We dance around the ring, swords flashing, laughing as I nick him on the cheek with the sharp tip of my blade, an action he returns in kind. The swords are soon discarded, replaced by our powers. Kitt easily hits targets with fireballs before dousing the burning wood with water. I, on the other hand, find myself indecisive and antsy: a terrible combination.
I filter through the abilities of those surrounding me, attempting to choose one to train with. The rings are full of dozens of Elites, all filthy from fights and slumped from sparring. I jump from a Flash’s power to a Veil’s before switching to a Shell, though I’ve never especially liked the feeling of my skin turning to stone.
I can’t seem to focus and that only frustrates me more.
I hear the whoosh from behind before feeling the familiar wave of heat that radiates towards my back. I drop to the ground, barely avoiding a stream of fire that would have singed off my hair.
“What has you so distracted?” I turn to see Kitt grinning crookedly at me. “Hey, I almost got you there. Wouldn’t be so pretty with that mop of hair singed off your head, now, would you?”
I can’t decide if I want to laugh with him or ring his neck—a common predicament I find myself in.
“I guess beating you in the ring today was too easy. Now I’m bored.” I shrug and grab some throwing knives from a weapons rack before beginning to pelt them at a tree a few yards away.
“Hmm,” Kitt hums. Even with my back to him, I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “Can’t stop thinking about the girl who saved your life, huh?”
By way of politely answering, I spin and throw a knife at my brother. It just barely skims past the side of his head, sinking into a target far behind him with a thud. He blinks at me. “Touchy subject, I take it?”
I push past him and rip the blade from the wood. “Now, what would give you that impression?” I shrug casually. “She clearly wants nothing to do with me.”
I like a challenge.
“And besides,” I add, clearing the thought from my head, “It’s not like I’m ever going to see her again.”
Kitt’s response is quickly drowned out by the sound of our names being yelled across the yard. We turn in unison, watching as a lanky boy bounds toward us. I see the flash of a white smile against dark skin before he disappears, simply winking out of existence. Before I even have time to blink, he’s standing right before us with a goofy grin splitting his face.
I curse under my breath. “If you pop up like that again, I’ll make good on that threat to stake you to the ground.”
“What our brother means to say,” Kitt cuts me an amused look, “is ‘hi, Jax, how are you?’”
The boy before me is only fifteen and growing like a weed. He’s gangly, clearly still trying to figure out how to work his long limbs. I don’t know when he suddenly started growing up, and quite frankly, I don’t like it. The small boy who lost his parents in a shipwreck is now the tall young man we’ve adopted as the little brother we never asked for. But after all these years, Jax hasn’t just grown in height—he’s grown on us.
“I’m good, Kitt. How nice of you to ask!” That crooked grin only grows when he looks at me, brown eyes blinking innocently. I hook an arm around his neck and pull him against my chest to scrub a fist over his short hair.
He sputters, trying to shove away from me while I ask, “Aren’t you going to ask how I’m doing, J?”
When I finally release him, he turns to face me, rubbing his head with a grin. “My bad. How are you doing today, Kai?” He says this all with mock sincerity, and I can’t help but smile.
Kitt cuts me off before I can tease him further. “He’s in a mood,” he sighs before dropping his voice to murmur, “Careful, Jax, he’s been playing with the knives again.”
I brush past them to pick up said throwing knives, needing to do something with my hands. “I am not,” I spin and throw a blade into a target, “in a mood.”
Jax leans into Kitt’s shoulder, whispering, “That’s what he always says when he’s in a mood.”
“Excellent point, J.” .
“Plagues,” I mutter, “the two of you together is unbearable.”
They continue talking while I continue to pelt the target with knives. Better than throwing them at a person, so clearly, I’m not in a terrible mood. I’m about to let another blade fly when a flash of color catches my eye.
I hadn’t even noticed Blair was training on the other end of the courtyard, but there she is, lilac hair blowing in the wind while she spars with Sadie. Well, a dozen Sadies, seeing that she’s a Cloner.
They circle each other before Blair is suddenly surrounded by a barricade of bodies, all tall and chestnut-haired. It’s chaos. Blair tosses a copy of Sadie through the air with her mind only for another one to jump on her back, trying to bring her to the ground. It’s almost comical to watch, except that I know firsthand how deadly their powers can be, know what it’s like to possess them.
I look over to Jax and Kitt, their eyes pinned on the fight as I move to stand in line with them. Before long, Blair is strutting between the rings with Sadie following behind. Blair’s pale skin is in complete contrast to Sadie’s dark complexion, opposites of each other in every way.
Despite the two of them having grown up together, they couldn’t be more different. Since Sadie’s father is an adviser to the king, her family lives with the other nobility that are deemed important enough to reside in that designated wing of the castle.
They stop in front of us, Blair tipping her head as she says, “Boys.”
Kitt slings an arm around Jax’s shoulders before nodding at each of the girls. “Blair. Sadie.”
Sadie offers us a small smile, genuine but reserved in the way she’s always been. “I wanted to congratulate you two on making it into the Trials.”
Right. They announced the contestants today.
It’s no surprise that I’m in the Trials. The kingdom and I have been aware of my fate since I was a young boy. The future Enforcer must prove himself, and the Trials force me to do just that. My next mission is the win the competition, and if I don’t—
I freeze, Sadie’s words finally sinking in.
“I wanted to congratulate you two…”
I throw a confused glance at Kitt, certain this must be some sort of mistake. The Trials have always been my fate, not his. The future king rarely stepped outside the castle walls, let alone into a bloody arena where Death could claim him. Father would never risk the life of his heir like that, but he certainly has no problem risking me and my reputation.
“Yes, at least two of the brothers will get to be together,” Blair says with a smirk, her eyes flicking from me to—
No. Not him.
“W-what?”
His voice is filled with awe, his brown eyes wide with wonder.
Jax.
He looks between Kitt and I, a smile spreading across his face. “I did it! I’m in the Trials!” He’s practically jumping off the ground in excitement, resisting the urge to Blink around the rings out of excitement. I meet Kitt’s gaze, and his knowing frown matches my own.