Page 45 of The Cursed Fae

No surprise, the games started way back in the Valley of the Elements when bored fae needed entertainment. The rules had become less barbaric over the centuries, but the basic structure had changed little.

Laz had the first match of the day. The announcer called his name, and Laz trotted out from a tunnel on the arena floor to immense fanfare. I joined in, shouting his name, along with the rest of the crowd. Most of the crowd, anyhow. My grandmother clapped politely, but it seemed she shared Nana’s feelings toward the Keene family.

Interesting.

Brendan emerged next. The crowd cheered, though not nearly as loudly as they had for Laz. Brendan’s team, the Psi Pirates, roared from their section, even doing the wave.

“Fighters to your marks!” the announcer cried.

Laz and Brendan each moved to a round disc on the ground.

“Get ready!” shouted the announcer.

The discs rose, nothing supporting them but magic. And it wasn’t just the two discs with Laz and Brendan. There were at least a dozen other round floating objects in a circle like steppingstones.

“Pugno!”

The command meant nothing to me, but the fighters took it as a signal. Laz lashed out first, flinging blue streaks across the arena. Brendan jumped to an adjacent disc, narrowly missing the spell. Laz fired off a ball of ice that struck his opponent in the shoulder.

“Damn, Laz is actually pretty good this year,” Astrid said.

I frowned. “Isn’t he on the Arcane University team for Night of Four Moons?”

She made a face. “Nepotism. Spots on the AU team aren’t earned with sweat, they’re given to blood.” Astrid shrugged. “I’ll give it to Tina. She deserves her spot. Laz, though? He’s not as good as some others.”

In the arena, Brendan stumbled backward, almost losing his footing and toppling off the levitating disc. Laz pressed his advantage, sending a spiral of water that wound around Brendan’s feet. When Laz yanked his hand back, the liquid lasso pulled Brendan from the platform.

I gasped. The fall was at least twenty feet. He’d break his neck.

But Brendan never hit the arena floor. My focus was on Laz, and I didn’t notice the large, shimmering net that had appeared beneath the floating discs. Brendan bounced as though hitting a trampoline.

The crowd chanted Laz’s name. He had enough humility to wait until the announcer declared him the winner before thrusting his fist into the air. The enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself standing and stomping my feet along with the rest of the stadium.

Most other first round matches were just as one-sided as Laz and Brendan’s. Morgan knocked off her opponent in under a minute. Tina preferred to play with her prey, making the guy jump from disc to disc while she shot fireballs at his feet. He eventually lost his balance and fell into the net.

“I’m headed to the bathroom,” Astrid announced at intermission. “I’ll probably hit the concession stand too. Anyone want anything?”

“Hot chocolate,” Belle said.

Fern and I shook our heads. Astrid took orders from a few more of the Omegas sitting nearby and then left. The girl sitting behind me on the bleachers tapped my shoulder.

“Hi. I’m Kendall. You’re Winter, right? You’re in my calculus class.” Her smile was wide and revealed two rows of perfect teeth. It took me a minute to realize why she looked familiar—she was the one bitten on the beach during the vampire attack.

“Oh, right. Yeah. I’m not very good in that class, it’s tough.”

Kendall laughed. “Me neither. I’ve taken it three times.” She pulled a flask from inside her jacket and offered it to me first.

Again, I declined. Kendall shrugged and drained the contents. Her green eyes turned glassy, and she swayed a little.

What the hell did she drink?

The girls on either side of Kendall left when Astrid did, and Belle and Fern were in a conversation with each other. Still, Kendall scanned the area for potential eavesdroppers. No one paid attention to us, but she still patted the space next to her on the metal bleacher like she had a secret to tell me.

All the excitement from earlier vanished. My stomach turned to knots. And yet, I slid up to sit beside Kendall, knowing I wouldn’t like the forthcoming discussion.

“I was on the beach Friday night.” Kendall chewed her bottom lip, gaze wandering. “What you did—it was incredible.” Her hand went to her turtleneck-covered throat.

My heart ached for a girl I barely knew. The memory of the fangs piercing my skin wasn’t one I let myself conjure. I’d buried it too deeply to rise to the surface without prompting. Watching Kendall’s fingers stroke the spot where the vamp bit her gave me flashbacks to California.

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