I scoff. ‘All right, Miss I’d Lick His Sweat Like Candy.’
She sighs wistfully. ‘I would, Ireallywould.’
A loud gasp from the crowd has both our heads snapping to the ring. Sebastian has Jed on the ground with his hands behind his back. He’s got one knee pushing right between Jed’s shoulder blades as his face is pressed against the dirt.
Damn, that was quick. How did he get him to the ground so fast? Just as I think Jed is about to tap out, Sebastian leaps off his back, shaking his hands out. Flames engulf Jed’s hands, right where Sebastian was holding them prisoner. He flips over easily and leaps to his feet, not giving his friend a second to react before he’s throwing one burst of fire after another at him.
I wince, barely stopping myself from covering my eyes as Sebastian ducks and spins out of the way of the fiery onslaught, occasionallythrowing his own back at Jed. They dance around each other, hissing out laughter each time one of them almost loses the hair on their heads to a high arcing flame.
‘Come on, Zain!’ I hear someone shout. ‘Take him down already!’
Cheers rise up, thrown in with a few people backing Jed over Sebastian.
‘You hear that, Zainey? The people want a show.’ Jed winks at his friend. ‘Maybe you’ve lost your touch. Looks to me like you’re going soft.’ He’s goading him, I realise, trying to push him to let loose. That’s when I drag my eyes from the ring and turn my attention to the people outside of it.
They’re all watching with rapt attention; their wide eyes lit by the lanterns are brimming with excitement and anticipation. Girls are sitting together, pointing between the two fighters with flirty smiles and flushed cheeks. I watch the way they all watchthem, realising that this isn’t a demonstration of power or a fight to prove who is better than the other. This is purely entertainment. A way for the students of ValAc to unwind, to let go. To break the rules before they wake up tomorrow and go back to their regular schedules. This is the last year they’ll have together before they’re forced into the real world. When they leave the academy, many of them will be separated, some being sent to camps all over Valmora. Some will even be sent to The Veil where they might not make it out alive.
A sad smile tugs at my mouth. Sympathy. That’s what I feel for them. And while I may not know the people behind the faces I look out at, and while I know many of them would love nothing more than to seek their revenge out on me … I still feel sorry for them. Because war is war, and in less than a year, they’ll all be thrust into it.
TWENTY-NINE
My spirits can’t help but lift as Sebastian throws a stream of fire at Jed’s feet, making him jump around from foot to foot. ‘You wanted to give them a show,Jeddison. Well, show them how well you dance.’
Jed flips him off. ‘That isnotmy name, and you know it, asshole.’
Sebastian holds a hand to his chest in mock shock. ‘No more Zainey baby? I’m hurt.’
Tilly and I hide our chuckles behind our hands. They’re both so playful with each other and the crowd is eating it up. It’s ridiculous and for the first time since I arrived, I feel … lighter. Carefree. I feel like a twenty-one-year-old who snuck out with her friend; someone who hasn’t lost a brother or disappointed her father. Someone who knows nothing of grief, or war, or hatred.
‘Call me that one more time, I dare you,’ Jed threatens.
Sebastian grins, slow and predatorial. ‘Jeddis—’
Jed rushes Sebastian. He ducks low and tackles him to the ground with a loud thud, kicking dry dirt up into the air. They roll around, fighting for dominance, scuffing more dirt all over the place. It sticks to their sweaty skin and seeps into their hair as they each take turns exchanging the upper hand.
Sebastian straddles Jed and punches him in the jaw. Jed spits blood at the ground then brings his elbow up and rams it into Sebastian’s nose.Blood spurts down his face and over his lips until it drips off his chin onto both of their chests.
‘I know this shouldn’t be a turn on, but it totally is,’ Tilly says beside me, her hazel eyes lit with excitement.
I don’t answer, even though I’m secretly inclined to agree. Sebastian is thrown off by Jed and sprawls onto his back, swapping their positions. Jed throws two bursts of fire down at his friend, each one locking onto a wrist and pinning his hands above his head, holding him to the ground like cuffs.
Sebastian smiles, baring straight teeth covered in blood. ‘Is this the part where you have your way with me, Jeddison?’
My stomach drops. Oh … Stars.
‘You wish.’ Jed taps him on the cheek, twice. ‘This is the part where you surrender, pretty boy.’
‘I think I just started ovulating,’ Tilly whispers.
Jed and Sebastian stare each other down for a long moment as the crowd starts to chant Jed’s name over and over, ready to crown him the victor. Something tells me that Sebastian could get out of his predicament if he wanted to; he barely looks like he’s trying to fight against the fiery binds that hold him to the ground. Or maybe the binds Jed threw his way aren’t supposed to be strong at all. In fact, they don’t look to be hurting Sebastian one bit. I know what it feels like when fire lances across your skin. I still bear the mark to show for it. Scarred indefinitely, I was told. But these binds have been around Sebastian’s wrists for almost an entire minute, which tells me if Jed wanted to hurt him, he would.
It’s all for show.
The punches and blood are real; I can see that with my own eyes. But their magic? I graze my eyes along each of their naked torsos and arms and realise there isn’t a single burn mark on either of them. They’re playing the crowd.
I wait, expecting Sebastian to take the upper hand and win the fight but much to my surprise, he relents, shouting loud for everyone to hear, ‘I surrender.’
The crowd claps and cheers for Jed, who leaps to his feet, waving the fiery cuffs away with a swipe of his hand before he holds it out for his friend to grab onto. He pulls Sebastian up with him and they immediately start playfully shoving at each other’s chests.
