Page 16 of Wrath

She shrugs. “She didn’t say. But Wrath is the strongest of all, winning all his fights. After tonight, he’ll be ready for a full ceremony.”

“Tonight?” I ask. “What’s happening?”

She scoffs. “Do you ever listen to Martha when she tells us the schedule? He’s fighting his fiftieth fight. He’ll be the ultimate warrior should he win.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Do you get to watch the fights?”

She glances around nervously. “Alex sometimes takes us.”

“How?”

“He can sneak us out to a special viewing box. Do you want to come?”

“Yes,” I say with excitement. “Of course.” My father never allowed me at any of the fights, as the first born doesn’t need to check out the talents of a fighter to have children with.

I spend the entire day in the kitchen, from prepping breakfast to lunch and then dinner. And by the time I’m excused to go to my room, I’m exhausted. It’s not until Jaycee knocks on my door that I remember the fight. Anna is with her, and both look excited as I put my shoes back on and follow them to the guards’ quarters.

Alex leads us through the caves, and I wonder how he remembers all these passages and where they lead. We’re taken into an alcove that overlooks the fighting ring. “No one knows about this part,” he tells me, clearing a branch that hides the viewing window. “You must stay here, and you have to be quiet.”

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I have to be ringside with Jax. We’re on duty.”

I stare down below us at the crowd of men. Most I recognise from being at dinner parties and such, but others I’ve never seen in my life. I spot my father shaking hands with another man before exchanging cash. No one in the village has access to money, never needing it as everything is provided for us. Anything that requires cash is passed by the four families to deal with. But the closer I look, the more cash I see exchanging hands. “Why do they have money?” I ask.

Jaycee shrugs. “We don’t know about the politics of it all. We come for the fight.”

The crowd begins to cheer as a large man is led in by chains. I haven’t seen him before, and I turn to Anna, who smiles. “He’s an up-and-coming warrior. There’re loads training to become as good as Wrath and the others. When they’re as good, the forefathers will bid on them, hoping to have them fight for their namesake.”

“My father boasted we have ten good fighters,” I tell them, “yet I’ve only ever seen Wrath. The other three are for the other families. So, where are the nine?”

“They’re training, waiting to take on one of the four and win. Only then will he be seen as good enough to fight beside Wrath,” she explains.

“If Wrath loses, your father could drop him back to the lower camp and replace him with one of the nine,” adds Jaycee.

“But that’s a risky move because Wrath is far too good,” says Anna, and Jaycee nods in agreement. I’m impressed at how much they know about it all.

Wrath is led out and joins the other fighter in the ring. Both are glaring at one another, looking ready to kill. “They look so angry,” I mutter.

“They’re riled up before the fight,” says Jaycee. “Loud music, noise on repeat . . . it messes with their minds.”

“Why?”

She laughs. “So they fight well.”

I watch the fight through the gaps between my fingers. It’s violent and bloody, and each time Wrath hits his opponent, blood splatters across the people surrounding the ring, causing delight amongst the spectators. Mabel, one of the Garcia daughters, actually licks the blood from her lips and smiles.

When the warrior finally hits the deck, Wrath is cuffed and taken away.

“That’s it?” I ask, watching as the men below swap more cash. “He just goes back to his room?”

“What did you think would happen?” asks Anna. “It was a great fight, wasn’t it?” She looks excited, but I feel sick.

“I don’t think I’m cut out for all that blood,” I whisper.

“We have to wait here for Alex to come get us,” says Jaycee.

The crowd below begins to thin out, and I watch my father as he moves amongst the remaining guests, smiling and being friendly. They probably have no idea how cruel he really is.

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