22. The Games
THE GAMES
We eventually ended the fight in a draw, though our audience was more than entertained by our flashy, borderline acrobatic fighting styles. I could only hope that no one noticed those brief flirtatious moments exchanged between us whenever we got too close.
Lovel immediately plastered himself onto Damien after we exited the ring.
Seeing Damien smile at him, even though it was just a polite smile he habitually put on when he was playing the role of a charming alpha prince, pissed me off immensely.
He knew this little shit had a hand in Leif’s incident.
Why was he still allowing the Eclipse to get close to him?
But then, I wasn’t really in a position to demand that he antagonize such a powerful ally, was I? Especially when whom he chose to mate with would largely affect his position in court and determine his chance of being selected as the king’s heir.
Being the only true, legit son put him in as much danger as it gave him an advantage. If he lost the crown to his older brother, Valerian might have him killed. The two assassination attempts were solid enough evidence.
I’d asked him not to bind Leif into a fake marriage, so he really had no obligation to stand on our side.
The Games would last for three days, and we’d received the first day’s schedule of matches on the previous day. I had two matches today, and, to my disappointment, neither was with Allan Eclipse.
I wondered why they wouldn’t release all three days’ schedules together.
I was strapping up my bracers when Leif quietly opened the door and slipped in.
“You are not participating in The Games to kill Allan, are you?” he asked as he sat on the windowsill.
He was wearing a loose morning robe, his hair a little messy, looking too pale in the morning sunlight, but already much better than he had been a few days ago. The teeth marks on his neck were already healed, but I knew the scar was still there, etched deep into his memory.
“I’m not,” I lied. “It’s a good opportunity to display our strength, to show our value as an ally, that’s all.”
Leif sighed quietly and said, “I’m sorry.”
I frowned in confusion. “For what?”
“I failed my tasks. At first, I couldn’t get Damien to like me, and then our family was disgraced because I was too naive and stupid. I’m useless,” he said.
His eyes were downcast. Melancholy congealed on his brows, making my heart ache.
I sat next to him, saying in a firm tone, “Leif, look at me.”
He looked up. Those crystalline eyes brimmed with sadness.
I held his gaze, putting as much weight and solemnity into mine, and said, “None of what happened here was your fault. You are strong, intelligent, and caring. None of the alphas in the Nocturne court deserves you. In fact, I’m glad you weren’t rushed into marriage.
” I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.
“You are still very young, Leif. After this whole ordeal, I’ll send you to Sirencester Academy. ”
Leif’s eyes widened. “What? Really? But Father would never agree …”
“I don’t care what Father or Lady Astrid say, you are becoming a healer.” I flashed him a confident grin.
Leif threw his arms around me and buried his head into my shoulder. I enjoyed his affection. As he got older, he rarely hugged me like he used to.
“Your smell is still different ...” He complained after a while, “I think you should let a physician check, I never heard of a cold medicine that can completely alter people’s smell for this long.”
“Hey! I thought we had a moment there! And now you are scent-shaming me?” I feigned heartbroken, eliciting a snicker out of Leif.
The road ascending Mount Durgan was congested with throngs of ticket holders. I saw many bulky carriages stuck halfway, unable to move forward. Luckily, I rode lightly, with only Leif sitting behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist. Each on their own horse, Thyra and Sigurd followed me.
Every inch of the stadium was occupied by people; most were overexcited spectators, while merchants moved around skillfully, peddling snacks, drinks, or small souvenirs.
I accompanied Leif to the reserved spots for royal guests on the grandstand and noticed that Lovel was sitting in the front row, much closer to the arena floor.
He dressed in way too much jewellery today, from earrings to golden chains wrapping all over his body, flaunting his captivating smile at every important royal member, capturing all the attention as though he was already the Luna of a Nocturne prince.
“Do you want a different seat?” I asked Leif.
He shook his head. “No, this is fine.”
It was the first time Leif had appeared at a public event since the incident. I worried he would be harassed, so I had arranged for Thyra, Sigurd, and myself to take turns guarding him while we were not preparing for a match.
As we were sitting down, I could already hear some murmuring voices all around.
I turned my head and stared at the few snickering omegas and betas sitting nearby, letting my gaze exude all the violent intentions I reserved for my enemies.
One by one, they shut up and looked away nervously, faces blanched with fright.
“I’ll be back after I finish my matches,” I told Leif.
A worried frown settled between Leif’s brows. “Stay safe, brother.”
I nodded, leaving Leif with Thyra, then headed to the underhold, where all the fighters armed up and prepared for the fights.
Each clan was given a designated preparation room to get ready. They even assigned a page to each royal guest to help put on armour, clean up, sharpen weapons, or bandage injuries.
The page I got was a sixteen-year-old alpha boy, already having a sturdy stature, though his demeanour was shy. When I entered my room, he was busy polishing a sword and scrambled to his feet nervously upon seeing me.
“M ... My lord,” he said, fidgeting with the cloth in his hands.
“I won’t be using that. I have my own weapon,” I said, showing him my axe.
“I can polish that for you, Lord Fenris,” he said earnestly.
“No need, I can sort things out myself.” I placed my axe on the weapon rack and said, “You can leave now.”
He nodded and moved to the door, but before exiting, he turned and said, “I ... um, I saw you in the training yard often. I wish one day I could be a warrior as strong as you.”
I chuckled, my vanity greatly satisfied by such a heartfelt, artless compliment. I asked, “What’s your name, lad?”
“Andy.”
“Well, Andy,” I gave him a cocky smirk. “Train hard until you can’t move your arms anymore, do that every day, that’s what it takes to be a good warrior.”
He nodded sheepishly, then pulled the door open. Coincidentally, someone else was about to knock on the door. Someone I didn’t expect to see.
“John?”
Johnathan was wearing a jade doublet, embroidered with silver threads. A delicate circlet sat on his chestnut hair. He looked slightly more embellished than his usual style, even more glamorous than I remembered.
He let the page pass, entered the room, closed the door behind him, then looked me over with a frown. “You are not even wearing chain mail?”
“It’s too heavy for my liking.” I shrugged.
“You ought to be more careful. These fights can get very bloody.” Worry laced his words and tinged his green eyes.
I smirked proudly as I stretched my arms, showing him my leather armour. “I wore the same leather pieces when fighting the vamps. I’m sure it doesn’t get bloodier than that.”
He smiled and shook his head, as though giving up on trying to talk some sense into my obdurate head. Then he produced a small black bottle and handed it to me. “I came to give you this.”
I took it curiously. “What’s this?”
“Mark concealer. Omegas and betas use this to cover their mating marks sometimes,” he said.
Seeing the gawking expression on my face, he chuckled and further explained, “Just spread it on your mating mark; it will dry into a thin layer of second skin. As long as you don’t rub it or wash it off, it can cover your mark for up to five hours if you don’t shift.
It’ll even stay on after you shift, though its durability will be greatly reduced.
Without reapplying, if you shift again, it will come off. ”
I opened the bottle and sniffed; it smelled like bad mead. I studied the bottle in wonder, as I’d never heard such a thing existed. “So omegas and betas cover their mating marks often?”
“No, because this thing is scarcely produced, extremely expensive, and illegal to sell or purchase. I only managed to get one bottle through some of my connections. Make sure you don’t lose it or let others see you use it, or we both may get into trouble,” he said gravely, then moved to the door.
“John ...” I turned to look at him with heartfelt gratitude. He didn’t have to do this for me at all. Even if it was also for protecting Damien’s reputation, I knew he also cared about my safety. “Thank you for going to the trouble for me.”
A softness traced his eyes and lips, and he said with a tiny smile, “Good luck out there, and shine as you’re supposed to,” before exiting.
I liked fighting. There was something pure and simple about it, even though it was always associated with blood and death.
You didn’t have to worry about the past or future.
All you needed to do was focus on the present moment.
There was nothing vague about who your enemy was.
It could hardly be a misunderstanding when someone was charging at you with a sharpened weapon.
I didn’t love killing as much as many other northern warriors did.
Watching the light in someone’s eyes go out was never enjoyable to me.
Though I liked to win, to savour the realization dawning on my opponents’ faces when they knew they were defeated, and that there was nothing else for them to do except surrender or die.
So before each fight, rather than being nervous, I often felt a rush of excitement buzzing under my skin, like small currents of static travelling through my veins.