Chapter 36
Serafina
A horn sounds, the one that signals the trial will be starting in fifteen minutes. My cheeks feel flushed, but I’m ready. More than ready. To not only survive the trial, but to face the men who so desperately want me dead.
Moving from the tunnel, I step out into the open arena. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the blinding sun, but when they do, my breath hitches, but only for a moment.
I’ve seen the inside of this arena many times before, but never once from this point of view. The first trial was held on the outskirts of the village, the obstacle course the trial coordinators created stretching for miles. And for the second trial, we take the test in the village capitol.
Only the third trials are held in the arena, and since I was fifteen years old, I’ve watched from the stands, sitting amongst the other villagers as we collectively held our breath, watching as the horrors of the trial unfolded before our eyes.
Somehow, being down here with my feet touching the sand and countless eyes on me, it feels different. More daunting.
Row upon white row, stretching to the sky, an arena that could sit tens of thousands. Not that it would ever need to with our village population topping out at less than fourteen thousand.
So many seats are empty. They’ll remain empty, and I can’t help but wonder what this arena used to look like over a century ago when every seat was filled. What would they gather here for?
Celebration and games?
True games, not the kind that end in death.
The kind that will be taking place far too soon.
I scan the crowd, trying not to look at the countless Enforcers lining the edge of the pit—which is what they call the place where I now stand—protecting the perimeter to ensure not a single contestant is able to escape.
Instead, I search for the people who believe in me, who want to see me succeed.
There’s so much commotion in the arena, those in my same year funneling out of the tunnels, moving closer to the center, but I search for my parents, for Jax, needing to see them, to feel them.
My eyes land on the place where royalty always sits. Separated from the rest of the villagers, on the only balcony in the arena, high above the crowd, facing the north side.
In all honesty, I’ve never so much as glanced at it before, never wishing to lay eyes on the people I hated with my whole heart and soul.
I see the king first, but of course, he’s not looking at me.
He’s speaking to a man dressed in royal red.
His wife, however, is speaking to no one.
Her eyes roam the sky, like she’s searching the heavens for something.
With her brows weaved together, she purses her lips, as if she can’t find whatever it is she’s looking for.
They’ve been traveling the country for nearly a month now. Twenty-eight days, to be exact.
When I had met them in the throne room, it was the same day the third trial for Village 1 occurred. They must have left the palace not long after my sentencing. Village 1 isn’t very far from where the Imperial City sits.
Then, they would have set off for Village 2, followed by 3 and so on.
And now here they are, in my village.
But Jax isn’t with them. My eyes narrow as I continue to scan the stands.
I spin, and finally, my gaze locks on his.
He’s standing, arms crossed, face firm. But he’s looking at me.
Only at me.
And I’m grateful for it, but then my eyes focus on the people sitting next to him. There’s Theo, of course, throwing me a cocky grin and bow of the head, but on the other side sits my parents.
Jax is sitting with my parents.
My heart flutters, and I can’t imagine what they must be thinking having the prince of Velegoria at their side.
Their eyes catch on mine, a small smile breaching both of their lips. They’re holding onto each other, much like how they were when we reunited not long ago.
I bring my hand to my necklace, holding up the pendant my mother believes will keep me safe. It’s a silent gesture. I need them to know that I have this. That I will not fail.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse red hair, and I already know who it belongs to.
Norin.
I turn, and he’s staring right at me from about thirty yards away.
His eyes narrow, and I notice the deep, jagged scar stretching across his cheek bone. Something he definitely did not have before the night he attacked me.
It looks like he got the absolute, ever-living shit kicked out of him. My eyes fly back to Ryjax in the stands, and he offers the most casual shrug I’ve ever seen.
My lips quirk into a smile, even more so when I notice a few of the other men who had also been there that night. Two of them can barely walk, another wears a sling on his right arm.
My eyes land on Jax again, and I burn for him. This man who not only protected me when I needed it but also taught me how to protect myself.
He smiles at me then, the real one that reaches his eyes, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Fi?” I whip my head to the side at the sound of Char’s voice, but he’s not looking at me, he’s looking at Ryjax, then me. Then, back to Ryjax again.
My smile falters, caught off guard by his tone, but then I shake my head because it’s Char, and he’s okay.
“Char!” I exclaim, running up to him and folding my arms around his broad shoulders. “It’s so good to see you.” And I mean every word. It truly is so good to see him, but he doesn’t hug me back.
“Who the fuck is that?” He grabs my arms and shoves me off him.
I take a staggered step back. He’s still looking at Ryjax.
“Is that…” He squints, and I know he’s putting it all together, realizing exactly who is sitting next to my parents.
“Is that Prince Ryjax?” He sounds disgusted.
More than disgusted, downright repulsed.
His eyes finally find mine, and I nod, my voice somehow caught, unable to answer him out loud, not when he’s looking at me like this. Like I’m a monster, like I’ve done something terribly, terribly wrong.
“What the actual fuck, Fi?”
My brows furrow, my throat goes dry because I don’t underst—
“Him?” He takes an aggressive step toward me, pointing at Ryjax in the stands, and he looks betrayed. So utterly and painfully betrayed. He shakes his head violently. “I saw the way you were looking at him. Like…like you were…fuck. What the actual fuck, Fi?”
I flinch just before guilt floods my system.
“Char, let me expla—”
“Explain? Are you kidding me?” His hands find his hair, and he pulls. “Are you fucking him?”
My eyes widen, horrified he would say such a thing, especially so loudly when we’re surrounded by far too many people. People who are now stopping their conversations so they can listen in on ours.
“It’s not like that,” I grind out, my voice low, my face heated.
“Oh gods, you are.” He shakes his head again, as if it’s the only thing he can do. “You’re an idiot,” he seethes. “A gods-damned fool. Did you forget who he is? The family he’s a part of? This trial only exists because of people like him!”
“Char, you need to calm down,” I say, my whole body feeling hot, and my fingers trembling.
“Calm down?” He barks out a laugh. “You want me to calm down? For months, I’ve been beating myself up over what happened to you.
For months I’ve wanted nothing more than to be with you, to make this thing between us right.
And now I catch you making eyes at the fucking prince!
” His voice rises, and my heartbeat picks up.
I take a step toward him, needing him to not hate me even though his words sting, cut in a way I didn’t know was possible.
“I won’t lie.” The sound of Norin’s voice has both of us turning our heads in his direction. My lip curls as I take him in. He may be injured, but his beady eyes are still as menacing as ever. “I’m a bit surprised to see you even speaking to him, Serafina.”
“Norin.” Char’s voice is a warning, and he steps toward him in a way that blocks me slightly from his view. “She forgave me.”
Norin chuckles. “Did she now? How very big of you, sweetheart. Can’t say I’d do the same if someone I trusted sold me out like that.”
My teeth grind, my skin somehow hotter than before, and I wish I could allow my flames to consume him right here and now.
He doesn’t deserve to be one of the few who get to live.
But I hold back my temper and decide to use my words instead.
“What was he to do?” I say, stepping around Char, preparing to defend him even though the things he’s said have settled like a barbed weight in my chest. “You would’ve killed him if he didn’t tell you where I was. You fucking bastard.”
Norin laughs, full-on laughs in my face, clutching his stomach as if I’d somehow said the funniest thing in the world, and per usual, I see red.
“Norin,” Char grits out, his eyes bouncing between Norin and me.
“Killed him?” Norin finally says, the grin on his face way too wide. “What exactly do you think happened that night?”
I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. What does he—
“We found Char not long after our little…altercation in the alley. I didn’t even have to ask. He blurted out your location the moment we approached him,” he says, and my whole world spins as the air is sucked straight from my lungs.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe, and I can’t think.
That’s…no…no…no, that’s not right. That’s not what—
“We didn’t touch him, didn’t threaten him, and still he told us everything. He described where you were hiding, where we’d be able to find you. Under the bridge where you used to play as kids,” he mocks, his smile only growing as he watches me fall to pieces right in front of him.
My vision blurs, my heart shatters, and I still can’t breathe.
“And what do you know? He was right,” Norin continues. “Part of me thought he might be lying. I thought maybe he was trying to mislead us to keep you safe, to buy you time. Imagine my surprise when you were exactly where he said you’d be.”
I look at Char, and he looks just about as horrified as I feel. His blue eyes are huge, his brows nearly touching his hairline. He holds up his hands, taking a step toward me.
“You…You…” I can’t speak. I can’t form words. I don’t want to form words.
Char…my best friend. Char…this can’t be true. I need to hear him say this isn’t true.
“I’m so sorry,” he says, and they are not the words I was looking for.
He’s sorry. Which means he did something wrong.
No, not wrong, something unforgivable, and my veins burn.
“So sorry, Fi, please, you have to understand. And I thought you did…in your letter…you said you forgave me.” The words pour out of him, each one a further admission of his guilt, his betrayal, and I think I’m going to be sick.
“Forgave you?” My hands threaten to catch fire, but I hold the flames back.
“If you don’t burn him, I surely will,” Nyxa growls.
“I thought they had beaten it out of you. I thought they had hurt you. I forgave you because I thought you had no other choice!” My voice rises, and everything hurts so damn much.
My eyes find Ryjax, and I can see his nostrils flare as he stands from his chair. I know he can’t hear us, but he knows something’s happened, and he looks like he wants to tear Char’s head off.
I shake my head at him ever so slightly, and he sits back down, but his eyes are still pinned on where we stand.
“And I thought you had lied to me,” Char throws out, stepping toward me again, but I take two steps back. “I thought you knew you were an Essentari this whole time, and you wanted to take away the one thing I always wanted. You know how much becoming mayor means to me.”
He cannot be fucking serious.
“So you were going to let them kill me?” I scream, and Norin chuckles. This is exactly what he wanted. Char and I to turn against each other.
And it’s worked. So beautifully because I will never trust this man again. I will never consider him my friend.
Not after what he’s done.
“No! Of course not! I was just so angry. So angry I could barely think straight, and it just slipped out, but I regretted it the moment I told them!” Tears form in his eyes.
Real, genuine tears, but I don’t care. I don’t care because I want to kill him, and if he even tries to move toward me again, I very well might.
“I ran to the bridge, but you were already gone. I…I…could only hope that you were still alive. That you survived. And when I got your letter, and you said you forgave me, gods, Fi, I love you. I will always love you. I will always take care of—”
“I don’t fucking need”—the words drip like venom from my lips, a poison that marks the ruin of our relationship as the fire I tried so hard to contain finally breaks free, spilling from my hands— “you to take care of me.”
The horn sounds again, only this time, it’s to signal the start of the competition.
The third trial is about to begin.