Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Did you sleep well?" Dorrin asked, his face unreadable but for the slightest hint of an amused crease at the corner of his mouth.

"Shut up."

"What did I say?"

Ziana stared, long and unblinking. He matched her gaze, and yes, there it was, that tiny glimmer of mirth in his eyes.

"Just plate me some food," she said with a resigned sigh. "What've you made this morning?"

"A restorative smoothie, a nutrient-dense porridge, and a shot of healing elixir, though from what I can see your burns are healing quite well."

"They itch like hell."

"That's a good sign. Your kind is apparently very sensitive to the gel. Not all would be at this stage of healing so fast."

"Lucky me."

"Compared to many, yes. Yes, you are," he noted, placing her breakfast in front of her then serving himself a considerable helping.

Several items were scattered about the table, as they had been for days now. Mental games, puzzles, and obstacle mockups he'd managed to cobble together to give her a more technical view of what they'd possibly be dealing with in the games but from the comfort of a safe location where they could sit and game plan how to handle them best. Of course, not all games were presented, and there would always be surprises, but these, at least, gave a little help in preparing for them.

Still, running the gauntlet on the fly, even if you'd practiced parts of it before, was always a challenge. It required reactions. Reflexes. And most of all, rapid assessment skills. Every little thing he could do to keep her from hesitating in the face of difficulty he would do. Whatever it took to progress to the next round.

And progressing was something he now realized he and his partner were attempting with a stealthily applied handicap.

Her new runes should have made her stronger. Faster. But they'd been dealt a bad hand by Chancellor Vinchi. One they couldn't even say anything about. Sure, it might make the Chancellor look bad, but she would pay the price. No one would take the word of a glorified slave over the ruling elite. And, if what Dorrin said was correct, she could even face penalties far worse than indenture for the offense of incomplete runes despite it not being her doing.

Much as it sucked, she'd have to make do.

Dorrin, however, was looking at her with fresh eyes. Her shortcomings, significant as they were at times, had an explanation now. She was still an unskilled anchor dragging him down, but at least it wasn't entirely her fault.

"Study the puzzles," he said between bites, his hands solving them almost absent-mindedly.

While Ziana had never been great with spatial things, Dorrin was a natural. It was almost spooky how easy he made it look. Like a savant, but only with this one thing. Fortunately, after the physical strains of the prior day and night, today's events would be tests of mental acuity and problem solving, rather than physical ones. They wouldn't be easy though. That wouldn't please the crowd. But where exciting action lacked, specialized betting pools were now available, and the ever-shifting odds kept the gambling masses thoroughly engaged.

"How is your mind?" he asked as she fumbled through one of the more difficult metal and wood puzzles.

"I'm fine. This is just not my thing."

"I realize that, and even runes would not help you in this task. To our benefit, however, is the fact that even the elites cannot cheat at this series of events. A puzzle is a puzzle, and while they may be larger than what we practice with, the basics are the same."

"Wait, larger?"

"Yes. I mentioned this before. These are practice sized. The actual items are as tall as you are."

She felt a flare of panic. "I can't lift a hunk of metal as tall as me!"

"Do not worry. They are hollow, and the metal is a very light alloy."

"And the wood ones?"

"Hollow as well, and typically those pieces are smaller. They take into consideration physical limitations after yesterday's events, believe me. Enough people dropped out that they cannot risk losing too many today. The games will be far more profitable if a greater number of teams remain until the end."

"But they will still thin us out."

"Oh, that they will. But today, at least, will be something of an easy day. Only the worst of us will be culled and eliminated from play. Typically, those who focus solely on physical tasks, ignoring training the mental."

She didn't exactly like the sound of what was in store for them, but Ziana supposed it was better than having to run, jump, and climb. Her skin was tender, her joints aching, and her muscles still recovering from all the exertion.

Ziana took a big swig of her smoothie and rolled her stiff shoulders. "Well, then. I guess we're in for an interesting day."

As it turned out, it was actually easier than she'd anticipated. The teams were allowed to select which partner would attempt which puzzle, so long as they each completed the same number by the end of the day. That meant they were able to have Dorrin take the difficult ones while Ziana was given the ones she actually knew how to do.

Hers still took some time and effort, but she was actually doing decently. Not setting any records by any means, but she was at least making it to completion, though just under the wire a few times.

Dorrin, on the other hand, was astounding. Sure, he'd shown aptitude for these spatial games while casually fiddling with them over breakfast, but now? Out here with the cheering crowds urging him on, he was absolutely on fire.

Figuratively, of course.

Ziana watched her partner in awe, moving with him to keep the slack in their connecting cable so he could solve the puzzle unhindered. Incredibly, she was almost getting winded by the sheer speed at which he worked. She had never imagined she'd be impressed by a guy solving a puzzle. Saying it out loud would have sounded ridiculous. But this? This was something entirely different. Something special. And the reactions from the crowd only reinforced her realization.

They're going nuts , she marveled. Like, really nuts .

Every time Dorrin was up for one of the many puzzles spread about the arena in blocked off sections, the crows shifted to watch him. She noted that the elites seemed particularly annoyed by that, to her great delight. It was when he apparently shattered a record for one of the more confusing puzzles that she'd never even gotten close to completing in their practice sessions, that she realized why. They were betting heavily on his performance. And it looked like he was making a lot of gamblers quite rich.

"Done!" he shouted, raising his arms victoriously and waving to the onlookers, a huge smile on his face. And unlike the prior days, this one actually looked real. Unforced. Dorrin was having the time of his life.

"That was impressive," she said as they trotted off down the shielded pathway toward whatever the next puzzle would be.

"One of my favorites," he replied with a grin. "But this is also problematic."

"How so?"

"I've done the majority of the early ones as they have been quite difficult."

"And I appreciate that."

"But—"

"There's always a but."

"But that means the completions are stacked in my direction, and per the rules you will have to complete an equal amount of challenges."

"I know. I'm just hoping for the best, but I'm also preparing for the worst."

He looked at her funny. "A surprisingly profound philosophy. Did you come up with that?"

"Uh, yes. Yes, I did."

He gave an appreciative little nod. "Well, let's see what we are facing next. It is nearly time for the lunchtime break, and we will need to refresh and reinforce your training during that down time."

As it turned out, the next one wasn't so bad, and Ziana opted to solve the puzzle. It was a ground-level one that involved sliding different shapes around until they either fit together or there were no further moves available.

"It's like Tetris," she noted with a smile that surprised him.

"Tetris?"

"I played it a bunch in college. It's an old-school game that kinda let me just zone out and turn my brain off when things got to be too much."

"So, you are saying this is familiar? This is a fairly complex pattern recognition puzzle."

"I've got it."

"Really? You wish to attempt this one? It is one of the games we were not provided a sample with which to practice, and it is not easy."

"Yeah, I do. Trust me, I've got this."

"Very well. Let's see what you can do."

Ziana grinned as she stepped to the starting area where the timers would start the clock. A lot of competitors were failing to complete various puzzles, as was expected, and success was gauged on level of completion if they didn't manage to finish the challenge. This one, however, she was confident she would succeed at.

The starting gong sounded but she stood still a long moment, drawing murmurs from the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Dorrin asked, not panicked, but a little concerned.

"Just give me a second."

She ran through moves in her mind, noting the obvious ones that seemed advantageous but would actually lead to a dead-end and nixing them at once. Finally, after nearly a full minute, she bent and began rearranging the pieces, sliding them into place with a slow but steady pace.

"Done!" she called out a surprisingly short time later.

"She has completed it! Pay up!" a man shouted from the stands, setting off a ripple of surprised arguments. Apparently, given her earlier performances they hadn't expected her to succeed and had put considerable odds against her. At least one gambler had decided to take a risk on her, and it was now paying off quite handsomely.

A short while later lunch was called, and the competitors made their way to the tunnel to exit for the break. The crowd cheered loudly for the surprising human as she passed, irritating the elites to no end and drawing angry stares from them all. The representatives of the five families converged, walking close and speaking in hushed tones, flashing occasional glances at Dorrin and his human partner. Plotting.

"Not very subtle, are they?" Ziana noted.

"They are the ruling families. They do not fear us, at least not in any other setting. But here in the games? Here is the one place we might hope to overcome their unfair advantages in the outside world."

"Most of them, you mean," she replied, casually rubbing her top where it covered her incomplete Infala rune.

"Don't do that. And yes, most of them. They will always find ways to secure a superior position, but that just means we have to work doubly hard to overcome their shenanigans."

"Did you just say shenanigans?"

"What's wrong with that? Did your rune not translate it properly?"

"No, it's not that. It's just an odd word for a man like you to use."

"Like me?"

"Gruff and imposing."

"Despite appearances, I can be refined when I wish."

"Well, aren't you full of surprises?"

He merely shrugged. "Come on, let's eat."

They made their way to the dining area and did just that, enjoying a delightful spread and eating their fill without worry about cramping up in the afternoon's events. These were mental more than physical challenges, and their bodies were glad for the day's respite.

While the morning had gone well, after lunch it was another story altogether. Dorrin had taken the majority of the early challenges, but the later ones were mostly just as difficult. Some even more so. As a result, Ziana was forced to participate in many that she was simply not cut out for. Whatever lead her partner might have secured before lunch was gone by the end of the day and they only barely made the cutoff to avoid disqualification.

"It wasn't my fault," she grumbled over dinner.

It was a group dining experience this evening, though the teams all chose to eat apart, save the elites, who seemed perfectly at ease with one another. They also cast more than a few distasteful looks at the human woman. But she was more concerned with the guy she was quite literally bound to.

"I realize your failures were not intentional," he replied, keeping his irritation in check as best he could. Given the lead he'd secured and how spectacularly it had been blown, however, his feelings were quite clear.

"This whole thing isn't my idea, you know. I was forced to do it."

"As you keep saying."

"Because it's not fair."

"Life is not fair, but we make the best we can," he grumbled between bites. "On the bright side, at least you managed to not totally fail today, so I suppose congratulations are in order for doing the absolute minimum."

"Hey, fuck you. I crushed the Tetris one."

"And despite our preparations, you performed like an utter amateur on the rest. Worse, even. It's a miracle we were not eliminated."

"But we weren't, so stop being such a dick. Jeez."

"Then stop treating this like it means nothing. It may to you, but it does not to me."

The two ceased talking after that and ate the rest of their meal in angry silence, a silence that maintained as they bathed. This time, however, the sight of his naked body did nothing for her nether regions.

How did I ever find him even remotely attractive, even for a minute? she asked herself as they dried off. Such a jerk .

There was no chit-chat tonight. Instead, they turned in early as if by silent agreement. Tangibly annoyed with one another, they climbed into their respective beds, ignoring the adage to not go to sleep angry. They each rolled to their side, their backs to one another, and drifted off to an irritated slumber.