Chapter 31 Rune
rune
. . .
The area the simulator had transformed into for the House Gauntlet was impressive.
I knew that in the auditorium the seats were packed with first-year students and professors. Banners of the eight different houses were hung above the stage, and whatever happened in this simulator would be broadcasted not just in the auditorium but to all the beings of Kalista.
The simulator held every second, third, and fourth-year from all eight houses easily, and the door slammed shut behind us as the house professors stood near the control panel.
I flexed my suit-clad fingers, feeling the faint itch of enchantments stitched into the fabric. Nerves buzzed in sync with my six matebonds under my skin.
“Deep breaths, lethal darling,” Dimitri murmured behind me, his hand ghosting over the back of my arm.
On the far side of the field, House of Fortitude lined up in the same suits we had, but with their own house pins.
Tibby stood at their center, broad shoulders squared, black hair with green lowlights pulled back, and green eyes blazing with excitement. April was on his left, her brown eyes cold and brown curly hair up in a topknot.
Even from across the field, I could feel her stare on me. We locked eyes.
She smiled, baring her fangs a little.
I did the same.
She’d been quiet lately, but I had to admit that was getting to be a little boring. A little competition wouldn’t hurt anyone, as long as she didn’t so much as glance at my mates.
“Headmaster Bloodwyne’s voice projection will be sent here,” Haelynn, the House of Arcane professor, stated. “You will have an image of the auditorium’s stage until the simulator takes effect.”
She snapped her fingers, and a large view of what was happening in the auditorium shimmered into existence.
“Students, the simulator will begin with each House in its starting circle,” Dad’s voice boomed across the auditorium, echoing in the simulation chamber.
I was surrounded by my surviving classmates: Dimitri, Cora, Ominous, and Seth. Next to us were the fourth-years, only two of them remaining. Briar, our househead, and another student I hadn’t met. The second-years had four students left, but I didn’t know them well.
A hint of sadness trickled through me as I remembered all who we had lost. Two of them I didn’t care about, Kraig and Brynn, but the rest I felt grief for. Zara, Mara, and Jonas had died on their journey to become agents. My heart ached for them, but now wasn’t the time to mourn.
Rules flashed behind Dad on stage in giant illusion script:
NO KILLING.
NO PERMANENT DAMAGE.
NEUTRALIZE OPPONENTS BY FORFEIT, KNOCK-OUT, OR TEMPORARY IMMOBILIZATION.
LAST HOUSE STANDING WINS.
Easy enough.
My dad’s gaze pierced forward as if he could see into this chamber, which he probably could if it was already being broadcasted out.
“House champions, you stand here representing not just your Houses but the training and discipline you’ve learned here.
You will be watched by the Supernatural Council, the Human Council, and the entirety of Kalista via the News Sector.
The House Gauntlet may be a competition, but it is not a game. ”
Slater caught my eye and mouthed, “Let’s play, venom baby.”
A streak of desire at facing my chaos demon shot down my spine and warmed my lower abdomen.
“You will not use lethal measures,” Dad continued. “You will not maim…permanently, at least. Anything else is on the table. Begin.”
The simulator faded out along with our professors as House Emblems lit up above us, marking us for which House we belonged to.
Obstacles formed into existence: crumbling stone walls, enchanted fog banks, frozen rivers, slick ice ramps, and shimmering magic circles that I knew held random magical effects for anyone stupid enough to step on one.
All other Houses were placed in different areas. Our area was filled with uneven stones, a broken staircase leading to nowhere, and a narrow alleyway of ruins.
“Fan out,” Briar snapped, taking over as househead. “Stick with a partner until you’re forced to split. The third-year shadow demon will go on his own.”
Ominous grinned darkly. “Fine by me.” He faded into the shadows easily.
Dimitri’s hand grabbed mine, lacing our fingers together, and I squeezed it before jumping on his back.
His vampire speed easily took us through the obstacles.
The first clashes were a blur of scenery and sound.
House of Intellect clashed with House of Innovation near the ice ramp; House of Torment traded spells and weapons with House of Arcane in a corridor of magic circles.
I caught flashes as Dimitri ran. Ominous shadow-traveled behind an Arcane student, forcing them out by wrapping them up with shadows.
Dad’s voice boomed from somewhere invisible. “And House of Vitality is already down three members! House of Torment is aggressively dominating the northern quadrant, a classic move from the sadists…”
I barely comprehended it.
My focus tunneled ahead.
Fortitude had claimed the central bridge over a shimmering, illusory chasm. A random tower stood behind it, where Tibby stayed. A group of house members guarded him like a king on a battlefield, phoenix wings half-flared.
“Hey, Roo! Let’s see if you can beat my housemates before fighting me!” He cackled like a villain.
His housemates were already moving to intercept us and other house members who came up behind us.
April and another Fortitude student dropped from the broken balcony Tibby was at. April landed in a graceful crouch that hardly even cracked the stone. The other student broke the stone beneath him.
April’s brown eyes glowed red as her fangs slid down. “Rune,” she purred. “I was hoping I’d get to pay you back for using your venom on me.”
I rolled my shoulders, relief flooding me. “April. Still obsessed with another supernatural’s mate?”
“No.” A vein throbbed in her jaw.
“Dimitri Nocturnus,” the other student interjected, flicking his gaze over him with open disdain. “I’ve heard all you were good at was piano.”
“Two minutes,” Dimitri whispered softly in my ear, stepping back. “Then, we go after Tobias.”
“Make it one,” I corrected, feeling my magic spark through my veins.
Dimitri shot off in a blur toward his opponent as I began toward April on the broken bridge.
“You think you’re so untouchable,” April scoffed, moving with that unnatural vampiric grace. “Just because you’re Sabine’s daughter. Because you collect mates like fucking trophies.”
I hissed, my venom leaking down my fangs. “Jealousy isn’t a cute look on you.”
“You think I’m cute otherwise?” She blurred.
Vampire speed was always jarring, but to fight against it was the worst. One second, she was ten feet away, and the next, her fist was aiming for my throat.
I pivoted, letting her blow graze my shoulder instead of crushing my windpipe.
Pain flared, but my strength absorbed it. My body already knitted the tear in the muscle from the hit.
“You, cute? I mean, I guess you are pretty,” I admitted teasingly. “But your personality ruins it.”
“My personality?” She swept a leg for mine. “Check your smug attitude!”
I jumped, driving my elbow down toward her spine.
She twisted away at the last second, nails flashing toward my face.
I ducked, caught her wrist, and used her momentum to flip her over my hip.
“My attitude is smug?” I gasped as she landed on her feet.
“Fates yes it is!” She took a moment to take a deep breath. “It’s infuriating.”
“Aw, you think my confidence is infuriating.” I lunged, feinting for her left, and then drove a punch to the right side of her rib cage.
She blocked me with speed, but the impact made her grunt, her footing sliding on the stone.
“You’re strong,” she admitted, raking her gaze over me. “Did you get some super strength from those human experiments on you, snake?”
Rage flashed through me.
My next punch came in harder, faster, aiming for her jaw.
She jerked back, but I grazed her cheek, splitting the skin open. Blood welled up, and a sharp, metallic scent hit me.
“You don’t get to use that!” I shouted, pointing at her. “You weren’t there, and all they did was steal a puny vial of my blood.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She smiled, twisting her neck until it cracked. “All that matters is that my words bothered you. I want to see how far I can push you.”
She attacked in sharp blows, one after another. Her fists, knees, elbows, and more. All thrown with speed and precision.
I blocked what I could and dealt with what I couldn’t.
My breath punched out of me with each impact. A knee hammered into my side, breaking a rib. Her knuckles clipped my jaw, shattering the bone.
She moved behind me to hook an arm around my throat in a choke.
I snapped my head back just as she grabbed me, catching her in the nose with the back of my skull.
Bone crunched as she hissed, her grip loosening.
I twisted free, grabbed her forearm, and jammed my thumb into a pressure point.
She tried to retaliate with a headbutt, but I was ready this time, catching her by the throat and slamming her back into a stone pillar.
We crashed hard enough to send a crack up the stone.
Her hands shot up to my wrists, nails digging, but the suit absorbed any of the fallback from her nails.
“Do it,” she snarled. “Use your venom. Show everyone what you really are!”
“What I am?” I let out a breathy chuckle. “I’m a basilisk, April. Using my venom is a strength. Not something to fear.” I let my venom seep from my fingertips into the skin of her throat, just a simple surface dose. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you shit yourself this time.”
My venom surged into her bloodstream.
Her eyes widened. “You—”
Paralysis hit.
Her muscles locked mid-snarl.
She froze against the pillar, eyes darting wildly as her body refused to obey.
I leaned in very close so that only she would hear. “You should know that I could’ve used a paralysis venom that would let you talk, but what fun would that be?”
Her pupils blew wide.