by Kenna Bardot
The Sutre God from before, Rehan, walked forward from where he had observed the whole. He held out his hands to quiet the crowd. He turned to us and nodded. "Competitors, these are your judges. The Challenges you will face have been of their design. Impress them and they may yet be your ally."
He turned towards them and the green-haired female God, a Leven, who sat in the middle, gave him a tiny bow. He nodded and spoke to us, "Begin."
My competitors surged forward, and I moved to follow. As the others made their way into the valley, I finally saw what waited for us in the pit. A complex web of challenges, paths crossing over one another and built on top of each other. The bottom rung had thin beams stretched across a pit where Anguid monsters stretched up and threatened to rip the competitors off the beams.
Huge, hulking snakes that were larger than people, Anguid were the stuff of legends. They could swallow a person whole and still have room for more.
I gulped, drawing the dagger from the holster on my thigh and looking around as the bravest competitor took to trying to fight off the Anguid with his sword. Layla stared at them in horror, seeming to realize her bow and arrow wouldn't be so helpful for combat quite that close.
My eyes landed on the Titanum flowers in the distance. Darting for them, I held my breath and cut the flower off the stem. The smell of the pollen threatened to make me gag, but I smashed the pollen and sap from the stem in the mortar and pestle from my pack. Once I'd formed a paste, I coated my hands in it and rubbed it all over my body, regardless of the stench.
When I made my way back to the beams, the people who had not yet braved passage stared at me in revulsion. I didn't care. Stepping onto my beam, I crossed slowly, balancing on the thin surface precariously. Alerted by the sound, the blind Anguid's stared at me with blank, unseeing eyes. Occasionally one came close, its hot, rancid breath puffing against my cheek before they hurried away.
Nobody wanted to eat something that smelled like a rotten corpse.
I landed on the other side of the beam at the same time Ryder finished hacking his way through with his axe. Our eyes connected briefly, and I wondered if he might kill me - dispose of his competition.
He thought a moment before smiling briefly. "I won't go against the blessings of three Descendants." I nodded back to him, letting him take the lead into whatever the next obstacle might be. Behind us, contestants lathered themselves in the Titanum flower as best they could without their own mortar and pestle. I smirked, continuing.
Who could have known a knowledge of plants would save my life?
Ryder eyed the wall in front of us in distaste but used his axe to hoist himself up. Each step he climbed, he hacked at the wall of vines, got his footing, and repeated the process. I watched him momentarily, realizing people were catching up on the beams.
Then I climbed. Quickly. For once, being smaller was an advantage, I didn't have to be as cautious as Ryder and wonder what would hold my weight, because the vines could hold me. Years of surviving in the barren North with less food than I needed worked to my advantage. Thorns dug into my hands, but mostly, the calluses of working with thorns all my life protected me from the worst of the injuries I could have sustained. My forearms bled, scraped to shit from the points, but I climbed anyway. When I reached the top, Ryder heaved himself up and his axe clattered to the top as he tried to pull himself over. I reached down, giving him a hand that he eyed warily before taking it. Together, we hauled him to the top.
"Why would you help me?" he asked.
I looked up at him with a smile. "Because I don't like to go first," I admitted with a shrug, making him laugh.
"I'm your test?"
"Maybe," I agreed with a chuckle. We turned forward, facing the platform where a massive Roc perched. The bird clacked its beak at us, and Ryder hefted his axe into his arm defensively. The bird was secured, protecting an icy passage underneath it. Small and narrow, a person would need to crawl underneath to get through.
"It's not exactly fair if I kill it for you," he teased.
I turned a smile up to him, digging my hand into my pocket of sand. When I had a big handful, I was ready and took a deep breath. "So kill it for yourself."
I bolted forward, racing at the bird as it screeched at me. I threw my weight to the ice at the last second, tossing sand into the monster's face as I slid underneath the platform smoothly. Huffing a laugh as my body came to a stop, I spun my body around and pulled myself to the other side, appreciative for all those times I'd gathered night lilies and gotten familiar with navigating on ice. Dagger in hand and ready to fight, I emerged at the other side, finding Ryder grinning down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Neat trick, Northerner," he teased, darting off.
I stood, eyes going to where the Roc still screeched and cawed. How he'd gotten past, I had no clue, but he'd left it alive for the others to deal with.
"You could have helped me up, asshole!" I accused, racing after him.
"I have no qualms about going first!"
The second wall wasn't constructed out of vines, but sharp, pointed stones.
Because we were meant to bleed. Ryder grunted when one scraped his neck, and I followed him up. I could see people struggling with the bird behind us, and I knew it was only a matter of time before they killed it. There were too many of them for one bird. I tried to push away any pity I might have felt for the hideous beast.
From the angle half elevated on the wall, I could see the top of the platform was also made of ice. Hopefully, it would slow them down. Ryder seemed to realize the same thing, hustling to climb up slightly ahead of me. He paused at the top, and for a moment I thought he might have been waiting to help me. But as soon as I hauled myself over the edge, I knew it was because he needed help.
There was an intricate iron gate blocking our path, and the gate was a seamless design of gears all disconnected that needed to be reworked and rearranged to open. I nodded to him, darting forward and starting to twist and shift the gears on the right while he worked on the left. Working from the edges in, we twisted.
My fingers bled, the sharp metal digging into my skin. Blood dripped down Ryder's fingers as he pushed through it, and eventually we met in the middle. Twisting the centerpiece until it all connected, we watched as the entire thing twisted and turned. Then the doors opened, and we made our way through. On the other side I paused, turning back to find people starting to climb over the top of the wall. I drew my swords from my back, kicked the doors closed, and shoved the swords down between the gears. I used the swords to twist the locking mechanism and left the swords there knowing it would take me too long to free them and joined Ryder as he strode forward. The last wall was solid wood with ropes dangling. We both grabbed a rope, propping our feet against the wall and leaned back to use our body weight as leverage to walk up the wall.
Ryder had better upper body strength and reached the top before me, setting to cutting the ropes with his axe. When he got to mine, he gave me an unapologetic shrug. "Sorry, Mireyah."
Snatching my dagger out of my thigh holster, I flung my weight to the wall and shoved the dagger into the wall just as he cut my rope. My face bashed against the wall, my cheekbone feeling like it cracked against the surface, but I was fortunate enough to be close enough to the top that I could reach up and heave myself over the ledge. I stood on shaking feet, striding for the finishing platform where Ryder grinned at me like he was so proud to beat me.
"Congratulations, Mireyah Bolstad," the Majele God drawled from the sideline.
The Sutre God nodded to me, "Yes, congratulations. You've survived the First Challenge."
I grinned darkly, even knowing I must look like a psycho. I vowed that in the Second Challenge, I'd leave Ryder to fall to his death. He seemed to understand my look, nodding back at me.
My eyes met Hollis' in the seats, and he smiled at me with wide eyes.
I hadn't cared about finishing first. All I wanted was to survive, but I knew finishing second
was something to be proud of. Knew I'd shocked everyone who had expected me to die.
They had no way of knowing that my will to prove them wrong was stronger than the other challengers' will to survive.
And I would continue to do just that.
✽✽✽
Rather than use the bathroom in my room, I'd immediately gone to the public ones. I didn't want to be in my room where I was so uncomfortable. I'd wanted to break and knew it would be the perfect opportunity for all those who hated that I'd bested them in the challenge that had just finished.
So, I'd stolen into the servants' showers in the Cleaning area and stolen a stall to take my shower. I got away with it and just because everyone else was busy having lunch or doing their duties. No one took a shower at that time of the day.
As I walked back towards my room to steal a clean uniform, I felt every single pain in my body. My fingers were a brutal mess of broken nails and torn skin, my hands and arms covered in scratches and gouges from the thorns of the vine wall. My cheekbone was stained purple and swollen from the impact to the wall, though I was certain I was fortunate enough it only bruised.
I'd been both lucky and done well.
Very well.
Perhaps too well, as it only served to further isolate me from the other competitors. I didn't care, but I did care that they'd all have it out for me in the future. Though I suspected Ryder's mistreatment at the end of the Challenge had confirmed the fact that they'd mostly be out to kill anyway.
The death of one of the humans had hit hard. The first casualty of nine, apparently, he'd tried to cut his way through the Anguids, and hadn't had the skill to back it up and keep his balance at the same time. He who had been Garnet Prior. The eighth who had been chosen.
My sunburst suit lay draped over my arm as I dragged my ass back to my bedroom, desperate to collapse onto the mattress and never wake up. Perhaps I could sleep there now.
Perhaps not.
Groaning when I saw the small group standing outside my room, I thought about curling up in some hidden corner. But then I'd be unprotected, and I didn't trust them not to slit my throat while I slept at this point.
"You impressed with yourself, new girl?" Annalee sneered at me as she saw me approaching.
Sighing, I tried to make my way through them to get to my door, only to have Layla grasp me around the shoulder and spin me to face them. "What did we tell you about remembering your place? You do not get to make us look bad."
"I think you did that all on your own. I can't help that I was well-equipped to handle the Challenge. Maybe the next one will play to your skills. Which are what again?"
"You stupid-"
"Maybe, if you sucked less Descendant cock, you'd be more ready for what the Challenges throw your way."
She threw me a smug, superior look. "Fucking Gods is what will make me a Goddess," she tormented, licking her bottom lip.
I laughed. "You have to get to Sylfe first, but who knows? Maybe the next Challenge will be an orgy. Seems plausible. I'm sure you'll all do just swimmingly in that one."
"You don't seem like you're doing too badly on that front, given the suit they gave you," one of the other girls accused.
"And yet, they gave me this without ever sticking a dick in my pussy. So you're right, I guess I am doing well." I scoffed, turning away from my room. I'd wander aimlessly through the halls until they left. Nothing was worth continuing with that conversation.
"You're dead, you know that right?" Annalee asked, making me pause in my steps.
"Tell Char I said thanks for the Blessing," I shot her way, watching as the words landed as effectively as I'd hoped. Then I continued down the hall. The hand that didn't hold the suit dragged along the stone wall, even though the roughness made my fingers throb. It was one of those moments where I needed the pain, needed to remember what I was fighting for.
The pain reminded me of my family, brought the crushing loss of them to the surface. I knew if I died; they lost their payments. At least if I could make it to Sylfe, I could extend the money longer. Every little bit helped them. Honestly, if it weren't for them, I'd probably just quit. It might be preferable to dealing with all the bullshit drama with the Descendants and the humans hating me.
I bumped into a wall, jolting back and realizing I'd been stumbling around with only half-opened eyes. The wall reached out arms to steady me, and I blinked the sleep away to stare up into Tate's silver eyes. I blushed, thinking of how that pretty face had been all up in my pussy earlier in the morning.
He smirked down at me, knowing where my thoughts had strayed. "What's wrong with you?"
"Tired," I murmured, pressing my face into his chest and inhaling his rich, earthy scent. Delirium had clearly settled in, and I was just desperate to be warm.
"So why aren't you in bed?" he murmured, and those strong arms wrapped around my waist. I let myself pretend, just for a moment, that he cared. That this wasn't just another one of his games.
"Annalee and her friends blocking door," I mumbled.
"Are they why you haven't been sleeping?"
I nodded. Exhaustion was breaking down walls and barriers, and I told him the thing I swore I never would, "Someone stabbed a knife through my red belt, the one from Hollis, on my nightstand while I slept."
He growled, tucking me into his side and turning to walk me down the hall. "Come on. You can sleep with me tonight, so no one bothers you."
"You gonna violate me while I sleep?" I murmured, stumbling over my own feet. Only Tate's grip on my waist kept me upright.
His door came quickly thankfully, and before I knew it, he was tucking me into his bed. I didn't even care that I still wore my dress. I wouldn't have had the energy to take it off even if I'd wanted to sleep naked.
As soon as his arms wrapped around me from behind and snuggled me back against his chest, I was dead to the world. "Just sleep, Mireyah. That's all you need to do."
Chapter 15
Mireyah
I jolted to sitting, my lungs heaving with the shock of the door bursting open.
"What the fuck, man," Tate growled. "She was finally sleeping, and you just fucking scared her awake."
The shadow with the light against its back moved inside, closing the door behind him and plunging us back into darkness. "Why is she in here? I went to her room, and she wasn't there."
"The other competitors are threatening to kill her in her sleep," Tate drawled. "I told her I'd keep her safe tonight."
I remembered that had happened, vaguely as if through a fog. I had been so tired I hadn't protested. Now, finding myself in this situation, I knew it had been a mistake to admit it to him, to expose my vulnerability in that way. Tate dragged me to my side, pulling me back into the middle of his huge bed. I closed my eyes, my body remembering exactly just how tired it felt as if weights were suddenly placed on my limbs. Everything went heavy as the exhaustion crept back in.
"So, you just rolled her into your bed like the shit you are," Shep accused, snapping at Tate with threat in his voice.
"Too loud," I protested. I was so fucking tired, and everything hurt. I whimpered when another body climbed into the bed and shifted me until my injured cheek rested on a bare chest.
"Fuck, sorry," Shep whispered, and my brain finally fully wrapped around the fact that it was him when the scent of fresh rain hit my lungs. Suddenly two sets of hands worked to turn me over, and the uninjured side of my face rested on Tate's chest. Shep wrapped his body around mine, tugging me into him. "You did so well today, Snow. So fucking well."
I hummed in response, making him chuckle. Seeming to accept that I was mostly dead to him, he turned his attention back to Tate. "Nobody touches her," he hissed. "Nobody but the five of us."
"Uh oh, getting possessive, are we Tempestas?"
I was so comfortable, so warm, safe.
I knew logically, I shouldn't have felt safe. Not with the two of them.
But I did.
I never wanted to sleep
alone again.
"Be happy I'm sharing her at all. I'm getting a little fond of the brat." Shep grumbling good-naturedly.
"I heard that," I mumbled, making Tate chuckle.
"Go back to sleep, Mireyah. We'll keep you safe tonight."
I snuggled closer. "Will you go back to hating me in the morning?"
I must have been delirious, because I could have sworn I heard him murmur a response, "We never hated you."
But that couldn't have been possible, because they'd made it very clear they did from the very start.
✽✽✽
Tate
I was tired and my body craved release from all the stress it had been in the last few days. The last few years to be honest. The time to fight for Ascension was coming and the last twenty-five years of biding my time as a Descendant would soon follow.
Or so I hoped.
If it did not, they might force me to kill someone.
I knew Ryle felt the same way - tense and taut. Ready to take that next step even as we feared what would happen to us when we had to leave the confines and comforts of Godsvail.
There was nothing more I wanted than to sink into a female form. The problem remained that the only female form I wanted slept next to me night after night, and I could not touch her. Not if I wanted my friends - my brothers, essentially, to keep their faith in me.
But it was getting harder and harder to stop myself.
"This room is filthy," Char declared in his usual voice. Dead, toneless and cold.
Frightening.
It was that same voice, that attitude and icy anger that had helped cement us in our position as the top of the school.
But sometimes, he acted like a child.
"So ask your damned attendant to clean it," I shot out impatiently, stretching out to take one of the books I needed to study.
Where my brother was strong in the art of the physical, my power lay in the emotions. And unless I was very much mistaken, Char was very close to exploding.