Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Cypherion

Where in the damned Spirits was she going?

Ledger's fist slammed into the side of my head again, ringing through my skull.

Shit. Shouldn't have let myself get distracted.

My hand throbbed from when he crushed it, but he hadn't dug his boot in fully, so that was healing at least.

Fucking Angels, he was strong. A worthy opponent. Despite that, I kept an eye on Vale. My chest twisted as that man's arm wrapped possessively around her waist, and she leaned into him.

Where was he taking her?

Who—

A fist to my gut sent me stumbling, the rope border of the ring burning my back as I slid against it. Cheers swarmed me, hands jostling my body as I righted myself. They hadn't placed their bets on me, but it didn't matter. They just wanted a good show.

I didn't care about any of their damn gambling sheets. Only one mattered.

The one she signed.

As I reset my stance, I fought to keep my attention on Ledger and scan the ring at the same time.

Vale was gone. Disappeared into the mess of hungry, drunken Starsearchers. Anger poured through me at the realization, and I charged forward, landing two consecutive hits so quickly, my opponent couldn't block. A fast, distracting jab to open his defenses, followed by a solid cross that had my injured hand ringing in pain.

A simple combination—so simple he didn't expect it. It was well-placed and disorienting.

I kept up the pace while I had the advantage.

Warrior fighting rings were brutal. They had to be in order to knock a participant down long enough to declare a winner. With our quick healing, any small injury was easy to ignore. My shoulder the Starsearcher had nearly wrenched out of place was proof of that.

Thank the Spirits he didn't dislocate it entirely. That would have been impossible to fight through, arm useless at my side. The constant beat of pain it currently held motivated me to swing again, straight to his cheekbone.

Before he could recover, I assessed him. Saw right through those demons lying beneath the surface. Things gathered in the recent war.

I catalogued his weaknesses as I would any opponent on any battlefield. The bruise blooming across his ribs and eye swelling shut were good targets to batter before they could heal. A small smirk graced his lips despite the blood trickling from one corner.

"What are you smiling at, Starsearcher?" I growled.

Wiping the blood from his chin, Ledger said, "You're a smart fighter, I'll admit."

Then, he charged. And he was everywhere. I'd never fought someone like him. Someone who seemed to predict my movements before?—

He nailed me right in the jaw.

"Oh, on Damien's fucking grave," I cursed, spitting blood to the dirt and dancing out of his reach.

Ducking his next swing, I found Ledger's stare. Glassy. Not fully dazed, but not completely focused either. One mental eye on the Fates, one on me.

Where the fuck was Vale?

"I guess you play by different rules here," I said, lunging left to dodge a hit. "Reading my moves during a fight?"

Disgraceful, but how much of what went on in any ring was truly innocent? It was just another way to prove myself.

"Is it in the air?" I asked. Making a last-minute decision, I swung out and caught his ribs again. He hadn't been able to block that one, hadn't seen it coming with the little readings he was obviously conducting to cheat these fights. Ledger hunched over sideways.

His grin told me I was correct, though.

And Vale—fuck. Memories of her readings battered my mind.

Dread made it hard to breathe, my throat dry as Vale fell too still within that cloud of incense. Angellight burned through the room, Ophelia gone to it, her blood staining those emblems, and Tolek in a panic.

A growl rumbled in my chest, and Vale toppled to the floor.

"Vale?" I whispered, dropping to my knees beside her. Her eyes rolled back, mouth slightly ajar. "Vale!"

But her body seized uncontrollably.

I'd seen her read so deeply she exhausted herself. I'd seen her completely taken by a session during the Battle of Damenal, so far gone she didn't hear the fight around her. But this…

This was something else entirely.

Santorina was on Vale's other side. "Don't try to restrain her," she instructed me, placing a cushion under the Starsearcher's head and rolling her onto her side. "Just count."

So, I began a vigil at her side—Jezebel and Tolek shouting to Ophelia in the background—and fisted my hands against the cool tile to stop their shaking, counting the breaths.

Come on, Stargirl, I thought, slamming my hand against the ground . Fight those fucking Fates.

This wasn't Vale. I may have barely been able to speak to her lately, but Vale was powerful—she was formidable with her magic.

But as she finally stopped seizing, and her heartbeat slowed to a horrifying pause, I worried that the Fates might kill her.

I had to end this fight. Had to get to her before her own readings pummeled her. She might already be weak. Images of her strewn on the ground, vulnerable and alone, dragged nausea through my gut.

I didn't stop to consider how Ledger was doing it. Just focused on Vale, so she was all anyone reading my fate would see. The desperation I pretended to ignore replaced any anticipation of my next move.

Then, I charged the warrior, shoulder slamming into the bruise on his ribs and taking him to the ground.

And I evened the score.