Page 120 of Fearless

“Bring out the opponent!”

My whole body numbs at the king’s words.

Gasps ripple through the crowd, shock slipping between the fingers that press to gaping mouths.

I won’t turn around. Ican’tturn around.

The crowd erupts with a sudden, sickening wave of excitement when the king’s voice booms over the arena. “An Ordinary versus every Elite. The ultimate test.”

My head is shaking. I shut my eyes, squeezing out the cruel world beyond.

This is a nightmare. This is pretend.

Footsteps behind me grow louder atop the shifting sand.

I press a hand to my pounding heart, feeling the rapid rise and fall of my chest.

This is pretend. This is—

“Paedyn.”

I can feel the exact moment my heart shatters.

It’s when I turn, my eyes crashing into ones well memorized.

When mist meets the deepest sea.

When a Shadow faces its Flame.

When inevitability meets its end.

When I stare into the face of what it is I love most.

CHAPTER 43Paedyn

The sword trembles in my hand.

I’m meant to drive it through his chest.

“No.”

The word is a choked whisper, not the scream I intended. It’s disbelief, denial in its most docile form. I’m shaking my head at him, feet stumbling back.

This is not an opponent. This is the boy who braids back my hair and dances for the both of us. The boy who would chase me to the ends of the earth if it meant he could hold me one more time. This is a man who would bury another for me—would buryhimself, if only I asked.

He is a fool for me. He ismyfool.

This can’t be happening. Why would Kitt allow this?

Kai raises a calming hand. “Paedyn—”

“No!” The scream rips from my throat, springing tears to my eyes. I turn then, lifting my rage to the railing above. And when my gaze crashes into that cool green one, I suddenly cannot remember which king I am looking at. “No! I won’t do it!”

The arena roars right alongside me, only they look forward to watching their mighty Enforcer cut me down. I stumble in the sand, seemingly unable to suck air into my lungs. Tears burn my eyes; anger clogs my throat.

This is a nightmare. This is pretend.

We were never supposed to fight each other again.

---