Oh, you guys talked about the pass? Then, why didn’t you simply tell Invier about Ika’s threat?”
“We talked about the pass before Ika showed up and Invier was gone by then. There wasn’t time to tell him about it later on.” Tears continue to pour. “I was so cross after Ika. Between getting things ready for the dinner and dealing with the delegation sent to get Erhart’s body …”
I let her excuses hang in the air a moment longer before I say, “You chose not to tell him, Neat.” Her face softens and I can tell she grasps my logic. She closes her eyes in a grimace.
Eventually, she flicks her gaze my way and anger sets her features in stone. My bluntness has always been something she liked and yet loathed. And at this point in time, I can tell she doesn’t care for my candid approach. Nevertheless, this is part of being her friend. I carry on, despite her cheerless expression.
Finally, I also understand Invier’s response. His attack on Ika wasn’t just about protecting Neith, it was also an expression of anger. He might not be my favorite person in the world, but I get why he took his frustration out on Ika.
“Regardless, it made sense to give the pass to Seth. In the end, it may have been the best thing you could have done for Invier.”
One eye pops open. “How?”
“If anyone needed that pass, it was Seth. His mom is dying and he should be with her. Also, giving it to Seth deprived Ika of it. You can’t ever give in to such threats.” I spread my hands, the answer obvious.
“And,” I continue, “your refusal made Ika act so erratically, he eliminated himself. Invier then stepped in to keep Ika from hurting you and looked heroic in the process. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you planned all this.”
A little less doubtful, Neith says, “He did rush in to save me.” She swipes away a tear. “He loves me.”
As much as I want to roll my eyes, I don’t. I hate to think it, but she can be naive about this love thing when it comes to Invier. Yes, he may have defended her out of love, but she can’t ignore that his assault on Ika could also have been because he was angry with her.
“Talk to him.” I give her hand what I hope is a reassuring squeeze.
“Yes, I’ll make him understand why I gave the pass to Seth.” She frees her hand and rubs it against her thigh.
Jumping off the bed, she paces. “Once I tell him I did this for us, he’ll see things differently.” She pauses, staring out the glass wall, which is nothing but a sea of black. “He loves me. He’ll understand.” There she goes again thinking he will understand every choice she makes simply because he loves her. At some point, she must learn that love isn’t an excuse to maltreat those she loves.
“Sure. Right now, it’s time for you to clean up and get some rest.” I push her to the bathroom. “After the night you had, some sleep will make everything better in the morning.”
She spins to embrace me in a tight hug.
“Thanks, Bel. You’re always there for me. Even when I’m a brat.”
I hug her back.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Invier
There’s a different soldier outside my door this morning. This one has a lithe build and might be able to keep up with me.
I set out much earlier than usual, hoping to get to Neith’s hidden oasis before her. Oasis. The term jangles in my brain and I snort. That place is far from an oasis. It’s where so many lies have sprung forth from.
Today, I jog instead of run. My pace swift. My escort’s footfalls are at a respectful distance. The grass bends under my feet. Droplets of dew hang onto the blades and spray off with each step I take.
After three days of running on the grounds, I now know the shortest route to our meeting place and have taken that path. The garden air is cool and fresh. There is a hint of the sun on the horizon. Enough to evaporate some of the morning mist that clings to the ground.
Last night’s debacle is still on my mind. Neith mentioning Seth’s name. Ika screaming obscenities at her. Me, irate at Ika for trying to hurt her and at her for the continuous lies. There’d been a crunch last night and I believed that I broke a bone in his face. I remember how gratifying it felt. A restorer informed me, however, that the bone destroyed was one in my hand. A flexband lies across my knuckles. I slow to study the tiny silver dots racing around within the colorless viscous substance.
Fix the problem.
That’s what I plan to do this morning, whether Neith likes it or not. She won’t get a choice; the same way she deprived me of my choice five days ago. Since then, it’s been one disaster after the other. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that I didn’t want the competition to change me. Instead, I have become a raging beast who takes delight at shattering the bones in someone’s face.
My mind goes to Seth’s story on how Mehrdad broke his brother’s eye socket in a fit of rage. I remember how worried I’d been to share living space with such an unhinged person. Neith had calmed me, promising that Mehrdad would abstain from violence. Neither of us knew then that I would be the one to behave like an animal.
Neith and all her lies. She did this to me.
Marching forward, I reach the grass wall and turn to the guard. “Stay here!” I take off but footsteps follow me.
“I said, stay here.”
“My orders are to go where you go and to not let you out of my sight, so, I apologize Scion Floran, but I must—”
“The only thing you must do is stand right here,” I thunder. “You will not under any circumstances come any closer. Am I understood?” My family isn’t wealthy enough for guards like this, but I know that they are trained to take orders from someone in authority. Whether my family ranks the lowest in the Twenty, I’m still a scion and I outrank him, so he must obey.
His body goes rigid but he takes several steps back.
I squeeze past the wall to see the geese floating in the water, a few on their backs. For at least the second time, I wonder if they can drown. The geese flip upright and wiggle off water from their feathers. They appear comfortable enough, and my concern for their welfare is supplanted by my anticipation of a confrontation with Neith.
A goose waddles over with an expectant look. Ah, I realize why. My hands are in my pocket and it must think I have something for it to eat. I take my hands out and display my empty palms so it’s clear no treats will be forthcoming. After a while, it walks off.
“Hello, Mr. Truffles.” Neith walks in through the flower tunnel I always exit from. She’s wearing a yellow long-sleeved shirt over a pair of black pants and squats to stroke the black feathered creature I ignored. Bringing out a white meringue, she crushes it to tiny, powdery pieces and Mr. Truffles pecks one after the other with his yellow beak.
A chorus of quacking rises as the other geese rush over to her. She’s all smiles, petting each as they arrive and sprinkling more meringue dust for them to eat. She loses her balance when she
notices me. Regaining her footing, she straightens. The happy disposition she had with the geese, is gone.
“Good morning, Invier.” She brings out a pink handkerchief from a back pocket and wipes her hand.
She looks so innocent and sweet. A stranger would never know how deeply she hurt and betrayed me only hours ago. I struggle to speak to her as I fight against the bitter taste clawing its way down my throat.
“I know you’re not happy with me right now and I can understand why.” She heads my way. Each step tentative as she keeps her gaze on me. “Believe me when I say, I did it for us. Everything I've done has been for us."