Arabella nodded with an empty look in her eyes.
She pulled her pipe out of her pocket, stuck it between her lips, and exhaled a smoking crow.
Then she spread her arms wide and smirked over at us. “See you at the bottom, bitches.”
She tipped backward off her post.
Pipe between her lips.
Headfirst.
My stomach tied into knots, and I couldn’t draw enough air into my lungs.
“Wait!” Orion yelled loudly, but she was already below the cloud cover.
I screamed, “Fuck!”
We both jumped feet first after her.
The clouds were cold and wet, and the droplets were abrasive against my skin as I cut through the air quickly.
Dark-gray streaks turned to red as I left the clouds.
Air whistled in my ears.
The sea expanded in every direction like an abyss.
A green lawn approached.
It was covered in dots.
Was that Arabella’s mangled body? Terror, rage, fear, and failure hammered my senses.
The lawn was close enough to touch.
I reached for Arabella’s prone form.
Darkness exploded.
Chapter 16
Aran
FIRST AID
The Legionnaire Games: Day 26, hour 23
I rolled over and tried to scream, but breathy moans were all my shredded throat produced.
Every inhale.
Every exhale.
Every muscle twitched.
Sent tendrils of stabbing pain across my senses.
With jerky movements, I searched desperately for what I needed. Panic and desperation made me a shaking mess.
I couldn’t find it.
“Calm down, Aran.” A pipe was pushed gently between my cracked lips. “The fact that this damn thing survived the drop is ridiculous.”
Inhaling smoke, I sagged backward with relief and grinned through the pain.
Drugs made everything better.
All was well.
Yes, I was delusional. Next question.
A hand pushed gently against my shoulder, and John said, “No. You don’t get to smile after taking years off my life like that.”
I smiled bigger.
John huffed. “You crazy bitch. I promised myself I’d yell at you after you fell headfirst like an idiot. But I’m just so glad you’re okay.”
I grunted out smoke and nodded as I peeled open my blood-crusted eyes.
John’s face was inches from mine.
A huge grin split his face and showcased his cute dimples. “There are those pretty blue eyes. Did you know one of your eyes has a little gray in it? Kind of freaky.”
He winked.
The bedroom warped behind him, and everything became a mess of squiggly lines as my eyes unfocused.
“Alert the realms, the queen has fully risen,” John announced dramatically and flung his head down across my legs. “All must bow to Her Excellency!”
He kept bowing.
A chuckle burst from my lungs, but the noise that came out of my mouth was somewhere between a dying moan and a banshee’s howl.
“How long out for?” I croaked.
John’s smile slipped. “Three days.” He stared down at me intensely. “Corvus woke up two days ago, and Orion woke up yesterday. We were all starting to panic about you.”
I grimaced as I tried to haul myself into a seated position.
The scent hit me first.
Copper and bile.
The sight hit me next.
My eyes burned as I blinked away the crust and took it all in. The clean bedroom with the ornate cream carpets, crackling fireplace, and fluffy emerald sheets was gone. It was filthy.
The white carpets were stained pink in some sections and bright red in others.
Blood arcs had splattered across the wall.
Bedsheets were torn to pieces.
Of the eight beds spread along the walls for all of us, only three seemed to have survived the shredding.
Orion, Corvus, and Scorpius were piled in their usual bed, sleeping together. Similarly, the demons were cuddled together in their bed, snoring.
Everyone was asleep except for John.
The white mattress pads had been pulled off my bed and the one next to it. RIP Horace. You will truly be missed. Gone but never forgotten. Always in our hearts and memories. Fly high, sweet angel.
I choked on a laugh at my sarcastic thoughts.
Every day, I got sexier and funnier.
It took a little prodding the carpet with my fingers to discover that I was lying on pieces of a mattress.
A stiff green sheet was wrapped around me, preserving my modesty.
Two makeshift mattress pads were spread out next to me and soaked in blood.
Somehow the clothes I’d been given still covered my body. At least what was left of my body.
Mounds of skin were spread across—
I gagged and looked away.
“What happened to the room?” I asked John as I plugged my nose and tried to process what I was seeing. His hand on my back was gentle as he helped support me.
He sighed heavily.
“Apparently, it’s part of the games. Competitors don’t get access to Lyla or any medical supplies. Each legion has to make do with a single first aid kit and help one another heal. We called for the servants, but they aren’t allowed to come in for five days after each competition. Something about not wanting people to have any outside assistance.”
Lothaire’s strange use of the term health management during his little welcome speech suddenly made sense.
My voice was scratchy. “What happened? You guys scraped our carcasses off the lawn and brought us back here to heal?”
John winked and pulled at the stethoscope hanging across his neck.
“That’s literally exactly what happened.” He raked his hand through his sweaty hair. “Witch John, at your service. As you can see, I sped up the healing process by helping push all your”—his smile wobbled—“pieces back into place.”
Since it felt like my arms were about to fall out of their sockets, I believed him.
“But don’t worry, I fixed everything.” John pointed at my arm.
A small yellow bandage was placed over a tiny, centimeter-long cut on my hand. The yellow rectangle was next to a gaping wound that ran up my forearm. My sleeve was pushed up to expose it.
We both watched as I moved my arm and blood gurgled out of the open wound.
I wheezed, then made a serious expression. “Thank the sun god you put that on. What would I do without you, John?”
He flashed his dimples. “You’re welcome. No need to thank me. I live to serve.”
I prodded at the bandaged paper cut. “Yes, I can see that. Did you clean the cut first? I can tell. It looks great.”
A mischievous glint sparked in his dark eyes. “Actually, I just rubbed some dirt and spit on it.”
“Oh, perfect.” I nodded. “Very nice.”
John’s glint turned into a full-on sparkle. “Well, as your doctor, there’s only one thing left to do.” He leaned forward with his lips puckered like he was going to kiss my wound.
I debated causing a scene.
Too much work.
His puckered lips trembled.
I arched my brow. “No, please. Proceed. Kiss my bleeding wound, ye o powerful witch.”
John narrowed his eyes and got closer slowly, clearly waiting for me to call his bluff.
His lips gently touched my wound.
“Ew, you weirdo.” I jerked back violently. “I can’t believe you actually kissed it! Immediate no. You have just violated every rule of friendship.”