Page 23 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
Lark halted abruptly, shock replacing her fury. Of course, the fury resurged with a vengeance, fully directed at me. When she stormed off, triumph and relief nearly drilled me to the floor. I’d done it! I’d beat her without firing a shot, proving myself capable.
Roman comprehended my strategy and nodded at me, as if impressed.
Jericho used the distraction to his advantage, shooting Roman, who scowled and brushed the missile from his skin.
“My turn to share a personal fact,” Roman stated, and no one, not even Jericho, naysaid him. “I’m from a military family, and I’ve trained for this my entire life. I’m loyal to those who are loyal to me, and I’ll do whatever proves necessary to save my people, even mow down an enemy or a friend. Those who stand with me, prove it. Shoot Jericho and join the HP at the tables. Those who aren’t with me, prepare for my wrath.”
The color drained from my former date’s face when four people aimed.Pft, pft, pft, pft.Each dart landed, and down the soldier fell. As he foamed at the mouth, Shiloh and the other medics rushed to offer assistance. The shooters disqualified themselves.
“The rest of you better want to represent us enough to suffer,” Roman said, his confidence unwavering.
Though I fought residual pain, I didn’t back down. Even as four other soldiers walked away, joining the others at the tables. My heart drummed against my ribs. Only three of us remained in the circle. Roman had a single dart left. Our fellow challenger, Titus, might have all his ammunition or none; I suddenly couldn’t recall who had shot whom.
With all three of my darts locked and loaded, I debated my lone option. Join Titus to take out Roman. Because there was no way I could secure a vote against him.
The two guys faced off, acting as if I wasn’t there.
“You sure you want to go head to head?” Roman demanded.
“Beyond.” With a cold smile, Titus aimed and unloaded two darts into the other boy. The missiles sank into Roman’s chest, bracketing his heart. “You aren’t the only lord from a military family.”
Countenance darkening the slightest bit, Roman yanked the projectiles free. He used his final dart, hitting Titus in the throat. But Titus, too, pulled the projectile free without a reaction.
How were they still standing?
“Finish him, Ardie.” Veins bulged as Roman fought an onslaught of pain. “Now.”
Hey. I liked Roman. I did. But this was a competition for a rare prize. I needed to do what was best for me and the team, which included keeping my word. Integrity meant something. A treasure more valuable than gold.
“Arden,” he snapped.
“No,” I rasped, then I repeated it with more force. “No. I won’t do it. Titus is my teammate. And so are you. I meant what I said. I won’tharm any of you. But I will outlast you.” I wouldn’t budge from my circle until both of my opponents passed out.
With a grunt of irritation, Roman swiped my weapon and took aim at Titus. “Final words?”
“Hey,” I gasped out. He’d stolen my gun. How dare he! “That’s mine.”
Titus narrowed his eyes, his attention never leaving Roman. “You can’t use someone else’s weapon. You’ll be disqualified.”
“First lesson at the Roman Alexander School of Winning. Always take note of the smallest details.” Roman arched a brow at his challenger. “You heard the rules same as me. The HP never mentioned theft.”
Oooh. He wasn’t wrong. But it was still a terrible move, proving Roman lacked a moral compass when it came to the acquisition of power.
Titus paled. “Don’t—”
Too late.Click, click, click.Roman unloaded my darts.
An animalistic roar left Titus as his body lurched. He teetered and tried to lock his knees, but the dose was too high. Like Jericho and that other guy, he went down foaming at the mouth. For the third time, medics raced to administer some kind of antidote.
“Behold.” The HP dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin and stood. “Your champions.”
“We won!” A grinning Roman dropped the weapon and leaned over to wrap me in his arms. He swung me around. “Don’t be mad, Ardie. I did what was best for us all. And don’t worry. You’re exempt from my wrath.” After setting me on my feet, he clasped my shoulder. “Everything’s gonna be good now. You’ll see.”
“Ow, ow, ow!” I cringed from the contact as receptors lit up with remnants of the pain toxin, or whatever it was. “I’m not a supersoldier like you.”
“Right.” He winced an apology and released me. “My bad.”
“The rest of you, vote,” the HP commanded. “Out loud. We’ll start with you.” He pointed to the first lord to be eliminated.
