It was like flying.
The angel competitors were sprawled on the tops of their posts with bored expressions as they watched competitors pull themselves up.
From what I could see, almost everyone had breached the cloud cover and was close to finishing. It definitely hadn’t been an hour.
“You good?” I called out to Orion, who was also squatting atop his post. He grinned back at me, and his brilliant smile was like a punch to the chest.
High above the world, he appeared more carefree than I’d seen him in years. The mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes was the same one that used to be ever present when we were teens.
He looked like he had before we’d learned the true extent of our abilities. Before we’d realized we couldn’t find our other Protector.
“I’m doing great, thanks for asking,” Arabella said with a huff as she pulled herself over the top of her post. She finished twenty seconds after me. I counted.
She sat down and kicked her feet back and forth over the edge of her post. Leaned forward over the edge like she was going to fall.
My stomach knotted.
“Lean back,” I ordered with a shaky growl.
Arabella made eye contact with me, then slowly leaned forward so her body was seconds away from tumbling off.
I saw red.
She laughed as she finally lay backward on her post. Feet still dangling off the edge just to taunt me.
Orion huffed with relief.
Hands shaking with the urge to strangle her, I could barely articulate, “Fuck you.”
Sun god forbid she not wind me up every chance she got.
The three of us sat on our posts in silence.
A loud chuffing noise echoed, and a ginormous white cat creature with fangs as long as my arms climbed to the top of a post.
The cat shifted into a naked woman, and an annoying, scratchy female voice yelled, “Yay, you also made it!”
I looked away with disgust.
Arabella saluted her and called over, “Go team! Thank the sun god we both made it.”
“You’re on our team, not theirs,” Orion mouthed, then frowned with frustration because Arabella hadn’t seen him speak. His face pinched, and a familiar darkness flashed in his eyes.
My Revered’s powers drove him crazy, just like mine did.
We were all cursed men.
“Orion wants to remind you that you’re on our team,” I said loudly, then added with a growl, “Not hers.”
Sadie beamed at Arabella like she was in love and jumped up and down. “As the captain of the shifter legion, I appointed her an honorary member of our team.”
She blew a kiss, and Arabella pretended to catch it and pressed it to her heart as she said, “Aw, thanks, baby girl.”
Sadie tipped her head back and laughed. “Not you too. Xerxes is already ridiculous for that.”
Arabella stuck out her tongue and smiled back.
When she grinned at Sadie, she looked soft and young. Practically radiant.
Orion and I glared over at the shifter bitch.
A loud roar filled the air as a giant bear covered in armor pulled itself to the top of the post. It shifted into a black man with long braids and gold jewelry.
“Cover yourself!” he bellowed at Sadie, who was standing stark naked.
Arabella made a loud squeaking noise, and her face turned bright red as she stared at the bear shifter.
Sadie fanned herself and pointed at the man. “You cover yourself, Jax. Sun god, is it hot up here?”
“Yeah, it’s super hot.” Arabella pulled at the collar of her shirt. “I can’t believe you—” She stared up at the eclipse.
Her pale face turned bright red.
What were they talking about? The air was thin, much colder than it had been on land. It was practically freezing.
“What do you mean? It’s cold,” I asked Arabella.
Sadie wiggled her eyebrows up and down ridiculously, and it took me a long moment to realize she was miming drawing a dick with her fingers.
Flames licked my skin.
“Really, Arabella?” I asked with annoyance. So what if the Jax man had his dick pierced? It wasn’t a big deal. “Grow up.”
Arabella didn’t look at anyone; she just stared up at the eclipse with a blush staining her cheeks.
Jax and Sadie laughed.
“It’s a lot to process,” she mumbled.
I clenched my fists and barked, “Well, stop fucking thinking about it.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m trying.”
Clearly, she wasn’t trying hard enough. I’d give her something to blush over.
Lothaire’s voice boomed loudly and startled me out of my ridiculous thoughts. I couldn’t see him, so he must have been standing on the lawn, speaking through enchantment. “All competitors have made it to the tops of their posts. We don’t have any losers.”
Cheers sounded, and competitors smiled as we looked around.
From the looks of it, the two other devils had used their claws to climb up the posts, and I hadn’t seen the two leviathans and assassins climbing, but they were all perched on their posts.
I let out a breath of relief. We’d gotten lucky this first round.
Lothaire’s voice echoed. “The representatives will now discuss the next steps everyone will take. Since we have no losers or winners, everyone will complete the punishment together.”
My stomach dropped, and I looked over at Orion. In my periphery, Arabella’s shoulders slumped, and the clenching sensation intensified.
I didn’t like this.
The silence was heavy with tension as we all waited for our fate.
Out of nowhere a floating platform rose above the clouds. Lyla and Dick stared at us with blank expressions.
Lothaire’s voice boomed, “The gods have discussed and decided on a simple punishment. Every competitor must jump back to land. Now.”
My heart pounded loudly in my chest.
The angels unfurled their wings and smirked at everyone as they stood up. With a salute, they stepped off and plummeted below the cloud cover.
No one else moved.
“Not fair!” a short leviathan man shouted, and his loud voice broke the heavy silence. “If no one lost, then why are we being punished? Also, the angels can just fly. How does that even make sense? This is stupid.”
Lothaire’s voice echoed loudly. “All competitors must jump now. That is not a request. It is an order. Failure to comply will result in elimination from the games.”
The leviathan shook his head and sat down on the top of his post in defiance. “Screw the sun god. I’m out.”
I looked back and forth between Orion and Arabella.
My heart beat so fast it slammed against my throat. It would take more than a fall to kill a devil, but Arabella looked weak as shit.
I struggled to breathe slowly.
All our lives are bound. We can’t die.
Rationally I knew we’d all be fine.
I didn’t feel fine.
“You got this. Trust me, I’m an old hat at this,” Sadie shouted to Arabella. “The key is to suck in when you land. See you at the bottom.” She winked and jumped, yelling, “Cats always land on their feet,” as she fell.
In midair, she shifted into her impressive cat form.
Jax roared and shifted into a bear as he jumped after her.
“We’ll all be fine,” Orion mouthed at me, then turned to Arabella. “You’ll be okay. Just concentrate on falling feetfirst to protect your head when you land.”