42. Chapter 42
The crowd swelled, their energy like a cresting wave ready to crash down on the contestants.
Grateful she finally blended in with the others, Yareli clenched her jaw, feeling the opposite of jovial.
She had slept little. Memories had poured into her mind, flooding into recollection with a relentless fervor that drummed against her temple, keeping her awake.
Before the challenge, Leo had stopped by her room and had left her with encouragement.
“You’ll win,” he had said, his lips curling up in his signature grin.
Yareli had returned his confidence then, but surrounded by strangers again, the worms of doubt that had been festering in her stomach for days were enjoying a feast. She gnawed her lip and tried to focus on Storm General Tonio.
“In the last challenge, you received a gem as proof of completion. Hold those out,” he ordered.
His voice was calm, but his body language suggested an underlying ruthlessness that called for blood.
She didn’t like how he surveyed them as though they were fresh lumps of meat served on a platter for him to devour, but she held the blue gem out regardless.
“These gems are your entrance ticket. Find three others with the same color.”
The sea of participants parted into smaller groups.
It was clear she was at a disadvantage; everyone knew at least one other Fae.
A group of three stood to her right, but they turned away from her, choosing another Fae with a blue gem.
She bit her lip; the taste of iron reached her tongue.
Their rejection was a sharp reminder of her otherness.
“Ines!”
At her name, she turned, seeing Vanessa holding up a blue gem. She had forgotten they had received the same colored gem in the previous challenge. She was saved.
“Hey,” Yareli said.
“I figured we’d bring the team back together.” Vanessa gestured behind her where Dre and Erbert stood. Dre waved at Yareli, sporting a friendly smile; Erbert gave her a gruff nod of acknowledgment.
Before Yareli could reply, Tonio’s voice boomed across the field.
“Take a look at your group. You will succeed as one, or you will fail as one. Your mission is simple. Deliver your four gems to the volcano within three hours,” he said, pointing at a map conjured up behind him.
In the middle, there was a volcano, surrounded by two concentric circles made up of two different biomes—prairie and forest.
“However, only three groups out of the ten groups that stand before us may pass. Defend your gems. Lose your gem, and you lose your chance at winning. All hope isn’t lost, however.
You may attempt to steal back your gem or take it from another group, but it must match your team’s color.
” He grinned, his sharp canine flashing.
“All restrictions are lifted. May loyalty prevail.”
There was a long pause before Dragon General Andres added, “We ask that you refrain from mortal wounds. Outside the festival, you are comrades. Remember that.”
Allyah wore an impeccable gold uniform, her expression disinterested.
Yareli glared at her, daring her to acknowledge her ire, and as if sensing that thought, Allyah found her in the crowd.
She raised her eyebrow and smirked, accepting Yareli’s anger as if it were no more than an annoying gnat she could crush with her fingers.
You’ll see, I’m too stubborn to lose.
Yareli stood with her group in front of the fifth gate, a large wooden entrance to the arena.
All teams were dropped in the prairie biome, where ambushes were easy.
They needed to beeline toward the forest, and after finding cover, they would discuss their options.
Besides the threat from other groups, Yareli had wondered what was stopping them from going straight to the volcano.
When she asked, they looked at her, surprised, but then, as if remembering she wasn’t part of the Fire Court, Vanessa explained.
“This challenge isn’t a surprise. It’s one of three possible games. It’s deceptively easy. The three generals and their lieutenants guard the volcano.”
“It’s suicide to run straight there,” Erbert said, “but there are ways to win.”
“How many groups actually succeed?” Yareli asked, aghast.
“One, maybe two,” Vanessa admitted.
Well, that was fucked. Of course, it couldn’t be easy; it wouldn’t be a challenge otherwise. She shrugged her distress away; regardless of the difficulty, she had only one goal: Win.
“Then, let’s make sure we’re one of those two groups,” she replied, tightening the sash on the satchel she had been given for the challenge. She thanked her lucky stars she had pushed her magic; it would come in handy. She nodded to everyone as the gong rang, and the gate swung open. It was time.
The smell of iron hung in the air, coating her nose’s lining in its metallic stench. Spells whizzed by, missing Yareli by mere inches. She held Dre up and stumbled toward the tree line while Erbert and Vanessa cast a shield behind them.
“Hold on,” she grunted, picking up the pace.
While Erbert had cast a first aid spell, Dre’s wound still bled at an alarming rate.
When they first stepped into the arena, there had been a moment of silence before all hell broke loose.
No sooner had she taken a couple of steps than spells had bombarded them from both sides.
A hastily conjured shield of hers had saved both Erbert and her from a sizzling fireball.
She had no time to marvel at how natural it had felt to summon her magic as she was immediately dragged forward by Erbert, another fireball missing them by an inch.
Two groups had pincered them; it was clear they wanted to eliminate them.
They had fallen into a defensive position—Dre and Vanessa in the back, wrestling any melee fighters away while Erbert shielded and Yareli used her bow to force the enemy to dodge.
All the while working their way backward toward the forest. It had been going well until Dre got hit.
Yareli grunted, dragging Dre into the brush.
Once under the cover of the forest, Vanessa switched places with her, and they ran into the trees.
Erbert jogged up to them and cast another spell that thankfully stopped Dre’s bleeding.
She kept her eyes peeled for any cover, noticing a small outcrop to their right.
“Over here,” she said.
She slipped Dre’s other arm over her again and helped get him under the outcrop. It was barely big enough to fit them underneath, and it wouldn’t last as a shelter, but it would be enough for Erbert to finish patching up Dre.
After settling him on the ground, Vanessa tossed her a rag.
“Clean yourself up. I can’t have you hurting yourself because your hands were slippery.”
Warm blood coated Yareli’s hands, nestling into their crevices and leaving a residue on her. Dampness clung to her shirt where she had held onto Dre. Her stomach roiled. It would dry.
“We’ll move as soon as Dre’s able to,” Vanessa said, rummaging through her pack. “Here’s some iron supplements, Erbert.” She threw him a small container.
He caught it, annoyance scrunching up his round face. “Damn nutcases hit him with an anticoagulant. I’ve healed it now, but if I had known earlier…”
“You couldn’t have known they were throwing the real shit,” Vanessa replied, patting his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. What matters is that he’s alive. How are you feeling, Dre?”
“High as a kite.” He grinned, pointing at his head. Erbert shoved the supplements at him, ordering him to eat them.
Yareli watched the exchange, wondering if they knew each other better than they had shared or if it was a sign of camaraderie born from their lifetime in a military society.
“It felt intentional,” Yareli said.
Erbert busied himself with applying salve on Dre’s side, which no longer missed a chunk of flesh, but it sported a nasty bruise.
Vanessa met Yareli’s gaze. “The gates are set points with set distances between them. An ambush early on is a good opportunity to get rid of opponents.”
Having been assigned after group formation, their gate assignment hadn’t been a secret.
That meant two groups had decided they were an easy pick.
Was it because of her? She had made it this far, yet none of the challenges so far had involved any combat, so she hadn’t proved anything.
She remembered the first group she had tried to join, how they had turned her away.
Her team had taken a risk in inviting her.
Vanessa must have guessed what Yareli was thinking, because she said, “It’s not solely because of you. We’re all outcasts.”
Yareli looked up at her, surprised.
“The fear I displayed in the first challenge didn’t go unnoticed.” She pointed at Erbert. “He’s failed twice now, and everyone knows Dre doesn’t have it in him to be in the military.”
“Guilty as charged,” Dre said, waving Erbert away as he sat up.
The color had returned to his face, and he no longer looked giddy.
“I’m here now because my shit father threatened to kick my mum to the streets.
I need this promotion to afford my own place and take my mum with me.
Then, I’m going to apply to the engineering school.
A big fuck-you to my pops.” Dre stood up.
“We’re a bunch of misfits, but that’s exactly why we’ll win. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
It occurred to her that troubled families were a universal phenomenon. Erbert stayed silent, packing his bag and avoiding Yareli’s eyes.
Vanessa whispered, “It’s a touchy subject with him. Don’t take it personally.”
She nodded, and Vanessa clapped her hands. “Alright, misfits, let’s get our heads together to come up with our award-winning strategy.”