“You’re… going to compete?” the guy said, looking flabbergasted. “But you never…”
“I do now,” Elias said. “Put my name on the board. What’s my first event?”
The arbiter looked down at his clipboard where he was apparently keeping track of the competitors.
“Everyone’s finished with the tree climbing event. I guess you can start there.”
“Excellent. Send a scorer. I need to get started right away if I want to complete all the games by nightfall.”
Elias had been the one to announce the other competitors at the start of the Trials, but it was the head arbiter who read his name aloud to the onlookers.
As soon as the announcement went out, a buzz of excited energy rippled through the Haven. Throughout the day, observers had spread out, gathering around the various game stations, cheering on their favorites. Now, there were only a few stragglers still competing in the later events.
Elias was the final contestant.
People began streaming toward the tall tree that served as the venue for the climbing event. I had watched in amazement today as boy after boy had scaled its height, ringing a bell at the top when they reached it then rapeling back down.
The best time I’d seen so far had belonged to Speck. Perhaps his light frame and wiry strength was the ideal physique for the event?
Elias was far taller and bulkier. He stood at the base of the trunk, pulling on a pair of climbing gloves and glancing up at the game arbiter who held a timer.
The guy swept a hand through the air, and Elias was off, leaping onto the bottom of the tree to give himself a head start.
He was fast. I wasn’t sure why it surprised me to see him move so quickly, so deftly up the trunk and branches. He was the one who’d chosen this network of trees as a safe haven for his community, so naturally he’d be comfortable navigating them.
The bell rang, and the arbiter announced Elias’ time. The second highest in the competition, coming in just over Speck’s winning time.
Cheers erupted around me.
“Way to go, chief!”
“That’s why he’s the man,” another guy yelled, laughing loudly in approval.
Good job, Elias, I said silently. And thank you.
He hadn’t said why he’d made the surprising decision to enter at literally the last-minute, but I had to wonder if it had something to do with me. I wasn’t sure he’d be able to surpass the other contestants, but there was only one I prayed he’d manage to bump out of the winners’ circle—Speck.
Letting out a long breath, I moved to the next arena—the archery range—where an arbiter stood waiting for Elias to select a bow.
First he’d need time to recover from his climb, right? But no, Elias was walking toward the archery range, still unstrapping his climbing gear.
The audience moved with him, following like a school of minnows in the wake of a big fish. The crowd had grown in size. I guessed word had spread among the Haven’s population that their leader had decided to compete in the Trials for the first time.
Behind me, I heard low, bitter-sounding conversation between two of the contestants who’d already finished the Trials.
“You just know he’s going to end up with a woman.”
“Of course he will. Elias gets what he wants—whatever he wants.”
A shiver ran down my spine and moved to my stomach. What if he did make it to the top three?
What would Elias want then?
The shivery feeling moved downward, filling my entire body with nervous energy.
You can trust him, I soothed myself. And whatever he wants, it’s better than Speck winning.
My instincts told me I would not like what he wanted.
Elias must have been either well-trained or naturally skilled at archery. He posted the top score of the day in that competition. And then it was time for the balance test— the tightrope.
Without stopping to accept handshakes or congratulations, Elias moved directly to the next competition area, climbing up to the small platform where he’d begin his challenging walk.
My heart pounded like it would break through my chest wall as I waited for him to take that treacherous first step.
I wasn’t worried about his safety. I knew the spider mesh would catch him and save his life in case of a misstep. But a fall would disqualify him from the Trials, and he’d never even get a shot at the rest of the games.
Elias stepped out and placed one bare foot on the narrow rope. With his size and muscular build, he didn’t exactly look like someone made for aerial stunts.
His strategy apparently involved speed and momentum because once he moved the second foot onto the rope, he was nearly a blur traveling from one platform to the other.
I whooped and clapped along with the rest of the crowd as he reached its safety and began to descend the ladder to head for the next game.
As before, Elias took no break between competitions.
“Doesn’t he need to rest?” I asked the young guy walking next to me. “Why is he in such a hurry?”
“He probably doesn’t want to wait till after dark to do the timed footrace on the ground. There’ll be tripping hazards and stuff.”
“Why doesn’t he just go do that part now?”
“Because he has to do the log-wrestling competition against someone else, so he has to do that before everyone else finishes. If he gets right to it and survives, he should be able to run the footrace before it gets too dark.”
I found a place where I could see the log game. Elias had described it as being somewhat like Sumo wrestling, and unfortunately for him, the guy he was supposed to wrestle looked like he could have been one of those ancient athletes.
His legs were as thick as tree trunks, and his arms and hands were massive. I had no idea what he weighed, but moving him wouldn’t be easy.
People around me were talking about his power, and someone said he was the only one besides Elias who hadn’t competed in this event yet because nobody wanted to take him on.
Elias had no choice. If he refused to compete in this event, he’d be disqualified. If his opponent, whose name was Orion, threw him off the log, he’d be disqualified.
This was the most nervous I’d felt since Elias had entered the games, but he looked incredibly calm. How did he do it, stay so even keel?
“Do you think he has a chance?” I asked to no one in particular.
The guy who’d explained the timing of the foot race answered. “Absolutely. He’s not as big as Orion, but Elias is wicked strong. He’s the one who created this game, you know. He rules at it. He’s got some sweet moves. You’ll see.”
Each of the guys mounted the log, sitting on opposite ends, then started moving toward the middle. When they were close enough to reach one another, Orion made the first move, grabbing Elias’ right shoulder with a beefy hand and yanking downward, pulling him sharply to one side.
The move looked so powerful I worried Elias would be unseated immediately. But he countered by grabbing Orion’s extended arm and using it to leverage himself back to a secure position on top of the log.
There was more grappling, a few more close calls, and then Elias took a risk, using one of his feet to kick Orion’s left leg away from the log.
That set the giant off-balance, and all it took was a quick shove from Elias to send him sailing down to the safety net below.
Leaning over to look at his opponent, Elias sent him a salute, a signal of respect, before jumping down himself.
It was time for the footrace. Though the last two competitions had been difficult and dangerous, they hadn’t added any points to Elias’ score. They were simple elimination events. This one would be critical.
Elias used a rope to lower himself to the ground. The sun was low in the sky now, its orangey glow burnishing his shiny black hair and making it look like it was coated in a thin layer of copper.
The race arbiter set his timer, gave the start signal, and Elias took off. He tore through the trees. Leaves scattered underfoot as he disappeared into the distance.
“There’s an arbiter at the end of the race route,” my personal play-by-play commentator explained. “When Elias crosses the finish line, the arbiter will come back this way and report his time.”
“Thanks.”
So his name would stay where it was on the leaderboard—just above the middle—for now.
And for now, Speck’s name was still in the top three.
Shuddering, I looked around for him, locating him standing near Titus and Dann in what I assumed was the winners’ circle on a raised platform.
The two other guys were watching the last few contestants completing the rope swing event, where competitors were timed as they swung through a course set up in the treetops.
Speck watched them, too, laughing when the lesser skilled guys struggled with the challenging game. He cupped his hands around his mouth.
“Fall, losers!”
He cackled when one boy narrowly missed a rope and fell to the net below.
Titus glanced over at him with a look of disgust, and Dann shook his head as if exasperated by Speck’s snide remarks and wishing he’d go away.
It made me like the other two apparent champions a little bit. At least they weren’t joining in the cruel taunting.
Titus clapped and yelled to the kid. “It’s okay, Todd. You’ll get it next time.”
By the time Elias made it back to the main platform, all the other competitors had finished and their scores had been posted. Elias was drenched in sweat.
He looked exhausted, but he asked the head arbiter, “What’s next?”
The rules of the Trials stated all the games had to be completed in a single day. If Elias had entered early in the day he would have had time to rest between events. As it was, he would be pushing it to finish, and his energy had to be running low at this point.
As I watched him leaning over and panting, my heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. I made my way to him, carrying my full water bottle.
Reaching him, I offered it. “How are you doing?”
His eyes widened as he looked up and realized I was standing there. I had the feeling I’d broken through a thick shield of focus.
He took the bottle, downing its contents in what looked like a single gulp. Swiping a hand over his lips, he let out a heavy breath.
“Thanks. I’m good. How about you?”
“Me? I’m okay. I’m not the one pushing their body beyond its limits.”
His face broke out into a naughty grin, and he waggled his eyebrows.
“You have no idea what the limits of this body are. I’m fine, Sunshine. See you in the winners’ circle.”
With that, he was off to the next game, and I was left standing there, breathless and feeling truly hopeful for the first time since the Trials had begun.
Elias seemed legitimately confident he could win this thing. And I became aware just how much I wanted him to. Maybe it was time for me to have confidence in him as well.
As he completed each event and his overall score went up, the cheers from the audience grew louder. The only person who didn’t seem to appreciate his leader’s athletic prowess was Speck.
His expression grew more and more sullen. He eyed Elias’ name climbing the leaderboard like someone might watch a particularly creepy spider crawling ever closer to their bedcovers.
It started raining shortly before Elias reached the ropes course, and it was obvious the ropes had grown slippery. At one point after grabbing a rope, his hand had slid nearly to the end. My hands came up automatically to cover my mouth, and my heart leapt into my throat.
But Elias used his impressive core strength to fling himself dramatically toward the next rope, managing to catch it and continue to the end of the course without falling.
He did not come in first. But his time in that final event, combined with his scores in all the others was enough to put him in third place overall.
There was jubilant applause and shouting as the competition was officially closed, and he stepped into the winners’ circle with Titus and Dann.
Finally allowing himself to break his dogged concentration, Elias smiled and raised his hands above his head, acknowledging the accolades before he turned to trade handshakes and back slaps with his two fellow champions.
Jubilant didn’t even begin to describe the feeling I had inside as I watched Speck step off of the platform and slip away into the darkness beyond the well-lit ceremony location.
I still didn’t want to be anyone’s mate, but at least I wouldn’t be forced to spend time with a sadistic bully who’d certainly mistreat me and possibly even rape me.
My worries were far from over, though.
As the three champions stepped off the stage and Ketta, Jolie, and I were led onto it, I was nervous for a whole new reason.
It was time for the victors to choose their prizes, and I had no idea which of the three guys I’d be going home with.
