The voice echoes from all around us. Kai and I jump apart, instinctively swiveling around to press our backs against each other. I squint in the dim light where the outlines of tall, dark figures begin to take shape. A reluctant sigh rings out into the darkness, amplified by the numerous bodies surrounding us.
We’re trapped.
They all take a measured step forward, enclosing us in a human cage of bodies. Dozens of hazel eyes shimmer in the firelight, dark hair and skin gleaming.
Sadie.
“All I want is your bands, and I’ll be on my way.” And then she almost smiles as she looks around at her copies. “Well, we’ll be on our way.”
Kai sighs, seemingly annoyed by all of this. “You knew we wouldn’t give you our bands and yet you interrupted us anyways.”
“Fine,” Sadie says curtly. “Then give me one band and no one has to get hurt.”
My eyes dart to my bow lying a few feet away from me—a few feet away and behind the wall of Sadies. I don’t have a single weapon to use to defend myself and I’ve never felt so exposed. It’s like I’ve been stripped bare. I can almost feel the ghost of my father’s dagger against my thigh, making me wish more than anything that I had it here with me.
Several sets of hazel eyes flick between the two of us, still back-to-back, before locking with mine. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if it comes to that.” She pauses, and her voice is even, unfeeling as she says, “I will if it means I’ll win.”
I’m about to open my mouth and respond when callouses brush my own, gripping my hand behind my back. I nearly jerk at the contact, but Kai pries my fist open, pressing something cool and hard into my palm before curling my fingers around it. Then, just as quickly, his hand is gone.
The thing bites into my skin, pointed edges piercing. I fight to keep the smile from my face when I realize what he’s given me.
A weapon. He’s given me a fighting chance.
It’s a small one, but a weapon, nonetheless. I clutch the throwing star in my fist, not caring if the sharp edges pierce my skin. This tiny object could be the difference between life and death.
The only weapon Kai has is the sword belted at his side, but then again, he is a weapon himself. I’m shocked he didn’t feel Sadie’s power creeping up on us, but I suppose I can’t blame him, considering how distracted I was with his hands on me, his words with underlying meanings, my hammering heartbeat when he gets too close.
I take a deep breath.
Let’s deal with one problem at a time.
“Then I guess you’re going to have to hurt me if you have any hope of getting my band,” I breathe, eyeing the Sadies as they take a slow step forward.
She shakes her head at me, as though disappointed in my decision. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
And then she’s suddenly in front of me, holding the tip of a short dagger to my throat. Before the next thud of my heart, she’s yanked my arm and pulled my back against her chest. The blade she still holds against my throat sinks deeper into my flesh with every shallow breath.
“I’ll only ask once more.” Sadie’s voice is sharp, so unlike the soft tone I’m used to from her. “Give me your leather, Kai, or I’ll slit her throat.”
The prince blinks at the scene before him, looking completely unfazed.
He knows I can take care of myself, and though I’m flattered by that fact, I could use his help at the current moment. Hot blood begins to trickle down my neck, and I will myself to remain calm.
Kai simply shrugs at the threat. “Go ahead then.” He nods towards the blade pressed to my throat. “See if I care. We are only opponents, after all. Less competition.”
I can practically hear Sadie blink behind me. She’s clearly stunned by his lack of concern, especially after seeing the two of us dancing together only minutes ago. I would be stunned myself if I wasn’t so used to seeing his masks—if I didn’t recognize the cold one he’s just slipped on.
She stiffens behind me. “I’m calling your bluff, prince.”
I feel her hand begin to jerk, begin to slice deeper into my skin.
And then I strike.
I slam the razor-sharp throwing star into the soft tissue of her stomach, pushing it deep as I push her hand still clutching the knife away from my neck. She screams and jerks away, sending me stumbling into Kai. Well, one of them. There are now several muscled forms, all mirroring his messy black waves and stormy eyes. He’s taken on her ability.
I ram into his chest before strong hands grip the sides of my arms. When I look up into his face, he has the nerve to wink before saying, “Good work, Gray. I can always count on you and your violent tendencies.” With that, he spins around and drives his sword through one of Sadie’s duplicates.
A throng of Sadies surround Kai and his own copies, keeping him occupied and unable to get to the real one and end this fight quickly. I’m reminded of a day spent training at the castle, when I watched Sadie sparing with Braxton. They would fight and dance around each other until Braxton made his way to the real Sadie, finally taking her down and ending the fight.
And that is exactly what I am going to do. Except, unlike Ace’s illusions which I’ve already had the pleasure of facing, Sadie and her copies can touch and hurt me. With this unsettling thought in mind, I dance on the balls of my feet, prepared to strike. I turn away from the copies swarming Kai, knowing that he can handle himself while he trusts I can do the same.
There are only three Sadies left, and two of which guard the real one currently clutching a bloodied hand to the wound on her stomach. Their heads snap towards me, and I barely have enough time to sink into my fighting stance before one of them charges at me.
Unfortunately for me, Sadie knows how to fight. Since her power is simply duplicating her own body, she automatically has strength in numbers. But she’s trained so that those numbers having strength of their own.
A right hook flies at my face and I duck under it, landing a quick blow to her stomach. The Sadie stumbles back with a grunt, and I use the opportunity to send a kick connecting with her side. She catches my leg and pulls me forward. Exactly what I was hoping for. I grip her shoulders and jump, driving my other knee deep into her stomach. She drops my leg with a cry of pain, and I slide my ring onto my middle finger before throwing a fist at her temple. I mutter a curse as I shake out my stinging hand, but she’s out cold before she even hits the ground.
A hand pulls at my hair, hard, and my head yanks back. I let out a strangled gasp as an elbow hooks around my throat, crushing my windpipe. I can’t breathe, dizzy with pain as spots swim before my vision. But I stomp on her foot before elbowing her hard in the stomach. She loosens her hold, and I whirl around, grabbing the back of her neck and slamming her nose into the knee I drive upwards. She sputters and flings her fist out, managing to connect it with my jaw. I ignore the aching pain and drop, sweeping my leg out before she’s swept off her feet. She slams into the ground with a thud, but I’ve already turned my attention away from her sprawled form.
My eyes find the smoldering hazel ones belonging to the real Sadie. She steps toward me, blood oozing from between her fingers as she covers her wound. “Just know that I don’t want to do this,” she says, her voice strained. “But I have to.”
And then her fists are flying at me in a combination of hooks, jabs, and uppercuts. I’m impressed by how much speed and strength she still has after being stabbed, forcing me on defense. I dodge her blows until I land one of my own, square in her jaw.
She grunts in pain before sending a roundhouse kick at my temple. I barely block it, her heel still clipping the side of my head. We dance around each other, throwing various combinations of punches and kicks.
Her fist crashes into my lip and my head snaps to the side before I spit blood. I send a hard kick into her already wounded side and she screams in pain. Then I land a blow under her jaw, another to her wound, a kick to her temple.
She cries out, trying to hit me with a lazy punch but I catch her wrist easily, twisting it at an odd angle before kneeing her in the stomach. I grab her shirt in one hand while the other is balled into a fist currently cocked back and ready to strike. I send it flying towards her face, ready to end this fight with one final blow.
Except my fist doesn’t move.
Cold hands clamp around both of my wrists, pulling at my arms until they are tucked tightly behind my back. I’m so shocked, so strained and tired that I can’t fight the strong grip, can’t do anything to break my hands free.
My head whips around and I’m face-to-face with a bloody nosed Sadie, the one I fought immediately before.
“Look at me, Paedyn.” My head snaps back the original Sadie now clutching a knife in her bloody hands before me. I kick at the legs of the Sadie behind me, only causing her to kick in the back of my knees, sending me crashing into the ground.
Helpless. Powerless.
Sadie stands over me, seeming to contemplate something as I kneel before her. “You are never going to stop fighting me, are you?” In response, I writhe in the Sadie’s grip, desperately trying to break free. She shakes her head at me, offering an apologetic look. “Maybe Kai was right. The less competition, the better.”
She grabs the handle of the dagger in both hands, raising it above her head.
So this is how I die.
I’ve survived my whole life as an Ordinary, and yet, this is how it ends. By a measly dagger. I can’t tell if I want to laugh or cry.
Sadie holds the knife above her head, ready to plunge it into my rapidly beating heart as she whispers, “I told you I didn’t want to do this. But I have to.”
Kai will be furious that he saved my life for nothing.
“I’m sorry,” Sadie chokes out as the tip of the blade comes racing towards my heart. And impossibly, unbelievably, I’m suddenly ready for it.
I’ll see you soon, Father.
Nothing.
The blade stops mere inches away from my heart.
I’m shaking, my eyes trailing from the halted knife to my almost-killer. Blood pours out of Sadie’s mouth, followed by a gurgled gasp slipping between her lips. She looks down, wide-eyed, and I follow her gaze to the sword now protruding from her chest.
The dagger slips from her fingers as tears slip down her cheeks. She stumbles back, gasping, into a broad chest. Kai wraps his arms around her and gently guides her to the ground, a sickening gargling sound slipping past her lips.
And then she’s suddenly silent, her hazel eyes staring up at the black sky—wide, unseeing, and glossy.
The Sadies around us flicker out of existence, leaving my hands free to cover my mouth as I choke on a gasp. I’m trying to take in what just happened, trying to take in air as I wheeze weakly.
Kai drops to his knees beside me, worry crinkling his brow. “Are you hurt?” His eyes roam over me like the fingers now lightly roaming up my body, checking for injuries just as they had a few nights before. “Paedyn, look at me.” Rough hands are cupping my face now, guiding my gaze towards him. “Tell me, did she hurt you?”
“I-I’m fine.”
I’m not fine.
I hate these Trials because they kill people, and now I’ve just witnessed it firsthand. I’ve been a part of it. I didn’t ask for any of this, didn’t want anyone to die. And now, another victim of the Trials lays motionless mere feet away.
“I told you I don’t want to do this. But I have to.”
Sadie didn’t want to kill me, and yet, I almost wish she had. Almost wish I had a reason to hate her, a reason to wish this fate upon her. But it’s these twisted Trials that forced her shaking hand to raise that dagger above her head, forced her into nearly taking a life.
I glance at her bloody body lying limp and so close. An image of my father flashes before my eyes, replacing the girl who tried to kill me with the father who would have killed for me. I witnessed him die similarly, and I try to blink the image away. But his bloody body doesn’t budge—
“Hey, look at me, alright? Don’t look at her, look right at me.” Kai’s hands are still gently holding my face when I slide my gaze back to his, trying to focus on something other than the death in front of me. Except, the prince himself seems to be death incarnate, a wielded weapon.
“Focus on my eyes. I know how much you like to stare into them.” His gray gaze sparkles with amusement, and the corner of his lips kick up while my own mouth falls open. He knows me well enough to know that I’m about to start telling him off in response to that little comment, so he presses a finger to my lips before I get the chance.
“Focus on the dimples you try to convince yourself you hate, even though I know you look for them every time I smile.” Sure enough, his grin spreads, and my traitorous eyes flick to the dimples framing it.
The thumb he runs over my bottom lip has my eyes dragging from his dimples to meet his gaze. “Focus on my lips.” His voice is a murmur, a caress like the fingers brushing my face and mouth. “Don’t be shy, I know this wouldn’t be the first time.”
My eyes drift to his lips, trailing over the sensuous curve of them. He’s so very easy to look at, to admire. Everything about him is annoyingly alluring, distracting so easily—
Distracting.
When my eyes light up with the realization of what he is doing, his slight smirk tells me I’m correct. This calculating boy just distracted me from a dead body using nothing but himself to do so.
“Are you sure that was to distract me and not to boost your ego?” I ask, my voice deceptively calm.
“Why can’t it be both?
“Ass,” I mumble.
He hasn’t stopped smiling at me. “I may be an ass, but I just saved yours.” And then, without warning, his smile vanishes and is replaced by serious scrutiny as he looks me over. “How are you? Have you calmed down?”
I breathe and shut my eyes for a moment. An image of Sadie’s bloody body flashes in my mind before shifting into my father’s.
“I’m fine now,” I lie, hating how strained my voice sounds.
He shakes his head at me, muttering, “I told you. You’re a horrible liar, Gray.”
A shaky laugh escapes me. The sound is so wrong with a lifeless body so close, but I can’t seem to control myself. At this point, my only options are laughing or crying, and I refuse to do the latter.
Kai studies my face, seeming to see the battle raging within me. Without a word, he wraps an arm around my middle and helps me to my feet. I know I should push him away, should tell him I don’t need his help. But I’m weak in far more ways than one, and his closeness is my only comfort right now.
He guides me to a stump and sits me down, crouching to look up into my face. “Pae,” he speaks the syllable so softly, “stay here and calm down. Just breathe, all right? You’re still in shock.”
I nod numbly as he assesses me again. His gaze never strays from my own as he slowly raises a hand to slide his fingers over mine, seeming to search for something. They halt on the cold steel around my finger before spinning the ring idly, mirroring a movement I’m all too familiar with. “Distract yourself. Spin this like you always do to keep busy, to keep your mind off things.”
I blink at him, shocked that he knows my habits, knows how to help me. I’m stunned at how calm and collected he is after killing someone, though I shouldn’t be. He was raised for this, molded into a murderer who’s numb to the death he doles out. I suppress a shudder at the thought of the horrors this haunted boy has committed. The horrors he’s endured.
Kai stands to leave. “I’m going to go…clean this up. I’ll be back soon. And for once,” he sighs, “listen to me and stay put.”
And then he’s gone, leaving me to spin my ring restlessly.
