REYNA
With the memories of the strangest dreams Iâd ever hadâme and the beast on a beach, a place I couldnât have even imagined before todayâI was preparing for the fight with Lisa, Cassandraâs threat hanging over my head.
It was no surprise that by the next morning, I was not in the mood for a fight. I needed only one thing: to see the beast.
My lips still tingled whenever I recalled him kissing me. Despite knowing that my first kiss was actually a dream and not real, I couldnât shake the feeling or stop thinking about it.
Which was seriously bad, because I needed to have my wits about me and keep myself calm, collected, and focused if I was to win this fight.
When I finally left the castle and arrived at the training grounds an hour before the fight, I was surprised to see the place was already packed with people. Probably all the people of Marlenia were there, except for the security guards.
To my utter surprise, even Dr. Benjamin and two other men were allowed to attend todayâs fight. That went to show just how much todayâs fights meant to Cassandra. I had to try really hard not to go over and ask him about the beasts.
I felt like he wasnât a jerk like Mark was. He didnât give me the creeps.
Unfortunately, I wasnât the only one interested in talking to the good doctor. Every woman and child was looking at them, literally gawking as though they were aliens.
Well, they might as well beâmen were things we just didnât see anywhere, like at all. Except for Mark, as Iâd said before.
My world was changing for sure. Nothing was as it seemed or was anymore.
I stood in the middle of the clearing where we were about to fight, warming up, jumping and stretching, loosening my muscles. I had on a full-body suit with gloves and combat boots, my hair in a long braid beneath the full black mask I was forced to wear.
The clearing was the same place where all the previous fights had taken place throughout the years. Mary was speaking to me about the fights, making sure I remembered the rules.
When Lisa came out to the field, her clothes were exactly like mineâthe same brown color, her hands covered in leather gloves. The only thing I could see of her face was her eyes and mouth, same as me.
I glanced at the front row to my left, where a tent had been erected and seats arranged for Cassandra and the council. They were the only ones sitting; everyone else was standing, excited and waiting.
Then the bell rang and the flag was released.
Lisa and I started circling each other, looking for any weaknesses to exploit.
âFair warning, Reyna, donât expect me to go easy on you just because you are the princess. I donât care if you want to impress your Mommy dearest, Iâm going to beat the shit out of you,â Lisa taunted, hoping to get a rise out of me.
I frowned. I didnât know what was going on with Lisa, but something about her was different.
âYou can certainly try.â
Iâd barely shut my mouth when Lisa attacked, kicking and throwing punches at me. She took me by surprise and landed a few strikesâfuck, they hurt.
But I quickly shook off my surprise and started defending; my left eye hurt from the first punch she delivered. Damn her!
We kicked and punched each other, ducked, jumped and followed, retreated and attacked. Until we were both bruised, sweaty, and bloodyâand still we fought.
None of us were about to give up. The crowd was crazy, shouting, cheering, and making booing sounds.
You could tell they didnât have much excitement in their lives. Lisa was beginning to slow down.
She was tired. I was tired too, but unlike Lisa, Cassandra never let me quit just because I was tired.
She always used to push me hard until I couldnât move. âFight until you drop,â thatâs her motto. So I pushed on.
I knew it was time I ended this. Lisa might not have something on the line if she lost, but I did.
When Lisa tried to kick me, I held her foot and punched her hard in her solar plexus. She wheezed.
I threw another hard punch and gave her a round kick, all in quick succession until she dropped down. I followed her to the ground and sat on her stomach, pummeling her.
I punched her in the nose, and the distinct sound of broken cartilage sickened me to my core. But I didnât let up. Lisa tried to buck me off her, twisting and turning.
I grounded my feet for leverage and doubled my effort. I wouldnât let anyone take Nana away from me.
~Iâm not repeating the year.~
~I am not weak.~
~I am not a failure.~
I brought my fist down to punch Lisa again. Suddenly, someone grabbed my fisted hand.
I could hear voices from afar, shouting my name. It was as though I was in a trance; every sound was muffled.
~âDARâSEN! What is wrong?â~
That name. Iâd heard it somewhere. My brows scrunched.
~âIâm here, Darâsen.â~
My ears popped from the call of that voice, that deep, husky male voice that was everywhere and nowhere, and yet deep inside me at the same time.
âReyna, Reyna, Reyna!â I glanced up at Mary.
All of a sudden, the crowdâs cheering was almost too much noise for me to bear, but most of all, what grounded me was Lisa.
~Beneath me.~
Even with her balaclava, I could see she was battered and bruised. Her nose was bleeding, one of her eyes was red, and the skin around the eye was bruised badly and would definitely turn an ugly purple before it turned blue-black.
I got off her so fast I landed on my butt, breathing hard, my eyes wide with horror. I stared at Lisaâs chest, wanting to see if she was breathing, desperately hoping I hadnât killed her.
~My friend. My childhood friend.~
Bile rose up in my throat as I leaned closer. It took a while for me to concentrate hard enough to see her chest rising and falling and realize Lisa was okay.
Badly beaten, but okay. And when she suddenly rolled onto her stomach, yanked the balaclava from her head, and sat on her heels, panting and groaningâ
I felt such immense relief that a sob escaped my mouth. I shivered and released a shuddering breath.
Lisa turned and glanced at me. I winced. God, I did that. My stomach roiled, tight with tension.
Lisa must have seen the horrified look on my face. Because she burst into laughter, and then her face scrunched in pain, which silenced her. She groaned and wiped the blood from her brow.
âGood fight, Reyna. Girl, youâve definitely changed. Looking forward to your induction,â Lisa said good-naturedly.
I forced a smile and instantly tasted blood in my mouth. That reminded me that Lisa gave as much as she got, because I hurt all over as well, and I had more than a couple of bruises to back it up.
A black eye and a split lip was not a good look for a birthday girl.
âI doubt I could have won if you werenât so distracted. Are you okay?â I knew Lisa; she and I had fought a couple of times in the past and we always came to a draw.
While I believed Iâd improved, I couldnât help but wonder if something was wrong with her.
âIâm okay, Reyna, and you really did win fair and square,â Lisa said.
We both stood up. Mary came to stand between us; she held both our hands, then raised mine up to the crowds.
She declared me the winner.
âMiss Reyna Marlene Williams, your new champion!â And the crowds cheered.
Lisa nodded at me and hugged me before going to the medics, while I strode toward Cassandra to receive the reward.
There was no emotion on Cassandraâs face, but I could tell she was proud of me.
Unfortunately, I didnât feel proud. I mean, what was there to be proud of?
I beat someone up, for no apparent reason other than Cassandraâs own amusement.
The only thing I felt was a deep-seated shame and helplessness. That I couldnât stop this, and that our world was such a violent place that true friendship didnât exist.