The Legionnaire Games: Day 6, hour 5
I dug my toes into the silky grass and closed my eyes.
The crashing surf, howling wind, and sulfuric stench faded into the background.
In my mind I stood in a flower field.
Two fae suns warmed my skin.
Lothaire shouted over the icy wind, “For the first four games, only a few competitors from each team will be selected to represent their legion.”
The mirage broke, and I opened my eyes.
The eclipse swallowed the sky and cast everything in blood red. The salty air whipped my curls into an unruly mess.
We stood in our lines on the west side of the island on what used to be rocks.
It was now an arena.
Neon-green grass was squishy beneath my bare toes.
A perfect circle of lawn was surrounded by dozens of wide pillars. They jutted high into the cloud cover. The arena was about the same size as the gladiator stadium in the fae realm, but there were no surrounding seats.
A small silver set of bleachers sat off to one side.
The seating was comically out of place compared to the height of the posts and the tall spires of the academy.
Sadie glanced over at me with a wide smile like she was having fun.
I grimaced back.
She wiggled her chest in what was supposed to be a shimmy but came across as an uncontrollable tick.
Competitors glanced over at her with raised eyebrows.
“Stop it,” I mouthed.
Sadie shimmied faster and mimed thrusting her hips sexually in my direction.
I pinched the top of my nose and pretended that the lunatic woman with white hair wasn’t gyrating in my direction.
Her mate Cobra wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He pressed her against his side to stop her movements.
She smirked at me, and I purposefully looked in the other direction.
Lothaire’s braid whipped in the wind. “Every team has been assigned an approved substitute. This person will be mandatorily subbed into a legion if a member becomes indisposed.”
Indisposed.
“Do you think he means dead?” John asked as he clapped his hand across my back like he always did.
Pain jolted down my spine, and I swallowed a scream. “One can hope.”
Lothaire gestured to his side. He waited for something.
CRACK.
Dick and Lyla appeared out of thin air.
The witch knelt on the grass. White runes glowed against her dark skin, and her green hair hung around her face in a sleek sheet. Not a single strand moved in the blustery wind.
An RJE device glowed in Lyla’s hand. Five people were linked, holding on to each other.
She looked up, and her eyes landed on me.
I averted my gaze.
Worry flared in my gut as I took in the monster who had tormented Sadie growing up. Lately, Dick seemed to follow everywhere we went, and I didn’t like it. Sadie claimed she had made her peace with him, but I didn’t know how that was possible.
“No,” Jax growled loudly to my right. His outburst was surprising because he was the most rational by far of all Sadie’s mates.
My stomach plummeted when I saw what had made him swear.
This wasn’t good.
“These are your substitutes,” Lothaire announced. “They will room with you and can assist in strategizing and health management when they’re not needed.”
Health management? He was choosing his words carefully.
Not good.
Lothaire pointed to the substitutes. “Join your lines.”
A tattooed man sauntered forward and stood with the devil legion. A black man with arching blue wings stood with the angel legion. A tiny pale woman with purple-streaked hair joined the assassin legion. A nondescript short man went over to the leviathan legion.
I ignored them all.
We stared at the last person in the line.
A short pale goblin child with black hair and the eyes of a psychopath sauntered forward to the shifter legion. As she walked by the angel legion, she glared at them with disgust. A ferret was draped across her shoulder.
Jinx was here.
The ferret was Warren, the omega shifter the don had gifted her as her personal bodyguard.
She shouldn’t be here.
The ferret really shouldn’t be here.
This was bad.
Sadie gasped, Cobra grinned, Ascher and Xerxes glowered, and Jax trembled with rage.
“She’s a child. There’s been a mistake!” Jax shouted over the wind at Lothaire.
Everyone on the field stared at the shifter with expressions of disbelief, as if they couldn’t believe someone had dared to challenge Lothaire. A couple men and women brimmed with excitement like they wanted to see bloodshed.
Lothaire turned toward Jax slowly and said, “She was the only person associated with your group that qualified.”
Jax roared like the bear he shifted into. “She’s only twelve!”
“I’m thirteen,” Jinx scoffed.
The leviathan legion laughed, and the devil legion cracked smiles.
Jax grabbed her arms. “What you are is a child who should be in school with your sisters. We made arrangements to keep you safe.”
His chest vibrated with a growl, and the sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
You didn’t mess with an angry bear.
Jinx rolled her eyes and said, “Plans change. We both know my talents were wasted at that childish institution.”
She studied her cuticles like she was bored, and my heart swelled with pride. Jinx had learned that mannerism from me.
Jax shook her and said, “It is the top university in the beast realm. I’m not arguing with you. You’re going back to stay with your sisters. Now!”
“No.” Jinx smirked and pointed at me. “If Aran can compete, then I’m more than qualified. Remember when she was afraid of our fireplace?”
Malum turned around in front of me and raised his brow questioningly as he glanced down at the red flames playing across his fingers.
Never mind, my heart was not swelling.
No pride.
Jinx looked me straight in the eyes and said, “You better pull yourself together for this competition. I don’t have time for your theatrics.”
A leviathan member made a strangled sound as he tried to conceal his laughter.
It was too bad that I was going to have to murder a child.
Jax pushed Jinx into Sadie’s arms and stomped out of line toward Lothaire. Warren licked his hairy armpit. All the legions stared with wide eyes and open mouths.
Jax shouted over the wind, “Send her back now or we’ll walk away!”
The psychotic vampyre I was allegedly related to (I had seen no proof, so I was pretending there was still a chance he was just a stranger), pulled out his baton and smacked it against his hand.
Crack.
Sparks leaped.
I took a step forward to warn Jax, but John grabbed my arm and held me back.
We all knew intimately what happened when you messed with Lothaire and his baton.
You got your ass beat.
The gold jewelry in Jax’s long braids tinkled as he vibrated with rage. “If you don’t send her back this minute, then we refuse to compete. She will not be fighting in any war.”
Lothaire narrowed his single eye.
He said calmly, “If you walk away, then you’re signing your death warrant, and the gods will still make her compete. She’s destined to fight in the war. You have no choice. You’re not an individual with freedom of choice. You’re a legion that has been selected to represent the gods. Tread carefully.”
Jax’s gray eyes glowed signaling that he was close to shifting. “This is not fair. She’s my little sister. She’s just a child.”
Sadie nodded vehemently.
Lothaire glanced over at me, and something soft flashed across his face.
The expression disappeared.
Lothaire said harshly, “The gods don’t care about fairness. She’s qualified, so she’s your substitute. If you don’t want her to have to compete, then don’t become indisposed.” He cracked his baton against his hand. “Now get in line or the child you’re so worried about will have to watch you get beaten before she’s forced to take your place.”
Jax’s muscled body began to expand, and I held my breath.
Just when I thought violence would break out, Jax whirled around with a roar and stalked back to stand in line.
“Hold me back,” he said, and Sadie and Cobra immediately wrapped their arms around him.
The angel with heterochromia furled his lips as Jax was held back. You could feel the judgment radiating off him.
Ascher stared down at Jinx with narrowed eyes. “Did you get a neck tattoo while you were at school?” he asked incredulously as he rubbed at the rose-and-flame ink that covered his throat.
Shit.
A small cursive word was tattooed vertically down the side of Jinx’s pale neck.
Sadie and I made panicked eye contact.
Jinx had mentioned tattooing her neck when she’d visited the academy a few weeks ago, but I’d assumed it was a joke.
“Hold me back before I kill her,” Jax growled, and Cobra tightened his pale arms, the jewels embedded in his skin twinkling.
He and Sadie struggled to restrain the angry alpha.
Jinx rolled her eyes at him and petted Warren’s head. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Why is the pervert with you?” Sadie asked as she pointed at the ferret.
None of us liked that Warren had been disguised in his animal form for months, living with the girls. Plus, we’d caught him with underwear on his head. He claimed he did not know what it was and had thought it was a hat, but none of us believed him.
Jinx glowered at Sadie. “This is just a ferret.” She shook him back and forth like a rag doll. “Don’t bring it up again or he won’t be able to stay. He’s my backup.”
Oh, great.
A thirteen-year-old had secretly smuggled a grown man into Elite Academy.
Lothaire was going to love that.
“I didn’t think pets were allowed?” the angel with the two-colored eyes asked loudly as he leered at Jinx. His harsh feline features were pulled tight with disgust.
Sadie and her mates whipped their heads in his direction. Their eyes glowed as they moved out of line to surround her protectively.
“Are you threatening my sister?” Jax asked slowly as his chest vibrated with a low growl.
The angel faced forward and said nothing else.
Jax turned back to Jinx, and his eye twitched as he stared down at the ferret. Cobra looked even angrier, and his jewels began moving across his skin like they always did before they became his shadow snakes.
Jinx flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned away.
Since our line was standing next to the shifter line, it gave me the perfect chance to check out her tattoo. I leaned closer to read it. It started with a G and ended with an n, but I couldn’t make out the rest of it.
Does it say Garden?
Weird choice, but since I had “WHORE” carved into my back, I couldn’t judge.
“Why are you staring at me with mopey eyes? Buck up and get ready for the games, cannibal.” Jinx looked over at me with disdain.
I glanced around and was relieved to see that everyone had turned back around and was listening to Lothaire give instructions.
No one was paying us any attention.
Sun god. If everyone started calling me that, I’d lose it.
How had I ever missed Jinx? Guess it really was true: Stockholm syndrome was a silent killer.
I tried to assert my dominance and whispered back, “Big talk coming from someone who has the build of a malnourished garden gnome.”
Jinx scoffed.
Her body posture was casual like she wasn’t a small child standing in the middle of an arena built for war, surrounded by powerful warriors two times her size. She narrowed her eyes at me and said, “I almost didn’t recognize you. I forgot how pathetic and unintimidating you look as a woman. You’re barely stronger than Sadie. You need to train harder.”
I made a mocking face and pretended I wasn’t offended. She’d attack if she caught a sniff of insecurity.
I tried discreetly to lift my shirt and wipe my face to show off my six-pack abs.
Jinx gaped at me like I was an idiot.
I pushed my shirt down as I realized I was acting like a douchey male. Apparently, the enchanted disguise had really gotten to me.
Unsurprisingly, I’d become the problem. Again.
Scorpius chuckled behind me in line, and it took me a second to realize he was laughing at what Jinx had said about me looking pathetic as a woman.
Does he agree with her?
From what I’d seen, John and the kings were bisexual.
It was stupid, but I wondered if they all secretly wished I was a guy. In the hall, the kings had said they thought I was disgusting as a woman, but I’d assumed they were trying to get a rise out of me.
What if they meant it?
They had constantly called me pretty boy, but no one had called me pretty since I’d revealed I was a woman.
I grimaced at my ridiculous train of thought.
My vampyre father was standing in the middle of an arena designed to test people for war. I was about to compete against angels, devils, leviathans, assassins, and shifters for leadership positions in an inter-realm war.
Yet I worried about whether men I hated preferred what gender I was?
This was 100 percent why Jinx bullied me.
I rubbed my hands over my face and took a deep breath, determined to focus on what mattered. Surviving the next forty days.
“Where’s our substitute, sir?” Malum asked, and it pulled me out of my thoughts.
Lyla had only RJE’d with five people, and there were six teams.
I looked around the arena and realized there was no one else arriving.
We were missing our substitute.
Lothaire looked unconcerned and said, “Your substitute is making arrangements to be present, and it will take a few weeks. All of you have met him before and know him well.”
John made a choking noise behind me.
How could a human, an undercover fae queen, three devil kings, and two demons all know someone?
It made zero sense.
Except. Oh shit.
There were only four men in all the realms that all of us knew: Horace, Noah, Shane, and Demetre. All of them were dead, each death because of me.
My stomach cramped.
The gods were involved in these games, so it wasn’t impossible to think someone had been brought back from the dead. Maybe?
My thoughts became increasingly panicked. How did John dispose of Horace’s body? Did I not actually kill him?
I sucked on my pipe as Lothaire resumed talking about the games like everything had been cleared up.
“The Legionnaire Games are not a normal tournament by any means. They’re not a medieval killing spree like you’re probably expecting. This is not a pissing contest to see who can stab other people most effectively.”
Not what I’d expected.
Lothaire shouted over the ocean’s roar, “The gods already know about your legions’ physical prowesses.”
He paused.
“To lead a war, you all must be so much more than warriors.”
I exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Lothaire glared at each of us. “You will make gut-wrenching decisions under pressures that none of you can imagine. Repeatedly. And you’ll have to make the right ones or people will die. The fate of civilization as we know it will be in all your hands.”
I coughed as I sucked in smoke too quickly.
He did not just say that?
Sun god, had he ever heard of not jinxing people? The realms were 100 percent doomed.
RIP civilization. I made the sign of respect for the dead with my hand. It was good while it lasted; I was going to miss showers and freedom.
Although, technically, I had no free will.
Guess it was just showers.
Lothaire’s expression was flat as he said, “The games are the most demanding psychological test in all the realms.”
Who said that to people? Was he trying to make us panic?
It was working.
“Sweet,” Jinx whispered and fist-bumped the air. I stepped out of line and kicked her in the shins.
She fell to her knees, and Jax glared back at her and told her to behave.
Jinx made a vulgar gesture.
I smirked, then turned back to stare at the frothing ocean as Lothaire hammered away further at my nonexistent will to live.
He said, “On the morning of each competition, I will announce the specific combination of people the gods want to see compete. Most weeks, they will choose, but sometimes you will have to decide as a legion who will compete. You will be judged on your selections. Everything is a test.”
I picked at the scab on my lip.
Lothaire’s eye roamed over each of the legions. “The rules for each competition will change. The loser of each competition will be punished. The punishments will be chosen by the gods.”
I picked harder at my lip.
“This is a psychological showcase. You will be judged on every choice you make. It’s not just about what you’re willing to dole out; it’s about what you’re willing to take. You will be judged on how you suffer.”
The scab on my lip ripped off, and I rolled the flap of skin into a ball between my fingers.
Droplets of salt water burned the open cut.
Lothaire pointed to the academy.
“Each legion has a designated room in the academy where you’ll sleep and recover. There will be no outside assistance for healing. When you’re not competing, you have free use of the academy and grounds to train and prepare yourselves. Meals are served at six a.m., twelve p.m., four p.m., and eight p.m. every day.”
My eyes unfocused.
Then Lothaire pointed at each of our legions. “The first competition is in ten days. Right now, appoint a team captain who’ll lead and organize your legion. Your captain will be in charge of deciding who competes when the choice is presented.”
Lines melded into circles as each group whispered to themselves like they were excited.
Not relatable.
I didn’t move.
The waves crested and crashed.
“I appoint Corvus as captain,” Scorpius said, and Orion nodded. “Does everyone agree?”
“Fine with us,” Zenith and Vegar said.
John shrugged. “That works.”
Water slammed against the rocky coast and sent droplets spraying into the air.
“Arabella, do you agree?” Scorpius snapped his fingers in front of my face.
“Sure.”
Scorpius made a rude noise under his breath.
“Good,” Malum said in his deep baritone voice. “We’ll begin training after this with a long run. We need to be ready.”
I couldn’t hold back my snort.
“Got something to say, Arabella?” Malum asked through gritted teeth.
“Nope.”
Scorpius snapped, “Please, Arabella, share with us what you were just scoffing at.”
I made a face at the blind king, then turned to Malum. “Nothing we do is going to prepare us for this. You heard what Lothaire said. It’s a psychological competition. A run will not help us make better decisions.”
The idea was ludicrous.
Malum bristled like I was usurping his leadership. “That’s why I’m the captain and you’re nothing but a liar who concealed her identity.”
Men were so melodramatic.
“That has nothing to do with this,” I said tiredly.
Malum’s deep voice was abrasive as he said, “It has everything to do with this.” Scarlet flames jumped off his bronze arms.
He crowded my personal space.
“How?” I asked as I refused to tip my head back to look at him.
“Because you’re clearly broken.” He tapped his temple and smirked. “The rest of us don’t have your pathetic little mental problems.”
I dropped the ball of skin from my fingers. “Whatever.”
“Back away from her.” John shoved himself in front of me. “What’s wrong with you?”
Malum chuckled meanly. “Arabella is the problem, not me.”
John’s voice was bitter. “Do you really think that? After everything she’s been through. She’s proven herself.”
“Please!” Malum glared back and forth between John and me. “She doesn’t need you defending her.”
I pushed John behind me. “Don’t talk to him that way.”
Red flames multiplied along Malum’s arms. “Grow up. You think you can—”
Malum ranted on and on, but I didn’t hear another word he said as I compartmentalized everything we’d learned.
I only had to survive four competitions.
Then an intergalactic war.
Wonderful.
