Unbridled. Like women were wild horses meant to be tamed.
I clenched my fists to my sides. But I held in my anger. Because I was there for Selena.
“Donatella’s granddaughter told us you might have information we need,” I said. “About how to get to the Otherworld.”
King Devin’s eyes flickered to me, and he frowned. “I’d like to learn why you’re coming to me with this question,” he said, looking back to Thomas. “But from you. You know how women are. They can’t keep their stories straight and exaggerate until it’s impossible to distinguish fact from fiction.” He chuckled, although none of us joined in.
“I’m happy to tell you more.” Thomas sounded more on edge than ever. “Perhaps we should sit down?”
King Devin tilted his head and looked around at the group of us. “The three of us men will sit,” he said. “The women will remain standing, so we can admire their figures. And Gustavo—you’re dismissed. Return to your post at once.”
“Yes, sir.” Gustavo saluted and left the apartment by elevator.
King Devin took a seat first, followed by Thomas and Reed. As instructed, Sage and I remained standing. It sucked, but we’d be out of there soon. For now, we had to do what we had to do.
Thomas quickly summarized everything that had happened up until now. “So, was Alice right?” he asked. “Do you know how we can get to the Otherworld?”
King Devin brought the pads of his fingers together into the shape of a tent. He studied Thomas, like he was debating how much he wanted to tell him.
“Please,” I said, resting my hands on the back of the nearest armchair. “If you know something, tell us. We’ll do anything to save Selena.”
The king leaned back in the sofa and smirked. Then he looked over at Reed. “I love it when women beg,” he said. “Especially the young ones. Don’t you?”
Reed pressed his lips together. His eyes were hard, like it was taking some serious effort to keep himself from blowing up at King Devin then and there.
“You haven’t said we’re wrong,” Reed finally said, each word calm and measured.
“I haven’t. But you don’t expect me to give you this information for free, do you?”
“We’re allies,” Thomas said. “So, yes. That’s exactly what we expect you to do.”
“We’re allies in the war against the demons,” King Devin said. “But the demons didn’t take the Earth Angel’s daughter. That was purely the fae.”
Anger swirled in my blood like magma. “Allies are supposed to help each other be the best they can be,” I said. “Avalon is at its best when Selena is there.”
“You know nothing about the politics between vampire kingdoms, child,” King Devin snapped, and I recoiled at the harshness of his tone. “Stay out of this and let the men do the talking.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes at me, and his message was clear. Be quiet and let him handle King Devin.
“Sorry,” Thomas apologized on my behalf. “As you said, Torrence is young. She misspoke.”
King Devin nodded in acceptance of Thomas’s apology and leaned back in the sofa again. “It’s such a bother that we need witches to teleport us from place to place,” he said. “Especially if our strongest ones are also the feistiest. After enough transgressions, I find cutting out the tongue and refusing them the ingredients for healing potion to be an ideal solution. They can’t talk back if they can’t speak.” He glanced back at me, like it was a threat.
Disgust rolled through me, and I had to swallow to keep myself from getting sick all over King Devin’s polished marble floor.
Why had the Earth Angel agreed to an alliance with this monster?
Reed moved closer to the edge of his seat. “Attacking a citizen of Avalon is a declaration of war,” he said.
“Did you see me attack anyone?” King Devin raised his hands in a ridiculous display of innocence. “I was simply trying to give you advice.”
“Noted,” Thomas said. “But as much as you dislike listening to her, Torrence made a good point. The Earth Angel needs to be at her best to make decisions regarding the war against the demons. She can’t do that when her daughter and her husband are being held by the fae.”
King Devin all but rolled his eyes. “What an interesting—yet pathetic—way of trying to twist the situation,” he said.
Thomas opened his mouth to say more, but King Devin raised a hand, stopping him.
“The Tower doesn’t owe you information about the Otherworld to hold true to our alliance,” he said. “But I’ll tell you what you want to know. For a price.”
“Name it,” Sage said.
“Aren’t you an eager little thing?” King Devin chuckled again.
We all stared him down, waiting for him to be out with it.
“I see you’re impatient to get down to business,” he said. “But we’ve yet to break bread together. Have you no respect for tradition?”
Reed cracked his knuckles, like he was one step away from punching King Devin in the jaw. “I’ve heard this area of the world is known for its steak,” he said.
“We do have excellent steak.” King Devin smiled. “Imported fresh from Argentina.”
“Wonderful.” Sage flashed her teeth. “I’m starving, and steak sounds delicious.”
King Devin looked at her with pity. “How unfortunate,” he said. “Because you’ve arrived right after dinner.”
What was he planning on doing? Starving us?
“What a shame.” I matched King Devin’s knowing smile with one of my own. “I suppose dessert will do.”
“I was enjoying my dessert before the four of you interrupted,” he said. “I’ve been rather impatient to return to it. But I’d love to treat you to the finest steak the Tower has to offer. We’ll enjoy it in my private dining room at the same time tomorrow.”
“No.” My eyes widened in horror. “If we wait until tomorrow, an entire week will have passed in the Otherworld.”
“Do you want me to share this information with you or not?” he asked.
“Of course we do,” Thomas cut in before I could say another word. “But perhaps it would be easiest to have a small bite sent up for us now. That way we can be out of your hair and you can return to business as usual.” He glanced at where the three human women had disappeared down the hall.
“I just invited you to a dinner of the finest steak on the continent.” Anger rose in King Devin’s tone. “Do you truly have the gall to refuse me?”
“Not refuse.” Thomas remained calm. “Your offer is extremely generous. But given the situation, a rain check would be appreciated.”
King Devin stood up. Thomas and Reed immediately did the same. “The offer is for tomorrow night, and only for tomorrow night,” he fumed. “No meal, no deal.”
He stared Thomas down, daring him to contradict him.
I knew stubbornness when I saw it. The king wasn’t going to budge.
A pit formed in my stomach at the thought of Selena having to spend another week in the Otherworld. But King Devin was the best chance we had of getting to her.
We needed him a lot more than he needed us.
Thomas looked to us, and I nodded to give him the okay. Reed and Sage did the same.
“All right,” Thomas said. “We agree to your terms.”
King Devin smiled, immediately placated. “Wonderful.” He gave Thomas’s hand a firm shake. “Return to the lobby. I’ll call down to tell the staff to have rooms readied for you, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.”
24
Selena
I’d thought the Coliseum was huge… but that was before seeing the Circus Maximus.
The circus looked like someone had taken the Coliseum and stretched it out, so the inside was the shape of a long oval. The center of the arena was set up in two lanes, with ten giant marble statues at the end of each one. At the far ends of each lane were two bronze discs, each one the size of a large pizza.
Tons and tons of seats surrounded
the center of the circus. There must have been five times as many seats as in the Coliseum. They were all full, although the fae and half-bloods were giddy and chatty as they enjoyed their drinks and snacks. It was a far cry from their raucous behavior during the fight to the death in the Coliseum.
Just like in the Coliseum, the other players and I were escorted to a special box reserved for the chosen champions. They all wore their fighting gear. Since I was the outgoing Empress of the Villa and couldn’t participate in this competition, I wore another gown, along with the golden wreath on my head.
Sorcha didn’t join us. Apparently, she only graced the empire with her presence during the fights to the death. I didn’t spot Prince Devyn in the front rows with the other royal fae, either.
All eyes were on us as we entered, and I was numb as I sat on the throne. That was how I’d felt since watching Octavia and Emmet murder Molly yesterday. Numb.
Molly’s final moments kept replaying in my mind. All I could do was watch it over and over, lost in a loop of theories about everything I could have done differently to prevent her death from happening.
There was a lot I could have done. I’d screwed up my week as Empress of the Villa big time.
Suddenly, Bacchus appeared in a flash of light, snapping me back into focus.
He flew his chariot in laps around the circus. With his bright purple toga and wide grin, he’d returned to his persona of “jovial Bacchus”—opposed to the “dark Bacchus” from the Coliseum.
The crowd cheered, but it was excited, happy cheering. Far different from the bloodthirsty cries of yesterday.
Finally, Bacchus landed his chariot on top of the wide divider line between the lanes. “Welcome to the second Emperor of the Villa competition!” he said, and the crowd erupted into applause. “That was an exciting battle in the arena yesterday, wasn’t it?”
The audience cheered louder, hooting and hollering in appreciation of the fight.
I gripped my hands into fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.
After what felt like ages, Bacchus raised his scepter, quieting the crowd. “After two brutal competitions in a row, the other gods and I thought it was time for something more lighthearted,” he said. “Discus throwing. As you can see, there are ten statues at the end of each lane. Statues of the false Norse gods.”
The crowd gave a collective boo at the mention of the Norse gods.
Bacchus smiled, pleased with this reaction. “The chosen champions will face off in pairs, throwing their discuses at the statues,” he said. “The first champion to knock down all ten statues will win that round. The loser of each round will be knocked out of the competition.”
He paused to survey the crowd. Many had taken their seats again as they listened to the rules.
“There are invisible boundaries around each lane so the champions can’t interfere with each other’s progress,” Bacchus said. “This is an individual competition—no attacking each other allowed. And using magic to knock down the statues is against the rules and will result in elimination from the competition. The statues must be knocked down with the discus.” He looked to all of us sitting in the box, checking to make sure we understood.
We did.
“The outgoing Empress of the Villa—Selena, the chosen champion of Jupiter—will select the first two champions to face off,” he continued. “The winner of that round will select who he or she wants to see face off next, and so on and so forth. This will continue until only one champion remains. That champion will be this week’s Emperor of the Villa.”
He paused, taking a few seconds to examine the crowd. They looked interested, but not as excited as they had for any of the competitions or demonstrations we’d had in the Games so far.
“But just because this competition is more lighthearted, it doesn’t mean it has to be less entertaining!” Bacchus said, and the crowd instantly perked up. “Because to add a little something special to the spectacle, I’ve added a personal trademark of mine into the sport.”
He gave a flourish with his free hand, and a goblet of wine appeared in it. At the same time, two pedestals with large goblets of wine on them appeared on the far end of each lane, a few feet behind the discuses.
“Before each champion can pick up his or her discus and start aiming for the statues, they have to drink all of the liquid in their goblet,” he said. “And trust me, this wine isn’t the watered-down stuff. It’s strong. You can bet they’ll be feeling it—especially with each new round they play.” He raised his goblet in a toast, and the crowd went wild. “So, who’s ready to watch a drunken discus throwing competition?!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd once more. Many of them raised their wine glasses and chugged them down.
My chest tightened so I could barely breathe, my stomach swirling in disgust. They didn’t care that by the end of the week, another one of us would be dead. This was just a spectacle to them.
They didn’t see us as people. All they saw were pawns in a game designed for their entertainment.
I was trapped on their chessboard. The only way to escape was to win.
Bacchus pounded his scepter on the ground beside his chariot, and everyone focused on him. “Selena, chosen champion of Jupiter,” he said. “Select the two champions that you want to see face off first.”
I gulped and looked at the others before me. Choosing who faced off first was a big deal. I refused to mess up like I had when selecting the players to send to the arena.
Octavia was a given.
As for the second champion… that was the challenging part of this decision. I didn’t want to choose an ally, because I wanted my allies to have a good chance at getting far in the competition. That wouldn’t happen if they played in too many rounds, because the more wine they drank, the sloppier they’d get.
At the same time, I didn’t want to choose someone like Emmet, who’d just betrayed me. He’d made it clear in the arena that he’d picked a side, and it wasn’t mine. He’d be more likely to send two of my allies to face off if he won the round. So he—and anyone else who might support Octavia—was a no go.
I needed someone neutral. Someone unpredictable. Someone who I thought could beat Octavia, but who wouldn’t decide to come after me later for choosing them to face off first.
“Selena,” Bacchus said. “You’re taking too much time. Make your choice now.”
“I choose Octavia, the chosen champion of Neptune,” I said, and Octavia rolled her eyes, since she’d clearly expected it. “And Antonia, the chosen champion of Apollo.”
25
Selena
The moment after I said Antonia’s name, Bridget nodded in approval. Good. I was pretty sure that out of all of us, Bridget knew and understood the Games the best.
I was definitely going to listen to her advice more from this point forward.
Octavia and Antonia took their places at the end of each lane, and I became more and more confident of my decision. Because as the chosen champion of Apollo, Antonia had nearly perfect aim. If anyone could knock down those statues before Octavia, it was her.
“Pick up your goblets of wine,” Bacchus instructed, and the two of them did as he said. The goblets were nearly as big as their heads. “One, two, three… CHUG!”
Antonia raised the goblet to her lips and started chugging the wine.
Octavia created an orb of blue magic with her hands, just big enough to surround her goblet. The magic sparkled and swirled, the light reflecting off her smirking face.
“She’s not allowed to do that,” I said, although my voice was drowned out amongst the cheering crowd. No one looked at me, and I quickly thought back to the rules Bacchus had announced earlier.
Champions weren’t allowed to use magic to knock down the statues. But using magic on the wine was fair game.
Octavia’s blue orb of magic disappeared from around the goblet. Smiling, she raised it to her lips and started to drink.
Antonia finished drinking first.
She put the goblet back down and rubbed at her temples, her eyes dizzy. Then she stumbled toward the discus, unable to walk in a straight line.
Crap. Antonia was a small girl… and she was also apparently a lightweight. I’d had to make my decision so quickly that I’d forgotten to take that into account.
She picked up the discus and hurled it toward the statues. I wasn’t sure which statue she was aiming for, but it chipped off one on the right, grazing its shoulder but not knocking it down.
She ran to retrieve the discus and ran back to the starting point of the lane, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
Her second throw didn’t go any better than the first.
By the time Antonia was on her third throw, Octavia finished her wine and strutted over to pick up her discus. She walked completely straight. If she felt anything from the wine, she was doing an impressive job of hiding it.
She picked up the discus, hurled it toward the statues… and missed.
I let out a breath of relief. Especially because a second later, Antonia knocked down her first statue.
Unfortunately, Octavia’s next throw hit the center statue in the stomach. A loud BOOM echoed through the arena as the statue exploded into pieces and fell to the ground.
It continued on like that for minutes, with them both missing and destroying the statues at random. But as they continued, Antonia got more and more sluggish. Her face was flushed bright pink. She was still hitting a few of the statues, but she was slowing down considerably.
Before I knew it, Octavia had two statues left, and then only one.
She picked up her discus, held it in the air in an early victory celebration, and hurled it toward the statue.
It hit the statue straight in the center.
The stone exploded and crumbled to pieces.
The moment it was destroyed, Antonia dropped her discus and sat on the ground, holding her head between her hands and rubbing her temples.
My stomach sunk to my feet.
The Faerie Pawn (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 2) Page 9
