The reason for that hung heavy between us. “We can fix that right now,” I said. “There’s blood juice on the counter.” He immediately shook his head.
“Not an option.”
“Why?”
He glared at me. “You know why.”
“You resisted last night!”
“Last night wasn’t real.”
“It was real enough!” My voice had gained an octave.
He waved it away. “You know what I meant.”
I set the plate down and leaned in so I could throw his words back at him. “Guess what, genius. You’re still a smartass. Which means whatever is broken in your head isn’t beyond repair.”
He smiled then. It showed me his fangs, but I realised the deranged quality was gone. After a couple of minutes lost in thought, Andrei got up to leave. “It would be nice if you didn’t die tomorrow,” he said.
“I’ll try my best.”
By the light of the roaring fire behind his back, I studied Chanelle, Bradley, and Barbara. They sat huddled together speaking softly but urgently. I hoped my best would be good enough.
52
When we stepped onto the mats of the arena, I was glad I had decided to skip breakfast. My stomach was a knot of caterpillars. If somebody so much as breathed in my direction, I was going to throw up.
The stadium had been converted from an outdoor amphitheatre to a sports arena with tiered seating all around. The arena itself was warded off from the first tier of seats and there was a physical barrier that blocked off the splash zone.
While only the most important guests had been present at the opening ceremony, today’s fight was the main attraction. I guessed the Academies wanted to ensure there was as much seating as possible.
Andrei whistled from my right. “It’s packed,” he said.
“Isn’t it always?” I shot back. The replays I’d seen in the MirrorNet had always been chock full of spectators.
“Not like this.” He pointed to the very top of the seats. There were winged supernaturals hovering above the stadium. “I’ll bet the ones who can’t fly are fuming.”
I didn’t like the feel of any of this. “Lex!” Charles shouted my name. I turned towards the sound of his voice and couldn’t help smiling. They sat three tiers from the mats. He and Luther were positioned on either side of Cassie and Maddison. Even better, on the row behind them sat the rest of my friends, as well as Nanna and Basil. They all waved at me with mixed expressions on their faces. Cassie looked a little green. After everything that had happened to us, I wasn’t surprised.
“Is there a rule against speaking to spectators?” I asked Andrei.
“I don’t think so.”
That was all I needed. I raced over to them and gave as many hugs as I could in the short amount of time I had. Nanna didn’t want to let go. “Are you okay?” she asked. I clutched her jittery hands. We were both thinking of last night’s possession.
“I’ll be fine.”
Sophie squeezed me hard. There were tears in her eyes. “This is so crazy,” she said.
Basil gripped my wrist. “They’re not going to go easy on you,” he said. Something appeared in my palm. I stared at the enchanted orb. I raised a brow at him.
“You’re encouraging me to cheat?”
“I’m encouraging you not to die.”
“I think I have enough motivation for that.”
He grabbed me by the shoulders. “I see you, Alessia Hastings,” he said. The look he gave me was soul-searching. I wanted to lower my gaze, but he refused to let me. “I know deep down you want to save everybody. But some of those people won’t give you the same consideration.”
It was Maddison who knocked the wind from my sails, though. “If it comes down to the wire,” she said. “Kill that bitch.”
I choked. I didn’t think I heard right. “Wah?”
There was no give in her eyes. “Not all of us agree with her bonding with Kai. These Games have just proven she’s not worth a damn.”
The magical mirrors blared a warning. “All contestants to the mats.”
I sucked in a breath and made my way back into the spotlight. At least I was in a comfortable pair of jeans today. I had woken up to an assortment of my own clothing and shoes inside the closet. I chose the jeans I used to spar with in Ravenhall, a black singlet, and a pair of well-worn but sturdy boots.
The boys and Barbara were in sweats. Chanelle had on her games uniform that somehow managed to be a fashion statement and utilitarian at the same time.
Jacqueline, Angus, and Jordan Knight made their way from the holding area to the middle of the mat.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jacqueline said. “May I have your attention, please?” The whole stadium quietened down until you could hear a leaf drop. “Welcome to the final trial of this year’s Unity Games. I trust that you have found it as enlightening as I have.”
The roar of applause was deafening. Interspersed with the clapping was the raucous stamping of feet, whistling, chanting, and encouraging screaming.
Somebody shouted my name to the left. I had been trying to block out as much of the crowd as I could. I had only so much will and I didn’t want it to be compromised by other people’s opinions.
“Up until now, your contestants have been participating without their abilities. For this final round, they are returned.”
Andrei showed no visible change, but Max shuddered. His eyes flashed gold for a second before it disappeared. He flexed his hand in front of him and smiled.
Something tugged low in my gut when green light burst forth around Kai. It eased some of the tension from his bunched shoulders.
Barbara gave an audible sigh. Her angel blade, a scimitar, appeared in her hand amidst a wash of magenta light. It brought home how utterly outclassed I was.
It was then that Angus turned to
