Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

" C ome with us."

Nothing about their smug looks eases my twisting stomach, my instinct telling me something isn't right.

They quickly bring me back to my cell. Before I get the chance to figure out what they have planned, a boot slams into my back, and shadows slash out and encase me. I guess their little warning about not using shadows will be overlooked this time.

"This is for your little display."

Their shadows raise me up off the ground before slamming me into the cell wall, and the air is ripped from my lungs just as I'm thrown to the ground.

While their shadows hold me down, boots and punches slam into my chest, stomach, back, and legs. The only place they don't touch is my face, leaving all evidence of their attack anywhere my skin is clothed.

I try to focus on my raspy breaths, each inhale and shaky exhale, and not on the sound of their punches as they hit my skin or the burn and agony they leave behind. Nor how their thick boots slam into my back and legs, surely leaving an imprint. By the time they start to ease up, my entire body throbs with pain.

"That should be enough." One last final boot slams down on my leg, and a whimper escapes my lips.

"Five minutes and we'll be back to collect you for your next round in the trial. Enjoy your break ." Chuckles echo around me as their footsteps move farther and farther away until I'm left on my own.

With a trembling hand, I reach for the healing stone in my pocket, but my heart drops when I find it missing.

My stomach churns when I realize that I am going to have to fight the other competitors, those more skilled and rested, while I'm injured and in agony.

I want to break. To split open and seep out onto the floor. But this pain will pass, and I will rise like I have every other time. I can't let them get to me. Not now, nor ever, and definitely not when I am at my weakest.

I claw a hand into the dirt and then another before pushing up on unsteady hands. A sharp bolt of pain slices down my back, ripping the breath from me once more. But I take my time, breathing through it, and it passes.

I push to my knees next, grateful when neither is broken or seriously injured, just heavily bruised and battered. Crawling over to the cell door, I use the bars to drag the rest of my body upward.

Eventually I get to my feet and nearly fall once more as a jolt of sharp pain shoots up through my right foot and pulses around my ankle. I test it again, putting a little pressure on it when it happens again, making me gasp.

I glance down and see the swelling forming around it and realize with dread that it must be broken or severely sprained.

Holding on to the cell door, I test my other foot, but it's not as bad as my right.

Thudding boots and deep chuckles move toward me. I push away from the cell door and straighten my body, gritting my teeth against the pain from my broken ankle.

"Time is up, Sidus," the guard sneers.

I move slowly and with a limp to avoid putting too much pressure on my right foot. But the guards seem to dislike my slow movements, as one shoves me forward.

I gasp, catching myself with my bad foot and most likely injuring it further.

Clenching my fists, I dig my nails into my hands and move forward, one step at a time until I arrive at the arena.

I ignore the guards and their whispered warnings before they leave.

Oryn spots me at the edge of the arena and comes straight over to me.

"Do you have tape?" I ask him, knowing what I must do if I want to make it through this alive.

"Yes, I think?—"

"Get it for me… please ." I grit against the pain and push it down once more.

"Seren—"

I shake my head at him as my eyes blur. "Don't. Just do as I ask."

With a frown, he gets me the tape and I quickly get to work, wrapping it around both ankles to make sure they don't assume my weakness.

"Cover me," I tell Oryn.

"What—"

I pull up my shirt and he spins around.

"I'm sorry, I…" He clears his throat before growing quiet.

I wrap my stomach and quickly pull down my shirt before anyone comes in from behind me.

"Thank you," I tell him, and he turns around. I throw him what is left of the tape and hope he doesn't mind that I used most of it.

"Seren, what happened?—"

"Round two will begin soon." Alderic claps his hands to gain everyone's attention. "As these competitors are more advanced in skill, the winner of each fight will continue on to the next one. If your name is called, come to the center and choose your weapon."

"It doesn't matter. Let us just get through this," I tell him and ignore his deepening frown and growing worry to focus on the guard as he calls out the first pairing.

"Vardan and… Seren ."

My stomach drops and my gaze finds the lieutenant's as he smiles at me. A vicious, cruel thing that only adds fuel to the burning flame slowly building inside me.

They have planned it so I must fight each skilled competitor, should I win each one. But they have also attempted to weaken and break me to ensure I don't.

But I will never give up fighting, and it is something they will all come to learn.

The first fight doesn't last long, and even though I end up with more injuries, I win. The next four fights are the same, each one more draining than the last, but my foot holds along with my other injuries.

But the longer I am forced to fight with my injuries, the more foolish mistakes I make.

I fall to the ground a third time but push myself up once again, blocking another attack before giving myself some ground to try to gain some footing between us.

With my injured foot, I am slower than normal, so I counter it by attempting to be smarter than the other competitors. I watch my opponents, finding their weaknesses and countering their moves before they get a chance to cause any true damage.

It works well for me, but I know I won't be able to keep this up and block out the pain for much longer.

"Finish her," someone screams from the sidelines, their voice filled with nothing but hate.

They do not know me. Not one of them. And yet they aim their complete and utter hatred directly at me. They want to see me in pain. To suffer and watch on with glee.

A numbness blankets my every pain and ache, my body becoming something other. A blinding rage slides over me as something snaps inside me.

No more games. They want to take me down, then I'll drag them with me. Everywhere already hurts, the pain having no bounds or limits over my body, but my soul and spirit is still intact.

Covered in blood and with more injuries than I can count, I manage to make it through as one of the last three competitors. Haddon chooses to go up against me next, a savage smirk on his face, and the guards allow it without question.

Haddon fights with a skill not many have. But his bloodthirst for hurting others and his savage cruelty will only be his downfall.

He lunges forward and attacks me with purpose, but I manage to intercept him. He tries to maneuver me into a tight spot, but I duck low and slash his thigh, moving back to the center of the arena. It barely deters him, only making his savage smile widen.

He lunges forward again, but I miss my stepping and he grabs hold of my arm and twists it, snapping my wrist and quickly unarming me, throwing my blade to the side.

I stumble away from him, grabbing my wrist as it throbs. Hissing through the pain, I readjust my grip and quickly unwrap some of the tape from my good ankle to use it on my wrist.

Before I get the chance to prepare myself, he attacks without mercy while I defend with everything I have. But he manages to shove me to the ground once more.

Not ready to give up, I grab a handful of dirt with my good hand and wait until he is close enough before throwing it straight into his eyes.

While he's momentarily blinded, I roll to the side and grab my sword from the ground before getting up and spinning around to him. I barely manage to block the blade aimed for my head but luckily manage it.

Before he aims his sword toward me again, I slice mine across his back and spin it before slamming the hilt of it into the back of his head. Just as he falls forward, I move in front of him, grab a handful of his hair, and slam his head down onto my bent knee as hard as I can. A crack sounds out as I break his nose, and he drops to the ground with a thump.

The silence in the arena is deafening as everyone's gaze veers from Haddon's passed-out form to me.

It takes a minute for the guards to collect themselves, and I use it to refocus and center myself, pushing my injuries and pain to the back of my mind for just a little longer.

"Oryn and Seren," the guard growls out before they take Haddon away with more care than any other.

Oryn steps up in front of me, and his gaze trails over me, his eyes widening in shock the more he looks.

"Fight," I tell him, readying my stance.

"You're injured." He moves a step back, and the look in his eyes tells me he is about to forfeit and ruin everything.

"Fight me or lose and you will never find your sister," I grit out, reminding him of our purpose here.

A spark of determination enters his eyes as he finally attacks. But I misjudge my stepping, foolishly letting my guard down with him, and he twists, sliding the blade straight through my stomach before yanking it out.

His eyes widen in horror as I drop to my knees and fall to the side, darkness quickly clouding my vision.

He drops the sword and starts toward me, but the guards come quick and pull him to the side to congratulate him. I watch on, no longer able to move as the guards drag my body carelessly back to my cell, my entire body blanketed in pain.

Slamming the cell door shut with a lock, they leave me to my torment and suffering.

Wave after wave of thick agony envelops my body. It slowly tries to drag me into its darkness, but I fight to stay above the surface.

A small glint of a light catches my eye, drawing me to it, and my eyes widen slightly when I spot the healing stone on the other side of the cell.

It must have fallen from my pocket when the guards attacked me earlier. If I can just reach it, I will soon be free of this agony.

I try to move a single finger, but no part of my body will listen. Everything is too painful, too sore. The numbness has completely left me, only to reveal the piercing slash and burn that radiates throughout every part of me.

My body grows heavy, and I know I need to move it, the warning thrumming through the air around me before crawling down my spine like ice.

Clawing my fingers through the dirt, I get one arm steady under me before doing the same to the other.

Using my arms to crawl, I slowly make my way over to the stone, my body giving out just a foot in front of it. Not ready to give up just yet, I reach out and push myself, my fingertips sliding off the stone before it moves toward me.

I wrap my fingers around it, drawing it closer to my body just as the darkness drags me under.