by E. M. Moore
He looked up, and when he saw me, he smiled. I was glad to see we were still on good terms. I knelt next to him so we could talk eye-to-eye seeing as how he was still in a wheelchair. “How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Been better, but no time to rest. We got work to do, right?”
“You bet,” I said, guilt souring my smile. I watched Zeke throw a few stakes, missing the heart once by a few inches. “How’s it look down here?”
He scanned my face, and I felt a blush creep up my neck. He zeroed in on my eyes and then said, “Good. Everything’s going good. I think our fighters look good and with any luck, we’ll just need the next two.”
I nodded slowly, watching Zeke go down to retrieve the stakes and then turn back around. He caught my eye. His step faltered, but he kept walking, trying to cover it up as much as possible. “I guess I’ll leave you to it then,” I told T.J., still eyeing Zeke as he made his way back to the throwing line.
I pushed to my feet and turned before either of them could say anything. Thankfully, Soren was walking toward me at that moment. His face was thoughtful, and serious this morning. Not like when we were shortening his food supply, but like he had a bulldozer full of problems on his shoulders.
I knew the feeling.
“Where do you need me today, Boss?”
He made a show of looking around the room. “Don’t say that. You know most of these people don’t even like me.”
“Are you serious? We’re indebted to you.”
He rolled his eyes as if to tell me I was going insane. “Listen, I’m going to scout around the arena to see if I can’t find out who they’re sending in this evening. I’m not worried about Lex or Samuel’s training, not that Samuel will listen to me, but he knows what he’s doing. Just fill in wherever they need someone and make sure they work hard. The sooner we found out who their fighter is, the better.”
He turned to leave, but thankfully I was quick enough to reach out and grab his wrist. “You’re going out there? To ask around?” It was my turn to look at him as if he was the crazy one. “Aren’t you worried Dumont will catch you? Try you for treason or something like that?”
“I’m not going to be stupid about it or anything, Young One. Don’t worry about me. Your clan has enough to worry about.”
Didn’t I know it.
I watched as he walked away, giving me a slightly awkward smile as he went. Whatever he said, we were indebted to him. He’d helped us a lot, and in my estimation, that put him right up there as friends in my book.
He passed Connor on the way out of the training room, and Connor clapped him on the shoulder before walking up to me. “So, what are we doing?”
I looked around. Lex was on weapons this time and Samuel wasn’t here yet. I shrugged. “We could ask Lex if she needs us.”
“Actually,” T.J. called out. “You guys want to come help us? I’d like Zeke to go through that drill Christian and Ariana were doing with Lex yesterday.”
Connor locked eyes with me. I closed mine, and heaved in a breath. I could be the bigger person, right? Before I could say anything though, Connor said, “But Zeke’s not fighting until last if he fights at all. We’d probably be better off helping Lex.”
I opened my eyes to see Connor hiking his thumb over his shoulder. When I turned, T.J. had his eyes narrowed at Connor for all the wrong reasons. He wasn’t being a typical vampire. He was only saying that stuff because of me. “It’s fine,” I said quickly to Connor. Louder, I said, “Sure, we’ll help.”
“Don’t bother,” Zeke said. “I’m good.”
T.J. looked back and forth from Connor and I to Zeke, his forehead wrinkling in the process. He didn’t understand the shitstorm he’d just inadvertently started. I gave him a reassuring smile. “We’ll help,” I said, forcing myself to look at Zeke. Whether I liked him or not didn’t make it his fault he’d been chosen over me. If we did need him to fight, we needed him to win so I’d be better off helping him even though the thought of having to wrap my arms around his body in order to take him down skeeved me out. I trembled, remembering the way he’d let Ryan think I was a blood whore.
I started to walk forward, but Connor grabbed my hand. “No way. That’s not happening.” Aloud so the two non-vampire folk could hear, he said, “You’re good? Great. We’ll just be over here with Lex.”
“Yep. I’m more than good.” He twirled his stake in the air. “That must be why they chose me to fight instead of your girlfriend. No need for her to be all pissed off about it though.”
Venom shot through my veins, hardening my muscles everywhere, especially turning my hands to fists with the thought of them connecting with his face. Maybe I should’ve agreed to the drill sooner so I would’ve gotten a chance to get a shot in on him ‘by accident’. “Screw you, Zeke.”
Connor tugged on my hand and I turned, prepared to follow him from the room, but Zeke’s voice stopped us again. “You have no right to be upset about this. You did the same thing to me when they brought you here, and now we all know why. Just because I’ve taken my spot back again doesn’t mean you can act like the royal bitch you were brought here to be. They haven’t turned you yet.” He tapped the stage against his chest. “I deserve this spot. Not you. I’ve sat through your medal ceremony, your speeches of recognition, and practically gagged my way through it. No one could see through to what you really are—the princes’ plaything. Now your secret’s out and everyone’s on to you.”
“Zeke!” T.J. said, his face reddening.
I stepped forward, my vision tunneling in on the poor excuse for a human being in front of me. “Say what you want. The truth is, you’ll always be a coward. I don’t care if you were chosen or not. You proved yourself a coward when you tried to take me out when I first got here—twice. You’ve proven your character again and again with every single move you’ve made out of fear. You were scared I was going to take your spot? You were right to be. It’s still not yours and just because they picked you this time doesn’t mean they’ll do it again. So if I were you, when people volunteer to help, it would be best to shut your mouth and accept it.”
He laughed hard. “You forget how much longer I’ve been training than you. You couldn’t show me anything I don’t already know. Taking out a few vampires and going out on scouts doesn’t mean anything. It just means your boyfriends arranged for that to happen. You haven’t gotten anything on your own merit.”
Connor hissed. I squeezed his hand as soon as I heard it. Turning, I saw his fangs had already protruded, sinking into his lower lip. I pulled back on his hand, not wanting to start anything here, especially if one of the princes was going to get involved. We definitely didn’t need that when there were other way more important things going on.
Lex had come up on Connor’s other side while T.J. just looked furious, his head moving back and forth like he was watching an intense tennis match. He’d tried to stand when Connor hissed, but Lex was already there so he didn’t have to.
“Alright, come on,” Lex said, pulling back on Connor’s shoulder. “Why don’t you two come help me out? I could use some angle by attack drills.”
I heard an amused noise from behind us and then a word that sounded like it rhymed with four. Connor tensed, but a near bellow beat him to it. My head jerked up only to find Samuel standing in the entryway. “Watch your mouth, Nichols. How many times do I have to tell you that warriors use their honor, their instincts, their mental capacity to fight instead of their words? Words are just cheap threats when you don’t back them up.”
“I’m willing to back my threats up, Sir,” Zeke seethed.
Samuel ran forward, blurring a little before a smack sounded. I turned to find Zeke pushing his cheek out with his tongue and Samuel towering over him. “And that’s why you’ll always get yourself in trouble. If you were smart, you’d focus on the task in front of you. There’s nothing to say you can’t be replaced. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the part about you initiating fights with Stuart when s
he first got here unless she’d like to make a formal complaint. If she does, you realize you’ll be suspended from training and won’t graduate.” Samuel looked toward me, his eyebrows raised.
Zeke glanced at the floor. He looked remarkably less holier-than-thou, but managed to still narrow his eyes at me as if what had just happened to him were my fault. I straightened my shoulders. “I think you misunderstood me, Samuel. I don’t have any complaints against Zeke. I’m going to beat him fair and square during final testing.”
Zeke’s lip curled, welcoming the challenge. Me too. Sooner or later, Zeke was going to get himself in trouble, or get what he deserved, but not by me telling on him. He didn’t need my help to screw his life up. For now, we were on the same side. After all this though, all bets were off. It was every guard for himself.
Lex pulled back on both our shoulders now. T.J. gave me a curious glance right before I turned and followed the best female guard there was to the far side of the room. When we got there, she said, “Don’t worry about it, Stuart. Men like Zeke can’t understand women like us. They feel like they have to attack in a way they think will hurt because they can’t rely on their supposed strength with us. What the asshole doesn’t know is that you’d kick his ass. I’d pay to see that fight.”
I cracked a smile and double squeezed Connor’s hand. His head was still twisted toward the other side of the room, a scowl on his face. I hoped it wasn’t permanently etched there. Connor was so much more handsome with a smile and teasing eyes.
As far as Zeke was concerned, he was now standing in front of Samuel and T.J. with his head down. No doubt getting scolded, which would only make him hate me more. Oh well. There wasn’t anything I could do about that, and since I’d promised myself I’d let my abilities speak for themselves a long time ago, I was sticking with that.
Chapter Thirteen
After hours of practice with both Lex and Samuel, we broke for a short dinner before we were called back into the training rooms immediately. Soren was back, and he knew who Dumont was sending out.
Nicolai and I hurried down the hall. I knew he was holding back because of me even though I was running as fast as I could. I wanted to wish Lex luck. I wanted to tell her I knew she could do it. A surge of pride sped my legs up. The greatest warrior we had in the Ravana Clan was a woman. I usually wasn’t all that big of a feminist, but at that moment, I felt the pride of who I was and how I was made run through my veins.
When we skidded to a stop in the doorway, Samuel was the one getting coached by Soren. T.J. and Lex were there as well, but it was Samuel who nodded at the things Soren said.
“It’s you?” I asked, not realizing I’d said it out loud before it flew from my mouth.
Everyone turned to stare at us and a fierce flush crept up my cheeks. Samuel inclined his chin and bounced from one foot to the other. He wasn’t dressed in his normal head to toe black. He was wearing black, but it wasn’t his normal uniform that he wore at The Fort all the time. In the center of his chest was a red dragon blowing fire. After everyone else turned around, I elbowed Nic in the side. “What’s that he’s wearing?”
“That’s the Rajyvik family crest.”
Down his front, he had armor-like patches on his abs, thighs, and knees, all with the same red dragon emblem. He wound his arms around like a windmill and cocked his head from side-to-side, all the while taking in Soren’s words. He reminded me of a boxer getting ready for a title bout. Who knew if he was actually listening or not though. Soren had said Samuel didn’t like him, and he was probably right. Samuel was a very cut and dry kind of person. You were either good or you weren’t. You were either on our side or you weren’t. Sore was in the gray area, and that was one thing Samuel wasn’t familiar with.
Gregor walked in the room, his face stoic as usual. I’d helped him train earlier and as Nic said, he was better than I thought. Quick reflexes, which he attributed to making rapid decisions. He pulled his suit coat together and buttoned it. “I’ve just been informed that Dumont and his warrior are already in the arena. Are we ready here?”
Samuel stopped bouncing. He inclined his head toward Gregor and then took off. He whisked his way through the castle so fast that Lex, T.J., and I were the ones bringing up the rear. T.J. would’ve been faster if he was out of the damn wheelchair, but he certainly wasn’t ready yet. He had dark smudges under his eyes like he’d be tired for a lifetime. “So, what’s this mean that Dumont hasn’t sent Diesel out? Anyone have any theories they’d like to share because I’m shocked.”
Lex massaged the back of her neck. She looked amped up without anywhere to put the energy. After T.J. gave me a shrug, she said, “Maybe this guy Olin is better than Soren remembers. Dumont must be pretty confident in him to send him out there now.”
“We can trust Soren,” I told them. “I hope you guys know that. I wonder if Dumont has something else up his sleeve.”
“Well, he can’t change out his guy now, or even if he does at the last second, I’m ready.”
I could tell. She looked like butterflies were eating her from the inside out. “You know, if you need to spar, or a running buddy later, let me know.”
She chuckled. “I guess I got myself all excited for nothing. I’m definitely going to have to dispel it somehow. This fight will help.”
As we got closer, the crowd noise started permeating through the walls. I hadn’t heard anything from them the whole day, but now, like yesterday, they were singing the songs of their clans. They sang of hope, and of strength, and of will.
We walked into the evening air and the crowd hit me like it had done the first day. All this energy pent up in one place was like a smack to the chest. “I’ve never seen Samuel fight,” I said, yelling over the crowd. “He must be good.”
Lex nodded. “He is. He doesn’t get to show it like we do, but he knows his stuff. Let’s just hope he knows it better than this guy.” She inclined her head toward the center and I followed her lead.
In the middle of the circle stood Samuel. He faced down who I assumed was Olin, dressed down in a track suit. He looked like he could’ve been wearing a gold chain in a music video. He grinned, and his fangs were rimmed in gold all over except for the sharpest point.
Was this guy for real?
Like before, I stepped beside Soren who stood like a lighthouse watching out over the foggy night. Behind us were the princes, and on the other side of Soren was Gregor and Isabelle in their fancy garb. If I did become a princess one of these days, I hoped I wouldn’t have to wear a fancy dress all the time. It was nice, on occasion, but to a fight? I’d feel weird and out of place. Not that Isabelle ever looked that way. She could stroll through Walmart in her blue velvet hoop skirt and no one would give her a confused glance at all. She fit the part perfectly. As if she knew I was thinking about her, she looked over at me and smiled.
I returned the gesture, and then turned back toward the fight. I caught the beginning just in time. A horn blew and Samuel didn’t waste any time going after Olin. He dug his heels into the grass and took off, wrapping Olin up in a takedown. They landed in a heap, Samuel still keeping the upperhand as he pummeled Olin with punches. Barefisted, and brutal, he rained down his fists like square-headed mallets right into his opponent’s face.
Soren smirked. “Olin did not see that coming.”
“Other than the fact that he’s still on the ground, how could you tell?”
“Because it took me off guard as well. I told Samuel to wait for Olin to make the first move.” I looked back at him and he shrugged. “Told you he didn’t like me.”
When Samuel stopped to pull a weapon out of his waistband, Olin spit at him. Pelted with blood and God knew what else, Samuel blinked and immediately got to his feet. He wiped at the red mess on his face and rubbed it off on his pants, taking a quick second to run his shirt over his eyes to clear his vision. This allowed Olin to spit out even more blood until they faced one another again in the center like they hadn’t even started yet.
>
Samuel went for the same tactic, but Olin moved out of the way, this time catching Samuel by the shirt and shoving him past him so that Samuel struggled to stay on his feet before whipping around and facing him again.
The whole time, Samuel’s demeanor never changed. His eyes darted around his opponent, completely focused on the task at hand. Lunging for Olin again, he caught him with a glancing blow to the chin and then worked his way behind his opponent’s back where he pummeled him again. I raised my eyebrows. I’d never known Samuel could be so…normal. This was like watching one of those UFC fights on TV. With the two fighters both being vampires, I thought I was about to see a show of superior strength and agility, but this wasn’t that at all. This was about two men just beating the crap out of each other. Actually, at the moment, it was just about Samuel beating the crap out of Olin who looked outclassed. Why did Dumont send him in? He wasn’t a stupid man by any means. He was able to keep people under his complete control for all these years. I looked toward the outer circle where I’d spotted Dumont during the last fight and there he was again. He was mirroring Gregor this time. He stood there, his face stoic, showing no emotion at all. He had one hand wrapped around his midsection while the other came up just under his chin like ‘The Thinker’ pose.
I leaned toward Soren. “Does any of this look off to you?”
Soren shook his head slowly. His hands came up to run through his thin, chin-length hair, never taking his eyes off the fight. “I can’t say for sure. It’s definitely Olin, but he’s not doing anything at all. He’s usually much better than this.”
“Maybe he’s injured or sick…”