Chapter 10: Alluring Darkness: Chapter 10

The auditorium is packed with people, but my eyes are locked on the dark-haired girl sitting halfway to the stage. She is leaning slightly sideways in her seat, speaking to a blond guy next to her, and she hasn’t looked in my direction even once. I flex my fingers and try to suppress the urge to go find a sniper rifle and shoot that blond guy in the back of the head.

“If you could quiet down, please,” Professor Lawson says, her voice barely carrying over the noise even though she is speaking into a microphone. “We’re ready to start.”

The people in the closest rows immediately stop talking, but the ones higher up have clearly not heard her because they continue chatting in their seats.

“SHUT IT!” Mr. Hansen bellows.

He is standing two strides away from the mic, but his loud voice still hits it. Several people wince as the grating sound of electronic feedback cuts through the room.

Deadly silence falls over the massive hall.

“Ah, uhm, thank you,” Professor Lawson says to Mr. Hansen. She gives him a small smile, to which he responds with an uncharacteristically self-conscious nod, before she turns her attention back to the students of Blackwater University. “Those of you who are on your second or third year already know what this is about.”

A ripple of anticipation washes through the room.

“In a few weeks, it’s time for the annual tournament,” she announces.

Some of the seniors let out whoops of excitement.

“Yes, quite exciting indeed.” She smiles. “Now, I’m sure that all of you first-years are wondering what this is all about.” After pausing for a second, she asks, “How many of you have read The Hunger Games?”

A tiny minority of people raise their hands. Raina is not among them. Narrowing my eyes, I study the back of her head. I wonder what kind of books she read while growing up. Perhaps something like How to Be an Unpredictable Force of Nature.

I still haven’t gotten over what she did in that sparring hall the other day. Choke me harder, Daddy. Fucking hell, I did not see that one coming. I’ve never met anyone who surprises me, and challenges me, the way she does.

“Well, that was a truly depressing number,” Professor Lawson remarks. Drawing a hand through her brown curls, she sighs. “Okay, how many of you have at least seen the movie, then?”

A lot more hands are raised this time. Raina’s among them.

“Great,” Professor Lawson says, sounding a bit more cheerful. “This tournament is kind of like that. Except in teams.”

Silence descends on the massive room as the first-years glance at one another.

“We’re gonna kill each other?” a guy calls from somewhere to my left.

“No.” She waves her hands. “No actual killing. But apart from that, anything goes.” After a brief pause, she tilts her head to the side and adds, “Well, not anything. We do prefer to keep any permanent injuries to a minimum.”

Tension ripples through the first-years while the rest of us lean back in our seats with grins on our faces. I continue watching the back of Raina’s head while Professor Lawson explains that each team will start at a different place outside the forest and that the objective is to kill the target at the center while also avoiding or incapacitating the other teams. It’s impossible to tell what she’s thinking, though.

“Normally, there are teams of four,” Professor Lawson continues. “But this year, there will be teams of five.”

Surprise flashes across the faces of several people around me. My brothers all frown, and Rico glances towards me.

“There will be at least one person from each year on every team,” she continues. “And you will find out the teams today.”

Paper rustles as her assistant scurries over and hands her a stack of documents. Then she begins reading out the teams. Lounging in my seat, I wait with a smile on my face until she gets to my team.

“Next up, we have Eli Hunter.”

The people closest to us sneak a few quick glances. They all know that my team is never selected randomly. It always consists of the people that I want on it.

“Rico Hunter,” she continues reading from her paper. “Kaden Hunter. Jace Hunter.”

My brothers all turn towards me and grin.

“And Raina Smith,” she finishes.

Surprise flashes in my brothers’ eyes, and some people gasp closer to where Raina sits.

“Seriously?” Jace hisses while the professor continues on with the next team.

I just shoot him a sideways glance.

On my other side, Rico leans closer and speaks in a soft voice. “Are you sure about this, Eli? She’s the weakest person on this entire campus.”

“I know,” I reply.

“Then why the hell is she on our team,” Jace mutters. “This is my first time. I want us to fucking crush it.”

I slide my gaze to Kaden, waiting to see if he’s going to protest too. But he just sits there, watching me with calm dark eyes and waiting for me to explain my reasoning.

“All four of us are here this year,” I say, looking each one of them in the eye. “We all know that the four of us can carry this entire tournament on our own.”

A smug grin spreads across Jace’s mouth. Rico tips his head to the side, as if conceding the point. I look at Kaden, who nods.

“So there is no reason to worry,” I continue. “I made sure that Raina is on our team because we deserve to have some fun along the way.”

Now, Kaden smiles too. It’s the sadistic one full of quiet anticipation that he so often wears.

“In two weeks, team training is starting,” I say. “Which means that the four of us and Raina will have entire afternoons together. And do you know what that means?”

Kaden’s smile widens while Jace rubs his hands together. Rico just lets out an amused huff.

“That means that we will have all the time and privacy in the world…” I match their grins. “To torment her.”