Chapter 21 #2
I open my mouth to tell him exactly how stupid I think he is for what he’s done but pause when I notice his wounds have stopped bleeding. They’ve already started to heal. Relief instantly fills me, and I relax a little.
I’m so distracted making sure Cyrus is okay that I don’t notice Lucas and Finn make their way out of the cave.
How the hell did they make it passed Knox and the others? I thought they were ahead of them.
“Knox?”
“We’re right behind you,” he says, and I share a look with Cyrus, letting him know they’re safe before we get moving after Lucas and Finn. I push my legs hard and fast and make it to the field where we all started just as they do.
Zane, Ajax, Colton and Theo are already there waiting as we show them our stars. A minute later, Knox, Malakai and Theon rush out of the caves and head over to us. But there’s no sign of Nash or Striker.
“Nash and Striker were disqualified for using their powers,” Zane says as if reading my mind. “Since the rest of you made it back in time and have all stars, you’ll need to fight for your place. Finn and Lucas, since you made it back first, you get to pick who you will fight against.”
“Sena,” Finn and Lucas say at the same time, sending cocky smirks my way.
They think this is going to be easy. But Zane said powers were allowed in this part. And they have no idea what they just let themselves in for.
“Two against one isn’t fair,” Cyrus grits out, glaring a hole in the side of Finn’s head.
Zane shrugs. “Life’s not fair.”
I ignore the protests from my mates, annoyed they see me as a weak link and step out into the area in front of us.
“Let’s get this over with,” I tell Lucas and Finn, watching them move a few feet in front of me.
“Because you’re human, you get to pick a weapon,” Ajax says. He, Colton and Theo move out of the way to reveal a small stand with a row of different weapons.
Tapping into my power, I feel it rise inside me and slide over my skin. “Who said I was human?” I tell them before calling on my sword.
A long white sword builds in my hand from handle to tip, its light blinding for a moment before it recedes.
“What the fuck?” Knox says from behind me, but I block him out to focus on getting through this last part of the test.
“What the fuck are you? You said you were human,” Lucas snarls while glaring at me.
“No…” I smirk at him. “You just assumed I was.”
He snarls at me like a fucking animal but makes no move to fight.
“Scared?” I taunt and it does the trick. A long black sword appears in his hand while two curving blades appear in Lucas’.
With the energy of my sword rushing through me, I feel it when my Alita side awakens and comes to the surface just as Lucas moves forward.
He leans forward on his right leg and shifts his body weight, but I spot the move he’s about to attempt, my mind already seeing it play out.
I block him before striking hard, my blade slicing across his arm and his legs before I spin and kick him, knocking him out.
Twisting around, I block Finn’s sneak attack before fighting him without restraint.
He’s good fighter but he makes the same mistake his teammate does.
He underestimates me.
I slice blade along his shoulder, side and leg before jumping back. No wound is too deep, allowing him to continue to the fight.
He narrows his eyes on me, realizing what I’m doing.
I’m toying with him now, and he knows it. It only makes him angrier, his moves less thought out.
He makes another mistake, and I slide my blade along his back, a little deeper this time, making him gasp.
He whirls on me, and I decide I’ve had enough fun for now and strike, taking each blade from him before bringing him to his knees. With one last hard kick, he goes down.
The entire fight is over in minutes as I release my sword, drawing the power back into me as my Alita side slowly recedes.
I glance around to see a multitude of shocked faces. But I ignore them all to focus on Zane and his team. “Did I pass your little test?”
Zane shakes off his shock and nods. “Yes, once you pass whatever test Commander Levington has for you, you’re on the team.
But if it was my choice, you’d already be accepted.
Especially after what you just showed us.
We never had a female Shadow with abilities like yours.
” He looks over at the guys. “Since these two are incapacitated. You four are in. We have six weeks before we go to the Hollow. That’s it’s for today. ”
I let them assume I’m just a female Shadow with powers and Zane and Ajax grab a passed-out Lucas and Finn, hauling them over their shoulders before heading out with Colton and Theo by their side.
“It seems you’ve been keeping something else from us,” Malakai says, and I turn to look at him. But this time there’s no anger on his face. In fact, there’s none on any of their faces. Just a mixture of shock and confusion.
“I’m still learning a lot about myself,” I admit to them with a sigh. “But you would have all known about it if you hadn’t up and disappeared.”
Emotionally and physically exhausted from the trial and constant back and forth with the guys, I go to move past them when they form a wall in front of me, blocking my path.
“We never left you, Sena,” Cyrus says. “No matter what you may think.”
“And we never will,” Theon says.
“We’re still trying to figure out how the hell everything went wrong,” Knox says, making me frown.
“But know that it doesn’t matter who or what you are,” Malakai says. “We’ll always have your back. Now and forever.”