Page 72 of Between Soul and Vessel
He chuckled at that.
I answered him anyway. “I heard that a female who was condemned to have her soul crushed managed to find her way up into the stands. There, she pushed one of the wards off and it shattered upon the sands. She scorched the opponent to ash, causing the rest of the arena to light on fire. Then, the vuleeries took her. The empress was rather furious to learn of all this.”
Commodus let out a low whistle. “That’ssomefemale.”
“Indeed,” I chuckled. “What haveyouheard?”
“I’ve heard that version and a thousand others from the old rumor mill,” he said. Footsteps sounded above us. “People are starting to arrive. I should let you get ready for the games.”
My voice dropped to a whisper. “Before I go, I need a favor.”
“Name it,” he said, voice quiet.
My gaze held his. “I need a map of the Mother Realm.”
“Why would you need that, brother?” he asked, voice wary.
“It’s better you don’t know.”
“Then I won’t ask, but I will get it for you. Are you staying for tomorrow’s games?”
“No.” I shook my head, voice returning to normal. “Leaving tonight.”
“Alright, I’ll meet you back here after the event is over.”
I nodded. “Thank you, brother.”
“Good luck.”
“I don’t need luck,” I told him.
“Something tells me that you are going to need all the luck you can get.” He gave me a concerned look and then patted my arm. “I’ll see you after the games.”
A short while later, I made my way to the iron gate. My heart beat like a stallion’s hooves, pounding adrenaline through my veins. The armor I donned was crafted from onyx-dyed boiled leather. It had taken me months to make the armor, after many,manyprototypes. I doubted I’d ever get it perfect enough for my standards. I rolled my arm, peering down at the new, thicker strap I’d recently installed on my vambrace. I tugged at it, ensuring it was tight.
Nixus, another soul crusher, walked up to me, carryinga soulius.
I looked at the gauntlet, made from dragon hide and claw. There was once a time when I had aspired to be able to fight in the arena, but over the years, the soulius had lost its luster. Now, when I looked at it, all I saw was death.
I put it on then set my sights on the arena.
The gate groaned as it lifted.
“Good luck, brother,” Nixus offered before I walked out.
“Thanks,” I replied, thinking that perhaps the old goat was right—perhaps I needed it after all.
Von
“Ifeel like I snorted a line of salt,” Folkoln grumbled as we ambled forward, matching Lyra’s much slower pace. Folkoln carried Kaleb on his back while I had Harper on mine.
I grunted in reply.
He wasn’t wrong. The briny, damp air was relentless. It saturated my nostrils, stuck to my skin, dampened my clothes. It was a menace. One I was eager to get away from. Also grating against my frayed nerves were the ceaseless sounds of the rushing river and the water that trickled from the cave’s mouth. Just like this tunnel, it was never-ending.
Drip. Drip. Fucking drip.
We hadn’t seen Saphira since she’d stormed off, which was probably for the better. Ryker, Fallon, Soren—not one of them had turned up either.
