Page 63 of This Cruel Fate

He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, before exhaling. “I’ve been working toward this for so long. I think the twins are suspicious.”

“What happened between you?” she asked.

“They were my closest friends in the whole world.” Adonis shook his head. His eyes had a glazed look, as if reliving long buried memories. “But they chose Helen.”

“Maybe she has blackmail on them too.” Xolia tried to reason.

“No. They believe in her.”

Xolia furrowed her brows. On one hand she knew that even amongst variants there was division. On the other hand it was illogical to think that an entire group of people could feel the same way about something, but that didn’t stop her from thinking that they should have the same opinions, even more so if those opinions aligned with her own. She just wanted what was best for them, they would see things from her point of view once she’d proved her ideas held merit.

They just don’t know your ideas yet. That’s why you’re doing this. “Where will all of this go once she’s gone?” Xolia waved a hand to indicate the general area they were in. “Her father?”

“Helen decided to give a white-collar criminal full control over her finances.” Adonis scoffed. “If she would’ve bothered to read the fine print, then she’d know ownership of all of her assets passes to me in the event of her death.”

He didn’t elaborate further, instead he pulled their focus to cutting through the throngs of eager spectators, who were waiting for the next fight to start. Helen was on the other side of the space, though the crowd parted for her at the behest of the twins in front of her, making use of their ability to wield air to push others out of their way.

Helen climbed into the cage, the bouncers taking a protective stance on each side of the open door. Helen adjusted a small mic affixed to her shirt and called for everyone to quiet down. The rising din of confused murmurs decreased with her clear and magnified words.

“My fellow Risians, my countrymen.” It wasn’t fair how melodic her voice was. “I stand before you today, in the midst of our entertainment, as a part of the forgotten few of this country. While our government has pretended that variants are equal in today’s society, our time here proves otherwise. Variants are still hiding, they are still forced to take suppressants, and not all of them are known to us.”

Xolia shifted her gaze to Adonis, whose body was drawn taut. His jaw was clenched. She reached out to give him a comforting touch.

“So many variants have lived and died in this country with no recognition. They were forced to hide who they were for fear of being sent to the barracks. Then peace was promised, and were these variants able to claim their true identities?” Helen paused, and not a single other person broke the silence. “No. Variants who aren’t registered with the Census Bureau can face up to three years in rehab and seven years in prison. How is that fair? How is that just? It’s time for us to take a stand, and I start by standing in front of you, telling you that I am a variant. I have been hiding for over two decades because the peace I was promised never came.”

“Chancellor Bellevue has given us nothing but empty promises for seven years. And what of his supposed competition? John Clemont? The man who was President Gornne’s largest supporter? No. It’s time for things to change.”

The energy of the room shifted, the tension snapped, and around Xolia, people leaned in to listen to Helen’s words. No. No. This is all wrong.

Xolia nodded at Adonis. It was time. She needed to make things right. She needed to show people how wrong it was to believe in Helen. For the first time in her life, Xolia let go of the self-control that had been so embedded into her system. She allowed herself the conscious thought to reach out to someone else’s bloodstream and took control with delight rather than as a last ditch-effort at salvaging her own safety. The whispers and pull of Helen’s blood were delicious, and she sank into them with a reckless abandon. All she had to do was tug once. Helen’s easy and gilded words faltered and the whites of her eyes showed. She struggled to stand upright. The twins popped up from the sea of people, their gazes roaming as they pushed through the crowd, seeking the culprit. The guards moved away from the cage door, aiding their search.

Adonis gave her a gentle push toward the cage, and Xolia ran. She took her left hand out of her pocket, no longer caring if anyone saw the lack of fingers, and pushed through the guards to get into the cage. She pulled on their bloodstreams, forcing them to the ground. Commotion erupted around them. People stood up and shouted, everyone in a frenzy.

Outside of the cage, Adonis confronted both twins. Flame from the torches in the cage quickly surrounded Adonis while the twins fashioned weapons, the faint pulse of air the only thing visible. The twins attacked as one, providing no quarter as Adonis struck and parried.

Xolia tore her gaze away, she couldn’t focus on that right now. She stalked over to Helen, who was still fighting against Xolia’s hold, and ripped a small mic affixed to her shirt, holding it close to her lips. “Stop,” she commanded. Her voice didn’t lilt in soft cadences like Helen’s. She hoped it carried authority at least.

Though Adonis and the twins continued, everyone else appeared to give into a macabre sense of curiosity. That, or they were trained to listen to anyone with a mic. Xolia needed to take her chance. “Helen doesn’t care about you. She didn’t fight in the war. Not like me. And not like you. Even if there are other unregistered variants out here tonight, she didn’t share your childhood either. She’s the daughter of the most influential general in the country. You think she knows your suffering?”

The words flowed easily from Xolia’s lips. Goosebumps erupted along her arms. This felt different from her speeches at the annual gala. This felt different from rattling off Silas’s orders. This was her. It was who she was supposed to be. “What can Helen know of peace when she sacrificed nothing to achieve it? She doesn’t want to help us—not like I do. Not like I’ve proven myself to do.”

Xolia walked up to Helen, grabbing her by the hair. She pulled back on her control, just enough to give Helen the ability to breathe easier. Helen’s lips were tinged blue from the lack of blood pumping through her system. “This is the face of someone who would let you all die if it meant she got what she wants.”

“That’s not true,” Helen spit out.

Xolia turned back to the crowd of people. “I’ve worked with Silas. I’ve worked with Chancellor Bellevue. Change does not happen overnight, but we are on the right path. Give me the chance to prove it to you. Let me spare this country another war.”

In the corner of her vision, Xolia caught sight of Tanzin landing a particularly nasty strike against Adonis, sending him flying to the ground. She let her control—physical and mental—over Helen go slack. The other woman didn’t hesitate to fly after Xolia, tackling her to the ground.

Shouts erupted from the crowd, though it was all too slurred to tell if they were rooting for Helen or Xolia. Helen looked up, a sinister smile pulling at her lips. She grabbed the microphone from Xolia. “I think it’s only fair if we settle this in the same way our ancestors did. A fight to the death. Sel will guide the stronger candidate to see the winning path.”

Xolia tilted her head, this was too easy. It was too similar to her own plan. Helen stepped away from her, throwing the small microphone to the ground. Xolia followed suit while Helen gave a small nod to the twins, who were holding Adonis up from either side of him, his head lolling forward. They dropped him.

The crowd was riotous in the stands. Their shouts so like the first fight Xolia had been in, when she had been the enemy to the uncontested crowd favorite. Now, she thought she heard snatches of her name beyond the general roar.

I don’t even know Helen’s element. The woman held out her hand and a vortex of wind swirled around her body.

Xolia wanted to roll her eyes. Of course, she would have the same domain as the twins. Seeking out the water, Xolia focused and pulled as much as she could around her; wind users were annoying in how they generally blew every weapon or foothold away from their opponent. And, in this fight, she was sure Helen would have no qualms about taking cheap shots.

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