‘When you see it, you’ll know,’ is all the information she’s willing to give me.
For all the times where Tilly has tended to overshare, this isnotthe time for her to stop. But, I trust her, so I follow along quietly as we weave between trees and dodge roots in the dark. The only sound between us is our breathing and the crunch and crack of leaves and branches snapping beneath our feet. That is until I hear what sounds like shouting … or, cheering?
‘There!’ Tilly whispers, pointing ahead of us. She reaches for my hand as I squint to see what she’s pointing at, but all I see is darkness.
‘Tilly, I don’t—’
A burst of orange flashes in the distance so quick that for a second, I think I imagined it. But then it happens again. I gasp. ‘Whatisthat?’
Tilly lets out an excited squeal. ‘Let’s go!’ She squeezes my hand and pulls me after her, almost making me trip over my own feet in the process.
The closer we get, the louder the cheering is. Until it’s all I can hear. Flashes of orange burst between tree trunks, and it isn’t until Tilly drops behind a large boulder, pulling me down with her, that we are close enough to see what lies beyond.
My eyes flare as I spot just over a dozen students standing in a clearing. They’re scattered about, some with their backs to Tilly and me, but there is no doubt in my mind they are all third -years. Some of them I recognise from my own unit – in fact most of them seem to be from Malachite. Only a handful do I recognise as Opal. There’s not a single Agate student in sight, from what I can see.
There are lanterns strewn around, some sitting on top of tree stumps, others hanging from branches, filling the clearing with warm flickering light. Students stand around a large circle carved into the dirt, creating a makeshift fighting ring, and in the middle of it is the reason they’re all cheering and gathered around.
Jed stands bare chested, sweat glistening on his muscular torso, travelling down to the black training pants he wears. He moves around the ring like a predator. The smirk I’ve grown familiar with is etched across his face. He lifts both his hands, making a ‘come here’ motion to the dark-skinned Opal student in the ring with him.
‘Holy shit. Tilly, did you bring me to a secret fight club?’ I ask with my heart hammering. Shock and adrenaline pump through my veins as I look back to where Jed dodges what looks like an ice pick being thrown at him. It shatters into pieces as it hits the ground behind him, turning to dozens of wet puddles that seep into the dirt.
I gasp. They’re using their elements on each other!
‘Welcome to the Noctis Ring,’ Tilly says. ‘Or in other words: the Ring of Night.’
‘This is insane! How is this allowed?’
‘It’s been going on for years, it’s basically a tradition at this point. You remember the girl Tanya I told you about?’ I nod. Tanya worked with Tilly on her first shift at the infirmary. ‘She’s right over there, the one in the middle.’ Tilly points toward the far end of the clearing where a trio of third-year girls sit on a thick log with glass bottles dangling from their fingertips. The one in the middle with hair almost as black as the shadows between the trees, Tanya, brings hers to her lips before fisting her hand in the air and cheering at the two fighters.
‘She accidentally let it slip this morning, and I may have convinced her to tell me about it in exchange for covering for her and letting her go spend the evening with her boyfriend the next time we have night duty.’
‘You’re a sneaky little shit, and I love it.’ The smile on my face hurts my cheeks, but I can’t help it. Especially when I look back to find Jed laughing as the Opal student lands a swift kick to his ribs. Only he would laugh at that. Bloody idiot. He recovers quickly, returning with his own combination of impeccably fast strikes with his fist, backing his opponent closer and closer to the line of the circle. When he’s only a mere foot away from stepping out, Jed throws a burst of fire into the guy’s chest, knocking him on his ass and over the line.
Cheers erupt around them. Malachite students jump up and down, taking swigs from their glass bottles as Jed takes a bow.
‘Nowthatis a man that I wouldn’t mind taking a bite from,’ Tilly whispers beside me.
I gape at her.
‘What?’ She holds back a laugh. ‘Look at him! I’d lick the sweat from those abs like candy.’
‘You didnotjust say that!’
‘Sorry, I forgot you’re more into the brooding dark-haired types. Oh look, here comes one now.’
‘What are you—’ My words are stolen from me as my gaze falls on my unit leader walking toward the circle with a shit-eating grin on his face. The crowd’s cheers grow louder, to the point where I don’t understand how we didn’t hear them all the way back at the academy. They part for him to stride on through, as if he’s their god and they’re his loyal followers.
‘Now we’re talking!’ I hear Jed yell as he smacks his own chest with his fist. ‘Bring it on, Zainey baby!’
Sebastian’s head tips back in a laugh, and the sound cuts through the air like a knife, aiming right for my chest. It’s loud and boyish, carefree in a way that I haven’t witnessed from him in such a long time. It throws me off balance, literally. I end up having to dig my nails into a crackin the boulder to stop from swaying on my feet where I’m crouched. I press them in harder for good measure, until it feels like my nails are about to split, just so I can get the picture of his sharp jawline and the veins in his neck out of my head.
Stars, what is wrong with me? I shouldn’t care about the sound of his laugh, or how it’s the first time since I arrived that I’ve seen him look genuinely happy, free from the dark cloud that seems to follow him around everywhere he goes.
He steps into the ring and, in a one-handed move that shoots a pulsing heat right between my thighs, grabs the back of his shirt to tug it over his head then tosses it to the side. Students whistle and cheer.
I tell myself to look away. Look away, rightnow. But I don’t. Instead, my eyes trail from his pecs to the defined ridges of his abs and all the way to the low-slung pants that hang just beneath the tapered V at his waist. I may hate this man, but there is no denying, he’s nice to look at.
‘Careful, Aria. It looks like you’re drooling over your unit leader.’ Tilly’s teasing tone pulls me from my thoughts like a bucket of ice water being tipped on my head.
