CHAPTER 54 - MEDRA

We were the last ones.

The outskirts of the dome were empty as we approached.

The pair of heavy stone doors leading the way inside sat slightly ajar.

In front of them was a stone pillar topped with a small offering bowl and a knife. Despite the many pairs of consorts who had come before us, the bowl was empty and the knife was clean.

Another highblood mystery. I wondered if Professor Wispwood had been here, working her magic.

"Well, this is it," I muttered, glancing at Regan. "You want to go first or should I do the honors?"

Regan lifted her chin. "I always go first, Pendragon." She stepped forward and lifted up the ritual knife. With a swift motion, she cut a small mark in her palm and let a few drops of blood dribble into the bowl.

The stone doors groaned, cracking open further, but not fully. We were only halfway there.

"Your turn," Regan said, holding the blade out to me.

Instinctively I reached for it.

The second my fingers brushed the handle, Regan yanked the blade forward, slicing it across my forearm instead of my palm. I gasped as blood poured from the wound into the offering bowl.

"What the hell?" I hissed, clutching my arm as crimson continued to drip onto the ground. Yet I could already feel Blake's blood working inside me, healing me. The tear in my flesh was starting to close.

Regan smiled darkly. "Whoops. Sorry. My hand must have slipped."

I glared at her as the doors opened with an ominous creak.

Regan laughed and strode into the building without a backwards glance.

Resisting the urge to pull her back by the hair, I took a deep breath and then quickly tore a piece of cloth from the edge of my shirt to wrap my arm, before following her.

Inside the dome, the atmosphere was cold.

Darkness swallowed us as soon as we entered. But as the doors slammed shut behind us, torches flared to life one by one around the walls.

I glanced at the wall to my left and then stepped up to it, grabbing the two swords that had been hanging there. Beside them hung two small shields, bucklers. I tossed one of each to Regan and she caught them.

"Try not to stab me in the back," I muttered.

She batted her eyelashes. "I make no promises."

We walked inside the interior of the dome. It was a lot like the arena. A central, circular chamber with a domed roof. There were no tiers of seats though. The building was empty except for us.

Almost empty.

Two creatures stepped out slowly from the shadows as more torches along the walls flared up to illuminate them.

I froze.

Beside me, Regan was shaking her head. "You've got to be kidding me," she said, sounding annoyed. She took up a fighting stance and brandished her sword as the two creatures slowly advanced. "Not these things again. They used these last year. Can't they come up with anything better for these pathetic losers when they flunk out?"

I couldn't even find the words to answer. All I could do was stare.

The creatures were grotesque amalgamations of what had once been students–blightborn students. Human flesh had been combined with arachnid traits. Legs split into eight limbs. Mouths split into mandibles that dripped and clicked as they moved.

From what Regan had just said, it sounded as if this was a common challenge in the Games. Turning former students into monstrosities.

I thought of all the consorts who had come before us. Of all the battles that had already been fought in the dome today.

Maybe, just maybe I could have steeled myself to face those...things. If one of the students hadn't been someone I knew.

Naveen scuttled slowly towards me, the twisted creature that held his soul a horrible mockery of the sweet, goofy boy he had once been.

His brown skin, once warm and full of life, had taken on a sickly, blotchy hue. Patches of thick, dark hair sprouted in uneven clusters along his arms and back. Where his legs should have been were now eight jointed limbs, thin and spindly, jutting from his sides. They bent and clicked unnaturally as he moved in stilted steps.

His back was hunched, the spider-like limbs supporting a stretched, elongated frame, hardly human at all, giving him a lopsided, horrifyingly insectoid appearance.

And his face. Oh, gods, his face. His boyish features were twisted into a nightmare, eyes bulging and black like a spider's, devoid of all human emotion. Predatory. Rapacious. Sharp mandibles extended from his mouth, twitching grotesquely and dripping with a viscous liquid.

Beside me, Regan was unphased. If anything, she seemed amused by my horror.

She gave a low, mocking chuckle. "Get a grip, Pendragon. Choking up already? Guess I don't need to worry about planning my revenge after all. Your little friend is going to finish you off before I can."

She darted across the room as my stomach turned. Part of me wanted to slap her sideways. But Naveen–if any part of him really was Naveen anymore–took another step closer and my focus shifted back.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Regan engage the second monster. A spider-like creature I could just barely recognize as a First Year girl. She'd shared a piece of parchment with me in History of Sangratha once.

I turned back to Naveen, trying to block out the pain I was feeling.

I forced myself to shove away the memories of Naveen's infectious laughter in class. His goofy smile. Tried to forget about how he'd never be able to tell Florence how he felt now. He'd never be able to tell us anything again.

My hands were trembling. I wanted to run but there was nowhere to go.

Naveen lunged.

I barely raised my buckler in time. The force of the blow sent me stumbling backwards, arm throbbing from the impact.

He was fast. One of his legs caught me in the side, slicing through my shirt. Pain bloomed instantly.

He was moving again, his spider limbs propelling him forward with terrifying speed.

I dodged, rolling to the side as Naveen's mandibles snapped down inches from my face.

The air was filled with the clicking and clattering of his legs as he turned to face me again.

"I can't do this. I fucking can't ." I heard my voice crack.

You have to. You have to be strong, Orcades' voice insisted, piercing through the fog. You have to let go of him. He's gone, Medra. This isn't him. Not anymore.

I drew a deep sobbing breath. It's too hard. Those motherfuckers. They planned it. All of it.

There was a pause, as if she was hesitating. The crown .

No, I said. No, no, no. Then I thought of the dream I'd woken up from. Of Professor Wispwood lifting the circlet off my head.

The pain stung even worse. They made me choose , I said hollowly. They got into my head and they made me choose this. I did this.

You didn't choose this, Orcades insisted. Not consciously.

But I did. It could have been Florence.

Florence, the sweet, smart, bookish girl who I had come to love like a sister.

The crown had sat atop my head, piercing my thoughts with its bitter powers. And it had seen something I'd never have admitted out loud. That I loved Florence more than Naveen. It had taken my two dearest friends and made a mockery of friendship, of love, of loyalty.

The only thing you can do for Naveen now, my mother said, is let him die with dignity.

Dignity? I let out a choking hiccuping sob and rolled away as another spider-like limb pierced down where I'd just been. How can there be any dignity when they've done this to him?

It's a mercy killing , my mother said softly. Think of the boy's parents.

I knew she was right. That didn't make it feel any less like a betrayal.

The creature that was once Naveen let out an inhuman screech and darted towards me with unnatural speed. I dodged, but this time I wasn't fast enough. Maybe I didn't want to be.

One of his long, spindly legs caught my side, slashing me open with sharp, needle-like claws.

I knocked it aside with the buckler, then rolled away, clutching at my ribs, feeling the blood seep through my fingers.

For a moment, pain coursed through me and the thought crossed my mind: What if I just let it happen? Blake's blood couldn't heal me fast enough if I just let Naveen attack me over and over again. It would be painful but quick. This entire nightmare would finally be over. I'd have escaped.

Don't you dare, my mother's voice warned sternly. You end him now before he ends you. Think beyond yourself. Beyond this moment. Take courage. Beyond the darkness lies the light.

Light.

I tried to do as she said. I thought of Florence. Her kindness and her brilliance.

I thought of Blake, whose bullying had evolved into a strange protection. Blake who I couldn't quite bring myself to fully hate.

I even thought of the fluffin, ridiculous Neville with his soft fur and happy nature, scooting back and forth across the school, unable to decide if he belonged to Florence or to Blake. He saw something good in each of them, something maybe even I hadn't fully glimpsed yet.

They were waiting for me. Blake didn't want me to fail. He'd given me his blood to make sure I got out of here.

I thought of Naveen's parents. My heart ached. I owed them this much. Their son deserved a peaceful end. Better he find his rest at my hands than at Regan's.

Tears blurred my vision. I blinked them away, determination filling my chest.

The spider-creature charged again, its legs clattering against the floor in a horrifying rhythm.

I dodged to the side, ignoring the sting of my wound.

I was faster this time. I didn't hesitate.

I swiped at one of the spider's legs, severing it at the joint. Naveen screeched in agony, staggering back.

I thought of Florence, watching back at Bloodwing, and the tears poured down my face.

I knew what I had to do. But my sword felt heavy in my hand.

Naveen lunged again. I tried to block but one of his massive legs crashed into my sword arm, knocking the blade from my grip. It fell to the floor, skidding out of reach.

I ducked down, yanking Coregon's dagger free from my boot.

Let's finish this, my mother murmured softly. Together .

Naveen darted forward again but I was ready. I dove and drove the dagger into the spider's capacious chest, right where its heart should have been. I ripped the knife savagely back and forth, tearing a wide swathe in the creature's underside.

Guts and viscous black fluid rained down on me. I gagged. Overhead, the spider-creature convulsed violently and collapsed.

I stood over it, looking down into its black eyes. Was Naveen still in there? Looking back at me somehow?

I wiped at the tears on my cheeks, my heart heavy.

I could taste the blood magic, my mother said, her voice filled with disgust. The dark sorcery that bound him. His soul was already gone. You just gave his body peace.

I nodded, closing my eyes, trying to let the weight of her words sink in fully. Naveen had already been lost. The highbloods did this to him, not me.

But I couldn't escape the feeling of guilt. The Crown of Bone had been placed upon my head. I was the culpable one.

From across the room, I heard a scream. My eyes snapped open.

Regan was fighting her own monster. Blood ran down her arms as she raised her sword, trying to keep the creature at bay.

Her cocky arrogance had fled.

You don't owe her anything, my mother reminded me.

I glanced across the room. The doors on the opposite side had opened halfway. I could slip through them, leaving Regan behind.

Regan had tried to kill me. She might put things to rest after this. Or she might do it again.

Leaving her would be the justice she deserved.

I clenched my teeth. I can't.

Cursing under my breath, I sprinted across the room. The creature had cornered Regan, its long legs pinning her to the floor.

I didn't hesitate, I threw my buckler at the spider-like monster, hitting it square in the back.

The creature shrieked and turned towards me. I refused to look it in the eyes. A First Year girl. This was a First Year girl once.

"Hey!" I shouted, waving my arms like an idiot and backing away. "Come and get me!"

Behind the creature, Regan was rolling to her feet. She grabbed the sword she'd dropped as I continued to distract the spider, trying to give her the opening she needed.

It was enough.

Regan ran forward and plunged her sword into the creature's side, piercing its hide. She withdrew the sword and stabbed it again, then a third time. The monster screeched and writhed, collapsing to the floor.

Regan wiped the blood from the blade on her thigh and shot me a haughty look I knew only too well.

"What took you so long?"

I bit back a retort.

We didn't say another word to one another as we turned and headed towards the doors.