I knew what Cyrus would counsel me. If Ivanna, who was number two and my biggest competitor, was taking no weapon, then I should pass as well.
“Pass,” I said and turned away from the box. A few women in the tent gasped and the advisor stepped closer to me.
“Excuse me?”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “Pass. I don’t need a weapon,” I told him.
He shook himself as if coming out of a trance and walked over to Ivanna. “Ivanna Rivers, second place. Pick your weapon.”
She glanced at me and grinned, and I knew in that moment that I’d been played. Reaching into the box, she pulled out a tiny replica of a nice broadsword and twirled it expertly in her fingers.
“Nice choice,” the advisor informed her.
I kept my face completely calm, forced my wolf down and began to twist my dark brown hair between my fingers in mock boredom, as if what she’d just done hadn’t bothered me at all. But deep down inside I was furious … and yet also praising her genius. She’d just gotten the number one pick to go into a fight without a weapon. She could essentially knock me out of the race before it even got started. Without even having to fight me! I wanted to hate her, but she’d earned my respect in that moment.
Eliza sidled up next to me while the other girls chose their weapons and there was a pang of sadness when I was reminded that her number was twenty-four. Probably the last or second to last. City people were weak, it was well-known.
“Any advice?” she whispered to me. “You’re such a badass, and I’d love to live through today.”
Her eyes swam with tears and I reached out and slapped her hard across the face. She gasped and her wolf surfaced, her pupils threading through with yellow.
People in the tent turned to us but I ignored them. Instead, I grabbed her lightly by the scruff of the neck and pulled her ear to my lips. “Keep your wolf out when fighting in human form. Your human side is too emotional and it will cost you. Fight dirty. Use every angle you have.”
She nodded, cinnamon blonde fur rippling down the sides of her face.
“You know who you will be fighting?” I asked her in a low voice.
She dipped her chin. “Number twenty-two.”
“No, I mean do you know her?”
She seemed to catch on and then nodded again. “Malin Clearwater. Base Mountain pack.”
It seemed like the fights were weighted and they’d pit us against someone of a similar strength to us. That was both good and bad news for me. Good because when I killed mine, I’d be taking out a strong member and bad because I’d chosen no weapon.
“What can you use against her?” I questioned, letting go of her neck. “Does she have any weaknesses? Fears? Sick mother, ex-boyfriend, phobias?”
Her eyes widened as if what I’d just mentioned was pure evil but then she nodded. “Her … her thigh bone broke last year and never fully set right again. She favors one leg. And … her boyfriend cheated on her this summer.”
“Good. What’s the name of the girl he cheated with?” I demand. The advisor was almost to her and I knew he’d bring her the crappiest weapon because it would be picked last. A small dagger probably.
“Alessia,” she muttered, looking stricken.
“Go in there, ask her how Alessia is doing and then kick out her bad leg, re-breaking her thigh bone,” I instructed. I knew I shouldn’t be giving her any advice at all and Cyrus would warn against it, but something about her innocence and weakness triggered my dominant desire to protect her.
Her mouth popped open in shock, her wolf retreating as her eyes returned to their normal blue color. She said nothing in response. I could smell the fear on her and I hated that she’d even been chosen to compete. She didn’t belong here.
“Do you want to live?” I asked her plainly.
She swallowed hard and nodded and then it was too late to speak any longer. The advisor was here and he held the box towards her with two choices.
A small dagger and a throwing knife.
She looked at me.
“Dagger,” I told her and she took the tiny replica of the blade, ready to exchange it in the weapons tent for the larger life-sized version.
The advisor appraised me once again, his hazel-eyed gaze searing right into mine. “Last chance?” He offered me the throwing knife.
I could feel Ivanna’s glare burning into me without even looking. If I took this puny weapon, she won.
I shook my head and he snapped the box shut.
“Everyone follow me,” he stated and walked out of the tent.
As a group we stepped out into the sunlight in a single file line and followed the advisor. The entire front lawn of the palace was jam-packed with wolves from all over the realm, but they parted as we passed.
“Go, Mud Flat pack!” someone screamed and I couldn’t help a grin. I recognized the voice as one of my packmates.
“Wash Basin pack!” another chanted.
“Eagle Cliff pack!” More chants and then howls and pretty soon the crowd was deafening, cheering on their favorite contestant or packmate.
When we reached a large open area that had been roped off into a circle, my eyes searched for Axil. The king. A little jolt of electricity ran through me as I found him already watching me. He was wearing a red silk tunic, unbuttoned at the chest. The sun shone on his tan skin as he sat upon a raised throne that looked out over the fighting area.
At the sight of him and the fighting ring, again I was pulled into a memory of our summer together.
“Axil Moon, you are up to spar. Pick your opponent,” Coach Varryl had said.
It was the second day of camp, and although Axil and I had spent the previous night dancing and kissing, I didn’t know if that was just a one-night thing. All of the students stood in a ring around the thick foam mats where the wrestling match was about to begin and Axil walked slowly past each person. Some of the males growled at him as if begging him to pick them. I hoped he wasn’t one of those guys who wouldn’t spar with a girl because he was afraid of hurting her. I wanted him to know I wasn’t delicate. When he passed me, I stepped out of line and right up to him, tipping my chin up as if to say, choose me.
The lopsided grin he gave me was so enticing my legs went weak.
“I choose Zara Swiftwater.”
I tied my long hair up and handed my shoes to a friend before going to stand before Axil on the mats. My heart raced as we walked around each other, sizing the other up. I could feel the dominance coming off of him in waves. His gaze was difficult to hold for too long, though not impossible, and I felt that for him to really want to be with me, he had to know I was strong.
The coach blew his whistle and I charged forward, sweeping my leg out and pulling Axil off his feet. He went down with a grin and I leapt on top of him, straddling his waist as our friends and fellow campgoers went wild with cheers. The moment I positioned myself on top of him he bucked upward with his pelvis and grabbed my arms, throwing me to the side and then reorienting himself so that he was now on top of me. It happened so fast I could barely track it. He was sitting on my ribcage, pinning my arms down, and the screaming of excitement around us was deafening.
“It’s okay to tap out,” he teased.
“Never,” I growled and a fire lit in his eyes.