“Young Warrior,” she said amiably, “our laws insist that crimes be punished within the same nature as the crime was committed. An eye for an eye, you might say.”
I nodded slowly. “But, no life was taken, so no life needs to be repaid.”
When everyone just sat silently, I repeated, “And since my life was one of the ones that were almost taken, I would prefer that it be repaid with imprisonment.”
All eyes switched to the queen, who sat quietly, staring at me for a very long time. Finally, she gave a small nod and stood up. Turning to address the others, she said, “I agree with our Warrior. Perhaps it would be wise of us to show a little mercy in our ways. Let the man live.” She paused and looked back at me. “If that is what you really want, Warrior.”
It was a question that left the fate of this man in my hands. I wasn’t sure if I was making a very stupid decision or just a very kind one. But, if it was my choice, I didn’t want to see someone decapitated. It was too barbaric, and it hit way too close to home for me. Even if he had tried to kill me, I was still alive, and maybe he should be left to be as well. That didn’t mean I didn’t want him locked up.
I was surprised at the strength in my voice. “Yes, Your Majesty, I would like to let him live.”
The queen nodded. “Then it has been decided. Warriors, you will please see to it that Mr. Lavine is transported to Dangeon immediately. He will live out the remainder of his life there.”
Henry began screaming then, begging to be killed, and I stood staring in complete shock. Not that I was really expecting him to thank me, but he would rather die than go to prison? That was unexpected.
The warriors carried him away, and the crowd began to disperse. It was all over. Thomas shot me another look as he walked by—this time I could not mistake the hatred in his stare. I decided I had somehow just earned another enemy.
When all had gone except for the queen and her personal warriors, she approached me and offered a small smile. “Your bravery continues to surprise me, Warrior.”
“What is Dangeon?” I asked.
She sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. “It is our prison. And it is not somewhere anyone ever wants to end up.” I’m not sure what my face looked like, but she put an arm around my shoulder and began leading me out. “Don’t fret. That was a very kind thing you just did.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed. “Thanks.”
When we emerged from the staircase and arrived back in the foyer of the Council building, the queen offered me a small nod and headed off to her office. Maybe it was my exhaustion, or the mental stress I’d been dealing with over the past few days. It could’ve been the fact that I was just tired of waiting, but I decided to ask a question that I hoped wouldn’t land me in very serious trouble.
“Your Majesty?” I said. She turned back to me and raised her eyebrows. I cleared my throat and continued. “How old are you?”
Her sharp eyebrows rose even higher, and I was half expecting her to slap me in the face. Instead, she said, “Why would you ask me that, Alexa?”
I tried not to shift under her gaze. “I apologize, I know I’m out of line but… it’s just that I haven’t met anyone here who is… old.” Well, that was articulate.
She gave a slow nod. “I see, well, that is because most of the elderly stay in the assisted living area on the other side of the city.”
I looked down at my hands. I hadn’t even thought of something like that, and now I felt stupid for having asked such a rude question. “Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
She offered me a smile. “Don’t be, Warrior. I know living here is an adjustment for you. And you’ve been through so much, so it is to be expected that you would question the things around you. Just remember, some questions are better left unanswered.” With that, she walked away.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
I stumbled out of the Council Building and tried not to think about everything that had just happened. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I never did the right thing. I had saved Henry’s life today, but in the end, it seemed like he would have rather died than go to the prison. I’d made a new enemy in one of my good friend’s fathers, and I had probably managed to insult the queen—all within the space of an hour. And to add to those wonderful events of the day, now I was going to confront Kayden.
Nelly was passing by the Council building as I descended the stone steps. She smiled when she saw me and waved me over. “So that’s where you were,” she said, glancing back at the Council building. “I was just going to the library to return a book. You want to walk with me?”
Since I still had a few hours of daylight, and maybe just because I was jumping at the chance to put off seeing Kayden, I nodded and fell into step beside her. She looked over at me and frowned. “You still haven’t eaten, have you?”
I shook my head. “I will soon.”
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a granola bar and forced it into my hands. When I began to protest, she held up a hand. “It’s not from here. It’s one of the ones Mom had left in the backpacks for us. I found it when I cleaned my room today.”
I smiled at her gratefully, tore into the package and devoured the whole thing in two bites. It tasted like Christmas morning. I was still starving, but at least it took the edge off. I felt a little energy flow into me, but mostly it just made me want to eat a whole lot more.
Satisfied that she’d finally seen me eat something, Nelly told me about her classes as we walked. “Sometimes it’s just hard,” she said, looking down at her feet. “I have to keep my guard up when we’re doing Searching exercises in class, and I have to make sure I only use a portion of my abilities. It just takes so much out of me, and at the end of the day I feel drained.”
I smiled at her, hoping to lend some comfort. I felt bad that I’d been so wrapped up in my own crazy life that I hadn’t even taken the time to ask Nelly about hers. Out of everyone, Nelly was the person who I absolutely had to keep safe. I needed to remember that no matter what happened, she took precedence.
“I know it’s hard, Nell,” I said. “But you’re strong and you can get through it. At least until we graduate.”
She sighed heavily. “Yeah, but then what? I’m so sick of hiding what I am, and it’s not like I can tell anyone. God knows what they’d do if they found out.” Nelly looked over at me and brushed the hair that had fallen from my ponytail out of my face. “Sometimes,” she continued, “I wish I were you. It’s an honor to be what you are, but to be what I am, it’s a disgrace.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. “Don’t you ever think that. And, trust me, you do not want to be me right now. Besides, Nell, everyone loves you, they always have. I’m the outcast and the delinquent, not you.”
She smiled that beautiful smile of hers, but a sadness stayed behind her eyes. “There’s evil inside of me, Lex. I’m part monster and we both know that. The only reason people have always liked me so much is because I have the same draw that every Lamia has. And sooner or later people are going to figure out why.”
I had a feeling that whatever monster was inside of me could make her monster run for the hills, but I didn’t say that. “We’ll deal with that when it comes. You know I would never let anything happen to you.”
She met my eyes. “I know.”
We reached the library, and Nelly returned her book. As I waited for her, I stolled up the section of mystery thrillers, hardly glancing at the titles. A woman approached me. She was probably in her mid-fifties and had strawberry-blond hair streaked with gray.
“Can I help you find anything?” she asked with a warm smile.
“Um, no thanks,” I said. When she started to walk away, I called out to her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?”
She smiled a little at what must have been my stupid question. “Oh, I’m new here. I’m the new librarian,” she said.
I had to swallow twice before I could ask my next question. “What happened to the old one?�
��
Her face filled with sympathy. “Oh dear, I’m afraid she’s passed on. Has no one told you?”
I shook my head in disbelief. How could she have “passed on?” She’d looked completely fine and healthy when I had just seen her the other day. I struggled to keep the suspicion off my face. “How?” I asked, more to myself than to the woman.
She must have thought I was asking her, because she sighed heavily and answered, “She had a disease, one that affects the brain, and I guess that it just finally got the best of her. Did you know her well?”
I wanted to scream at her that that was bullshit. Instead I just shook my head and walked away. I found Nelly, and we headed out of the library together. She immediately knew something was wrong.
“What happened?” she asked.
“The librarian died,” I told her.
Her face fell into a frown. “Oh, that’s terrible.”
I nodded. “Hey, I’ll see you later, okay? I need to go do something.” Her brow furrowed at my abrupt change in subject, but I was going to talk to Kayden right now. I needed the answers to my questions, and I needed them now.
Nelly’s eyes were bright with worry. “What are you going to do, Alexa?”
“Nothing, don’t worry. I’ll be fine… I’m just going to see
Kayden.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, okay. Good, I guess.”
I kissed her cheek and sprinted off in the direction of Kayden’s cabin. When I got there, the cabin was dark, and no one answered my knock. I sat down on the front porch and waited. I was disappointed and also a little relieved that he wasn’t here, but I had to do this. And if that meant that I needed to wait all night, then that’s what I’d do.
I ended up waiting through most of the night, and Kayden never returned to his cabin. When the sun slowly started to peek over the horizon, I stood up stiffly and trudged back to my dorm room. I hadn’t accomplished anything other than exhausting myself, and even though I knew the feeling was misplaced, I was angry at Kayden. I knew I had no right to be, but that didn’t stop me from wondering where he’d spent the entire night. I pushed those thoughts aside as I entered my room and plopped down on my bed. I was not going to be jealous over a man who didn’t belong to me. At least, not while I was sleeping.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
I woke up later in the day when a knock sounded on my door. Pulling myself out of bed, I felt more exhausted than before I’d gone to sleep, and this worried me. I made my way groggily to the door and threw it open. Nelly stood there, wearing a blue blouse and jeans, looking just as pretty as ever.
I rubbed my eyes and ushered her inside, then fell promptly back down on my bed. “What’s up, Nell?” I asked with a yawn.
She gave me a disapproving look. “Apparently not you. Why are you sleeping? It’s five in the afternoon.”
I shrugged. “I was tired, and it’s Saturday, so who cares?”
She gave a small sigh. “I knew you wouldn’t be ready. The fight is tonight, it starts in an hour. The others are going to meet us in the courtyard in thirty minutes. Did you still want to go?”
If it weren’t for her, I would have slept right through Mark’s fight tonight, and I’d promised him that I’d be there. I shot up from the bed and gave her kiss on the cheek. “Absolutely,” I said. “Give me twentynine minutes.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed, and I headed into the bathroom to shower. I took some time with my appearance, and Nelly offered to blow-dry my hair when she saw I was struggling to get it straight. A glimpse in the mirror told me I still didn’t look my best, undoubtedly due to the lack of food, but I looked good enough. I threw on some jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt, and we headed out the door.
“Did you get to see Kayden last night?” Nelly asked, as we walked down to the courtyard.
I shook my head. “He wasn’t there.”
We shut up then because we saw the boys waiting for us. Daniel spotted us first and jogged over to give Nelly a shy kiss on the cheek. I smiled at them. They made a cute couple, both of them so sweet and innocent. Jackson and Tommy joined us, and after a few witty exchanges, the five of us made our way to the Council building, where the fight was being held.
When we reached the building, we were directed around to what I assumed was a back entrance. About halfway around the side of the building, we came to a line of people that wrapped all the way around the corner and disappeared. My companions started to come to a stop, but Tommy just kept on walking right past the line.
When he realized we weren’t following, he turned back to us.
“Come on.”
Nelly asked the obvious question. “Don’t we have to wait in line?”
Tommy smiled that easy smile of his. “You can if you want. I’m certainly not going to.”
We all exchanged looks and followed Tommy around the rear of the building. The line of people kept going until we reached a red door that was manned by two Warriors. I didn’t know either of them, but they must have recognized Tommy because they stepped aside and greeted him. Tommy informed them that we were his guests, and the rest of us filed in the red door. Both Warriors gave me a slight nod as I passed by, and I nodded in return.
As we entered the building, the roars of the crowd were almost deafening. Looking at the Arena from this point of view was drastically different from the view I’d had last time. High stone walls were on either side of us and a Plexiglas wall separated the spectators from the fighters. Tommy led us up a set of stone steps, and I glanced around to see that almost every seat in the house was full. We continued climbing up, and I still couldn’t spot an empty seat in the house. But when we reached a part that held a sectioned-off area, similar to box seats at a baseball game, Tommy stopped and opened the door to the private room. A Warrior was standing at the door and he nodded to Tommy as we entered.
The room was set up with plush chairs that were up against the railing and offered a perfect view of the Arena below. The three walls and roof of the room did little to block out the noise of the crowd, but it was still considerably better than sitting on the stone bleachers. Two large, flat-screen televisions hung on the side walls and they were showing a perfect picture of a man whom I assumed must be the announcer. Much to my dismay, I noticed that the room also held a long table packed with trays full of delectable-looking sandwiches and cookies.
“This is nice,” Nelly said, taking a seat in one of the chairs.
I nodded, ignoring the grumbling of my stomach. “Yeah, it is.
How did you get these seats, Tommy?”
“They belong to my father. Every Council member gets one.”
I swallowed hard at the mention of Tommy’s father. “Is he coming?” I asked, trying to sound like I didn’t care either way.
“Nah,” Tommy said. “He said he had some things to do tonight.”
I breathed a silent sigh of relief and took a seat next to Nelly. The others took their seats, and Jackson sat down in the one next to me before Tommy could get a chance. The announcer on the television screen stood on a podium overlooking the Arena. I looked down below and saw that he was only about thirty feet away from where we were sitting.
He began his speech, and the crowd fell silent. After a few ceremonial words, it was time to announce the fighters. Mark’s name was called first, and he stepped out of an opening in the wall that was directly below me and my companions. The crowd roared with praise, and I couldn’t help cheering along with them. I really liked Mark, and I didn’t want to see him get hurt.
I leaned forward in my seat to study him. He was wearing black shorts and a black sleeveless T-shirt. From this distance he appeared much younger, probably because this was the first time I’d seen him out of his long-sleeved warrior uniform. He seemed to be in good shape, built tall and wide and thick. But, I noticed that the skin of his bared arms was littered with previous battle scars. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not.
He also held a silver sword in his ha
nd, and the sight of it made me turn to Tommy in alarm. “What’s the sword for?” I asked. “The fighters don’t actually kill each other, do they?” I hadn’t had a sword when I’d fought Daniel.
“Either fighter can choose to surrender at any point,” said Tommy, placing a cigarette between his lips. I let out a relieved breath. “But,” he continued, “many don’t. It’s considered dishonorable, and most choose death.”
It took me more than a few seconds to process this. I let out one short, silent breath and my head fell forward a fraction on its own accord. My movement was so slight that I doubted anyone but Nelly noticed. I sat staring at my small, scarred hands for a few seconds. They were a safe spot for my eyes. In my head swam one thought. God, please let Mark win, and if not… surrender. Following that, one question. Would I surrender?
When the announcer called the name of his opponent, my heart hit the stone floor beneath my feet. I shut my eyes for the tiniest portion of a second, then I looked up.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Kayden emerged from the opposite end of the arena, sword gleaming in his right hand. The crowd’s response was deafening. From somewhere near my lungs, an anvil came smashing down and landed in my stomach. Next to me, Nelly’s hand found mine. She gave one tight squeeze. My hand remained unmoved.
So did my eyes. Kayden. Why did it have to be Kayden? I couldn’t pull my eyes from him. I kept searching for some indication that it wasn’t really him standing down there. I couldn’t find any. And who was I kidding? There was no mistaking that man. Not for me.
He looked every inch a Greek god. He was shirtless, his hair pulled back into a tiny, sandy blond ponytail. Tan skin smoothed over stone-carved muscles. There was nothing about him that didn’t seem dangerous and deadly. Staring down at the two men that night, I felt much younger than my seventeen years.
Just before the announcer gave the word, Kayden’s eyes drifted up and met mine. I squeezed Nelly’s hand then, but remained otherwise still. It says something for her that she didn’t even flinch. Especially since I’m sure I had come close to crushing bones.
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