“I have to believe you had the best intentions going into the storm. But understand that your decision to do so may have far-reaching consequences that you cannot even begin to understand.”
His words left her feeling deflated. She hadn’t stopped to think, she’d just rushed in, and now—
“I’m sorry,” she said. “High Master Radebe—is he going to be all right?”
High Master Zhuang shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s sunk into a deep coma, and with his advanced age, I’m not sure if he’ll ever wake again.”
He looked sad and worn, like a fighter who’d seen too many rounds. “He was your greatest ally within the Council, without him, you’ll be that much more vulnerable out there. Be careful of who you trust, Miss Warden.”
Aware she’d been dismissed, Allyra walked from the room, closing the door quietly behind her, feeling worse now than she did before.
* * *
Jason helped Allyra strap on her leather baldric, checking the twin swords for sharpness and strength as he slipped them over her shoulders.
“Make him pay,” he said conversationally. “Use that fury and pain you feel and let it feed your strength.”
She nodded, her breathing fast and the air hot in her lungs.
Jason stared at her for a long time, his eyes searching for something. There was a hint of something unnamable clouding his dark indigo eyes. In the end, he simply nodded and turned to go.
Allyra let out a huff of laughter. “That’s it?” she asked sarcastically. “Where’s the guy that wanted to win at any cost? Why aren’t you more furious that I’ve put your ability to win at risk?”
He shot her a wicked grin. “I’m not worried about you losing to Jeong. I know what you’re capable of. Let loose, Allyra, show them what you really are.”
I know what you are.
“And what would that be exactly?” she asked carefully.
He leaned in close, wearing a cruel smile on his lips. “Dangerous, lethal—a winner,” he whispered in her ear before turning away and stalking out the door.
A Cleaner escorted her through a long passage into an immense domed structure—the Combat Arena of the Atmospheric College. The Arena itself was circular and sunken into the ground, with tiered seating around the edge, much like an amphitheater. Today, there were far fewer people in the audience than the seating could accommodate—only the Council and the few remaining Five Finals Competitors strong enough to have left the medical wing.
At the edge of the Arena, the Cleaner stopped her and wound iron cuffs around her wrists—there would be no use of their Gifts in this fight. It didn’t matter, Gift or not, she was going to make sure Jeong understood the meaning of pain.
Jeong was waiting within the Arena, and he smirked as she entered, having recovered all his natural arrogance. It was enough to blind her from all logic and reason; hate and fury swept up within her, rising like a crimson wave. She allowed the anger to sink into her bones and feed her will. Her focus narrowed until she saw nothing but Jeong standing before her. Suddenly, she felt stronger and more powerful than she could ever have imagined—she was going to make him pay.
They faced each other waiting for Marcus’s signal to begin.
When it came, Allyra lunged forward, and using every bit of her Gifted speed, she darted around Jeong’s first slow, almost clumsy attack. As she moved around him, she drew both swords in one graceful arc and made two quick slices across both Jeong’s wrists, forcing him to drop his swords. Next, she kicked in the back of his knees, and he collapsed forward. As he fell, she grabbed him around the throat and started choking him.
It had taken no more than a few seconds.
She wound her arm tighter around his throat, squeezing the breath from his lungs.
“How does it feel?” she whispered in his ear. “How does it feel to gasp for breath and feel no air flooding through your lungs?”
Allyra tightened her grip even further. “Do you know what the doctor told me?” she hissed. “He told me that Chi’s lungs were filled with sand. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine breathing in nothing but sand and feel it rasping through your lungs? To be so desperate for air that you continue trying to breathe even as the sand chokes you slowly to death.”
She tightened her grip once more and heard Jeong’s gurgled gasps. “I thought you might not have the necessary imagination to do Chi’s pain and suffering justice. So, I thought I’d help you.”
Jeong’s face turned red and then purple, and his gasps became even more labored. She maintained her grip on him but didn’t tighten it further, keeping him conscious and suffering.
“Did you even think about saving him when you Evanesced out of there? Did you even stop to consider how he might die?”
Jeong desperately dug his fingers into her forearms, his nails digging so deep into her flesh that it broke through skin and blood seeped out slowly. His legs jerked and kicked—the actions of a dying man. Allyra ignored it all, tightening her grip further. The darkness crawled over her like a storm cloud, ebony black, eradicating all light. Her pulse beat out an erratic rhythm in her ears. She wanted to kill him, she wanted to feel his life seep away—slowly and
