I didn’t realize that the learning curve to utilizing my magick would be so grueling. I’d just assumed that the moment I put on the mask it would be easy and that I could wield the shadows without a problem. How wrong I’d been. It took skill and patience and a surprising amount of energy to harness the wild sparks of power that now resided within me. But once that mask came off my face, the power seemed to fizzle out into nothing. Only winning the competition would allow that magick to remain with or without the mask, or so I’d been told.
I forced myself to eat every bit of meat and potatoes that lined my plate, even though I felt queasy from ingesting the dirty water during training. My strength would be needed to not only get me through the training sessions, but the competition itself. The beef burned on its way down my esophagus. The inside of my throat was still raw from how hard I’d coughed toexpel the water from my lungs. I chased the food with a swig of wine, hoping to dislodge it from where it felt stuck. It went down hard and had me longing for the roast my mother used to make before her illness. How we would all clean our plates of every crumb when she would make her famous roast. Usually for a birthday or celebration Thoughts of my mother soured my already irritable stomach and I pushed my plate away, trying not to focus on my family and what they might be doing. Or if my mother was still with us. I tried and failed not to think about it and the life I’d left behind.
To think right above our heads laid an entire city. Bustling and alive with people and carriages. While we were down here in the flickering candlelight, surrounded by the long dead and buried. Living and training in the domain of the gods.
The upcoming masquerade was only a few days away and the gods would be in attendance. While I was certain the dress I’d packed for the occasion would be perfect, the knowledge of having to interact with our city’s rulers and reason for this competition gnawed at my anxiety. How could I look them in the eye and know they only saw me as a chess piece? A mere moment of fleeting entertainment in a lifetime of endless charades meant to make their immortal lives less boring.
Dex’s gaze locked onto me then, wine glass paused on my bottom lip as I remembered I was in a room full of my potential murderers.
I glanced around at the contestants nervously as I shakily put down the glass harder than I intended to, causing a small splash of liquid to careen over the side and drop onto the wooden table beneath.
Dex watched me curiously, and while I actively tried to avoid his attention, I couldn’t deny the warm feeling that accumulated in my chest and down my spine every time he looked at me as if I were the only person that existed in this crowded room.
Since the start of the competition, he’d singled me out for whatever reason. The weight of his gaze simmered under my skin as if my body liked the way he looked at me. Like he was undressing me in that handsome head of his.
The thought was insane. I couldn’t possibly like someone like Dex. Not when I had Theo at home waiting for me. Sweet, devoted, Theo who I’d known all my life. It was just the stress of this place getting to me. Maybe the lost oxygen had gotten to my head and had me entertaining wild ideas.
I could practically hear what my sister, Marley, would say about the situation. She’d tell me to forget Theo and have some fun for once with the devilishly handsome stranger. She’d always found Theo dull and didn’t understand our relationship. But I did. With his family’s station, Papa wouldn’t have to work as hard. I’d be able to provide and have a security that we lacked. Sure, my father’s designs were well sought after now, but I remember a time when our stomachs groaned with hunger because he wasn’t selling anything and the bills from the physicians kept piling up. How my father would go out at night and beg when he thought we were all asleep.
Being with Theo would alleviate the worry that lingered in the back of my mind. Gods knew Papa wasn’t getting any younger.
A loud gong rang throughout the room announcing the end of dinner. No one made a noise as we shuffled back to our rooms, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. Whatever illusions of how easy this competition would be were snuffed out today. Even Dex looked slightly defeated and that had me worried. If the most arrogant among us was feeling that way, I didn’t know what to expect once the games started. I could only hope that I would master my power before the shots that signaled the start of the games rang out. No matter what happened, any illusion of being able to walk out of this unscathed were dashed to pieces.There would be blood on my hands by the end of this, I just hoped it wouldn’t be my own.
“Again!”Nat called, sparring towards me with a blast of power. I’d narrowly dodged her attack and rolled onto my back avoiding being turned into stone.
“Nice to see you’re all healed up,” I wheezed, struggling to get my feet underneath me.
“Yeah, well, the healers did what they could.”
Nat bounced energetically on her feet waiting for me to get back in position. Her chin length hair swished with the motion as I put my hands up and readied myself for another attack. She was fast and strong, making me work hard to keep up with her.
Yesterday was a grim wakeup call that I was woefully unprepared for this competition. Theo’s words haunted me on a loop inside my head, reminding me that even he didn’t believe in me enough to make it out of here. That’s probably why he didn’t show up to say goodbye. He knew I was dead meat.
But there was another voice, a stronger, gentler one of my mother’s reminding me that I had a strength inside. It was the only thing pushing me forward.
“Looking good, Deveraux,” Dex’s voice crawled over my skin as he walked past.
“Drop dead, Bourreau,” I snapped, losing control and feeling the embers of my magick coat my hands. Shadows danced along the tips of my fingers ready to strike.
I was in no mood for his shit today. Muscles I didn’t even know I possessed ached. Every inch of me it seemed was workedto the bone in yesterday’s training. The healers merely took the edge off, but it wasn’t enough. I could still feel the dregs of my near-death experience clinging to the periphery of my mind, taunting me.
“Aw, don’t be like that. I know you secretly like me.” I rolled my eyes and almost missed the moment Nat decided to strike. The magick hit my shield and it became instantly ten times heavier as it slowly morphed into stone. I dropped it with a resounding clang and called for a time out.
“Almost got you,” she said with a smirk.
“Yeah, well good thing you didn’t, or you’d end up like Magnus.” I shuddered, and she did too.
While we were on the same team, and working together for now, I couldn’t let myself forget that the moment the games started she could turn on me. It didn’t look like I’d be making any real friends here soon with that kind of environment.
Dex crossed his arms over his chest as he watched me drink from my canteen of water.
He looked at me as if I were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen, and it did funny things to my insides.
“What?” I snapped, feeling a dribble of water drip down my chin.
He caught it with his thumb, wiping it away with a swipe, only he didn’t let go. His hand cupped my chin and angled my head to look up at him. My heart stuttered and I swallowed thickly.
His nostrils flared as he stared down at me, almost like he was angry at me for something, but I didn’t know what.
