Page 46 of Corvak's Challenge

By the time it grows dark, my stomach has more or less settled. I'm hoping it's just a temporary bug, and I finish the last of the snow-people food and dole it out. Normally they bring a bunch of dead things for me to cook up—fish, rabbits, whatever—but today there's nothing. Just a bunch of hungry mouths. Igive out what I can and try not to think about what it's going to be like when we run out of food for them.

Once it's gone, I take the pouch and the cooking utensils with me to the pool and clean them in the hot, fresh water. The heat makes me languid, and after everything has been rinsed, I curl up on the rocks to take a quick nap, my arm propped up under my head. It's not the most comfortable spot to sleep, but I'm so tired I don't even care. The heat is nice, the rocks underneath me toasty warm.

"Aidy."

I wake up to gentle knuckles stroking my cheek. Drowsy, I smile and open my eyes gazing up at him. Corvak looks tired, his thick lion's mane of hair slightly damp from the snow. He's still wearing his makeshift layers of outdoor gear and there's an expression of concern on his face as he regards me. "Is something wrong?"

With a yawn, I sit up. As I do, I feel the aches and pains of sleeping on hard rock. Not my brightest idea. The bowl I was cleaning has floated over to the far side of the pool and the leather pouch hangs perilously close to the edge of the water. My stirring rib is nowhere to be seen. Shoot. I must have knocked them in while I slept. "Sorry, I was taking a nap."

I lean over to pick up the pouch, and as I do, my stomach protests. I press my hand to my mouth, willing the nausea to go down.

"Aidy?" His hand touches my hair and Corvak kneels next to me. "Are you well?"

When I can speak without puking, I nod and say, "Just a little off today. I think I ate something that disagreed with me. You all right? You look unhappy."

He studies me for a bit longer, as if not quite believing that I'm well. After a long moment, he decides to speak. "I saw footprints today. Other people—other gladiators—are nearby."

Oh. It doesn't scare me like I thought it would. I've felt so secure in this cave, so removed from the game entirely that I haven't given it much thought, other than the fact that my memories should be returning and they haven't. Corvak looks upset, though. I'd have thought he'd be celebrating the chance to go after someone else, but he just looks pensive instead. "And…?"

"And we are not ready." His lips flatten into an unhappy line and he rubs a hand over his mouth. "You know the snow-people are not prepared."

"They're the world's worst army," I agree. I feel a little better, so I get to my feet and pick up my things. I'll retrieve the bowl later. "Come on. Let's go to the bedroom. It's not as warm as it is in here."

He follows after me, still quiet. It's unnerving, because I honestly expected more excitement from Corvak at the thought of progressing the game. Our "bedroom" is the next chamber over. It's dark inside, the fire out—I usually transfer a few coals from the other fire in the front cave for cooking—but I know the contents here by heart. The firepit is in the far corner, and closer to the warmth of the pool is our bedding, a pile of thick furs a few steps away from the crawl-through that leads here. I tug Corvak over to the bed and begin the process of pulling damp clothing off of him.

In the last few weeks, I've gotten better at making decent clothing. Well…my standards of "decent" have changed, but at least they're no longer just furs strapped onto our bodies. With a sharp, jagged rock, I punched holes along the edges to feed the leather straps through, and I was able to "sew" things together. They more or less fit like real clothes now, even if they're a bit more bulky and shapeless than what I'm used to. They're warm, and that's all that matters.

I help Corvak undress, loosening the laces on the sides of his tunic so he can pull it over his head. "Tell me what you're thinking," I say. "You're so quiet."

"I'm trying to conceptualize battle plans, but the problem I keep coming back to is the snow-people. I can't be stealthy with them around. I can't prepare a trap. I can direct them to attack my opponent and overwhelm him, but there is no honorable game play in that."

"I don't trust them to do what we want anyhow," I admit, listening as he tugs the tunic over his head in a rustle and then tosses it onto the bedding. When I reach forward in the dark, his chest is bare and warm, and I press my fingers to his skin. His chest is humming, but it's such a soft, gentle hum compared to what it was before that it worries me. "The only way to ensure they'd attack someone is to cover them in soup."

He chuckles. "I don't want to just slaughter my opponent. I am a gladiator, but I am also honorable. It is one thing to have a trained army to protect our stronghold. It is another to just send a horde of ravening beasts after someone."

I make a sound of agreement. The snow-people aren't a tool we can utilize like we thought. They're a nuisance more than anything. "What if we don't kill your opponent?" I ask, an idea coming to me. "What if they're friendly? What if they're on our side?"

Corvak huffs, touching my hand on his chest before shifting his weight and continuing undressing. "I doubt that."

I'm not so sure. "No one's attacked us, remember? Or come after us."

"They did that day I spied upon them?—"

"But what if they weren't looking for us to kill us but tohelpus? We found that cave full of supplies, right? What if they left those out for us? To assist us? What if they're nice?" The thought fills me with hope. We've been isolated here in the mountains,surrounded by volatile snow-people and nothing else, and I didn't realize how much it was weighing down on me. Maybe it's my sour stomach, but the idea of friendly allies is such a comforting one that I nearly weep with the thought. "What if we're not alone?"

Corvak must sense my emotions. He cups the back of my neck, tugging me close and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "I value your words, my Aidy, but I doubt they are on our side. No game would work that way. The goal is for us to destroy each other."

I know he's right, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something we're missing. "It's just…things aren't adding up, you know? This game has gone on for so much longer than you thought it would. My memories haven't come back, even though we thought it was temporary. Pinkie says there are people like me on the beach…permanently. None of this matches your memories of the game rules. Something else is going on. I'm not sure what, but I know it can't hurt to have more information."

To my surprise, Corvak laughs.

He pulls me against him in a bear hug. "That'sthe answer."

"What is?"

"We find this other gladiator and torture him for information, of course. You are full of good ideas."

I sputter. "Wait, what? I never said to torture anyone!"

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