Page 91 of A Kingdom so Crimson

"Don't listen to the darkness," he said. His soft and reassuring voice was a balm to the harshness I had faced moments before.

A tear fell from my cheek as the memory passed vividly through my mind. I let them take it and play with my wilted heart as another memory flashed.

"Harder!" Darius yelled as I punched his padded hand, almost splitting my knuckle. I exhaled, striking deep with every stab of pain. "Harder, Eliah!"

I roared, thrusting my whole body into each throw, exhausting myself and increasing the grumbling in my stomach. Darius stepped aside, letting my momentum fling me to the ground. I grunted, hissing at the fall.

"If you can't do it right, don't waste your energy," he snapped.

"What energy?" I spat blood, biting my lip in the fall. "This is ridiculous. I am not a warrior, nor should I be! I don't understand what Jesri wants from me?!"

I laid down, letting the cool stone bite into my exposed shoulders and arms, gulping deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

"He wants you to succeed."

I laughed, hearing the echo of it throughout the stone training room.

"Succeed in what? His plans? Life? Getting out of here? I'd say I'm failing quite terribly at all three." I sat up, wiping the sweat dripping from my forehead. "I cannot be like this forever. I can't live like this, Darius."

At just fifteen, I was hitting ladyhood later than most, yet I was more toned than many of the gentlemen in town. Despite this, ladies still glared and spread rumors about me, assuming most came from the snake himself. Jesri continued to push me harder every day while the cold food became scarcer due to one failed evaluation after another. It left me stuck in my sad, wishful life.

"I want you to succeed. I want you to be who you were born to be—"

Darius's words were cut off by the oily worm as it seized, shaking me under its pressure before it vanished, leaving a residue of dark build-up around every crevice of my mind. I sat up abruptly, taking in the large room as my stomach rumbled with pain, feeling breathless and hollow with self-pity.

"Finally," Calum grunted, standing up from the plush chair in the corner. I grumbled, falling back into bed, not in the mood for his games. "No, no," he said, grabbing my arm and hoisting me back up. "You need to eat."

I shot him a glare but didn't retort as I spotted a cluster of food on the back table that made my stomach grumble deeper. Standing, I made my way over, my limbs numb and my nightgown sticking to my salty skin; Calum snickered.

"Stop," I seethed, shoving a muffin and several other savory pastries into my mouth before cutting up a dragon fruit with Kaizen's ruby dagger.

"Where'd you get that pretty thing?" Calum said, swiping it from me and rubbing a thumb over its pommel.

"What do you want?" I spat, taking the dagger back, and finished cutting the fruit.

"Am I not allowed to be here to help my best friend?" He rounded the corner of the table, picked up a few berries, and popped them into his mouth.

"And how do you suppose you'll help me?" I challenged.

"Like I always have—" Calum began.

"By cheating?" I interrupted, brushing past him and heading to the bathing room to wash off the brine of darkness still looming within me.Pathetic.

I was being pathetic, letting this arrangement control my life. Perhaps, if I won, I would gain enough money to break the bond, give it to Jesri, and be free of him forever.

"I never cheat," Calum purred with a devilish grin, trailing a step behind me. Ignoring him, I turned on the gold faucet, letting the cold water sting my skin awake. "Well, while you were busy wallowing in self-pity, Levon told us more about what he learned at the sponsor meeting. But I suppose if that's cheating…" he trailed off, waiting for me to beg.

I turned toward him, stoned-faced. "And?" I mocked, dabbing my face with a plush towel.

He grinned, popping more berries into his mouth. "It's a race. Whoever makes it out first—or alive," he added under his breath, "wins the Match and will be crowned the victor."

"A race? That seems too easy."

"Levon said there are no rules besides finishing, so each contestant can do as they please in whatever manner to finish first."

My mind raced over Edmon's warnings to Levon about the animals. A sickening feeling settled in my stomach, knowing I wasn't just competing against the other contestants but also against whatever beasts they would unleash into the arena.

I grabbed the dragon fruit and finished it off, walking to the vanity. I grabbed my brush and began detangling my hair as he appeared in the mirror, arms crossed, exposing a more toned body than when I had last seen him. I rolled my eyes and tried to put my hair into a braid, but my hands shook with anxiety that wouldn't leave me be.

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