For a moment, I realize that the darkness that was taking over before isn’t present. My breaths come a little easier, and I know Willa is safe.
The horn echoes through the stadium and my eyes catch the glint coming off the lowering weapons. The full moon is still high above. It shines down on the Cage, bathing it in pale light.
Ignoring the battle ax and mace, Willa concentrates on holding Dash captive. She wrangles him to the ground on his knees and presses hers into his back. Tightening her hold around his neck, she attempts to put him out. Dash’s eyes droop.
I turn to smile at Caben when Dash’s face contorts in a wide, sinister smile. The black claws grip my heart. The darkness fills my soul as quickly as Dash yanks his
arm free of Willa’s grasp. He elbows her jaw and spins, sending his foot to her temple.
Willa falls face first to the ground. I will her to get up, chanting under my breath.
Dash bolts across the Cage and grabs the mace. The ax was closest to him, but he went for his weapon of choice. He believes he’s faster than her. I clamp my eyes closed.
As I open them, a small, pale face comes into view across the Cage. Lilly is pressed to the barred wall, her hands gripping the iron. I silently beg her to look away, but she keeps her red-rimmed eyes glued to the fight.
Willa staggers to her feet and maneuvers side to side as Dash swipes the mace through the air. I know she’s quick enough to reach the battle ax, but something is stopping her. She tries again to capture Dash in a hold.
Why is she not taking the weapon?
She sweeps Dash’s feet, and he lands on his back hard. I push the darkness down, past the hollow pit in my stomach. Willa slides in to tussle with Dash, but he doesn’t allow her to get close this time.
The mace flies sideways and catches Willa’s shoulder.
I flinch. “No!”
Willa grabs her arm and drops to her knees. Her eyes are glazed over and lost. She looks at Lilly, and her lips tremble as she mouths something.
The mace comes down.
Hot tears spill over my cheeks, and I slam my hands against the bars. “No, goddesses, no . . .” I only force myself to look up to search out Lilly’s face.
She’s still pressed to the bars—her eyes never left Willa’s.
Pressing my back against the cold, rough stone of the chamber wall, I wrap my arms around myself and try to block out the cheering of the stadium.
Caben tries to console me, but I need to be alone. I need to offer a moment of silence to Willa and pray for her. I’ve been attempting to do just that since I left the sides of my companions. Except I can’t. Anger and rage and turmoil are bubbling to the surface, and if I pray now, I’ll curse the goddesses.
I let my eyes drift over the chamber, unfocused.
Like Lilly’s.
I bang my head against the wall, trying to beat out the vision of her anguished face.
Bax pushes his chair back from the table with a loud scrape. “Collect yourselves, contenders,” he announces. Our league begins to line up in front of the door.
I push off the wall and stomp toward him. His guards raise their swords, blocking my advance. The point of a blade nicks my throat. “There’s one last fight,” I grind out, my voice heavy.
Lowering the guards’ weapons, Bax motions them toward the other contenders. Then he steps close to me. “We’re done. The last fight doesn’t concern us for now.” He drops his voice. “I have the lineup. No other who belongs to you will fight.”
I understand he means my Nactue. But I don’t comprehend why he’s bothering to soothe my worry. Or why he doesn’t want to watch the last fight to see who will be competing against his league tomorrow night.
He taps something into his screen, and I figure he’ll know soon enough when the new statistics are released.
Glancing once more toward the Cage, I try to spot Lilly. She’s no longer at the entrance to her chamber. I hang my head before lining up behind Caben, Crew, and Lena.
The risers rumble as we walk past. The crowd cheers for us, pumping their weapons in the air, their faces smeared with faded and cracked blood.
After we enter the master cell, I wait near the opening of the training room while Bax performs his speech to his league. I can hear the fakeness in his tone now. He must have had a lot of practice performing while growing up here. I wonder if his father has always been the dark priest and he’s had to put on a show his whole life, or if he’s only just changed because of his family.