The Legionnaire Games: Day 23, hour 9
I pushed Orion behind me protectively as Lothaire led us into the center of the field.
Arabella walked a few feet away with a blank expression on her face.
The bags under her eyes were black. They blended with the war paint Orion had put under all our eyes.
She looked awful, and she had cherry-colored marks along the side of her neck. It hadn’t escaped my notice last night that both her and Orion’s lips were swollen. He’d marked her like she was his to claim.
I’d deal with my Revered later.
For now, we had to survive the first competition.
I scanned the lawn and cataloged our competition. Fourteen people had been chosen by the gods to fight: two male devils from the House of Dar; two female assassins; two shifters, Sadie and the man called Jax; three male leviathans; and three angels, the man with heterochromia and two women.
There was a thick dark cloud cover, and the sea churned aggressively. The wind howled as it battered against us.
Conditions were rough.
The towering posts along the field’s perimeter cast looming shadows across the lawn. They jutted high into the scarlet sky, and the ends of the posts disappeared in the black clouds.
I flexed with anticipation.
A female student screamed, “Go kings! The royals love you!” There was a chorus of shouts and whistles of agreement, but the cheers were swallowed by the wind.
Arabella didn’t look at the crowd. She kept her eyes on the rough sea.
The entire academy was packed into the small bleachers. Competitors who hadn’t been chosen to compete sat in the first row. Behind them, the purple-clad royal students were crammed together on the left side of the bleachers and there was a foot wide space separating them from the green-clothed commoner students who sat on the right side.
Those who weren’t cheering for the competitors had their heads tipped backward, and they gawked at the platform floating hundreds of feet above them in the air.
The eclipse loomed behind the platform, and I squinted.
Two people sat on the floating structure: Lyla the witch and the angel Lothaire referred to as Dick.
Relief unfurled in my gut. The rumors that the gods themselves attended the event were false, and representatives came in their stead.
My shoulders relaxed.
I couldn’t face the sun god, not until we found our missing mate. He was waiting for us to complete our soul bond so we could patrol the realms and serve him directly.
His representative had told us in the devil realm that he was getting impatient.
As if to punctuate my thoughts, the two devils from the House of Dar sneered as they walked past.
I didn’t bother to engage with them; kings didn’t bother with peasants.
They were jealous because they were centuries old, yet we’d beaten them as eighteen-year-olds.
There were a million reasons the other mated Devil Houses hated us: we were too young, too inexperienced; we didn’t have control over our powers; Scorpius was blind; I had rage problems; and Orion didn’t speak. The list of our failures was long.
Lothaire stopped walking in the center of the lawn and signaled for the competitors to gather around him.
I cracked my neck back as I rested my hand on Orion’s shoulder. With our mating song gone, I constantly checked to reassure myself he was nearby.
He relaxed into my touch, and some of the flames dancing along my arms extinguished.
“Let’s go, Corvus!” a high-pitched female voice shrieked from the student section, and there was a fresh round of cheers.
I ignored the distractions and focused on my Revered. He glanced back and gave me a faint smile. I squeezed his shoulder and nodded.
We had each other’s backs.
It was going to be okay.
Orion’s gaze flickered a few feet to my right, and it didn’t move back. He stared at Arabella.
She was hunched in on herself, arms wrapped around her middle to protect herself from the stiff wind. The look on her face was vacant.
She appeared softer with her curly blue hair pulled away from her face in braids—more like a fae princess and less like the wild, snarky creature who constantly pushed our buttons.
Although princesses usually didn’t have bloodshot eyes and empty expressions.
She was born of privilege. The fae realm was the largest and most famous planet out of all the realms the High Court ruled over. We’d grown up seeing art depictions of the mad queen and her beautiful daughter.
That same daughter stared at us with sunken cheeks and a defeated posture.
Sun god, she even looked dehydrated.
I made a mental note to force her to drink more water.
Dark-blue eyes glanced over at me and Orion. She raised her brow at my expression, and I wiped the pity off my face.
I glared at her.
She’s pathetic. A mere month of fighting the ungodly had almost broken her. I reminded myself that she was the same brat who hours earlier had cuddled up with Sadie in front of her mates. She was disloyal with no morals.
I wrinkled my nose like I smelled something gross.
She rolled her eyes and looked away.
If she touched my Revered after we were soul bonded, I wouldn’t let such a transgression fly. She’d be dead.
It already killed me that we had to have sex with other people to sate our urges.
When we found our missing mate and completed our soul bonds, I would shred anyone to pieces who tried to touch what was mine.
Devils didn’t just love our mates; we owned them. Body, spirit, and soul.
My mates were my destiny.
People like Arabella would never understand. It was pure devotion.
My gut punched with worry when I spotted Scorpius’ large frame sitting alone in the stands. On the surface, he looked bored. But even from such a distance, I could see how stiff his posture was and his occasional flinches.
Students screamed noisily around him.
He didn’t have us beside him to whisper about everything that was happening. Orion saw where I was looking, and he grimaced in agreement.
I forced myself to look away and not worry about my Protector.
He’d be okay.
It felt wrong to be preparing to compete without him beside us. We were a unit. My mates were an extension of myself.
I felt exposed without him by my side.
Lothaire swallowed a glowing blue pill and opened his mouth. His voice was broadcast loudly around the stadium, and he said, “It is my honor to kick off the first Legionnaire Games in centuries. For our first competition, the gods have a simple request for all the competitors.”
He paused.
Raised his arm and pointed to the sky. “Each competitor must climb to the top of one post. Whoever does not make it to the top loses. You have one hour. Time starts now.”
There was a second of stillness as everyone processed what he’d said.
Then the lawn erupted as competitors ran to one of the two dozen posts surrounding the field. There was more than enough for each to have their own, but an angel competitor shoved a leviathan competitor to the ground. A man from the devil legion ripped an assassin competitor off a post and said, “This one’s mine, get your own.”
The three of us ignored the crowd. We jogged to the far side of the arena away from everyone else.
Orion took the post to my right and Arabella was to my left.
I glanced back, and two angels unfurled their wings, flying upward with crazy speed. The third angel was a large dangerous looking man with two different colored eyes, and he stared at Arabella with his lips curled in disgust.
She didn’t even notice.
I cracked my knuckles and made a point of glaring at him.
His eyes flashed over to me, and he spread his wings and shot upward into the air.
Agitation made my already tense muscles ache. Uncomfortable warmth spread across my limbs, and I concentrated on keeping the fever at bay.
It was hard enough looking after my Protector and Revered.
Arabella was chaos incarnate and seemed to attract trouble everywhere she went. Having her life tied to ours was a distraction I didn’t need.
Ignoring the other competitors and students shouting encouragement, I turned to my post and focused on solving the problem.
My fingers trailed across the smooth material. It was a sturdy wood. The posts were the stalks of the mighty oak trees that grew hundreds of feet tall in the Olympus realm.
It was too broad to wrap my arms around and too smooth to rock climb up.
There was only one solution.
I focused on the enchanted metal that capped our ears and helped suppress our powers. A gift from the sun god.
Whoosh.
The metal ear caps floated upward above my head. Click. Click. Click. Shards pulled apart and formed a floating crown.
I grunted and tensed as the enchantment stopped concealing my power and the ache in my bones doubled. The sudden fever made me sweat, and my body convulsed in pain, muscles aching.
Flames exploded across every inch of my skin.
To my right, Orion’s crown also floated above his blond hair. His head was tipped back, eyes open, and he silently screamed.
My instincts went wild.
Flames multiplying.
I wanted to help my Revered, but I was one second from losing control and burning everything and everyone.
Breathing roughly through my nose, I concentrated on thinking calming thoughts. Your mates are healthy. Your mates are safe. You are in control.
Surprisingly the thoughts worked, and the fever receded quicker than it usually did.
As I was wiping sweat off my forehead, someone choked to my left.
Arabella gaped at us.
She stared at my face, and I couldn’t help but grin and flash my long, razor-sharp fangs. I waved at her mockingly, and my long black claws clicked together.
When I spoke, my voice was a monster’s growl. “Keep up, slave. Otherwise, it might hurt.” I pointedly looked up at where the posts towered above us.
She grimaced and nodded as if she had realized our predicament.
We hadn’t tested the exact bounds of the slave tattoo, but the top of the post was much further than the few hallways away she’d been when it had acted up.
“Want me to carry you, baby?” Orion’s lyrical voice tinkled, and I turned around to glare at him because he knew better than to speak so loudly.
He ignored me and kept his attention focused on Arabella.
Luckily, the other competitors were spread out far enough away that no one had seen him speak. Good thing because he looked more glorious than usual with his gold crown floating above his head.
His handsome features were somehow more stunning with razor-sharp teeth and black claws on his hands and feet. He looked deliciously dangerous.
“You’re not carrying her,” I growled with annoyance. “It’s too dangerous.”
No way would I risk my Revered falling because Arabella wanted to play the role of a weak princess that needed rescuing.
“No thanks, baby. I’m good,” Arabella said sarcastically, and I turned to her with suspicion. What was she playing at?
Then her eyes went midnight black and light-blue ice tipped the ends of her fingers in small claws. The sharp points were one third the size of ours and weren’t on her toes too, but they were still surprising.
My jaw dropped.
It was more proof of what I’d always suspected. Fae don’t have black eyes or claws.
What game was she playing at?
Before I could question her, Arabella dug her ice claws into the wood and started hauling herself upward with her toned arms. She pressed outward with her feet to generate some purchase, but most of her ascent came from her arm muscles.
After a few shaky pulls, she settled into a rhythm and climbed. Fast.
Respect unfurled in my gut. Her strength was impressive.
I shook my head to clear my ridiculous thoughts. She’s just lighter as a woman. It’s easier for her to climb, nothing to get excited about.
Nodding at Orion to make sure he was good to go, I dug my finger-and-toe claws into the posts and hauled myself up. Fast as lightning, I climbed.
It helped that Arabella was in front of me.
My competitive spirit flared up, and I decided there was no way I was losing to a woman.
So I didn’t.
When I finally pulled myself onto the top of the post, I was covered in sweat and panting from exertion. My arms were limp, and there was a sharp burning sensation stabbing my gut.
I easily ignored my exhaustion.
Balancing on my haunches, I knelt on the wide, flat circle of the post and smiled. This competition was going to be easy.
I marveled at our surroundings. We were above the clouds.
If I reached my hand out, it felt like I could touch the dark-red eclipse.
It was like flying.
The angel competitors were sprawled on the tops of their posts with bored expressions as they watched competitors pull themselves up.
From what I could see, almost everyone had breached the cloud cover and was close to finishing. It definitely hadn’t been an hour.
“You good?” I called out to Orion, who was also squatting atop his post. He grinned back at me, and his brilliant smile was like a punch to the chest.
High above the world, he appeared more carefree than I’d seen him in years. The mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes was the same one that used to be ever present when we were teens.
He looked like he had before we’d learned the true extent of our abilities. Before we’d realized we couldn’t find our other Protector.
“I’m doing great, thanks for asking,” Arabella said with a huff as she pulled herself over the top of her post. She finished twenty seconds after me. I counted.
She sat down and kicked her feet back and forth over the edge of her post. Leaned forward over the edge like she was going to fall.
My stomach knotted.
“Lean back,” I ordered with a shaky growl.
Arabella made eye contact with me, then slowly leaned forward so her body was seconds away from tumbling off.
I saw red.
She laughed as she finally lay backward on her post. Feet still dangling off the edge just to taunt me.
Orion huffed with relief.
Hands shaking with the urge to strangle her, I could barely articulate, “Fuck you.”
Sun god forbid she not wind me up every chance she got.
The three of us sat on our posts in silence.
A loud chuffing noise echoed, and a ginormous white cat creature with fangs as long as my arms climbed to the top of a post.
The cat shifted into a naked woman, and an annoying, scratchy female voice yelled, “Yay, you also made it!”
I looked away with disgust.
Arabella saluted her and called over, “Go team! Thank the sun god we both made it.”
“You’re on our team, not theirs,” Orion mouthed, then frowned with frustration because Arabella hadn’t seen him speak. His face pinched, and a familiar darkness flashed in his eyes.
My Revered’s powers drove him crazy, just like mine did.
We were all cursed men.
“Orion wants to remind you that you’re on our team,” I said loudly, then added with a growl, “Not hers.”
Sadie beamed at Arabella like she was in love and jumped up and down. “As the captain of the shifter legion, I appointed her an honorary member of our team.”
She blew a kiss, and Arabella pretended to catch it and pressed it to her heart as she said, “Aw, thanks, baby girl.”
Sadie tipped her head back and laughed. “Not you too. Xerxes is already ridiculous for that.”
Arabella stuck out her tongue and smiled back.
When she grinned at Sadie, she looked soft and young. Practically radiant.
Orion and I glared over at the shifter bitch.
A loud roar filled the air as a giant bear covered in armor pulled itself to the top of the post. It shifted into a black man with long braids and gold jewelry.
“Cover yourself!” he bellowed at Sadie, who was standing stark naked.
Arabella made a loud squeaking noise, and her face turned bright red as she stared at the bear shifter.
Sadie fanned herself and pointed at the man. “You cover yourself, Jax. Sun god, is it hot up here?”
“Yeah, it’s super hot.” Arabella pulled at the collar of her shirt. “I can’t believe you—” She stared up at the eclipse.
Her pale face turned bright red.
What were they talking about? The air was thin, much colder than it had been on land. It was practically freezing.
“What do you mean? It’s cold,” I asked Arabella.
Sadie wiggled her eyebrows up and down ridiculously, and it took me a long moment to realize she was miming drawing a dick with her fingers.
Flames licked my skin.
“Really, Arabella?” I asked with annoyance. So what if the Jax man had his dick pierced? It wasn’t a big deal. “Grow up.”
Arabella didn’t look at anyone; she just stared up at the eclipse with a blush staining her cheeks.
Jax and Sadie laughed.
“It’s a lot to process,” she mumbled.
I clenched my fists and barked, “Well, stop fucking thinking about it.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m trying.”
Clearly, she wasn’t trying hard enough. I’d give her something to blush over.
Lothaire’s voice boomed loudly and startled me out of my ridiculous thoughts. I couldn’t see him, so he must have been standing on the lawn, speaking through enchantment. “All competitors have made it to the tops of their posts. We don’t have any losers.”
Cheers sounded, and competitors smiled as we looked around.
From the looks of it, the two other devils had used their claws to climb up the posts, and I hadn’t seen the two leviathans and assassins climbing, but they were all perched on their posts.
I let out a breath of relief. We’d gotten lucky this first round.
Lothaire’s voice echoed. “The representatives will now discuss the next steps everyone will take. Since we have no losers or winners, everyone will complete the punishment together.”
My stomach dropped, and I looked over at Orion. In my periphery, Arabella’s shoulders slumped, and the clenching sensation intensified.
I didn’t like this.
The silence was heavy with tension as we all waited for our fate.
Out of nowhere a floating platform rose above the clouds. Lyla and Dick stared at us with blank expressions.
Lothaire’s voice boomed, “The gods have discussed and decided on a simple punishment. Every competitor must jump back to land. Now.”
My heart pounded loudly in my chest.
The angels unfurled their wings and smirked at everyone as they stood up. With a salute, they stepped off and plummeted below the cloud cover.
No one else moved.
“Not fair!” a short leviathan man shouted, and his loud voice broke the heavy silence. “If no one lost, then why are we being punished? Also, the angels can just fly. How does that even make sense? This is stupid.”
Lothaire’s voice echoed loudly. “All competitors must jump now. That is not a request. It is an order. Failure to comply will result in elimination from the games.”
The leviathan shook his head and sat down on the top of his post in defiance. “Screw the sun god. I’m out.”
I looked back and forth between Orion and Arabella.
My heart beat so fast it slammed against my throat. It would take more than a fall to kill a devil, but Arabella looked weak as shit.
I struggled to breathe slowly.
All our lives are bound. We can’t die.
Rationally I knew we’d all be fine.
I didn’t feel fine.
“You got this. Trust me, I’m an old hat at this,” Sadie shouted to Arabella. “The key is to suck in when you land. See you at the bottom.” She winked and jumped, yelling, “Cats always land on their feet,” as she fell.
In midair, she shifted into her impressive cat form.
Jax roared and shifted into a bear as he jumped after her.
“We’ll all be fine,” Orion mouthed at me, then turned to Arabella. “You’ll be okay. Just concentrate on falling feetfirst to protect your head when you land.”
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.
