She stroked my arm. “It’s normal to feel nervous before a claiming. Do whatever is distracting. You are ready, even though it doesn’t feel like that.” Her fingers left my arm and peeled away the lint.
“No, please. I’ll be too embarrassed.” I grabbed her hand.
She smiled. “Okay, whatever it is, thank you. You shouldn’t have, as it was my pleasure to get to know you.”
“One more thing.” I pulled out another thick letter for Papi and she smiled, taking it. “Thank you.”
“You are so welcome, princess.”
I growled at her, making everyone laugh.
We watched her walking to the elevator, and she strapped herself in one chair and her bag into the other. She was by far my favorite and best trainer.
The elevator closed, and she disappeared.
I took a long shower and tried to take her advice to relax. Nothing worked. Her words of me becoming the Rubicon’s weakness stayed in my mind. I remembered that night looking at him and the way he stared up at me. Did he know who I was?
When I got back down, Dad had keys in his hand. “I want to take you somewhere.”
“Okay,” I said and followed him.
He took one car and drove to an oval building with a glass pointy roof. The rest was brick.
Inside was chic. It was some sort of arena. Thousands of tiered seats surrounded the arena and stopped at VIP glass boxes looking down at whatever took place below. I stared at the million spotlights attached against the wall right before the pointy glass roof started.
Many people were inside, setting up. They were busy with some sort of stage and we watched it moving up and down whenever the electrician commanded it.
Dad and I took a seat in the audience.
He took out a package wrapped with brown paper and string. “Tomorrow you might not even get to see your birthday. Maggie has a cake waiting. I know how much you hate surprises.”
I hugged his arm. We kept watching the staff hanging the flags. The Rubicon’s colors took up most of them, and in contrast with the royal blue, it looked beautiful.
“The Malone colors.”
“What?” I asked Dad.
“The royal blue are the Malone colors.”
My gaze flicked back to the blue flags. There was some sort of golden crest printed on the material. “I’m terrified, Dad.”
“I told you all the big events in our life worth fighting for are terrifying.”
I shook my head. “What if he pulls me apart?”
“I’ll stop it, Bear. Helmut will stop it. He won’t get that chance.”
I nodded.
“Open your gift.”
“Now?” I asked.
“Yes, I want you to wear it tomorrow.”
I nodded and unwrapped the gift. It was a leather bracelet with a dark purple skin. It almost looked like my other bracelet. Did Blake make this?
I turned it around and lifted the flap. The initials E W M stared back at me. I smiled, shaking my head.
