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A sharp push from behind me sends me closer to the center of the room. I glance back and glare at the guard who shoved me. But he pays me no mind, instead sharing a knowing look with my opponent.
I turn to him and size him up. He’s taller than me by at least a foot and a half. There are small scars all over his thick, muscled arms, telling me he’s no stranger to a fight. And from the dark look in his eyes, I can tell he enjoys it too.
“You should learn your place, Sidus,” Garath snarls, just loud enough for me to hear.
“Maybe you should show me.” I smile at him, glad for a moment to unleash some of my building frustrations.
“Gladly,” he says with a sneer before lunging forward.
I counter him, using my height and lightness to evade his attack. He turns, a snarl on his face as he rears up to full height, intending to use his brute strength to take me down. But he leaves himself open as he lunges for me once more. I use it to my advantage and punch him in his stomach before quickly jabbing his diaphragm. He bends forward, the wind knocked out of him from my hit.
Before he gets a chance to right himself, I reach out and grab the back of his head. His face meets my bent knee before slamming to the ground, knocking him out. The entire fight is over in seconds as his body hits the floor with a thump.
The silence in the room is deafening.
I turn to the throne area and finish off the little display I was forced to be a part of with a bow to them all, a small smile on my face that widens as I meet Amaro’s eyes.
I know I will pay for it, and my theory is confirmed with Amaro’s replying smirk, his eyes promising nothing but pain.
But pain is something I am used to. Pain, I can deal with. It is the games I will have to learn to play in order to stay here.
Another competitor rushes to Garath, checking him over. “He needs a healer at once.”
My body grows tense as a handful of the competitors move closer to me. Some now with looks of intrigue instead of outright hostility.
“She can fight.” A man with unruly shoulder-length black hair glances at me with shock slashed across his pale face.
“She has been trained by Captain Ryuu. Of course she knows how to fight. Did you think she got in here on her looks alone? Ifthat were the case, I would have won the competition already.” A young male about my age, with short light brown hair and a friendly expression, grins over at them.
They shake their heads at him, some of them with small smiles or interested glances. But it does what he intended and breaks some of the growing tension in the room.
The group disperses with a few distrustful glances, but a couple nod to me in sincerity, one being the brown-haired male who spoke for me.
With a nod from Amaro, the same two guards pull me out of the room and down the hall.
“Foolish girl,” the intrigued guard whispers fiercely while shaking his head. His face is full of disbelief and annoyance.
With their relentless pulling and pushing, we make it back to my cell in half the time. They shove me forward, but I catch myself once more before swiftly turning around. The guard who holds nothing but cruelness in his eyes wears a smug grin. One that tells me he is up to no good.
He takes a step inside my cell, leaving it open behind him. “Bind her arms and legs. A few hours tied up might help shut that smart mouth of hers.”
“Is this really necessary?” the other guard grits out. His arms are crossed, and he’s avoiding looking me in the eye.
“She disrespected the lieutenant. She deserves this and more. Hand me some rope.”
Gods forbid he be treated like another flawed being. His status holds no truth to his actions, nor does he get a pass for them.
I stand still, waiting for the guard to make his move, while the other guard continues to ignore him before glancing away.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself.” The guard huffs, getting the rope himself.
I watch him closely as he grabs a thin black rope from somewhere behind him and returns to the front of my cell, his cruel smirk firmly in place.
I give him a bland look, waiting for him to get on with this charade.
Stepping into the cell, he treads lightly as if approaching a wild beast. I know the moment he decides to whip forward, and counter him by stepping to the left.
Before he gets another chance, I use the cell bars as leverage to kick off and aim for his head. His body whips around, facing the other guard as his knees hit the ground. I quickly grab the rope that he dropped and wrap it around his neck, pulling tightly to cut off his air supply.
