18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Eli
Eli threw a rock across the river, watching it skip like he used to do back on the lake in Andus. The rock made it halfway across the stream, then lost momentum and sank to the bottom.
Beside him, Ali took her turn. “Beat you,” she said with a little shimmy of her shoulders.
“That was luck,” he teased. He searched the ground for the perfect pebble for his next toss while Ali fidgeted in her seat on the tree stump.
Somehow, she was more nervous than he was. The second round of the Rite would take place that afternoon, which meant he and the other suitors had all morning to kill. Time seemed to move even slower than normal as he anticipated the competition to take place later that day.
He had tried to go to work, but Luka had immediately sent him home and told him he wasn’t needed in the lab and to come back tomorrow after he’d completed the second round.
He had contemplated going for a run, but figured it would be better to save his energy.
Grace was busy with her own responsibilities while Nik played bodyguard for the day, so it gave him some alone time with his old friend.
Ali fidgeted again, folding her legs and tucking them underneath her.
“Why are you so anxious?” he asked.
Her cheeks turned pink. “I’m not.”
Eli looked pointedly at her knee bobbing up and down and her fingers thrumming against the tree stump.
She quickly uncrossed her legs and set her feet flat on the ground with her hands folded neatly in her lap.
“Now you look even more uneasy.”
Ali swatted at his arm. “I’m just…I guess I’m just hoping today goes well. That’s all.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said, patting her knee before tossing his stone across the water.
He’d seen enough of the competition to know his odds were pretty good.
More than good, but he didn’t want to get too comfortable after what had happened in the first round.
He was determined to stay focused and keep a level head.
Nothing would force him to falter. “You’re not doubting me, are you? ”
Her brown eyes went wide. “No, not at all. It’s not that. It’s…it’s…never mind.”
“Don’t do that. What’s on your mind?”
Biting her bottom lip, she turned away from him.
Now he was the one concerned. Ali dealt with anxiety, but the way she avoided his gaze told him this was something more. His heart pounded in his chest, and he inched closer to her, trying to get her to turn back his way. “Ali?”
She sighed heavily and stared up at the sky. “I’ve been—”
A group of men erupted in laughter behind them, walking along the path that led to the site of the second round. Eli watched them disappear before turning back to Ali. “You were saying?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s not important. You need to get going or you’ll be late.” Her forced smile did little to ease his nerves, but she was right. More people were making their way along the path, including one man he recognized as a suitor.
He took Ali’s hands in his. “Promise me everything’s okay?”
She tilted her head, clearly taken aback by his request. “Of course it is.”
Unable to sense a lie, Eli stood and pulled her up with him. Whatever was troubling her, she’d tell him in her own time. He’d have to trust in that. Besides, he had plenty on his mind to keep him occupied.
Together, they made their way along the trail leading to the temporary arena. Much like the first round, makeshift stands had been erected, surrounding a wide-open space where the hand-to-hand combat would take place. In the center was a long rope laid in a circle, a boundary for the fights.
“Good luck. I doubt you need it,” Ali said, briefly squeezing his arm and leaving his side to find a seat.
Eli found the group of other suitors huddled around the council members who’d be overseeing today’s round.
The woman, Diane, gave him a brief nod and said, “Looks like we’re just waiting on Zeke.
Why don’t you all stretch and do what you need to do while we wait for him.
I’d rather not repeat the instructions a second time. ”
The arena grew louder as more people filed in.
While Eli stretched, he kept an eye out for Grace.
During the ball the night before, her light had been diminished, and he needed to know she was okay.
To no one’s surprise, her mother had been furious after Grace danced with only two suitors and then spent the rest of the evening with Eli.
Grace had gone home to her own bed to prevent her mother from having a meltdown, which had left Eli tossing and turning.
He wondered if Grace had spent all night doing the same.
A few minutes before the round was to begin, Grace walked in with her entourage and took her place on a small, shaded stage with the best view of the ring.
Eli waved, catching Grace’s attention. Her face brightened, and she offered a delicate wave of her own before touching her forefinger to her lips.
The movement reminded Eli of how soft and sweet those lips were, how he’d like to kiss them again right now.
Diane called the suitors over, and Eli abandoned his sultry thoughts.
“We can’t wait any longer, so we’ll go ahead and get started with the rules.
” Diane explained the basics of the round—no weapons other than your hands, step out of boundaries or tap out and lose the round, best two out of three wins, etcetera—and Eli looked around at the other suitors.
Zeke was still missing. The others didn’t seem concerned, so Eli tried to brush off the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind.
“Each of you will pull out a rock from this bag,” Diane continued. “There’s two of each color, which will indicate your match-up.”
Fox held out a bag, and each of the suitors pulled out a stone. Eli reached in and grabbed the first one his fingers touched—a jagged-edged stone painted bright green.
Eli sought out his partner first. He thought the man’s name started with a ‘D.’ Dom or Damien or something along those lines. He had a slender build, similar to Eli’s, but ‘D’ was about six inches shorter. Eli hesitated to breathe a sigh of relief, but he felt good about the matchup.
Around the circle, he noted a pair of strangers had pulled the gold stones. Jae and another bulky man with a frown pulled the blue stones and Trevor had pulled a red stone. Which left another red stone waiting in the bag for Zeke whenever he showed up.
Trevor caught Eli’s glare and winked at him, tossing the stone up in the air and catching it in one hand.
Eli clenched his teeth but kept his mouth shut.
He wouldn’t give Trevor the satisfaction of getting under his skin.
Not anymore. His newest method of handling Trevor’s bullshit was to ignore him.
Treat him like the insignificant rodent he was.
The duo that Eli hadn’t met went first. Once the committee welcomed the crowd and ushered the first two suitors out into the center, the round began.
Since Eli didn’t know either of these men, he paid little attention.
Instead, he focused on his own strategy, which moves would be best suited for his competition and how he could use the boundary to his advantage.
He kept glancing at his match, sizing him up and doing his best to determine if he had any weak spots.
He thought he could recall ‘D’ practicing once or twice while Eli was present.
While he was quick and agile, Eli recalled his balance to be lacking.
If Eli couldn’t pin him, forcing him out of bounds might be the better option.
Cheers erupted. The first match was already over. In a two to zilch fight, the victor had easily overcome the smaller of the suitors and claimed his place in the third and final round. Eli’s stomach turned as time crawled forward, closer to his match and the final round of the Rite.
The only thing keeping him sane was the promise of Grace waiting at the end of it all. For her, he would do everything imaginable to win.
Jae and his match were the second duo to take their place in the ring. Eli paid closer attention to their fight, mostly to take his mind off his developing nerves.
Jae was smaller than his competition, but he was clearly very skilled. He dealt a perilous punch to the man’s jaw and threw a kick that had the man stumbling backwards and out of bounds.
The man reentered the ring with blood running down his nose and charged at Jae.
Eli flinched and hissed as Jae hit the ground with a crack.
He wasn’t sure which bone he’d broken, but something had snapped.
Jae tapped the ground and then it was one to one.
The winner of the next fight would move on to the third round.
Jae had a chance to inspect his injuries but ultimately shook off the medics, determined to get it over with. Either his injuries weren’t as bad as it sounded or adrenaline was keeping him in the fight. He shook out his arms and rolled his neck before stepping back into the circle.
The larger suitor ran toward him again, but this time Jae stepped out of the way, tripping the man as he stumbled past. He regained his footing, but not before Jae landed a right hook and a jab to his nose.
The man groaned but countered with a few sloppy punches of his own.
Jae didn’t allow a single one to strike.
Taking a few steps back, Jae taunted the man with a few words that Eli couldn’t hear.
Whatever he said left the man fuming. His ears turned red, and he ran toward Jae again, wrapping his arms around his torso and tossing them both to the ground.
They tussled around and, to Eli’s surprise, Jae held his own.
Every time it seemed as though he was about to tap out, he managed to slip and squirm till he was on top again.