Page 27 of The Pretty Savage

"I hope everyone is having fun," the man spoke, his deep voice penetrating through the air. "And we all hope you're ready for the rest of the night."

The crowd cheered, expressing how happy they were to be here, but the three of us stayed silent, looking at everything unfolding in front of us.

"Some of you already know what's going to happen next," he said, just as Gabriela murmured, "Here we go."

"But we have some newcomers," he added, his words slicing straight through me. I did not like this. I didn't like it at all. "And those of you that have been here before, I hope you’re ready for a spectacle!"

The crowd went insane, yelling and screaming, and it took me a moment to figure out what they were all chanting.

Offerings.

They were calling for offerings.

"That's right, soldiers!" he yelled out. "We're ready for the first fight of the night." Fight? What fucking fight?

"What's happening?" Yolanda asked no one in particular.

"This is the next part, Yolanda," Gabriela said. "If you want in, you have to fight for it."

One look at Yolanda and I knew she did not expect this. Her already pale complexion became whiter and whiter until she resembled a ghost. Her eyes locked with mine and the thousand emotions she was trying to hide reflected there.

If she had to fight she wouldn't survive it.

"Our first offering for the night is…" the man kept talking, and I prayed to whatever force there was that he wouldn't say Yolanda's name. "Aisling Brennan!"

The crowd cheered for her and as I looked at the stage, a girl not much taller than me stepped inside the ring, grinning from ear to ear with her arms lifted up high, pushing the crowd to go wild for her.

"Many of you already know who Aisling is," the dark-haired man chuckled, keeping his spot in the center of the ring, "and this is her one chance to become a part of something bigger. Something the history books would talk about." Oh, come on, give me a fucking break. "Are you ready for the next offering?"

These people were insane.

We all knew by now that not every single student at the Academy had the skills needed to win in battle, and while some that came here were already trained to become the lethal weapons their families needed, others weren't, and something told me Yolanda wasn't the only one here that didn't know how to fight even after a couple of years at the Academy.

"They will fight to the death," Gabriela said, her words chilling me to the bone.

"Oh no," Yolanda whimpered, downing the contents in her glass faster than she should have. "I'm gonna be sick."

"You'll be fine," I said. "You'll see."

"I'm gonna die, Vega," she cried out, her eyes pleading with me. "We both know I'm going to die if I go up to that ring."

"You won't die." Over my fucking dead body.

"And our next offering!" He laughed loudly, but it didn't matter anymore. If they called Yolanda's name I would go up. I had to go up.

There was no way I was letting this poor girl die tonight.

"Yolanda Engström."

Yolanda almost fell down to her knees, and if it wasn't for Gabriela holding her up, I had a feeling she would've tumbled down like a sack of potatoes.

"You don't have to go up," Gabriela said, her eyes searching Yolanda's pale face, but even as she said that, I knew not going up there would mean a destiny worse than death. "You can say no."

"I can't," Yolanda cried. "We all know I can't."

I didn't wait for another second to pass, because I knew Yolanda would go up there even if it ended with her dead. She couldn't fight, but I could.

I gave my coat to Yolanda and pushed through the crowd gathered around the ring and jumped up, going through the ropes, blinking fast against the blinding light hanging above the ring.

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