by Moore, E. M.
“Something might not happen to me though.”
“Might,” he said, the corner of his mouth twisting. “Parents don’t like the word might, especially when it concerns one of their children’s well-being.” He shook his head. “I am sorry, Ariana, but I cannot authorize you to fight tomorrow. I believe we should leave it as everyone else knows. Lex and Samuel chose Zeke and T.J., as well as themselves, to fight. Now that we’re so near the end, I have to choose my immediate family over my clan family. If you and the princes feel you need to leave, please conceal it as long as possible.”
My mouth dropped at his words. “Gregor. We could lose.”
“Why do you think I’m saying all this?” He stood to his full height and grabbed my hands. “Get out. Go with them. If we’re going to lose, I’d rather see you all far away from here.”
“But what about the clan? There’s still a chance. I feel it in my heart. We could still win this. We just need a win tonight, and then you’re going to go into that arena tomorrow and take Dumont out. I know it. I just know it.”
He stepped back. “Lex was confident too, Ariana. She had not a doubt in her heart. I’d had many conversations with her leading up to yesterday. You remind me of her. That same spunk, that same determination. It did not serve her yesterday, and I will not help you with this in anyway. I would’ve saved Samuel and Lex if I could, too.” My mouth dropped to speak, but he barged on. “Arguing with me will not yield different results. You are not fighting tomorrow, and that’s the end of it. I’ve made my decision. It very well may be the last decision I make as head of the Ravana Clan, but it is done.”
He turned on his heel and spun away, drifting down the stone walkway. His footsteps echoed behind him. I leaned my forehead against the cool surface of the rock and tried to breathe. If Lex and Samuel couldn’t beat their opponents, I had a hard time believing Zeke could. That didn’t mean that I could either, but I felt I had a better chance. I don’t know where the feeling came from. It wasn’t because I thought I was that much better than Zeke, that I overshadowed him in training or any other grandiose claims about my ability, it just came with a certain confidence in myself. A certain calmness that settled in my stomach when I thought about fighting for the family I loved dearly, for a clan leader who wouldn’t even sacrifice me because of his sons, for a mother who unprecedentedly spoke up and asked that they not send me in knowing that she was overstepping her bounds as a member of the Council, for the four men who I’d inexplicably been thrown into the path of where my life changed for the better. So much the better. My life was filled with love and smiles. Sure, I still had trials to overcome, but hadn’t I also found my calling?
I was brought into this world to do the very thing I’d been chosen to do. There was no other way to think than to know that Zeke was going out in my place tomorrow. It was wrong.
Lex was right. I had a lot to live for, but I also had multiple reasons to fight, to work harder, to put my all into the passion of the fight to make sure I came out the victor. There was a desperate need inside of me to live out my life with the princes and not some life in Australia where we would constantly be looking behind us and worried Dumont might show his ugly face again, but a life that was promised to me the moment I set foot in this world. I wanted the bedroom with my princes lying next to me. I wanted the arguments and the makeups. I wanted the laughter and the kisses, and God dammit, I wanted to be their princess.
I had a heartier heart than I ever would’ve imagined. It had enough room for not one man, but four of them, along with Gregor and Isabelle, and the entire Ravana Clan. I didn’t want to just be a part of this world, I wanted to help mold it and nurture it until it turned into the thriving community it was meant to be. I wanted to topple over stereotypes and work for the little guys. I wanted…a say. A voice, an opinion. Living in Calcutta, I hadn’t known I wanted all those things, but I did. And I wanted to do it all with my princes by my side. A real life. Not the one from the secondhand store. Not the one that we had to deal with because the first option didn’t work out. For once in my life, I wanted my number one choice.
And I was going to get it too. One way or the other.
20
Still in my black funeral outfit, I made my way into the training room. The same sounds of the fight met my ears on the way there, quickening my steps. The thuds against the pad, the solid smack of skin against tightly wrapped foam. I’d never realized before, but more and more, those sounds calmed me. It was like coming home after a hard day’s work, or drinking that first sip of water after working in the sun all day. It eased me right down to the bone, only reinforcing that I’d found my calling. That I was exactly where I needed to be, crazy choice and all.
I’d left the princes at the funeral. It was one thing making the decision to fight, and it was another thing altogether to try to put things into motion. Without them next to me, I could focus on what I needed to. I didn’t need their eyes watching me, trying to comfort me when I was keeping secrets and moving forward with a plan I knew they’d hate. Was all the angst and trying to keep our relationship a secret worth it when I was about to throw everything on the line, anyway? In my mind, yes. Absolutely yes. This was something deeper that I wanted to prove to myself. For so long, I’d lived my life as a bystander. The princes helped me to live more in the present, but I felt this need deep within me and I had to do it for myself. I had to fight for what was right. And I really needed to do that without them looking over my shoulder the whole time.
Thankfully, walking into the training room immediately relaxed my frayed nerves and guilty conscience. T.J. was there, and Soren. Of course, Zeke was also there out in the middle of the mats as T.J. and Soren watched him work. All the focus was on him now. His big day. The culmination of his short career so far.
Butterflies tangled in my stomach. Could I really do this to Zeke?
But it wasn’t really to Zeke. This wasn’t about Zeke at all. This was about me coming into my own. This was about taking the spot that was rightfully mine to begin with. If Isabelle had never spoken up, Zeke wouldn’t have been brought into this in the first place. I had no doubt that whatever I did Zeke was going to be pissed, and I was about to get myself in trouble in a major way. Not just with the princes. That was a given. But with Gregor as well. I was going rogue. I was directly disobeying him. He told me not to fight, and I was basically just shrugging that off as if it were a suggestion, not an outright command. Hell, he had his reasons for doing things, and I had mine.
Soren turned when he heard me approach. His lips turned down when he saw my face. “Young One, there is no need for you to be here.”
I tried to hide the hurt that statement pinched me with. There was every reason for me to be here. More than he knew. “It’s important for me to see this out,” I said. I ran my hand through my hair and then crossed both over my chest. “Lex would want me to be here.”
T.J. put his hand on my forearm. “Of course she would, Ariana. There’s a lot to be done still and we could use whatever help we can get. I’m still in this stupid wheelchair or else I could help, but maybe you can assist Zeke today.” He leaned closer, laying over his armrest to whisper. “I know he’s not your favorite, but we can really use your help right now.”
That was an understatement. Everyone knew Zeke wasn’t my favorite, but in reality, Samuel had been right. Sometimes we had to do things that put the clan first. And, of course, there was that whole thing about me secretly trying to figure out how I could stop Zeke from fighting. There was no way I’d be anywhere else right now. I smiled at T.J.. “It’s okay. I want to help.”
I turned toward Zeke and watched as he moved around the mats in front of us shadowboxing an imaginary opponent in front of him. He threw punches, kicks, blocks, even ducked out of the way as he imagined the whole fight in his head. He looked strong, focused. I’d never deny his skill. Even I wasn’t blind to see that he would give whoever he fought hell. He swiveled to block an imaginary side attack
, and I saw just how much this fight was weighing on him. My mouth dropped, surprised at the difference between yesterday and today. Sweat beaded down his pale face, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a slight tremor to his hands I hadn’t noticed before. I couldn’t blame him. Samuel and Lex just died. They were our best fighters, and they hadn’t been able to accomplish what he was charged with doing later today. There was so much pressure on Zeke right now. Three professional had gone before him. Only one was able to make it out, and he was currently in a wheelchair. Now, he was expected to win his fight? The feelings he must be feeling…
Then again, I didn’t know why I wasn’t feeling the same inside. I’d already made up my mind to fight this fight, so why didn’t I have the same jitters he had? I should be looking like him. I should be looking like I was scared out of my mind, trying to figure out how to survive when someone would stand in front of me in the next few hours who wanted nothing more than to kill me. Why wasn’t that same fear for my own life within me?
Soren shuffled from foot to foot. “You okay, Ariana?”
Startled, I looked up. For trying to act normal, I wasn’t succeeding very well. Then again, if I was going to act weird, this was probably the best time to do it. Everyone was just a little bit off. “Did you say something?”
He peeked behind himself, then turned back to me. “He doesn’t look too good, does he? It’s not surprising. I don’t know anyone who would be happy about going into a fight after the last two losses we’ve had. We need this win, Young One. You know as well as I do that we can’t let Dumont win this fight. Something must be done.”
T.J. ran his hands down his thighs and hunched over in his chair for a moment. “We’re going to win. I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we certainly can’t let Dumont take over. They killed two of our best fighters, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the fight that’s coming up. Three different people, three totally different fights. We can’t judge what happened to Samuel and Lex with what’s going to happen to Zeke. He’s good. He may not have been doing this for so long, but there’s a reason why Samuel and Lex picked him. They would know better than anyone else.”
Surprise washed over me. Soren gave me a side glance, and I looked at the floor. So, T.J. didn’t know. It wasn’t my place to tell him. He had put complete faith in what Lex and Samuel decided. I could use his help in all this, but there wasn’t any reason to bring someone else into what I’d planned. I needed to make my decision on how I was going to take Zeke out of this fight myself. I thought about bashing him over the head and knocking him out, and though that appealed to me, I’d rather not take Zeke out of commission in a way that would get myself into even more trouble. It was bad enough I was going against Gregor’s direct orders, but I was also going to go down hard if I physically hurt another guard to do it. Even if I won, I would still be punished after all was said and done. There had to be a more humane way. Plus, I was trying to be nice to Zeke ever since Samuel and I had that talk. He didn’t necessarily deserve it, but it was a new leaf I was trying to turn over about not being so selfish. It was the least I could do after Samuel called me out on it. Hopefully, he was somewhere in the vampire afterlife smiling down on me right now. He and Lex both.
They would for sure be shaking their heads if they knew what I was planning to do. And, I hoped, rooting me on a little.
“Yes,” Soren crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me, not bothering to look at T.J. even though T.J. was the one who brought the topic up. “Samuel and Lex made the right decision.” His eyes were hard and black as if he could see right through me.
If I wasn’t mistaken, it looked as if he knew who’d Samuel and Lex had really chosen, but that couldn’t be. Could it? Why tell Soren and not T.J.? If he did know, I’d pegged Soren as the type of person who would come right out and tell me.
I gave him a small smile. “Yeah, Zeke will do fine.”
Soren gave a quick shake of his head, but I acted as if I didn’t have any idea what he was inferring. The fewer people who knew, the better. Especially in Soren’s case. I’d convinced Gregor to let him go after all this, so he definitely didn’t need to get mixed up in my crazy scheme.
21
Soren clapped his hands twice. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”
Zeke stopped fighting his imaginary opponent and turned toward us. His eyebrows raised when he saw me standing with the rest of them. I stared back, schooling my face to look impassive. Why wouldn’t I be here, anyway? Was I really putting off the kind of vibe that said I didn’t care what happened to him? If anything, his words and actions spoke that very clearly in my direction, but even if I wasn’t planning on taking him out to fight his fight, I would still be here helping him. I helped everyone else. And now that we were down to a need-to-win situation, it didn’t matter if it was Zeke or some random vampire off the street, I’d be standing right here. Personal feelings didn’t matter in this case.
Without saying anything, Zeke walked up to us. He took the bag gloves from his hands and threw them to the ground before stretching his legs out. He sucked in a breath as he did so. Soren moved to my right until we stood in a makeshift circle. T.J. wheeled a little closer before Soren eyed all of us. “No need to say how imperative it is that we win this fight. We all know what’s at stake. Dumont will send in a vampire named Clive. He’s plus 100 in years, so needless to say he’s been training a very long time. He’s not as big as Diesel or as strong, but he’s tricky. He takes pride in doing the exact opposite of what you think he’s going to do. The best way to fight him is to not think. Work on instinct. If you know what you’re going to do ahead of time, guaranteed he also knows, and on top of that, he’ll know exactly how to counter.”
T.J. stretched his legs out in front of him, his face contorting in pain as he worked the kinks out of his injured legs. When he placed them back on the foot plates, he looked up at Zeke. “I agree with Soren’s assessment. I don’t know Clive personally, but from what I’ve been told of his fighting method, we agreed on the correct way to move forward with your fight strategy. Keep seeking centerline. You see a muscle twitch to the right, you block that side. You see a muscle twitch to the left, block that side or go with the open target on the right. Don’t get stuck in any fight patterns. Don’t favor any punches or kicks. He’ll spot it right away and make you pay. The best plan is not to have a plan.”
Zeke put his hands on his hips. “So, there’s no plan?” He bobbed his head up and down, a momentary scowl crossing his features. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if he was angry or being himself. It could’ve just been his normal, better-than-you attitude. “Is he fast?”
Soren shifted his stance. “Not particularly. Honestly, he’s an average fighter. It’s the way he fights, it’s so unconventional that fighters don’t know how to fight him, automatically making him very dangerous. He sneaks up on you. He doesn’t do what you think he’s going to do, he does the exact opposite. He’ll tie you up, he’ll wear you down. He’s not going to give you a second chance. Because of this, he might be the most dangerous fighter we’ve had to face yet.” Zeke scuffed the ground with his foot as he held his side, and Soren quickly added, “That’s not to say he can’t be defeated. He can. I’ve defeated him myself many times in training. I just had to keep the knowledge in my head to do the exact opposite of what I would normally do. He’s especially difficult to win against when he knows your fighting style. You have the advantage in this case. He’s never seen you fight before, he doesn’t even know you. Watch him, though, because he will try to pick up your nuances from the get-go. You may want to reverse the tables on him and come out in a completely different way than you normally fight. For instance, if you prefer right lead, you might want to go out in traditional left stance. To throw him off even more, you may want to go out there and just stand in front of him. Don’t give him anything to go off of.” He mimicked an indifferent stance, feet shoulder-width apart and arms crossed over his chest. “D
on’t move until he makes you move because he will be studying you from the moment he sees you. He’s really good at narrowing down the type of fighter you are.”
Zeke shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Whatever he gives me, I’m going to take him down. I’m not worried.”
I gnashed my teeth together. He wasn’t worried? That was asinine. Lex and Samuel had just died fighting fighters as good as this guy was. I wished he’d wake up and realize how serious this was. Yes, he showed up to train here every day like the rest of us, but his cocky attitude was going to get the better of him. I needed him to be the best he’s ever been right now. This fight was what would determine this clan’s future. He needed to take this seriously. And yes, I realized it didn’t make any sense to get mad at him because he wasn’t going to fight anyway, but this was ridiculous. I was glad I’d made the decision to fight instead of him. Who knew what would happen if he was the fighter going in? “Zeke,” I couldn’t help myself from saying. “You know how important this is, right?”
He sneered at me. “No, I’ve been living under a rock for the past couple weeks. Of course I know how important this is. You do realize that you don’t have to be here, right?”
“Knock it off,” T.J. said. “Both of you. This isn’t the time to bring your petty little Fort bullshit up. It all comes down to this fight. If we don’t win this one, it’s over. Kiss your cushy little future jobs and your competition about who’ll graduate number one at The Fort goodbye. If we lose and Dumont’s in charge, we won’t have any of that. This is where you really need to buckle down and fight for what you believe in. This isn’t just for the clan as a whole, but it’s for the way you want to live, Zeke. Realize that if you lose this fight, you will not have the life you’ve always sought available to you anymore. You thought Ariana was going to take that away from you? No, in the grand scheme of things, it’s going to be Dumont. You can take your nice job with some rich vampire family and watch it disappear. We’re all going to be nomads. He won’t let us regroup, start our own government and live together again. And if we decide to stay here, he’s going to squash us and squash us until we wish we weren’t alive, anyway. If anything, knowing that should be more than enough reason to fight with everything you’ve got, Zeke.”
