CHAPTER 38 #2
“I have told Florian you have never needed our protection. You are the deadliest Royal ever to have been born. The God of Fire scorched you, marking your destiny in front of the Kingdom. The Fire God has never given a Royal more than one power. Yet, you received more. The Gods chose you to rule. Yet, you hide from it.” The rocks underneath his palms shift as he leans closer.
“You need to realize you can never run from this. The Gods have laid out our lives like a map, directing us since the moment our eyes opened and we took our first breath. You cannot prevent the war that is coming. You cannot hide from who you were born to be.”
I meet his eyes, almost getting lost in the beauty of them. “The war started because of us.”
I whip my gaze away, staring at the man in the pit running for dear life away from the Ice Horse. The horse is violently bucking, hooves lifting off the ground as it chases the man. The air around them begins to frost, and I catch the smallest ice particles beginning to freeze along his dark hair.
The Ice Horse is using its power from the God of Ice. It does not want to bond to this man. Poor guy.
“He isn’t going to make it,” I mutter out.
“Most of them won’t.” He leans closer, and I feel the heat of his breath against my neck. My eyes shut with the feeling. “And you can stop this all. Only you.”
“You need to leave.” My eyes open, and the man that was once running, is frozen. His figure is sculpted from ice. Then, it shatters along the rusty dirt.
“Kaine is next.” Koen leans closer. “A few men are after and then, the people of Eekatia will decide if you shall try again or not.”
“And I won’t even make it till then if you stay beside me.” My head whips towards him, beaming a raging glare. “Please go. Before Lykia sees this.”
His jaw clenches, and he pulls his gaze away from me, shifting his body backwards before jumping up on the ledge to climb back over.
“Next time you ride, get out of your head. Whatever is distracting you, will kill you.” He leans over, gripping the edge of the railings of the arena stands.
I whip my head around, locking eyes with his piercing, emerald gaze that suddenly softens.
A single raindrop descends, caressing his skin, and a surge of jealousy consumes me.
Jealously of a damn raindrop that gets the pleasure of gracing his skin.
My eyes follow it, gliding over his bottom lip before falling off of his chin within a matter of my heart taking a beat.
My eyes lift to meet his. “You are the one distracting me. You are the very thing that is inside my head. You will be the death of me.”
I shift my body around, facing the arena as Kaine walks out. My whole body tenses knowing Koen is still staring at me, but I will not move. He is right. My mind being wrapped up around him is going to have me killed.
My back straightens, and I give Kaine a subtle nod.
A gentle smile tugs on his lips before he takes a stern stance, his legs parting as his hands lift.
The wristband is wrapped around his wrist in case the Fireninze runs out of the cage.
I glance down towards mine, catching the green light scanning around it, pulsing like a heartbeat, which confirms its activation.
My brows deeply cave in, before flickering back to Kaine. I drop my knee so fast, leaning over to study his bracelet.
Red. His bracelet is red.
The lights don’t flicker. They just beam the bright crimson.
His isn’t activated.
My heart plummets, eyes glancing towards all the cages. Four cages. Four horses. Even if the one of water is not here, maybe they keep it in case they capture the one of darkness.
My nostrils flare, eyes never blinking as I frantically watch and wait impatiently to see what gate rises. Damn it, do not let it be the Fireninze.
The roar of the crowd sends shivers down my spine. My chest rises and falls, and a sweat bead drips down my head as the rain gently falls from the sky. The wind picks up, replacing the heat that was once baking my skin into a chilly coolness.
Don’t let the horse of fire escape that cage. But the cage rises, and flames engulf the arena.
My eyes widen more as my heart sinks down to the pit of my stomach.
“Run!” I violently scream towards Kaine. He glances up, startled, but then locks eye contact with the horse.
No. No. No. No.
His hand frantically presses the button as he realizes it isn’t working. My chin rises to where the Queen is, her brows dipping in.
Is someone after Kaine? Or is this purely an accident?
The horse charges towards him, but Kaine jumps and rolls. The red dirt flickers up, catching in the wind as it flies directly towards us in the crowd. A loud grunt escapes his lips as he holds his side tightly. He is still healing. He will never make it if he cannot activate his wristband.
My eyes search for any exits for him, unsure if maybe I missed something being in the pit. But there are none. If he climbs, he’s dead. If he stays in there alone, he’s dead.
“Damn it.” I slam my hands against the rocks. I lean forward to jump, but a strong grip pulls me back, fingers digging deeply into my leather gloves.
“Absolutely not.” My eyes lock onto the hands, lifting slowly up to meet Koen’s violent glare. His head slightly shakes, begging, pleading for me not to.
I yank away with one swift motion. “I will not let my friend die. I might have already lost one, I will not lose another.”
With a kick off of the rocky wall, I slam to the ground, my hand beating against the ground.
The horse of fire must have heard me, because within a few beats of the mare's hooves, it's sprinting right towards me. I rip the bracelet off, diving behind one of the boulders they left out from the first battle game to hide.
“What the hell are you doing!” Kaine screams, stumbling to his feet to hide.
“Saving your life!” I lean forward, watching the Fireninze wait for our movements. She is smart, I'll give her that.
The crowd loses it, their cheers echoing around us as their beverages toast high in the sky. Their chants for death are so loud I am sure the heavens can hear them.
But I don’t care. Let them scream. Let them beg for blood.
They won’t get what they want, not from the two of us. I will never allow it.
“I won't die!” he grunts, clenching his teeth tightly. “I have done these games for many years! I always bond with one of the horses!”
“Well, it seems like this isn’t your year! Unless you take my wristband!” I toss it towards him. It clicks up in the dirt, sliding closely towards him. “That horse will scorch you to death without the suit!”
He reaches out swiftly. “What about you!”
“I’ll climb the wall back! And I suppose my fate now lies in the hands of the people!” I tease, shrugging my shoulders as his head shakes.
He slips on the wristband and we both lean around the boulders, looking for the mare. But she isn’t in sight.
That’s when I smell burning char, right behind me.
Shit.
Bright tones of a crimson red beat against the boulder I lean against. I can hear the crackling of fire popping, and that’s when the crowd goes silent.
My eyes shut, knowing the Fireninze is right behind me.
With the sound of the hooves beating against the dirt, I sprint.
My hair gradually falls from the tight bun, the strands blocking the view of everything around me.
My chest rises and falls. The wall is in sight, my hand reaches out towards it, but I trip.
I turn my body, letting my shoulder slam into the rock against the ground.
As soon as I make contact with it, I hear my bones snap, breaking under my skin.
I cry out, gripping my shoulder so tightly.
My eyes clench shut, teeth grinding as I hold in the agonizing pain that is radiating through my damn arm.
“Get up!” I hear Koen holler, and through my blurred vision, I see him gripping the arena wall. “Now!”
I push with my other arm, trembling as I slip, letting my chest slam into the dirt. I wince at the impact, my body internally panicking as I hear the hooves beating against the ground.
She is coming for me.
My knees dig into the dirt, and I pull myself up with all the strength I have, rising to my feet. My shoulders lift before falling, hunching over before forcing my body to straighten upright.
Show no fear, Serene. Show no damn fear.
I shift on my heels, turning deliberately to face the horse. My eyes narrow into slits, watching it charge towards me. The fire embers flicker in the wind, her mane and tail bellowing out into the air around her.
My eyes catch sight of Kaine charging forward, heading towards the horse. I stretch my arm out, halting him. I shake my head “no.”
His brows pull deeply together, slowing his pace down as he pulls his hands behind his head and glances up towards the Royals. I know he is making eye contact with Florian. I can hear him screaming in the stands, he thinks I can’t do this.
He has never seen me.
He has never believed in me.
He has only wanted to protect me.
But let me show him I am more than what he sees.
I stride forward, the smoke catching in the wind but my eyes lock on to her. Even though she is charging at me, I never stop. The screams from the brothers have now faded. The roars of the crowd, some chanting my name, some begging for my death, have now disappeared.
Nothing matters besides me and this horse.
The damn horse of fire.
With each step, I come closer, feeling no heat radiating off of the beast but catching ash starting to fall against my suit.
I pick up speed, almost daring the horse to come at me. Her head kicks up, and she snorts loudly before letting out a steaming exhale.
She sprints faster, as do I. A loud, raging scream rips from my throat. Pain shoots through my arm and despite it, I run.
I slide under her broad belly as her hooves lift up to stomp me. The leather of my gloves begins to melt against the blazing fire of her body, so I rip them off, throwing them to the side before I roll across the ground.
Ash and dirt kick up in the air, mixing in with my midnight-black hair, and I feel the grit on the tiny shards of gravel sticking to the sweat against my arms.
The horse’s hooves slam into the dirt, picking up small particles of rocks and ash, almost blinding me. But I stand, the back of my hand wipes away the filthy air that burns my eyes.
The Fireninze circles around, her head bobbing up and down, before taking a stance almost directly in front of me. Almost waiting, daring for me to make a move.
My hand grips my broken shoulder, heaving as I stare back towards the horse.
“It’s just me and you,” I hiss.
In an instant, the horse charges, embers sparking behind her as she sprints, and I stay still. Frozen in place.
I drop my hands to my side, standing tall as I watch her hooves beat against the dirt. Fire catches on the dried, wooden branches around us.
One. Two. Three. Four.
When I go to count five, the mare is right in front of me and instead of charging through me to kill me, the Fireninze slams its hooves into the ground, eyes beaming a crimson red as she exhales a steaming breath.
My eyes stay wide, never blinking. I will not back down.
The crowd knows it. The brothers know it. Everyone is silent.
The flames around its mane and tail ignite, brightening the arena as the crowd shields their faces from the light. Then, it dims. The fire, flickering softly. The embers, gone.
My hand reaches out, gradually and carefully.
Just as I did when I passed the dragons chained up.
As if I can feel their emotions, each one of them, inside me as well.
“I feel that rage you feel,” I whisper out.
The crimson eyes of the horse dim, the light flickering out until nothing is left but a dark, ruby red. The mare closes its eyes, dropping its head, and my palm makes contact with its scorching body.
But I don’t burn.
We don’t burn.
It's just her and I. Standing face to face.
In a silent arena.
Until the Queen screams. “We have our first bond of the Fireninze!”