“We will see that later,” she snaps, slapping her bloody hand across his cheek. He walks back towards us, still holding his back straight, but not holding his chin that high anymore. Poor boy. He seems nice. A smear of blood still covers his cheek when he steps away from Prince Zephron.
Five minutes later, two new duos are formed. We now have Aaliyah and Aiden of course, Gwen and Caleb, and Delilah and Ethan. Kailey smiles at me with hope in her eyes because both of our names haven’t been called yet. Prince Zephron looks long at the next piece of parchment in his hand.
“Eliane, you’re up next.”
Despite the fact that I knew my name would be called once, my breath pitches. I walk towards him, trying to make eye contact with Da. My feet drag me slowly and every step I take feels intense. I turn around, facing the other candidates. Zephron puts his hand in again and spins his hand around a few times. It seems to take ages before he grabs another piece. I can see his heart beating in his neck as he takes out a new paper. A vein on his head is pulsing fast. He swallows hard. I can hear his throat go dry. His eyes wide as he stares at the name on the paper. He looks up as he makes eye contact with his brother.
I know I didn’t get paired with Kailey.
“Braxton. You can come up to me,” he murmurs, looking at the ground. Braxton’s face doesn’t change. His mouth is formed in a small line. He strolls towards me. I take my hand out and extend it to him. “Hi, I’m Eliane,” I introduce myself to him, smiling.His eyes peer at my hand like I don’t wash my hands after going to the bathroom. I shrug. His bad. I am going to find this boy’s soft spot. I take the dagger from the table and make a firm cut in my palm. I keep my emotions under control and pass the dagger to him, not reacting to the pain, just like Da taught me. “Here, your turn, Brax.” His eyes widen at me.
“My name is Braxton,” he tells me, putting emphasis on the word Braxton. His voice is deep and raw. I smirk.
“So he does talk then, huh?” I can’t help but notice the corner of his mouth lift just a little before he shakes his head. He cuts his hand and presses his palm against mine. A tingle spreads through my body. My heart races in my chest, and my breath quickens. A beat of sweat trickles over my back. I can feel Braxton’s breathing against my face. It feels like this goes in slow motion. He stares deeply into my eyes. I can feel the blush rise to my cheeks. His eyes are this amazing kind of blue. They have a green middle but this bright blue on the sides. It reminds me of the waterfall and trees next to my house. It is breathtaking. My body reacts in ways it only does when I am having a panic attack. I need to fight this feeling away. And that is what I do. I try to steady my breathing.
I breathe in for four seconds.
Hold.
And breathe out for four seconds, all while calling out the colors of his eyes in my head.
“Does this have to take so long?” I cough, trying to shake the still present uneasy feeling off me. Laughing kind of embarrassed, I step away from him. Not sure what this was. Not another panic attack, right? I pace back towards the other candidates. I tap my foot on the ground, but I turn to see Braxton glaring at me.
I have no time to process any of the things that just happened because Zephron starts talking again.
“As you probably guessed our last duo is logical now, but I will check,” he tells us. He takes the last two names out of the vase. “Hazel and Kailey, you can come up. You are the last duo of the trials.”
They cut their hands the same as the ones before. “Now that every duo is made, I can inform you more about this week. This week you will get to know your partner, learn how to fight them and learn how to live together.” He coughs in his fist, smirking. “This week you will stay in a room together, do everything together and learn how much you depend on each other.
“You will depend more on each other than you could have ever imagined. And I promise you all. There will be only benefits from getting to know each other.”
I hug Da tightly and wave him goodbye. He will be gone, for now at least. I watch as every duo walks away. I turn to Braxton to ask what’s next. Before I can say something, he decides to finally start talking.
“Let’s go,” he snaps, still holding his face in this brave, cool, emotionless position or whatever. I furrow my brows. All right. If he wants to play it that way and wants to command me like the prince he is, we will. I can play that game too. I lift my chin as I peer my eyes at him.
“You could have just told me you think you’re better than me, you know. You don’t have to act like a self-centered prick to make clear that you’re the prince. I know who you are, but in this game we are even. So you better start treating me like your partner, or I will make you regret it,” I tease him. I turn around and take a step.
“Honey, don’t bother trying. You won’t be able to make me loveable. My heart isn’t as soft and sunny as yours,” he yells after me as I already stepped away. The word “honey” stings in my chest, almost like hearing my parents say it to me. But it’s notpain I feel when he says it. He’s cocky, and I don’t like the way he raises his brows at me.
O this boy, come on, man.
You don’t have to be a bitch about everything.
I spin around. My fingers reach my leg, seeking for the handle of my dagger. I lift my knee up and hit Brax in the groin.
“How,” he murmurs. I make a slice movement with my right arm. He is too fast. He blocks it and spins, pushing my arm with my dagger to my back. This causes me to stand with my back against his stomach.
Against his hard abdomen.
I can feel him breathe against my temple.
“Want to make another blood sacrifice, Honey?” he whispers in my ear just a little too long. I clench my jaw, and I can feel my anger rise. The sun burns hot on my skin and sweat trickles on our bodies. A tingle creeps inside of me, and I feel like I am going to explode.
“I am not your Honey, you self-centered prick!” I scream at him. I kick my free elbow back straight in his stomach. He loses his grip a little and I turn around. I push my dagger against his throat, closing him against the chapel. My heartbeat thunders in my ears and the sun shines so bright that it feels like I am going to burn alive. I watch my dagger as I push the end harder on his throat.
A droplet of blood drips down my dagger.
Blood drips down on the dagger I got from Da for my 14th birthday. The dagger has a little sun embedded in it, reminding me of my strength.
