I closed my eyes and thought harder. My family’s library was not about to be outshined by the Haven. Our archives were supposedly linked with the souls of the witches in our circle. I should have been able to do this.
What am I missing?
Suddenly, something crashed in the far corner of the library.
My eyes snapped open, and I looked at where the sound had come from.
“The children’s section.” I pushed up from my chair and hurried in that direction. The others followed.
First, I went to the children’s non-fiction section. We’d already checked those shelves, but maybe we’d missed something.
Everything there was the same. So I ventured into the aisle we hadn’t looked at before. The children’s fiction section.
An entire section of large, hardback books had fallen into the center of the aisle.
I rushed toward them and kneeled down to check them out. The others did the same, so we were gathered around the books like we were sitting around a campfire.
All of the books were by the same author. A woman I’d never heard of named Eloise D’Airoldi.
Tales of Norse Myths.
Tales of Arthurian Myths.
Tales of Roman Myths.
Tales of Christian Myths.
Tales of Greek Myths.
Tales of Jewish Myths.
Tales of Egyptian Myths.
And more. There must have been at least twenty of them in all.
I snatched the one on Greek myths and opened it to the dedication page.
“To those who see the truth—that all the stories are real,” I read aloud.
“That’s in mine, too.” Sage held up the book about Christianity.
Thomas and Reed confirmed it was in theirs as well. A glance at the first pages in all the other books revealed identical dedications.
The stories inside were written for children, complete with detailed illustrations. We took a closer look through the legends we were the most familiar with—Arthurian, Christian, and Jewish. They were startlingly accurate.
“All of the stories are real,” I repeated the line from the dedication. “Greek, Roman, Egyptian… all of it. Just like King Devin said.”
“That’s what this author seems to believe,” Sage agreed.
“I don’t know why you’re all so shocked,” Reed said. “You’ve seen the Holy Grail and Excalibur. You live on the actual island of Avalon.” He looked pointedly at the book on Arthurian myths. “You’ve seen demons from Hell. You’ve seen Nephilim, prophets, and according to the Earth Angel and Prince Jacen, a troll. Why should any of the stories chronicled throughout your history be more or less real than the others?”
His words shocked us into silence. I didn’t think I’d ever heard Reed say that many words in a row, well… ever.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “We’ve always been taught that the most ancient ones are only myths.”
“School doesn’t teach you everything,” he said simply.
I gripped the edges of the book I was holding, hating that I couldn’t tell him he was wrong.
“Whether these stories are real or not, the books wanted to be found.” Thomas glanced at me with respect. “So, let’s bring them over to the table. Because we have research to do.”
10
Selena
“Welcome to the third arena fight of the Faerie Games!” Bacchus said from his chariot flown by jaguars, his voice booming through the Coliseum. “Who’s ready to see the chosen champions of Neptune, Venus, and Pluto face off to the death?”
The crowd erupted into raucous applause.
The inside of the arena was standing room only. People were also gathered outside the Coliseum, watching on the orbs in the streets.
The center of the arena was covered with grass, tiny hills, and miniature trees. Wild animals prowled in circles, staring at each other like they were ready to pounce.
“See the animals down there?” Bacchus pointed his scepter down toward them, as if they were possible to miss. “It’s been over twenty-four hours since their last feeding. Once our champions enter the arena, it’s not only each other they’ll be fighting!”
The crowd burst into cheers again.
The other champions and I were sitting in the Royal Box. Behind us, Empress Sorcha and Julian sat on their thrones. But I didn’t need her soothing touch to control the lightning sparking under my skin. I could control it myself. And I wasn’t worried about this fight.
Felix was going to stand back and let Cillian destroy Octavia. And judging by the way Cillian had been stomping around the villa since Julian had announced who he was sending to the arena, he was ready to show the full extent of his power.
I couldn’t wait to see it.
I glanced back at Julian, and he gave me a confident nod.
“And now!” Bacchus raised his scepter and purple magic beamed out of it, up to the hole in the curtain covering the top of the building. “Let the fight begin!”
His magic reversed an illusion spell up above, revealing Octavia, Felix, and Cillian trapped in individual nets of vines. Cillian was directly across from the Royal Box. Octavia and Felix were off to the other sides, so they were opposite one another.
The vines bound their bodies, from their necks down to their toes. Their hands were chained behind them, stuck inside bulky metal gloves that went up to their elbows.
“The gloves the champions are wearing were forged by Vulcan!” Bacchus announced as he floated over to watch from a safe spot above the crowd, within the boundary the gods had created to protect the audience. The orbs remained in the protective boundary, too. “They block the champions’ magic. Once they escape the vines, the gloves will unlock, and they’ll be able to use their powers!”
The crowd continued to cheer, and thick ropes of vines lowered the champions from the ceiling. They stopped once they were dangling about fifteen feet above the animals prowling below.
The three of them were already struggling to escape the vines. Cillian fought and contorted the most, his face twisting in anger as the vines tightened around his bulging muscles. He grunted and tried to push his way out of them, and they squeezed more.
Octavia struggled as well. Like Cillian, the vines around her tightened the more she fought.
Felix didn’t fight the trap at all. He was following through on his promise. He wasn’t going to escape, so Cillian and Octavia could face off one-on-one.
But unlike Cillian and Octavia’s traps, the vines around Felix relaxed. The ones around his neck unraveled completely. The ones directly below it did the same.
His face flashed in panic, and he thrashed about, trying to reach for the vines above him to hold onto them. At his sudden movement, the vines tightened, trapping him again. The ones that had already released him hung limply where they were, but the others fought back as he squirmed.
Cillian’s face was bright red. He was too caught up in trying and failing to break out of his trap using brute force to notice Felix.
Octavia wasn’t.
She closed her eyes and went completely still, like she was in a meditative state. It didn’t even look like she was breathing.
The vines unraveled one by one, starting with the ones around her neck and ankles.
Cillian was fighting so hard that his trap had twisted around, so his back was toward Octavia.
The gods knew he had a temper. They’d designed this competition against him.
My muscles tensed. Cillian needed to get ahold of himself so he could get free and take down Octavia. Instead, he screamed, so full of unbridled rage that one would have thought he could have ripped free of the vines with brute force if they didn’t keep getting tighter the harder he fought.
He was going to be choked unconscious if he kept this up.
Maybe that’ll be good. If he’s unconscious, the vines will let him go.
But then the wild animals would pounce. So no, going unconscious definitely wouldn’t be good for him.
Felix continued to squirm just enough to ensure the vines remained wrapped around him. He glanced back and forth between Cillian and Octavia, clearly realizing what was going on.
Tell Cillian to stop fighting! I thought. Tell him, so he can face off against Octavia!
I’d yell it myself if they’d be able to hear me. But the magic surrounding the arena prevented the champions from hearing anything that would affect the fight. Felix was the only one who could help Cillian.
But he said nothing.
It didn’t take long for the last vine to unwrap around Octavia. She landed perfectly on her feet, and her gloves unlocked, clattering to the ground.
She flexed her fists, her blue magic swirling around her hands and up her arms. The first of the wild animals—a lioness—pounced at her. But she held out her hands and flung an icicle straight into the lioness’s heart when it was midair. She stepped to the side, and the lioness crashed to the ground next to her, dead.
She fought animal after animal, warding them off two at once. Cillian—who’d missed seeing how she’d escaped—fought the vines harder and harder as he watched her take one animal out after the other. The vines dug deep into his skin, and his blood dripped onto the ground beneath him.
The scent distracted the remaining animals. Enough of them ran toward the puddle of blood that Octavia had time to hop onto one of the hilly mounds. Her magic swirled around her body, and she thrust it out, creating a wall of ice that circled her completely.
A tiger ran at the wall, and bounced backward. The ice didn’t even crack.
“Stay up there!” she yelled to Felix, who was still struggling the perfect amount to remain tied up by the vines without suffocating himself. “I’ve got this.”
He did as she asked. Which I couldn’t blame him for, since the gods hadn’t provided them with any weapons, and his magic couldn’t protect him from the beasts.
But why wasn’t he helping Cillian?
The answer slammed into me, and anger boiled in my blood. Felix had betrayed us. He was working with Octavia.
I never should have trusted that lying, arrogant jerk.
No longer having to worry about warding off the animals, Octavia faced Cillian, who was still struggling and bleeding in his trap. He thrashed harder as he tried to break free. His entire body was red from anger—and from being strangled.
She flung an icicle as long as a sword straight at him.
He was moving so much that it missed his heart and grazed his arm. It hit the magical boundary behind him that protected the crowd and shattered.
Octavia cursed and threw another icicle at him. It pierced his leg. The next was inches short from his head.
The fourth went straight through his heart.
Cillian went limp in the trap. The vines loosened and dropped him to the ground, his dead, mangled body landing in a heap on top of his spilled blood.
The animals leaped, ready to feast. But Bacchus’s purple magic struck them down, and they disappeared into piles of ashes. At the same time, Felix’s vines released him and dropped him to the ground, where he landed perfectly on his feet.
He refused to look at any of us sitting in the Royal Box.
Octavia hurried toward him, her face filled with worry as she examined him to make sure he was okay. As if it even mattered. Vejovis would heal any injuries they’d sustained in the fight.
A disgusted pit swirled in my stomach as I watched the concerned way Octavia touched Felix. He pulled her closer, cupping her face in his hands as he assured her he was all right and told her how amazing she’d been out there.
Hadn’t he been telling us how much he hated touching her only a few nights ago?
I glanced at Cassia. It was clear from the tears that she was brushing away that she felt a million times more betrayed than I did.
Bacchus drove his chariot in a celebratory circle and landed next to Cillian’s body. “Cillian—the chosen champion of Pluto—is officially out of the Games!” he said. “His soul is on its way to Elysium, where he’ll be honored as a god for all eternity. May his crossing to the Underworld be a peaceful one!”
“May his crossing to the Underworld be a peaceful one!” the crowd repeated in unison.
I sat there, empty, as I listened to their creepy chant. The Games had beaten me again.
But I was done sitting on the sidelines.
Octavia might have survived this week. But the Games were far from over.
Next week, I wanted her in the arena again.
And I intended to be in there with her, so I could take fate in my hands and knock her out of the Games once and for all.
11
Selena
“We never should have trusted Felix,” I said, snuggling into Julian’s arms after an emotionally charged repeat of the other night.
It was his final night in the suite. Tomorrow, the room would belong to whoever won the next Emperor of the Villa competition.
“Agreed.” He ran his fingers tenderly along my arm. “This should prove as a reminder that in the Games, we can only trust each other.”
“We can also trust Cassia,” I reminded him. “She’s my best friend in the Games.”
“I know she is.” He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “And I believe her allegiance to us is real. But we always have to be on the lookout. Even around the ones we trust.”
“Even when I’m around you?” I teased.
“Never.” His eyes burned with so much intensity that I nearly stopped breathing. “We’re soulmates. If I hurt you, it hurts me tenfold. I learned that the hard way when we met. I never want to do that to you again.”
I nodded, since I knew what he meant. The time before realizing Julian was my soulmate had been agonizing. At least now I understood why I felt the way I did.
I was falling in love with him. I’d been falling in love with him since the moment I’d first seen him.
It was such a relief to no longer need to resist it.
He tilted his head curiously. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.
I bit my lower lip, hesitant to share. Because yes, we were soulmates. But was love something that happened at first sight? Or did it grow to exist over time? I craved Julian’s touch, and I felt safe around him. But was that love? Or was it lust growing into love?
Was my confusion about this the reason why I wasn’t ready to give myself to him completely?
Before I could put my thoughts into words, someone knocked on the door.
We hurried to make ourselves presentable, and then Julian walked over to look through the peephole.
He threw the door open, scowling. “Felix,” he said, blocking the entrance so Felix couldn’t come in. “That was quite the show you put on in the arena.”
“You’re angry,” Felix said.
“You think?”
They stared at each other, neither one of them backing down. I clenched the comforter, reining in the urge to shoot a lightning bolt at Felix’s arrogant face.
“I can explain.” Felix stood taller to look over Julian’s shoulders. “Want to let me in?”
“No,” Julian said. “But I will. Just so you can amuse us with whatever lie you think we’d be foolish enough to believe.”
He stepped aside, and Felix strolled into the room, situating himself on the couch as comfortably as Venus had done when she’d stopped by a few days ago.
Julian slammed the door shut and sat at the foot of the bed. I joined him. It was two against one, and I was happy to make that clear.
“You’re working with Octavia.” I jumped straight to it. “You wanted her to win that competition.”
“You’re wrong,” he said. “I’m with our alliance of four. I came up here to make sure you knew that.”
“Our alliance is over,” Julian said. “But please. Humor us.”
“You have to understand,” Felix started. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“We always have choices,” I said. “And today, you mad
e the wrong one.”
“Will you please let me finish?”
Electricity crackled through me. But I took a deep breath and nodded, since the sooner Felix was out with it, the sooner he’d leave.
“Thank you.” He gave me a knowing smile that only made me angrier. “I swear I’m not with Octavia. But if I’d openly helped Cillian, Octavia’s entire side of the house would come after me. Possibly including Octavia, if Cillian didn’t beat her.”
“So you were saving your own skin,” I said flatly.
“Of course,” he said. “Can you blame me for wanting to stay alive?”
I said nothing, since no, I didn’t blame him for that. But it didn’t mean his point was valid.
“Cillian was strong,” Julian said. “If you’d told him how to escape the vines, he would have defeated Octavia. That was why I put you in there with them. So you’d let him do the dirty work for us.”
“It was never part of our deal that I’d openly help Cillian or go against Octavia,” Felix said. “I was supposed to sit back, do nothing, and let them duke it out. That’s exactly what I did by staying trapped in those vines.”
“You stayed trapped because you wouldn’t have survived against those animals,” I said.
“That’s true, and I’m confident enough about my myriad of other skills to admit it,” he said. “But again, I never went against our deal. I’m just as sorry that Octavia beat Cillian as the two of you are.”
“I highly doubt that,” I muttered.
“But you know I’m right,” he said smugly.
“I know what I saw out there,” I said. “You care about Octavia. You wanted her to win.”
“You think I enjoy touching her?” he snarled. “You think I’m looking forward to her coming to me tonight, wanting me to give myself to her again to celebrate her victory? You don’t like her, but at least you don’t have to pretend you do. At least using your powers against her doesn’t mean letting her use your body in any way that pleases her.”
The Faerie Mates (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 3) Page 4