Page 38 of Ironhold, Trial Two

Chapter Twenty Two

My stomach churns as I return to the waiting area beneath the Colosseum. I should be warming up ready for my bout but instead I'm feeling horrified by the prospect of having to fight my friend.

Naia is one of the people closest to me in Ironhold. She has healed my wounds and being there for me when things have gone wrong. Now I'm meant to fight against her? And I'm meant to work alongside Vex? How can I possibly trust him? He has said that he wants to put old enmities aside but that's very different to fighting alongside one another and trusting each other with our lives.

I'm sure that's the point. To the organizers, it must seem incredibly entertaining for the crowd that two former enemies will be forced to work together if we are to survive. I pace the waiting area, trying to think of anything I can do that might make this better. At least I know who I'm fighting and who I'm working with. Maybe I can do something with that.

I think of Ravenna, going around to different people, whispering in their ears. I don't have her powers of persuasion backed by magic, but I can at least talk to people. Maybe I can talk to everyone involved in this bout. Maybe I can at least turn it into something less deadly than it would otherwise be.

I head through the spaces beneath the Colosseum, searching for the others. I find Vex first, preparing himself by tossing a dagger in the air and catching it again. As I step into the space he's in, he flings it past me to embed itself in the door frame. It's hardly the welcome I might have hoped for.

He smiles over at me, but there’s something obviously false about that smile. It’s too brittle, too wide, and it definitely doesn't reach his eyes.

“Well, if it isn’t my partner for the bout to come,” he says. “What brings you to find me? Are you here to discuss strategy?”

“You knew that we would be fighting together?” I ask.

Vex stretches and calls the dagger back to his hand, catching it neatly. “Of course I knew. Do you think they would keep a noble in the dark? Why? Didn't they tell you?”

“No, they didn't,” I say.

“Obviously, they didn't think you were important enough to talk to,” he continues.

“Vex, if I'd known about this before, we could have spent time preparing. Do you know the creature we're up against?”

“A frost drake. Yes, I heard that part.” Vex seems curiously relaxed, given the monstrosity that will be on Naia and Koda’s side. “From what I understand, they are one of the few beasts that can be trusted in such a bout not to just devour everyone involved.”

“Just us,” I say.

“Ah, but I have you, don’t I?” Vex says. “The beast whisperer. The one who can set a wraith among the crowd and bring down a chimera.”

That's why Vex is so confident. Because I'm on his side? Is he assuming that I will defeat the frost drake in seconds? That for all its ferocity, it will not be a threat to us? If so, he hasn't been paying attention.

“Vex, my powers have been limited,” I say, lifting the bracelet for him to see. “They assume I will lose control if I try to command powerful beasts. Maybe they're even right. In any case, I can't access my full powers with this on, and I can't remove it.”

Vex looks a little more worried now. He stands, moving over and examining the bracelet. “Damn it. They didn't tell me about that part. Why did you have to do something so foolish with thewraith? If you hadn't, this would be easy. You would turn the drake on our opponents, it would eat them, end of bout.”

“That’s not what I would have done, even if I could,” I say.

Vex waves that away. “Oh, I’m sure you would have made noises about not wanting to hurt our opponents, or the creatures or anything else. The same things you always say. But I've seen you when your life is on the line. You do what you need to do. Ultimately, you would have killed or incapacitated our foes. Now…”

Now he looks worried.

“We're going to have to work together if we're going to survive this,” I say. “That's why I came to see you, Vex. I need to know you're not going to stab me in the back or kill the shadow cat.”

Vex spreads his hands. “Why would I? You're the main things standing between me and being eaten by the drake. That's how we'll play this. You distract it and take it on, I will deal with Koda and Naia. Neither one of them is a match for me.”

“Don't kill them,” I say. “Especially not Naia. We don't need to kill them to win, just incapacitate them.”

“And there you go, saying exactly what you usually say,” Vex says. “But when the time comes, you'll come around.”

“Vex, I mean it. Do not kill them.”

He shrugs. “You seem to be under the misapprehension that you are somehow the leader of this little team. It's a fight. The crowd has come to see blood. I will do whatever I need to do. Maybe Naia lets me take her down without hurting her too much. Maybe not. We'll see. Now you should go finish warming up. It won't be long.”

I head back to the space where I'm meant to be waiting. I should have known better than to expect Vex to promise not to hurt anyone. Now that I've tried, there's a chance he'll do it just to spite me. I still don't trust that he won't stab me in theback either. From what I understand, as long as one member of a team is still standing when the other team goes down, that counts as a win. Vex might let me do some of the work, then cut my throat when I'm not watching. His promises of peace between us ring far too hollow.

When I get back to my preparation area, I see another figure there waiting for me. It’s Naia, her dark hair tied back on the side where it’s longer, her weapons already by her side.

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