The Firedragon (8 page)

He would die. His own father had set him up
for it, and wouldn’t lift a finger to save him. But she wasn’t
going to let that happen.

There was only one way she could think of to
save him. She wished she could make him back out of the
competition, but he’d be too stubborn to do that. All eyes were on
him, and she was sure that he’d rather die in the arena than
forfeit and live with the shame of being branded a coward. She
understood that. In some ways, he was as proud as she was.

That meant she had to force him out. Do
something that would make him unable to compete.

After sticking her head in every entryway in
the backstage area, searching for him, she finally tore open the
door to a storage closet. Connor was in the corner, sitting with
his face buried in his knees. The cloak of his uniform was bunched
up on the floor, as if he’d flung it down in anger.

She darted into the closet and dropped to
her knees. “Connor!”

He looked up with a start. “Oh, it’s you. I
thought it was my turn.”

“
Almost. Not
yet.”

He stood up. “How’d it go? Sorry I couldn’t
watch. I … needed to practice.”

Normally she would have called him out on
such an obvious lie, but for once she held back. All she said was,
“I’ll tell you all about it later.”

She got up, ready to go through with her
plan, but then hesitated; she knew what she had to do, but it would
cost her the only real friend she’d ever had. Still … if he went
out into the arena, she’d lose him anyway. He might as well be
alive and hate her.

So she held out her hand for a handshake. “I
just wanted to wish you good luck.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, but didn’t
quite manage a smile. Instead, his eyes searched hers, looking for
a sign. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

As soon as he clasped her right hand, she
grabbed his wrist with her left, lifting his arm up and ducked
under it, then pivoting so that she was beside him. She tightened
her grip and twisted hard.

He cried out as the sickening crack of bones
breaking filled the air. Before he could do anything to get away,
she grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against the wall.
He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Broken arm, concussion – they can’t make him
compete, now.

She felt an unexpected stinging in her eyes,
though, and knelt down beside her friend. “I’m sorry. But it’s for
your own good. Really.”

Her breathing became ragged gasps, and try
as she might, she couldn’t stop the tears from escaping her eyes.
She couldn’t believe she’d just hurt her friend so badly. He’d
never forgive her. She wouldn’t, if she were in his place.

She buried her face in her hands, certain
that she’d just lost the only person she’d ever cared about.

When she broke Connor’s
arm
and knocked him out, all Aurelia had
thought about was that she had to get him out of the competition.
It hadn’t occurred to her that she might get in trouble for
attacking him.

But here she was now,
staring up at a panel of judges behind an elevated table covered in
a gold cloth. She watched them nervously, telling herself that they
wouldn’t disqualify her just for injuring a fellow contestant. Even
if they didn’t buy her story about accidentally breaking his arm
while sparring, they needed her to stay in the competition.
She was, after all, ranked number one among the
Challenge contestants. Vilk was number eight, and with dozens of
contestants left to compete, he could easily be knocked out of the
top ten. Connor was injured, one Enchanter was dead, and the other
so shaken that her performance had been lackluster at best.
Aurelia’s inclusion had been the Triumvirate’s idea to begin with,
and surely they wouldn’t risk the embarrassment of not having their
contestant qualify. They
had
to keep her around.

And she had to stay in it. Even if what Vilk
said was right, about the Triumvirate setting the contestants up to
die, she was on a mission bigger than herself, and she had to do
everything she could to succeed. If she survived the Challenge –
which had already killed several Enchanters in the arena – and beat
the Triumvirate at their own game, then no one could ever look down
on Norms again. And she would be untouchable.

“
Aurelia Sun, Contestant
Twenty-Four, from the Triumvirate of North America,” one of the
judges – a woman with cropped blond hair – said in a stern voice.
“Tell us, what happened when you injured Contestant
Seventeen?”

“
It was an accident.” She
spoke with as much confidence as she could muster. “Connor and I
were sparring. Warming him up, you know? I guess I was still pumped
up from my bout with the spearfiend, and I went too
far.”

She paused, unable to find the words to
describe how awful she felt about hurting her friend, how she’d
felt the break within her own heart. She’d broken a few bones
herself in the past, but nothing had ever caused her as much pain
as when she heard Connor’s arm crack. But she couldn’t tell them
that. She couldn’t tell them that she’d cried for several minutes
before getting up and looking for help. That would make her look
weak.

So she just added: “I feel really bad about
it.”

“
Professor Williams,” the
judge said, turning to the older man.

Williams, who had been standing behind
Aurelia, along with a handful of other representatives from the
Triumvirate and the Academy, stepped forward. “Yes?”

“
How long will it take for
Contestant Seventeen to be healed?” the judge asked.

“
At least three days. The
arm will be fine, but head trauma of this magnitude should not be
taken lightly.”

Aurelia stared at
Williams.
What are you doing, Professor? I
didn’t whack him that hard. You make it sound like I broke his
melon!

The judge pressed her hands together. “We
cannot delay the Challenge. I’m afraid the Triumvirate must forfeit
Contestant Seventeen. The question now is whether they must forfeit
Contestant Twenty-Four as well.”

“
Before you make your
decision, I have something you should consider.” Williams
approached the table, leaned forward, and said something to the
judge in a low voice. Aurelia strained her ears, but couldn’t make
out any words. When Williams finished, he straightened and regarded
the judge with a questioning look. The blond judge nodded, then
waved him away and motioned for the other judges to come closer. As
they whispered to each other, Williams returned to Aurelia’s
side.

“
You’ve put me in a
difficult position. I’d rather you not enter the Challenge, for
your own safety, but for that to happen, we’ll have to admit that
you did this on purpose. And if that’s true … you’ll be arrested.
He’s the Gold Triumvir’s son, Aurelia. Attacking him means life in
the mines … or worse.”

She gulped. She hadn’t realized she’d
committed a crime, and now that she did, fear gripped her insides.
“I just wanted to keep him safe,” she whispered in protest. “Better
a broken arm than getting his throat ripped out.”

“
I know.” He gave her a
sympathetic look. “That’s why I defended you just now … and
reminded the panel that the Triumvirate
must
have a contestant qualify.
Since the Gold Triumvir is the one who initially proposed the
Challenge, he’d be humiliated if no one from his own nation entered
the final game. It would make the whole country look weak, and he
can’t allow that. You’re lucky Vilk’s not ranked higher. I have no
doubt that what you did saved Connor’s life, but it may have cost
you your own.”

Now the gravity of her actions sank in,
making her sick with nervousness. All she’d wanted was to keep her
friend from facing a monster that could kill him. She hadn’t even
thought about the fact that by forcing him to forfeit, she’d be
breaking the law.

But if it came down to her
life or Connor’s, well, she would accept whatever consequences she
had to face. Because before meeting him, she’d never known what it
was like to have someone she cared about. She’d seen and heard
plenty, but she’d never actually
felt
the glow of companionship until
he’d come into her life. No matter what happened next, she wouldn’t
change what she’d done.

So she met Williams’ gaze and nodded.
“Okay.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s all you have
to say?”

Firming her expression, she said, “If I have
to go to jail for Connor to live, then yeah, I’m okay with
that.”

He looked at her as if he had something to
say, but she couldn’t interpret what other thoughts might lay
behind the strange expression on his lined face. Whatever it was,
she was glad he was helping her, which was far more than she could
have expected from a teacher. Maybe he was impressed that she was
willing to sacrifice herself to save her friend. Or maybe he just
thought she was crazy. He wouldn’t be wrong, if that were the case.
But if there was anyone in the world worth doing something crazy
for, it was Connor. Even if it meant sacrificing her mission. She
wouldn’t give that up to save her own life, but to save his … yes.
The world was bigger than she was, but he was more important to her
than every Norm on earth. Maybe it wasn’t a particularly logical
way to think, but it was what she believed.

Meanwhile, the panel of judges had finished
their discussion.

The blond woman turned her severe eyes
toward Aurelia. “Aurelia Sun.”

Aurelia widened her eyes. “Yeah?”

“
We have decided that your
statement about Connor Salvator’s injury being an accident is
indeed true. While unfortunate, it is clear to us that your actions
were not intentional, and consequently, you cannot be held
accountable for the consequences. Therefore, you will be allowed to
proceed with the Challenge.”

A wave of relief flooded
through Aurelia. Though she’d been willing to go to jail for her
actions, she was really,
really
glad she didn’t have to. In fact, she didn’t even
have to give up her chance at beating the Triumvirate’s game.
She’d
actually
gotten away with what she’d done.

The judge sternly reprimanded her for her
actions, but Aurelia barely heard her words. She just kept her eyes
wide, putting on the most innocent expression she could muster, and
nodded regularly. She’d gotten what she wanted – Connor was out of
the competition, and it had cost her nothing.

Nothing but his
friendship.
The relief left her as quickly
as it had come, and a new kind of distress overwhelmed her. He’d
never speak to her again; she was sure of it. He’d accuse her of
seeing him as weak, and be furious that she’d cost him the
competition. That was what
she
would do in his place.

She clenched her jaw, refusing to let out
the tears that stung the corners of her eyes. She might have lost
her only friend, but at least she wouldn’t have to watch him die.
And she’d be damned if she’d let anyone see her cry.

When the judge finished her lecture, she
dismissed Aurelia. Sighing in relief, she started to leave the
room, but was stopped by Williams’ hand on her shoulder.

“
Aurelia,” he whispered
urgently. “Do
not
try to win this competition. Half the reason the
Triumvirate’s willing to let you go is because they think the
Challenge will kill you anyway. Your best chance for survival is to
forfeit. You’re so young – if you cry for help, the Sentinels may
rescue you from the supernatural being they throw you against, to
show the people how merciful they are.”

She raised an eyebrow. Clearly, even after
seeing her in class every day for six months, this teacher didn’t
know a thing about her. “Cry for help?” she scoffed. “If there’s
anything this exercise has shown me, it’s that it pays to be a
winner. You said it yourself – if I weren’t ranked number one, I’d
… I’d be in so much more trouble. There’s no way I’m backing
out.”

She started to walk away,
but Williams pulled her back. “Listen!” he whispered, his voice so
soft that she could barely hear him, even when he was speaking
right by her ear. “You’re not supposed to know this yet, but the
creature you and the other champions will be hunting is a
fangbeast
. Do you know
how many Norms have survived an encounter with one?
None.
Believe me, I know
how skilled a combatant you are, but even you can’t defeat this
creature. So I beg you, if you want to live, swallow your
pride.”