“Nothing,” I lied in a monotone voice as I rocked forward and pushed myself into a standing position.
All three of the kings lunged forward to help me.
I slapped their hands away.
“Don’t touch me.” I stumbled and slammed into someone’s sharp elbow. It knocked the wind out of me.
A growling noise echoed.
In my peripheral vision, flames shot higher into the air, or were they on the ground? Everything was warped.
“Be careful,” Malum barked.
I slapped at him. “Don’t touch me.”
My head spun.
It was hard to tell the ceiling from the floor.
“Need to get dressed,” I mumbled as I staggered toward the bathroom but stopped and squinted in confusion at where the door had used to be. Where had it gone?
Behind me someone punched the wall.
Someone else swore.
Hands grabbed at me, and I shook with annoyance as I barked, “Don’t touch me.”
Pain was lighting up my neurons with every step, and it was too overstimulating.
I needed darkness and rest.
Time alone.
I needed death.
An enchanted voice boomed, and I jumped with surprise. “All students and legions must proceed to the great hall for an announcement. This is your last warning. Anyone who does not arrive in the next five minutes will be punished. Severely.”
Panic filled me.
I shuffled through my cubby with desperation. Where were my underwear? I only had one clean sweatshirt, since the servants weren’t allowed to enter after competitions.
I tried to pull the sweatshirt over my head, but the stitches littering my back pulled tight, and I swallowed vomit.
The feeling of detachment intensified.
I swayed on my feet.
What was I doing? Why was I freaking out? Where was I?
I needed to lie down and rest.
“Here.” John grabbed me as I fell forward. “Let’s get you into my sweatshirt. It’s large enough that it shouldn’t touch your wounds and will be easier to put on. I wish I could clean you up in the shower, but we don’t have time. Is that okay with you?”
I nodded in agreement.
I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I was too tired to try to understand.
“That doesn’t seem appropriate,” Malum said from the bathroom door.
John ignored him and whispered to me softly, “Hands up, my dude.”
I obeyed, and he gently maneuvered the sweatshirt over my head. It smelled amazing, and it was like being cocooned in a big, cozy blanket.
Instantly some of my anxiety abated.
John’s fingers gently tugged down my pants, and I shivered as they traced over my hips. “Lean against me and step out.”
I obeyed.
“Where are your underwear?” he asked.
Malum growled.
I shrugged. “They’ve been disappearing for a while. I think someone is stealing them.”
John stilled.
“Excuse me?” Malum’s voice cracked like a whip.
“Tell the others.” John said forcibly, “Let’s get the word out and find out who is taking them.”
Malum stalked away in a whirl of fire and anger.
“You can wear a pair of my boxers,” John said as he rummaged through his shelf of clothes.
I rubbed at my tired eyes. “Are you sure? That seems kind of inappropriate.”
Instead of answering my question, John ordered, “Part your legs.”
I obeyed.
“Lift your left foot.” He pulled his black boxers over my leg. “Now the other.”
Slowly he tugged them up my legs, and he curled them over at my waist so they wouldn’t fall off.
John’s hands spanned across my stomach, and his fingers dug into my hips.
Pain exploded down my spine, and I swallowed thickly.
His thumbs traced circles against my skin, and he said gruffly, “When it comes to you, Aran, I’m sure.”
I blinked up at him, confused by what he was talking about.
Was I losing it?
He tucked a bloodstained curl behind my ear. “This will have to do for now. Let’s go.”
He went to wrap his arm around my shoulder but stopped. “Shit, your wounds.”
I stared back at him blankly.
“Lean against my arm for support.” John offered his forearm, and I grabbed onto it with both hands. “Let’s go.”
A few minutes later I sat in the hall at my usual spot.
My pipe hung from the side of my mouth and dangled between my teeth.
The boards had been removed from the stained glass, and the usual red haze from the eclipse swirled around me. My back no longer was cracking with agony, but it ached in rhythm with my heartbeat.
Wetness trickled uncomfortably across my skin where some of my stitches had pulled open from the walk down the hall.
There was no food on the tables, and a low buzz of chatter and nervousness filled the space as everyone waited to find out the reason we’d been called together.
Malum and Orion stared at me, and Scorpius had his head tilted. I didn’t know how I knew, but my gut told me he was listening to every breath I took.
I traced my eyes across the room.
The leviathan competitor was still crucified to the tree, and his pale flesh was turning black as it rotted, but he was still alive. His head lolled back and forth.
Immortality was truly a bitch.
“The gods have chosen the two top legions to demonstrate their abilities in the showcase round,” Lothaire said loudly.
Had he been standing in front of the tree for a while? I didn’t remember him arriving.
Competitors muttered and shifted with excitement.
I felt nothing.
Lothaire stared straight ahead as he said coldly, “Team unity was an important factor the gods were looking for in these games when they were searching for their champions. Leadership and strength interteam translate to external leadership.”
Students leaned forward in their seats.
“The only teams that did not lose a single competitor during these games were the shifter and academy legions.”
“That’s bullshit.” The captain of the angel legion growled and slammed his chair back as he stood up. His yellow and black eyes flashed.
The vampyre snapped his head in the man’s direction. “Sit down, soldier.” Lothaire’s voice was filled with violence.
I shivered.
The angel sat down with a huff.
Lothaire dragged a hand down his long braid like he was calming himself, then he announced, “Other factors such as the psychological ability to endure, obedience during punishments, and the choice to protect other competitors were taken into account.”
I blew out a puff of smoke.
Leaning back in my chair, I ignored the sensation of wounds pressing into the wood. I tipped my chair backward and balanced on the back legs.
A proud smile curled across Lothaire’s lips.
Sickness welled in my throat.
“The shifter legion and academy legion have been chosen for the showcase. If the gods are satisfied with their exhibition of abilities, they will be named as champions. The highest honor in all the realms.”
His words echoed across the rafters.
Students cheered and stomped their feet as they all looked over at the chosen legions. Us.
Lothaire’s lips pulled into a smile as he looked at me with pride like I’d done it for him.
I stared blankly back.