Impure

by Kenna Bardot

  "And you think they won't tire of you?" she shrieked.

  I held up a hand. "Of course, they will. I think they're likely to get tired soon. That or the Challenge ends. Either way, they'll be out of my life, and I'll be out of theirs. I would say you’re free to them, but you’ll most likely be dead too." I laughed in her face a second before her boot hit me directly in the gut.

  Maybe it was a testament to how tired I was when I crumpled to the ground.

  "Ha. You're not even strong enough to stand."

  I didn't argue with her because my head rung from how I'd hit the hard floor. The stone was rough and a dark grey. It smelled, strangely of moss and soup. I’d never noticed that before.

  "Y'all have your turn with her now. But make sure not to do anything to ugly up her face. They seem fond of it for whatever reason, and we don’t want to incur that wrath.”

  "Ugh." Maude groaned. "She's already ugly."

  "Well, yes, but they seem to like it." Annalee chuckled and nudged me on the side with the tip of her boot.

  "Fine." She walked over and bent down so I could still see her face. There was such a look of twisted joy on her face as she moved out of my line of vision. A foot stomped hard directly onto my hand. The crunching sound was sickening as it echoed in my ears.

  I took a sharp inhale of breath even as my vision blurred. I curled up into a ball that did nothing to stop the pain as I was attacked from all sides.

  Someone kicked me directly in the ribs and someone else stepped on my knee. All the breath left my body.

  And all that enveloped me was darkness as my thoughts descended to that night. When the pain had been worse because I’d been led to believe that I’d wanted it.

  And it was even worse.

  ✽✽✽

  I woke up as someone shook my shoulder, hard. I winced when the motion reminded me just how much pain I was in. I opened my eyes, cursing my vision and waiting for it to sharpen as I could barely distinguish the face in front of me.

  "Are you okay, Mireyah?" I knew that voice. I tried to remember who it belonged to but since it didn't bring out fear in me, I imagined it was someone friendly.

  When my vision cleared, I saw Svane, and I smiled. My face didn't hurt, which was a relief but what Annalee had said came back to me. Good of them to stick to her orders and not hurt my face. I reached out and grabbed Svane's shoulder. "Hey, Svane. I'm fine. Can you help me up?"

  "Sure." She stood and wrapped her arm around me gently, pulling and got me to a standing position. I grimaced at the pull on my fingers. They felt swollen and unless I was very much mistaken, at least one of them was broken.

  I winced the moment I put weight on my right foot. My ankle felt like it did when sprained and, not to mention, my back ached.

  "Thanks." I patted her shoulder. "But you can't be seen with me, or they'd beat you up too. I'm a pariah, didn't you know?"

  "I think you're great! You're doing so well in the Challenge." The Challenge. Damn, the third one was coming up and getting injured so close to it was not the best thing for me or my chances of surviving.

  Since I could barely stand anymore, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. "Really, I can take it from here. It was nice of you to come along and wake me up before someone else saw me."

  "Anytime, Mireyah. Are you sure?"

  I cracked my eyes open to see her peering at me worriedly. I tried to smile at her, worried that it came out as a wince. "Yes, I'm sure. Thank you. Believe me, thank you."

  She gave me a skeptical look before nodding. "Okay then, see you around."

  The moment I heard her scurry off, I muttered an oath and reached up to touch my ribs.

  Yes, one of those broken as well.

  I looked down the hallway to check how far away I was and realized that not only did it seem like so fucking far away, but I realized that I still had a flight of stairs to battle.

  "Shit."

  ✽✽✽

  "Ugh, fuck." Just a few doors down from Hollis' room I stopped again, leaning against the dark wood wall before taking a huge gulp of air.

  "Gods, spare me," I whispered under my breath as I tried to walk as straight as I could. I was determined that the guys would not see just how injured I was.

  I sent up a million thanks when I finally reached the door to Hollis' suite of rooms. Getting there felt like scaling Demiorgo and I was damned proud of myself for making it.

  "Sorry I'm late," I announced the minute I entered, and I really was because only Shep was with Hollis, which meant the others had probably left.

  They looked up when I entered, and I tried to pin a bright smile on my face.

  "I got caught up." I took a normal step forward and couldn't help but limp slightly. I could only pray that they didn't notice.

  Or at least not mention it.

  "The others had stuff to do, but we stayed behind to ensure you were okay. We were actually about to check on you." Shep stood and stepped closer to me.

  I waved at him vaguely. "Thanks, but you didn't have to bother, really. I'd get here eventually as you can see.” I pulled down the sleeve of my jacket to show them my bracelet. “I'm really not going to escape."

  "You considered it at some point," Hollis pointed out and for a Descendant, a supposedly superior being, these males were still very much like mortal human men with their frail emotions.

  "So, I did. I'm human. Humans get tempted. Now can I please clean this damn room?"

  I turned around and straightened the furniture, but Hollis walked forward to stop me. He turned me towards him, and I couldn't help but wince at the abruptness of the motion.

  "What did you do to yourself, Mireyah?" Hollis peered at me up and down.

  "Nothing. Life in Godsvail just happened, Sir Hollis." I tried to shrug away from his touch, but it ended up jarring my sore shoulder and I winced. "Ouch!"

  "This isn't what going about your normal day does to you, Mireyah." He turned my hand around and he was gentle this time around as he peered down at it.

  "Your hands are swollen." He took my face in his hands. "Tell us what happened."

  Shep walked forward and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  I took a sharp breath, because I knew I could not escape. I knew that for all I felt about them, there were things I could not deny.

  "If you don't want to tell us, we won't force it out of you. We won't force you to do anything anymore." Hollis caressed the side of my face and the motion calmed me enough to have me close my eyes.

  "Say that again?" I asked because I refused to believe it.

  "No more coercion," Shep whispered, and I opened my eyes to look at theirs.

  There was no fog, no nausea. Just these two Descendants and me and, for the first time, a clarity in my brain. "Okay. I believe you." I took a moment to make my decision and took a leap. "It was Annalee and a bunch of her friends. They assaulted me in the hallway.” I reached up and touched my face. "But not my face. They made a point of not doing anything to my face."

  "Not a redeeming thing, darling." Hollis turned and snapped at Shep, "Call Charolais and tell him what his stupid, useless attendant has done."

  "With pleasure. Can I please trap her in a tornado?"

  Hollis let out a bark of laughter. "Not enough. I'll have her fuck an Anguid, then maybe it'll eat her after."

  I laughed and dropped down onto a chair when it reminded me of my very much broken rib.

  "Stay there, you're not cleaning."

  I let out a relieved breath.

  Thank fuck.

  Chapter 21

  Mireyah

  I didn’t feel ready, and by the look on some of my competitors’ faces, I wasn’t the only one.

  Annalee stared blankly ahead, her normally bright, excited eyes nothing but exhausted. I had to wonder what might have happened for her to be so lost to her circumstances it looked like she hadn’t slept the night before a challenge. The night before failure could mean her death.

  Her bla
ck suit hugged her petite frame, stressing her curves, but there was something in her body language that hinted at her pain. A slump to her shoulders.

  My eyes drifted down her bare arms, taking in the bruises on her wrists, and the swelling in her hands. Swelling that matched what mine had looked like at some point. Her shoulder was bruised, a nearly identical mark to the one nearly gone from my shoulder. Her injuries were a replica of my own, I realized with horror.

  There was no doubt in my mind that Annalee deserved it, for all the pain and torment she had caused me, but also for all the others she had hurt in her mission to Ascend. But it didn't sit well with me to think the guys had touched her, even to hurt her. It was ridiculous, I shouldn't have felt bad for her, and I shouldn’t have felt jealous that they’d touched her enough to harm her.

  But I did.

  I stepped up beside her, taking her hand in mine and turning it over to inspect her injuries.

  "You should bandage this one," I whispered, trying not to draw attention to us. I knew she wouldn't want her punishment to be public knowledge, and while there would be no chance of the others missing it, I also wouldn't announce it for her.

  "What do you care?" she hissed, snatching her hand back and wincing from the pain even though I released it immediately. "This is your fault. Everything was perfect until you came along. You ruined them. Ruined everything!" Her voice raised briefly, then she quieted and turned her eyes away with a nervous quiver to her lips. "Char was supposed to care for me. See that I would have value as a wife. After he Ascended, he would come to Sylfeshire for me." Tears gathered in her eyes, which she wiped away with a quickly swiping motion.

  "He wasn't monogamous, Annalee," I whispered in disbelief. "He was always sleeping with other Descendants and using other humans. Why would you think those are the actions of someone who will make you his wife?"

  She straightened her shoulders, glaring at me. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. We're just humans. The Gods treat Sylfes differently. They're-"

  "Toys," I interjected. "Playthings kept in a manor where the Gods come to play when it suits them."

  "They choose their husbands and wives from the Sylfes. How can you think they believe so little of them?" Disbelief colored her tone as she stared at me as if seeing me for the first time.

  "The Gods don't care about anyone but themselves." Everything I'd seen of the Gods, of the Majele and the others who sent me to Godsvail against my wishes, of the way the Descendants acted, made it obvious that nothing else could be true.

  There was no other option. Not considering what they'd done to me. They'd done it because they didn't care. Not about me. Not about other humans. Only about themselves.

  I tried to ignore the pang I felt in my chest as I remembered how I had believed Shep and Hollis. How I had forgiven them. I had been wrong, so I didn’t want to think about it.

  "Turn your attention to the front," Jason ordered as he stepped up to the head of the group. "If you survive this, the Third Challenge, you'll qualify for the next. There will be a reward for those who excel, a deterrent for those who are less impressive. We've kept these a surprise, but let me assure you, they are great honors. If your own survival isn't motivation enough for you to impress the Gods, then hopefully that cryptic hint will do the job."

  A few humorous chuckles sounded around the room, and I felt eyes settle on my back. Turning, I glanced at Ryder where he stared at me in malice. We were not friends. Something in me recognized him as my true competition for winning the Challenge. As much as I'd have been tempted to say Annalee was the threat, she truly wasn't.

  She didn't know what it was to struggle. Had no clue what it took to push through the pain and survive, anyway. I knew nothing about Ryder, but I could see that he was more familiar with the struggles of life. More likely to pose a threat, because something in his cool eyes hinted at the hard exterior formed only through suffering.

  I didn't know what he'd been through and I didn't want to. All I knew was that he looked at me like I was his true obstacle and knew that he saw my hardships reflected at him in the same way I saw them in him. I nodded at him subtly, watching as his lips tipped up in a cruel smile, and he nodded back.

  There would not be any working together in the way we had in the First Challenge. No matter what they threw at us, he would do everything in his power to see me fail.

  And I would crush him the first chance I got.

  Such was competition.

  Such was survival.

  We stepped out into the open air of the wilds that surrounded Godsvail, to the other side of the path to Mount Demiorgo. The air felt cooler, somehow, icy compared to the temperate, pleasant temperatures the area usually enjoyed. The other contestants shivered, and I resisted the urge to smile. My skin pebbled with goosebumps, and it felt like a spreading of wings.

  Like coming home. And even though I knew I was still in Godsvail, the cool air deceived my body.

  "Hello, Mireyah Bolstad," the Majele God said stepping up to the group. The other humans turned worshipful eyes his way, and I exhaled on a sigh. He was becoming a nuisance. I held out my wrist, and he eyed it momentarily before his hands wrapped around it. He twisted and turned my hand to inspect the remaining hints of bruises and cuts. "Someone has hurt you."

  “Many people have hurt me,” I whispered, staring back at him with defiance.

  “I don’t want that for you. But here you stand, as strong as ever, unbroken.”

  I scoffed at him, not even bothering to hide my distaste. His fingers touched the wire bracelet, and it gave in and slipped free. He pocketed it, all the while never releasing his hold on me.

  "What does it matter?"

  His brow furrowed, and he tilted his head to stare at me in thought. As if he was wondering why I didn’t know an answer that was obvious to him. "We do not harm our Sylfes," he said oddly.

  It was my turn to look at him in confusion. "I'm no Sylfe."

  He grinned, stroking his fingers over the delicate skin that always seemed irritated thanks to the abrasiveness of the bracelet. "Soon. I look forward to seeing this fair skin shine with the glow of immortality. How pretty you'll be when you're no longer confined by the frailties of humanity." His other hand reached out, touching my chin momentarily.

  He moved on then, releasing me as suddenly as he'd approached. The other humans were freed from their bracelets, watching the exchange with hate-filled eyes. I couldn't imagine my being favored by one of the judges of the Challenge was something they thought highly of. I certainly wouldn't if the roles were reversed, but unfortunately for me, I'd done nothing to strive for that favoritism.

  "Let's go," Jason said, glaring at me and striding forward. He led the way, and we walked into the forest. The Gods disappeared, a fact that did not surprise me. They never seemed to do things as mundane as walking. We broke off down towards a path I could recognize. A smell I could sense in the air.

  The Sutre God stood on a tiny stage that had been set up just beside the lake. I could see that the Majele God was already there and standing in a group with the four others who comprised the judges.

  Jason stopped and stepped off to the sidelines, leaving us to contemplate our fate in silence. No amount of imagination could help any of us understand what was waiting for us. And from me, the girl who’d been born and raised in Wintercairn.

  So, there was no way that someone from the South could know what to expect. The crippling sensation that would take over their body. I did. And I didn't know if it was an advantage or a punishment. To know what was coming. What waited for us in the half-frozen lake.

  The Kald God, one of the judges stood a little off to the side, his gaze fixated on the lake. A thin bronze fog wafted from him, maintaining the ice at the edges, keeping the water frigid enough that it would burn. Burn our skin. Scald our lungs until they froze solid in our chests. I'd seen people die in warmer water, drown after their body locked and stopped functioning.

  The only way to survive
would be to get in and out as quickly as possible. To push through those first moments when your body needed to try to adjust, swim through the pain.

  "Hello, Contestants," Rehan Sutre announced, stepping up to where the water lapped the sandy shoreline. Sand against the frozen water seemed unnatural, completely at odds.

  "Today, your task is simple. Swim from one side of the lake to the other. Should you be too slow, we've put Kampos in. They are slow moving, so as long as you maintain a decent pace, they won't keep up with you. But should you fail, they like to drag their victims to the bottom of the lake. They never let go."

  “Mr. Moureau and Misses Lawrence and Bolstad will have a bit of a head start as a reward for finishing the last challenge satisfactorily. How lucky for you.” And the smile on his face spoke to just how unpleasant it would be for the others.

  I cast a glance at the Descendants who gathered and sat on the sidelines, grimacing at what I knew I would need to do. "For this challenge, the first two of you to make it to the other side will be rewarded."

  I never wanted to be naked in front of the Majele God who stared me down. Never wanted the Descendants to see more of my body than I was willing to reveal. But the armor plating on my chest was too heavy, would do nothing but weigh down my weakened body in the lake. I needed to float as much as possible, so I unzipped the back, shrugging it down my chest and peeling the tight fabric off my hips with a few deep breaths.

  "What are you doing?" Ryder asked me from my side, but I kept quiet. I wouldn't explain anything to him. Let him find out for himself.

  He studied me for a moment and then cursed and stripped off his own suit.

  "What are you doing?" Annalee hissed at him when he copied me.

  "If anyone knows anything about surviving a frozen lake, it’s the Northern bitch," he explained to her. Annalee surprised me by keeping her own clothes. Whether it was out of spite because of her hate for me or because she wanted to hide her injuries, I didn't know.

  I didn't suppose it mattered. I just knew that given the injuries, with the extra weight of her clothes she was that much less likely to survive. It was obvious with the way her body moved.