Page 5 of A Kiss From Death
All eyes fall to the man standing slightly above us while a small woman walks beside him, holding a giant glass bowl full of folded pieces of paper—lots of them. This has to be a record year of willing participants, and it sets me a little on edge.
Attempting to calm myself, I recite Fallout’s motto and pray somewhere in the castle, she hears my call. “Submit to your Empress, and you will be blessed. Stand in her way and be forever in duress,” I whisper over and over again until my lungs breathe easier.
I jolt back up when I hear the deep baritone casting over the crowd. “Citizens of Command Sector, it is my great honor as your council representative to announce this year’s nominees for the great Reaper Crucible!” The crowd buzzes to life with ecstatic screams and shouts.
I just roll my eyes.
Empress save us all.
“I have great faith that this year’s victor will hail from our sector and prove to all of Fallout once again why we are number one,” he belts out with unwavering certainty.
The crowd erupts in unison, chanting, “COMMAND SECTOR, COMMAND SECTOR, COMMAND SECTOR,” while stomping their feet to a steady beat.
Jeez, it’s like they are brainwashed cattle.
The man turns and dips his hand deep into the oversized bowl, swirling around the papers until he plucks one. The crowd goes eerily silent, waiting.
“The first nominee from Command Sector is…Sierra Foster.”
The silent crowd parts when my eyes snag on bright crimson hair bobbing through the masses towards the dais. She confidently stomps up the few steps and juts her hand out to shake the man’s outstretched limb. She turns to face the crowd with a blank expression and waits for the second name to be announced.
My eyes roam over my competition. I take in her straight, fiery red hair that flows down the entirety of her back. Her eyes look as if gold rings have been shoved inside them, trapped for eternity. Her warm skin is speckled with a field of freckles like the ones that dust my cheeks and nose, and she wears zero emotion on her face. Her body is warm, but the scowl she wears is anything but.
I tuck the information about my opponent safely in my brain for later and focus my attention back on the councilman. He doesn’t pay Sierra another glance as he dips his hand back into the bowl. They really are stone cold in this sector.
“Our second and final nominee from Command Sector for this year’s Reaper Crucible is…” The councilman pauses for dramatic effect, gaining everyone’s unwavering attention. I can feel my heart beating out of my chest in anticipation, and this isn’t even my sector.
It feels like an eternity passes before the councilman clears his throat and announces hesitantly, “Aeron Gavis.”
The crowd gasps, sharing shocked faces, which I find odd. Aeron must be widely known in this sector, which isn’t a good sign to have in a competitor. It’s common knowledge that the lastcouple rounds of the Crucible are heavily influenced by both Fallout and Lunaria to gain advantages. If he already has reach within his sector, that is terrible news for me.
It isn’t hard to spot Aeron making his way through the stunned crowd towards the dais. I have to crane my neck to catch his tall, bulky frame towering over most he walks by. The crowd erupts in whispered gossip.
“I can’t believe he entered himself,” one woman whispers to her friend. “Do you think Councilman Gavis knew he entered?” another man says to my left.
That sentence has me snapping my head back toward the councilman as it all clicks. Taking in his deathly pale face, one would assume he, in fact, did not know his son entered himself in a very deadly game to win magic. Things just got a whole lot trickier.
Shit.
My heart sputters as I turn my full attention back to the barbarian of a man walking up the steps of the dais towards hisfather. He has to be at least a couple inches taller than Theo, with the same golden skin. His shaggy, dirty blond hair bounces as he swaggers up the stairs, almost reaching his shoulders in length. He grips his father’s hand in a firm, almost authoritative handshake, then turns, dismissing his father without saying a single word so he can work the crowd.
All eyes are on Aeron as he raises both arms above his head, waving and winking to the crowd with a shit eating grin. I just found his weakness, and I’m going to exploit his flirtatious behavior for my benefit. Any alliance I can secure early on is one step closer to winning the Crucible.
I’m coming for you, Aeron Gavis.
Confidence and cockiness radiates off him as he works the crowd like it’s his profession. Suddenly, his eyes lock on mine, and I feel like I’m drowning in his icy blue gaze. He holdsmy attention like he’s daring me to submit to him to assert his dominance. I’m up for the challenge, though, so I hold his gaze without blinking until he chuckles to himself, breaking contact to bat his long eyelashes at pretty girls in the crowd.
What am I getting myself into?
Councilman Gavis shakes out of his trance-like state and takes back control of the crowd as if nothing happened. “Well, there you have it, folks. Congratulations to this year’s nominees from Command Sector for the Reaper Crucible!” he shouts out to the crowd, plastering on the fakest smile. Clearly, Aeron entering the Crucible has Councilman Gavis all worked up and caught off guard, and he’s doing a terrible job at hiding it.
Rushing through the crazed crowd, I make my way towards Enlightened Sector to catch the start of their ceremony. I make it just in time to hear their councilwoman announce, “Cartwell Hart” and “Yazi Mintz” as their nominees.
Making my rounds to the remaining sectors, I learn the names of the rest of my future competitors. “Rayah Wixx” and “Hudson Beckett” from Visionary Sector, and “Briar Ellis” and “Tank Finnegan” from Sweat Sector.
I am exhausted down to my bones from today’s outing, but there’s still one more piece of the puzzle to get through. It’s arguably the most important of today’s tasks. My entire plan for revenge falls apart if I don’t succeed in this. I honestly haven’t stopped to think what I will do if I’m not picked. It just isn’t an option in my mind.
My nerves kick up as I reenter my sector that feels more like home than the others I traveled to today, even if it is a literal dump. I like that I can be whoever I want to be here, never having to conform to certain sector standards. Vagrant Sector may not be a lot of things, but we let anyone do as they please. I’ll take that any day of the week.
