Chapter 36
Thirty-six
“Select a weapon and make your way onto the platform in the following order: Merri, Solene, Zellie. You may begin once each competitor has both feet placed on the beam.” A bored-looking Astral instructs us in a neutral voice.
Who decides the order of operations around here?
Honestly, I’m thanking my lucky stars I wasn’t placed in the middle, but—sorry, Merri—I would’ve preferred a barrier between me and Solene and her permanent scowl.
Merri selects a short sword and hesitantly makes her way down the beam.
Solene decides on a fucking double-sided spear, and I’m about ready to vomit.
My choice comes naturally; I’m most comfortable with a dagger.
I nervously glance down, looking at the arena so far below.
The world seems so small from up here: a blur of darkened heads blending.
The sounds of the roaring crowd are muffled; up here, all I can hear is my heartbeat and erratic breathing.
I place one foot on the platform, testing my balance.
The beam cannot be wider than the length of my shoe.
I relax my posture, letting muscle memory from my practice take over, as I set my second foot down.
Instantly, without warning, Solene whirls her spear horizontally, swiping Merri across the stomach.
Completely unprepared, Merri instantly tips off the beam, limbs failing and blood oozing out of the gaping slash.
Holy shit—she didn't even have time to ready herself. Solene isn’t messing around, and now her glare has landed on me, vengeance ablaze in her eyes.
I focus on my balance, twisting the handle of the dagger in my palm and reminding myself of the spare from Orion in my pocket. “We can do this without hurting each other, Solene.”
She stalks towards me, spear resting on her shoulder.
“I’m not interested in your pretty words.
” Mouth agape, I note how much softer her voice is than her appearance.
On the outside, Solene is every ounce of female rage that I have tucked away deep within me.
Our rage is not our weakness, but a fire forged—long overdue to ignite. And we explode.
Solene spins her spear low, attempting to knock my feet out from under me.
I jumped over the stick, somehow landing back on my feet.
Taking advantage of the moment where she is recoiling her spear, I jab the dagger towards her, landing a superficial slice to her arm.
She unleashes a blood-curdling scream, not of pain but of anguish, thrusting the spear in my general direction.
Pain blinds me as the spear pierces my shoulder.
“Fuck!” I shout, recoiling and holding my shoulder.
“Damn it, Solene, I have a plan! Just let me talk it out with you.”
Solene lets out a disbelieving laugh, her half-and-half hair shaking with her head.
“Let me tell you my plan, girl. I come from an absolute shithole of a life that I have no intention of returning to. That life as a Celestial? It’s mine.
And you’re in my way.” She hits the spear to my shoulder wound so quickly that I don’t have time to move.
White spots dance in my vision as I stumble, closing my eyes and trying to feel the grip of my feet on the beam.
I take deep, steady breaths, trying to push the nausea down from the pain.
She’s so blind with rage, there’s no way she’s willing to hear me out.
If she wants to be pissed that I got a moonstone shard in the last challenge and threaten her potential to win, so be it.
She’s not fucking getting mine this time.
Solene charges once more, rushing at me. This isn’t a spar; it’s a massacre.
Blocking a lengthy spear with a short dagger is nearly impossible, and with nowhere to outrun her, she successfully stabs into my thigh.
I go down on my injured leg, wincing. “We can work together,” I say through gritted teeth, jamming my dagger into her thigh too.
She also falls, the two of us kneeling, half-dangling, covered in blood.
“You. Have. No. Idea. What. I’ve. Been. Through.
” Solene bares her teeth, taking her spear in one hand and swinging the pole at my head.
I duck, but not fast enough, and the weapon collides with my temple.
I go down, my legs sliding off the beam.
No, no, no! I wildly grip the beam, my fingers slick with blood.
Solene remains kneeling, with a triumphant look on her face.
She’s won, and she knows it. “Some parting words? This isn’t a game to me.
Play with your boyfriend, and let me collect the moonstone pieces. It’ll be better for both of us.”
I can’t pull myself up with this wound in my shoulder, the pain radiating down my arm.
The dagger I stabbed her with lies disarmed on the platform.
Using every ounce of energy I have, I slap my hand on top of it, readjusting my grip.
Maybe this is a petty move, seeing as she’s already won, but my temper gets the best of me.
“Hey, Solene?” I let my hand with the dagger drop from the beam, prepping myself.
I flick the dagger as if it were a throwing knife, watching it sail through the air and graze her cheek, up to her eyebrow.
“Fuck you.” We could have teamed up, sis, but not now.
I let go and watch her expression morph into outrage as I fly through the air.
I close my eyes, letting the pain cloak me in darkness.