Allyra fell asleep before they got her to the medical wing. High Master Zhuang told her he was giving her something to sedate her while he worked, but the words barely registered, fading pleasantly into a blurry background.
* * *
The next time Allyra woke up she was cocooned deep in luxuriously soft sheets. A quick glance around the room reassured her that there was no immediate danger, and she tried to drop back into her wonderfully dreamless sleep. Before she could, a knock sounded on the door, probably what had woken her up to begin with.
“Yes?” she tried to call out but found her voice was a little hoarse.
The door opened quietly, and two women slipped in. She recognized them immediately—the two silent women who had done her makeup and prepared her during the Elemental Trials.
They smiled gently at her and helped her out of bed, their touch light on her arm, somehow both warm and reassuring. They led her through to a luxurious bathroom. She nearly melted with pleasure when she saw the already filled and steaming bath. This one was even grander than the massive copper bath from the room she’d shared with Jason at the Training Grounds. Here, the bath was sunk into the ground, more a swimming pool than a bath, with actual steps leading into the water.
Sinking into the water, she let out an involuntary moan of utter delight; it was almost enough to make her feel human again. Stretching out her leg, Allyra took a closer look at the wound the Sentinel had dealt her. High Master Zhuang had worked his magic, literally. The wound was already little more than scar tissue, as if a month’s worth of healing had already occurred within the brief few hours that had actually passed. And it wasn’t the only injury that had disappeared. She should’ve been covered in cuts and bruises, but instead, her skin had a healthy glow to it, all in time for the big party tonight.
The two women spent the next couple of hours working her hair into some intricate and elegant style, coiled hair braided and held in place by a million invisible hair pins. The hair was followed by layers of makeup, and eventually, they stepped back with wide smiles on their faces as they contemplated their work. They led her to the dress that had been picked out for her.
It was the color of sunset, an explosion of color—crimsons intertwined in gold. Or more simply, shades of red and yellow, the colors of the Fire and Air Elements, a visual representation of her partnership with Jason. The fabric was silky and feather light against her skin as she slipped into the dress. It hugged her body closely until her waist where the skirt fell long and loose to her feet. Her back was completely bare, and her breasts were held in place through tape and a prayer. It was a dress made to keep all eyes on her.
* * *
The sound of conversation and laughter floated out to Allyra even before the doors were opened for her. The party was obviously well underway already. She took a moment to ready herself, taking a few deep breaths with her eyes closed, trying to dissipate some of the anxiety crawling just below the surface of her skin. Still, she couldn’t quite shake those conflicted emotions that had taken root in her mind ever since she first woke up this morning. With a small sigh, she steeled herself and walked through the double doors. Silence instantly descended over the partygoers, every eye in the room suddenly turned to her. The crowd parted, forming an open walkway for her.
Some of the faces in the crowd belonged to those dearest to her—Rob, beaming with pride; Jamie, smiling at her fondly; and Eva with her pixie sharp grin. Other faces were familiar—Competitors from the Elemental Trials and Five Finals, but where once those faces wore sneers in her presence, they now wore nothing but reverence and respect. But there was one face missing, and strangely, it belonged to the one person Allyra found herself most desperate to see.
She walked deeper into the room, the crowd continuing to part before her. Like a flicker of light breaking through the deepest water—she saw him.
Jason.
Like the first fat raindrops of a summer thunderstorm falling on a tin roof, her heat beat out an unsteady rhythm in her chest. A million butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in her stomach. It felt as if she hadn’t seen him for days or weeks—almost like she was seeing him for the very first time.
In the past, his beauty always seemed to be marred by arrogance. He wielded it like a weapon—something to be used against people, to manipulate and exploit. But now, his granite features were softened by a genuine smile, a fond smile. A smile meant only for her. It made him more real, more human, and all the more handsome.
Without thinking, she’d closed the distance to him, and up close, she noticed for the first time how flecks of silver floated over the surface of his indigo eyes, like stars blinking in a midnight sky.
Jason took hold of her hand and leaned in close to her. “Allyra Warden, please do me the honor of this first dance.”
His words tickled her ear, sending pleasurable shivers down her spine. Her heart threatened to stop altogether, and words caught in her throat. “I don’t know how to dance,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper.
Almost breaking the spell that hung over them like a gossamer-thin veil, the usual arrogant smile lifted the corners of his lips. “Then it’s a good thing I know how.”
He took hold of both her hands, placing her left
