Forty Six
Rohan
Seven members each.
Thirty-five total, not including us Dragonbonds.
The climb has already started, clans pushing and shoving, making way however they can.
Mine are in the middle, Varan’s up front. Karag’s following, then Sigrid’s behind, Durruk’s bringing up the rear.
But, that doesn’t last.
When they reach the fourth platform… that’s when it begins.
I tense, waiting for the inevitable, and it happens.
One green, one red teeter at the edge, and then with a swift push from blue, and a kick from one of mine, they fall.
A woman lands on the ground, missing its spikes, but the blood seeping from her head along with the glazed look in her eyes tells us she’s dead.
“Shit,” Durruk says, walking over to the body.
The other, Karag’s, landed in a spike pit.
She gurgles and coughs, and yet Karag does not move to go to her.
“End her,” I tell him.
The traitor’s head turns to me, snarling.
I try to not rip it off where he stands.
Karag moves, walking toward her and I tense my muscles, willing myself not to go for him.
“Not yet,” Varan says quietly, hands fisted. “Just like we planned, I lied to him last night and told him we’re going to break out after the winner’s ceremony. We need him alive long enough for him to tell the king that.”
My nostrils flare, and I adjust my mask.
“I know,” I say through gritted teeth. “It doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“If you know, then calm the fuck down. We don’t need you going into a rage right now.”
“Don’t you think I know that,” I growl, moving away from him to rid the temptation of violence strumming through my veins.
I need a release, something to expel it from my bones. I crack my neck.
Sigrid and Varan talk behind me, but I ignore them and move around the opposite side of the arena, away from them all while Varan closes the eyes of the dead.
I breathe and pray to Morana for patience, but it doesn’t work.
I look up to the royal section, needing to see Alara, needing her to calm me but she isn’t there.
The rage worsens.
Where is she? Back in the fucking cavern?
My eyes quickly scan the stands, spotting Emerish as he watches me with malice in his eyes.
I bare my teeth at him.
His time will come.
I growl, hating it’s not now, the sound vibrating through me and then I look up to the platforms where the clans battle for first place.
To try and save lives.
Thirty-three left.
A scream, then a thud.
Thirty-two now.
I watch my clan, all seven safe for now, as they reach the eighth platform.
They’re really high now, mingled with others.
Boda, a cooking apprentice of mine, punches a Highwing, and the male’s head snaps to the right which gives her an opportunity to kick his chest.
He flies backward and right off the edge, her chest heaving, but she left herself open.
Shit.
A Rivertail comes from behind and shoves her. Her hand grazes the chain holding the platform, but she can’t get a good grip and she slips, spinning in the air and then… nothing.
Thirty left.
I go to her, keeping an eye up above and kneel beside her.
Her chest is still, arm broken, ankle twisted at an odd angle and her eyes are dull.
“May Morana guide you,” I tell her gently, closing her eyes along with my own for a moment.
Then I stand with her in my arms and take her to the edge, feeling the eyes of the others on me.
She won’t be left in the center to be trampled on.
I place her at the side, moving her arms to her chest and then I turn and see that Sigrid has done the same, Durruk also with two of his.
Karag just left his in the spikes.
Piece of shit.
Traitorous piece of shit.
Twenty-four left.
“We are halfway already!” the king announces, sitting on his balcony.
The crowd goes wild, swinging colors in the air, showing who they want to win.
Like animals.
Like my people are fucking animals.
Another drops, then another and another.
Eighteen.
I place two more beside Boda.
Dragorie are to die in battle, slain in bravery and strength, not falling to their deaths from a game that a tyrant king forces us to play.
So no, no matter where they land, I will take them to be with one another as they go to Morana who will take them through the skies. Where they will be free in the land of dragons.
She would be appalled when she learns their story of what has been forced upon us.
And she should be, for we are failing her people and her dragons.
I stand on stiff legs and continue to watch, glancing at Alexandar when his eyes meet mine briefly.
I don’t care what his motive is for helping me, all I care about is getting Alara out of here with the rest of us.
Will he betray me too? Well, I have a plan if he does.
My eyes move to Niyah.
She sits stiffly, but tall, gazing upon the Enclave like she would rather be anywhere else, a stark difference to her stepmother, the queen, who smiles and talks to Ivor and Laylah.
Doesn’t she know that it’s a trap being here?
Halen’s distaste for elves is not hidden, nor a secret, and yet they walked into enemy territory under some contract for a truce.
I wonder what he was getting out of an alliance with the elves but then I realize he’ll be dead, so it doesn’t matter.
“Argh!”
I look up at the scream.
Blonde hair, frazzled and sweaty, shoves another woman. It’s Olgar, one of mine.
Her arms flail, and I go to her, she’s not far away, maybe I can make it, maybe I can catch—
She hits the ground with a sickening thud, and I stop, eyes closing briefly before I look back up.
Darcia looks down at me, eyes wide, body shaking.
My eyes narrow, fury just beneath my skin now, and she flinches, moving back from the platform and continuing.
My body heats, blood boiling.
I look over at Karag as he leans back against the walls of the arena, smirking in my direction.
Growling, I grab Olgar and gently carry her over to the others, closing her eyes and saying a prayer, and then… I hunt.
I ignore the others, the king’s commentary, the guards arrows aimed at me as I stalk Darcia below.
There’s sixteen left now, she’s one of them and she comes up from the rear, jumping from platform to platform.
I don’t pay attention to who’s winning, if the three of mine who are left can make it, I can’t concentrate on it, I’ve set my sights on something else.
Darcia miscalculates the jump to the next platform.
She lands on her stomach on the wood, her legs kicking frantically below her as she claws to pull herself back up.
She manages, just barely, but as she rests against a chain, her eyes scanning below, they clash with mine.
I don’t know what she sees in them, but hers widen in fear, her fingers clenching around the chain.
See me. Fear me. I’m coming for you.
Darcia jumps up like she heard my thoughts and rushes to the next platform. She passes a Highwing, nearly knocking her over as fear makes her frantic.
She thinks getting to the top will save her?
I’m waiting below, and she has to come down here at some point.
“Stop stalking my clan member, Rohan,” Karag shouts across the arena.
I ignore him, but our members don’t.
One of mine, Fiona, looks down at me and then back to Darcia.
Darcia hesitates on the fourth platform away from the cages, and with one last look down at me, she turns, but she doesn’t see what’s coming.
Darcia lands on the next platform, but stills as Fiona, her former best friend, hovers over her.
My eyes narrow as they seem to talk, and I circle below like a monster of the sea, waiting for the moment it can strike.
Darcia shouts something, and Fiona shakes her head, stance in a fighting position.
Then, without waiting, Fiona lunges.
They wrestle, punching and kicking each other. At one point Darcia gets Fiona on her back, her head hanging over the edge, but Fiona head-butts her and rolls on top of her, punching with unrestrained fury even I can see from here.
Darcia claws at her, tries to defend herself, but Fiona is stronger.
She stands over her, chest heaving and bloody.
“Dragonbond, I have a gift!” Fiona shouts down to me, and I tilt my head.
Then she kicks Darcia in the side as she tries to stand, her feeble attempts to get away are too late.
Darcia goes over the edge, a scream tearing from her, and as I’m directly underneath, I’m in the perfect position to catch her.
She lands in my arms with an oomph, her hands digging into me for safety.
“Oh, thank you, thank you,” she says, but then she freezes, seeing who caught her.
She screams, scrambling from my hold.
She drops to the floor, rolling away a little and gets a foot under her… but I’m already at her ankle, and I snap it.
She cries out, clawing at the sand.
“Stop, stop,” she screams, as I hear shouts from behind me.
I look up to Fiona who watches us, and I give her a nod of thanks before she gets back to the game.
“Well, look at this,” Halen shouts. “Looks like we have some infighting.”
“Drop her, Rohan.” I ignore Karag as he storms over.
“Let go!” Darcia screams, and I snap her other ankle, dragging her closer to me.
“Do you remember what I said to you?” I ask, her body shaking as she continues to try and crawl away.
I pull her back by one broken ankle.
Another scream.
“Do you remember?” I ask again.
“Get away from her Rohan, now!” Karag comes over, reaching out to touch me and I snap.
I lunge at him, wrapping a hand around his throat as I push him back.
He didn’t expect it, has no time to recover as I balance him on the edge of a spiked pit.
“Back off,” I warn.
He snarls. “This isn’t the game, the rules state they are to reach the top, this isn’t allowed!” he splutters.
I tilt my head. “This is the Enclave, there are no rules, Karag, you should know that.”
He growls, pushing at me but I don’t move.
“Now you either let her be or I will put you into this pit.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he seethes.
“Fucking try me,” I say, my face now inches from his.
His eyes widen slightly.
Good. Now he’s getting it.
“Rohan, she’s crawling away,” Sigrid says, her tone almost bored. “Well, trying to.”
I release Karag, wondering what he will do, but he just stands there, righting his clothes, face red.
“Have her,” he spits. “But you will be punished for this.”
I crack my neck. “I don’t need your permission for what I’m about to do, Karag.”
I turn away, ignoring his threats about how my day will come.
He has no idea what’s coming.
Walking past the others, who don’t say a word, I follow the trail of blood to where Darcia is crawling away.
“Karag!” She cries out when she sees me coming, but she’s ignored.
Just like Alara’s cries would have been ignored. Her pain was ignored.
I grab her bloody ankle, bone sticking out of it and she screams once more.
So loud, so painful.
My lips stretch into a feral grin.
“Oh, we have more entertainment on our hands, what a spectacle!” Halen shouts.
I block him out as I turn her over, tears spilling down her pale face.
“R-Rohan, wait, I can tell you in-information,” she stutters, as I turn and drag her behind me, her sobs falling on deaf ears. “I know th-things. Wait!”
I stop at a pit, dropping her ankle and then crouching beside her.
“And what could you tell me, hmm?” I say, arms resting on my bent knees.
“Karag is helping the… the king.”
I tilt my head, saying nothing.
“We… he forced me to help him, like with Rhett, th-they both did, to make sure things ran smoothly at The Glade to-to… get eggs out.”
“And how did you help with that?” I ask quietly.
She shivers at my deadly tone.
“I… I would tell them where some eggs were from, which dragons w-were mated.”
“Go on,” I demand when she stops.
“Rhett would tell me from your meetings when you went over who was currently m-mated and who would have eggs, and then I would tell K-Karag.”
I breathe out slowly, feeling the rage within.
So that’s how.
I look across at Karag, and he shifts on his feet, trying to come across as formidable, but I can see the tension lining his shoulders.
He’s wondering what she’s saying.
Good. Let him wonder.
Let him fear.
“He—he made me,” Darcia continues. “Please believe me! He said he would hurt me, and then the clan, I-I was just trying to protect us.”
“You were?”
“Yes! Yes, I was, p-please help me, they’ve been hurting me.”
“Hmmm.”
I reach down, and she relaxes into the sand, thinking I’m stupid enough to believe her as I take her jaw in my hand. Softly, gently.
Her eyes flutter. “Rohan...”
I squeeze.
Hard.
So fucking hard that her eyes widen, her own hands coming up in an attempt to remove mine but I’m far too strong, and far too fucking angry.
“You betrayed your clan, your leader, the dragons.” I lean down. “And then you put your hands on her. Do you really think I would ever fall for your bullshit or forgive you?”
“I—”
I squeeze even harder as she chokes out a cry.
“Remember what I last said to you?”
More tears.
“I said if I were to see you again, I would snap your neck.” Her wet eyes widen. “And as you know, Darcia, my word is my honor.”
I look at the pit behind her.
“But, I didn’t say I would do it straight away.”
Then I lift her over the pit, ignoring her screams and cries as I drop her.
The spikes puncture different areas of her body, her pained choking groans an aphrodisiac to my ears.
Her eyes beg me to help, red soaking through her clothes but a grin spreads across my face as she slowly bleeds out.
“Do you feel helpless?” I ask her, and she whimpers. “That’s exactly how you made Alara feel.”
Her eyes widen and I push on her shoulder, shoving her down even more.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” A groan. “Good.”
I stay there as she bleeds out, pushing her further down on the spikes every now and then. Just as her body begins to grow limp and the light fades from her eyes, I whisper my last words.
“Told you I would kill you.”