by R. H. Scott
“Whatever Elijah asks for, remember you have a choice. You always have a choice,” she whispered, stepping away from him.
“Haven’t you realized it yet, Sloan?”
She stared at him quizzically, his beautiful eyes watching her pensively. She said nothing. This time it was he who sighed, a half smile on his beautiful face.
“Choices are the one thing we don’t have.”
The pod doors opened and Sloan stepped into Elijah’s living room. He was lying on his sofa, a book in his hands and an ice pack on his ribs. At her intrusion he dropped the book and struggled to sit upright.
“What are you doing here?”
She crossed her arms, watching him get up. “Jared is going to ask for you to be Dismissed.”
Elijah stared at her doubtfully. “No, he’s not allowed to. The worst he can do is send me to Review . . . or kill me in the ring.”
Sloan shook her head. “Apparently Stone lied—Jared said it’s been done before. So, are you going to back out of Fight Night now?”
“I . . . can’t,” he answered, his voice sullen.
How could you be so stupid? Fight Night is tomorrow and it could end in your execution.
Sloan suddenly felt exhausted by all this insanity. Jared wouldn’t listen, Elijah wouldn’t listen—there was nothing more she could do.
“You should know, I’m going to ask that no more students get Dismissed this year,” she added, finally revealing her Winnings request to someone other than Stone.
Elijah looked up at her hopefully. “Would that save me from Jared’s Winnings then?”
She shook her head. “No, Winnings are granted to all Winners—I imagine if they grant my request, you would be the last one Dismissed, a way of appeasing both Jared and me—if we win,” she added politely.
His face dropped. “Okay . . . but, Sloan, you really shouldn’t risk upsetting the Order with that kind of request.”
She wasn’t worried—she knew what she was doing. The Order would view her request as an undermining of their authority; they would have to yield power to grant it. Romani would be beyond angry and it would destroy whatever image the Order had of her. It would cement her newfound standing as an outsider. But as far as she was concerned, they had it coming. How could they not see the risk in creating students as dangerous as herself, as Jared, as Elijah, and then provoking them into anger?
“I want you to know something else,” she added, leaning against the wall. He stood and walked over to her, crossing the room in quick strides.
“If—by some miracle—you win Fight Night, I will never love you, I will never be with you the way you would want me to be, I will not be anything more than someone you share a roof with.”
“Sloan—” he began but she cut him off.
“You think I could ever love someone who views me as a trophy?”
“You love Jared,” he shot back.
She slapped him clean across the face and turned to leave.
“Wait!” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “I didn’t mean to say that . . . but I can’t back out of Fight Night. It’s all gone too far now—Jared will ask for my Dismissal in this fight, or the next, or the one after that. And he doesn’t need to fight me in order to ask for it as Winnings, and even then, you know it as well as I do, he would probably try to kill me outside of the ring.
“There’s not another student here who stands a chance of beating him. At least this way, I have a chance of saving my own life.”
Sloan pulled her arm from him—she finally understood. They had created a cyclic feud, spurred by the Calling. Jared was convinced that if he backed out, Elijah would fight whomever and ask for her to be given to him, and at least this way, Jared stood a fighting chance of keeping her and killing Elijah to prevent him from coming for her again. In turn, Elijah, even if he swore he didn’t want her, had already convinced Jared of the contrary, and fighting was his only chance of not winding up dead. If Jared backed out, Elijah would still take her in Winnings; if Elijah backed out, Jared would still get him Dismissed.
What if he could convince Jared, though? If he could convince him he would leave her alone.
“He’s only trying to get you killed because you want me—prove to him that’s not the case anymore, stop wanting me,” she reasoned.
He shook his head at her sadly. “I would rather die.”
Sloan stepped away from him. “Elijah, I don’t love you,” she told him firmly.
He shrugged. “According to the Calling—you were born to love me.”
She shook her head, backing up to the pod doors. “You can go to hell, Elijah. You and Jared both . . .”
Sloan stepped into the pod, ignoring Elijah’s muffled objections as the doors closed around her. She turned, catching her reflection in the mirror. She studied her face thoughtfully. Her golden hair fell around her milky face. Her full lips were a deep red; her yellow eyes a slow burning fire. She shook her head, clenching her fists. Was this a face worth dying for—worth killing for? She lashed out, punching the mirror. Her reflection shattered, and she found peace in seeing herself appear as broken as she felt.
CHAPTER 6
Once again the hall had been transformed, except tonight, it was not the romantic, gold-lit room befitting a Betrothal Calling. Tonight, it was showing its true purpose: an epic stadium apt for Fight Night. A grand boxing ring was set up in the middle, with large dimensions to host two simultaneous fights, separated by ropes. Blue and white lights shone out across the room, flickering and dancing over the crowd, seated in viewing stands that now circled the giant ring. A viewing box had been craned above the stands, a panel for the Order to officiate from.
Sloan ducked into General Stone’s office, avoiding the crowd of students. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this nervous . . . this helpless. She prayed that one of them, Jared or Elijah, would be brave enough to change their requested Winnings, and that it would influence the other to follow suit. She had wanted to speak to Jared last night, after speaking with Elijah, to tell him she understood the trouble he was in, that she understood he wouldn’t back out of the fight in order to keep her. But she hadn’t been allowed back in the Infirmary, since Jared had instructed the nurses to ensure he had no visitors.
More than anything she hoped he changed his mind about sending Elijah to Dismissal, but Sloan couldn’t help but feel torn between what she had learned in the past few weeks and this new information. Jared was still the sort of person who would send another to their death. Did it change anything, knowing he was doing it for her? Perhaps just as important, was he doing it solely for her, after everything he had said to make her believe she was little more than a trophy?
Pacing, she caught her reflection in the mirrored glass of Stone’s window. Her golden hair was pulled tightly back, her skin seemed pale, her narrow jaw and slender nose shadowed, her cheeks gaunt; and her yellow eyes seemed to burn too bright—filled with anxious anticipation. Her whole life was about to come crumbling down around her. If Jared won, he was a monster who killed another student; if Elijah won, he was a selfish traitor who forced her into his union.
Either way, she wasn’t winning.
Taking a seat, she readjusted the strapping on her hands and ankles, tightened the drawstring on her shorts and ran her fingers under the elastic of her sports bra. She pulled at the makeshift necklace she had formed—a strap of leather from which Jared’s ring now hung.
“Nervous about the fight?” Stone’s voice startled her. She turned to see him in the doorway.
“Not mine.” She shrugged. He walked around the desk, taking his seat opposite her.
“Well, it’s yours you need to concentrate on, because I have heard bad things about what Maya Woods is asking for . . .”
Sloan waited expectantly for details.
Ston
e shook his head wearily. “She’s going to ask for Daniels to go to Dismissal too.”
Sloan was shocked. “What? Why—he trained her!”
Stone raised his brow. “Forgotten just how much sway Jared has over people when he wants to?”
How could he have convinced her of this—and why? Maya was no real contender for Sloan, so was it just to rattle her, or to hurt Elijah?
She shook her head, readjusting her hair band. “Well, it’s a good thing Woods isn’t in the same league as me then.”
Stone nodded slowly. He leaned back in his seat and loosened the collar on his formal uniform.
“Sir, aren’t you supposed to be up in the box, watching the juniors fight?”
He shook his head. “One fight is already in the bag; the other is being dragged out—I needed a break . . . and I needed to check in on you.”
Sloan didn’t understand. “On me? Why?”
He arched his brow, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “You’re coming undone, kid.”
She sat back in her chair, leaning away from him.
“The other day, Fight Night Prep, you completely lost it . . . and I get it. You’re pissed off at the world. And you proved your point—no one can control you when you’re doing your thing—but you’ve got me worried.”
Sloan felt awkward. She didn’t want him to worry but she also didn’t want to be harangued about her recent behavior. She hadn’t started any of this—they had.
She shrugged. “All I am is what this place made me—that’s all you’re seeing.”
Stone stood, walking around the desk. “If you really believe that then you aren’t giving yourself enough credit, Radcliffe.”
He paused, briefly touching her shoulder. “Good luck out there tonight.” She remained seated as he walked out of the room.
She couldn’t think about Stone’s feelings on her recent volatility—she needed to concentrate on Fight Night. She knew that Elijah needed to win. If he won, she would have to live with him for a year, but after Departing Ceremonies, she could find Jared. Sure, it was unsanctioned, but she didn’t care—she loved him. If Jared won tonight, it would destroy her image of him, and it would end Elijah’s life. She stood; she needed to go find Jared.
She knew as she stepped out of the office, crossing through an onslaught of lights and noises, that she and Daniels had the advantage walking into this Fight Night—they were fighting for his life. Winning had never been more important.
Jared, Elijah and Maya stood in silence, separated by Major West, out in the corridor. She went straight up to Jared. “Could we talk for a minute?”
He raised his brow at her, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Reluctantly, he took a few steps away from the others, yielding to her request. She stood close to him, wanting to keep her words private. She took a deep breath and reached for him, resting her hand on his shoulder.
“I understand now . . . I understand why you’re afraid of backing out tonight, but if you ask for anything else, I swear I will fix this—I will find a way to stay yours.”
He shook his head down at her. “He’ll never stop, Sloan. I’ve got to do this.”
Sloan knew he was right—Elijah wouldn’t stop—but that didn’t mean he should die. She wasn’t worth his life. “We can find another way to get through this. Please reconsider.”
“He’ll be gone by daybreak and we won’t ever have to worry about this again.”
He seemed to not even be listening to her—he was so fixated on Elijah taking her that he didn’t even realize he was pushing her away.
She perched up on her toes and kissed his forehead. “I love you,” she breathed against his skin, holding on to him for the longest moment.
She thought back to the night of their Calling, of her promise to him. I’m yours . . . forever. Forever had been reduced to thirty seconds before a fight, their future dashed with fear and blood and a championship title. He just didn’t realize it yet.
“I love you too.”
She turned from Jared, reluctantly letting go of him to face Maya. The girl was chewing her lips, wringing her hands and bounding on her heels—she was nervous. Sloan crossed her arms, glaring at her.
“Is it true—what you’re asking for in Winnings?”
Maya shrugged, still defiantly bold despite her nerves. “Yeah, it’s true.”
Sloan shook her head at the girl. “Big mistake, Woods, big mistake.” For having ever thought it was okay to ask for something like that, for getting involved where she shouldn’t be, Sloan was going to make this process painful.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Maya said, but she instinctively stepped away from Sloan.
Sloan eyed her up and down. No, you’re not afraid . . . you’re terrified.
Before she could say anything more, the loud booming voice of Marshal Romani reverberated from the hall into the corridor. “Presenting your Senior Fight Night contenders—reigning champion, Captain Jared Dawson!”
West opened the door and Jared jogged through it, taking one last lingering look back at Sloan. Please, please change your mind. She willed that he could, like he had been able to so many times before, read her thoughts. She wanted to run after him, to tackle him, to force him to be better than this . . . but she wouldn’t take his free will away—she wouldn’t do to him what he was doing to her.
“For the first time, presenting Second Lieutenant Maya Woods!” Romani’s voice surrounded them. Sloan’s heart was racing. Maya shoved past her and ran through the door.
She and Elijah were next.
“Woods is asking for your Dismissal,” she told him, taking her stand next to him. He shot a shocked look at her.
“I don’t plan on letting her get you killed—now you just ensure Jared doesn’t succeed either . . . He doesn’t block well on his left, and do not get him on the floor—he will win on the floor,” she told him plainly.
He stared down at her with confusion. A year of misery for her, if Elijah won, would never compare to him losing his life. She felt rushed. Even though this night had been advancing on them all term, she suddenly felt flustered.
“ . . . Captain Elijah Daniels and reigning champion Lieutenant Sloan Radcliffe!”
Elijah smiled down at her nervously. “That’s us.”
“Get out there.” West hurried them, holding the door open. Elijah jogged in and she slowly trudged after him.
“Sloan!” Elijah called, circling back to her in the dark. Violet lights streaked over them and, just as suddenly, left them standing in the pitch black behind the stands.
“What?”
“In case I don’t win.” He shrugged, and before she knew what was happening, he had kissed her. As quickly as it had begun it ended. He released her just in time for the lights to land on them, so that no one ever saw what she had never expected.
She ducked through the ropes, entering her side of the ring. The crowd went wild, the majority of them simply excited to see a champion Fight Night. Missing from her usual applause were the once-distinct hollers from Mika, Erica and the rest of 27. She watched Jared and Elijah strip off their shirts, discarding them to their corners, warranting further howls from the rowdy crowd. Both boys had strapped their ribs, indicating neither had yet to fully heal. She shot a final, pleading glance towards Jared. He looked back, offering her a helpless shrug.
As the crowd quieted down, lights landed on the Order, illuminating Marshal Romani. Sloan looked up to General Stone—he was watching her keenly. Romani leaned into the microphone. “Hello, senior contenders. Welcome! We thank you for your willing participation this evening. Now, let’s get down to business!”
He cleared his throat, resting his chin on his white-gloved hand. “Let us hear from our senior girls first. Second Lieutenant Woods, what would you like to request as your Winning
s should you manage to defeat your champion?”
Sloan watched Maya shift nervously from foot to foot. She had never been in a Fight Night. Having to address the Order was nerve-wracking enough, but doing it in front of the entire Academy—especially with such a heinously intended request—would be enough to scare anyone.
Anyone except Jared.
“I would like to ask . . . I would like my Winnings to be that . . . I mean . . .” Maya stumbled on her words.
“Any day now, Second Lieutenant,” Romani advised impatiently. Sloan smiled at the girl’s inability to express her disgusting request.
“I would ask that Elijah Daniels be Dismissed,” she finally spat out, her voice small but determined.
Her demand quieted the hall—the Academy was in shock. The Order would have had some inclination as to what she was going to ask for; after all, Stone already knew. Whispers began to fill the large room. Sloan watched the Order speak amongst themselves as the crowds of students began to speculate. Sloan enjoyed seeing the unimpressed reaction of the Academy—she hoped it showed Maya how vile her request truly was.
“Thank you for your request, Second Lieutenant.” Romani smiled.
Sloan shook her head in disgust. You’re really going to grant it, then, aren’t you?
Romani leaned back into the microphone. “Champion Lieutenant, welcome back to the ring.” As he spoke, he leaned forward to stare down at her from his box.
Sloan held his stare, uncomfortable as he made her. “Thank you,” she managed through gritted teeth.
“What will you be requesting this evening, Lieutenant?”