“But surely they’ll call it off before anyone is seriously hurt?”
Gemma shook her head and his heart plummeted as a brick of ice formed in his stomach. “The two Competitors are the only ones able to stop it. No outside help is allowed.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, “But it’s fine, I’m sure Allyra will concede before Jason does too much damage.”
He nodded, not completely convinced. Allyra could be stubborn and Jason vicious. Gemma was right, it wasn’t over yet.
“When is the third Trial happening?” He asked.
She shrugged, “I don’t know – they haven’t announced it yet, and there’s still a week and a half before the next full moon.”
“Where are they keeping Allyra and Jason?”
“They’re still at the dormitory by the Combat Arena.”
“Alone?” Jamie asked incredulously.
Gemma’s only reply was a grim nod.
He groaned and dropped his head into his one working hand.
“Come on, cheer up beautiful.”
He looked up at the new, overtly cheerful voice. It was Eva – he groaned again.
“I didn’t know you were speaking to me again.” He said sarcastically.
She had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry.” She said, wringing her hands uncomfortably. “It’s just… I’ve worked so hard and waited so long for this. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more. Forgive me?” She asked hopefully – suspiciously wide-eyed and innocent.
He’d never been good at holding grudges – life was simply too short to waste on such negativity. At least, that was always what he believed, though he could still hear Allyra, Emma and Rob all ganging up on him and teasing him mercilessly over it.
He nodded, “Water under the bridge.”
Eva grinned, “I always knew you were good people Jamie Thiessen.” She sobered quickly, “So… Allyra – she’s really turned out to be the dark horse.”
She found a stray thread on his bed sheet and started pulling on it, unraveling it slowly. He might’ve forgiven her, but the atmosphere was still tense – tense enough that Gemma cleared her throat and got up. “Ummm, I’ll see you guys later, I might be too late to bet on Allyra, but I see an opportunity to bet that Faith upsets all the boys in arm wrestling…”
Silence settled over him and Eva, as thick as a winter duvet and twice as suffocating. The minutes ticked by as she continued pulling on the thin thread – at this rate he wasn’t going to have a bed sheet soon.
Eventually, Eva looked up, “Jamie – I’m worried.”
He waited for her to continue.
“Marcus asked me to get close to you and Allyra – I always thought it was you that he was interested in. I thought he wanted to recruit you and Emma – Inferno twins with as much power as you have, I imagined he’d definitely be interested.” She paused, “But now I’m not so sure…”
He sat up straighter, “What do you mean Eva?”
She hesitated, her brow creased. “I don’t know – it’s… it’s little things, but I feel like this is what he always wanted, her with Jason in the final duel. That I never even stood a chance, not once she opened the Gate and crossed the Veil.”
“Come on Eva” Jamie scoffed, annoyed with her paranoid ramblings. “Don’t you think you’re just feeling left out – that Marcus’ protégé is in the finals but not his lover?”
“Don’t call me that!” She snapped.
“Why not? Isn’t that exactly what you are?” He shot back.
“It’s got nothing to do with this!”
“Really?” He said sarcastically, “You sound just like a jealous mistress.”
“Fine!” Eva replied harshly. “Fine – I am jealous, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m worried. The third Trial is the perfect opportunity for an accident to happen and the Council has complete deniability. If Allyra dies in there, they can just say that she didn’t concede and they couldn’t intervene.”
“You’re starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist.” He said lightly, even as her words sent a cold thrill down his back.
The shadow cleared off her face and she smiled, light and sharp like a pixie. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just disappointed that I didn’t get to drive that stake into Jason’s insufferable ass.”
“I remember you aiming for something other than his ass…”
She grinned, unrepentant. “Well, if you knew him as well as I do, you wouldn’t blame me for taking the chance to knock him out the game – in fact, once you see him up against Allyra – you’re probably going to wish that I did drive that stake deep into him.”
They left it on that rather ominous note…
Chapter 32 – Allyra
The dormitory was eerily silent with only two of them in it. The first evening after their ordeal in the tunnels, a table was set for two, complete with a table cloth, silverware and candles – it was as if someone was playing a cruel joke on her, forcing intimacy on them.
She’d watched the new dinner arrangements happen with some apprehension, while Jason remained utterly unconcerned, lounging on his bed, reading a book. Her stress levels reached a new high when the two women who’d prepared her before the first test arrived and herded her away.
They still refused to speak and they didn’t do as much this time, just concealer to cover up the cut over her right eye, the barest touch of mascara to highlight her grey eyes and a smudge of lipstick. They pinned her hair up in an elegant twist then led her over to a blue cocktail dress.
Allyra recoiled. “No.” She said firmly. “No.”
Even laid flat, she could see that the dress was a double threat, both incredibly short and low cut.
The women ignored her, their expressions completely serene as they held the dress up for her.
“No.” She repeated, sounding like a broken record.
She was not going to wear that – not in front of Jason. “Why would they want me to wear this – we’re competitors, opponents – we don’t need to like each other.”
The women remained silent and she wondered if they ever spoke at all.
