Page 78 of Infala: The Bonding Games
“Yes. But that alone wasn’t enough to derail them. Something more serious was needed. An excuse to remove him from the games. And Vintus, Chancellor Vinchi’s younger brother, who was competing at the time, provided just that opportunity. He was cheating, my father could tell, but my father was also winning so there was no need to risk calling him out. But then Vintus staged an injury, both saving face for performing poorly while also framing my father for violating the rules in the most egregious way. The Chancellor had told him where the video feeds were located, and Vintus put on a master class in subterfuge. It was fake, but from the angles available, it looked like my father had attempted to kill him while out on a challengecourse. He was immediately pulled from the games, both he and Kohlmalla were disqualified and ejected, and my father was tried and sentenced to prison for something he didn’t do. And, of course, no one would challenge the elites. Not when one of their own had been injured.”
Ziana gently rested her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Dorrin. I had no idea.”
“Of course not. Why would you?”
“So you had to raise yourself? And your sister?”
“Yes. I worked any job I could while also relying on the kindness of family friends. It was difficult, but we looked after one another. And we swore we would get our father’s freedom the only way we knew how.”
“You trained for the games.”
“Exactly. My sister and I were both talented, but we realized we had a better chance of achieving our goal if we worked as two independent teams, each supporting the other. There was no rule against it, but we had to be subtle, nonetheless. Our partners were aware of the gambit, and they supported us fully. Hers was her husband, a man she’d become bonded to in a distant city. When they came to challenge the games, it was under his name, but as she was a local, they were allowed. But when it looked like they would likely win steps were taken to ensure no such thing occurred. And in the end, I lost her too. Not like my father, but for good. I have continued to compete every games since then, but I have never won,” he said with a dejected sigh. “None of us do. The elites simply won’t allow it.”
Ziana felt her heart ache for the poor man. He’d lost so much because of the games. It was no wonder he’d been so gruff when she first arrived. He’d just lost his most recent partner, and with her, what he thought was his best chance to free his father.
She rose from her seat and sat close to him, holding him tight and wishing she could somehow make the pain go away.
It was hours later when the door chimed. Not the overseer come to fetch them for their review, but a simple messenger.
“The request for review has been heard, and the case dropped. You are allowed to compete again. Your names will be added back to the betting boards by the day’s end,” the woman informed them.
“Oh, great. Just in time for people to profit off us but still keep us at a disadvantage. There’s only one more event left, and they did this to put us behind!”
“I assure you, I know nothing about that,” the woman replied, then headed off.
Ziana was shellshocked and in a rage. Dorrin just shook his head, upset, but not surprised.
“They just forced us to miss an entire event, and we didn’t even get to plead our case.”
“If we had the opportunity, it would have been for public viewing. Clearly, they did not wish for their subterfuge to come under too much scrutiny.”
“So they screwed us anyway and we have no recourse?”
“More or less,” he said, stepping outside. “On the bright side, we are no longer waiting. Shall we head to the practice area? No sense moping around here.”
She had to admit he was right, but she was still very annoyed. Still, it made no sense dwelling on things. They needed to properly clear their minds and ready themselves for whatever the next day might bring.
“I suppose,” she said as they walked. “But we don’t know what the event will be.”
“No. But whatever it is, I will never give up, no matter what they try to do to put us behind.”
They wandered the training area and made a quick loop, trying to decide what to do, but physical exercise just didn’t sound enticing to them. Ziana looked over at the Bolaxis boards,an idea flashing through her mind. “Hey, since we’re stuck waiting around, you fancy a game of Bolaxis?”
“I do not much enjoy it.”
“Oh, I’ll make it interesting. A wager to spice things up. Best of three games.”
He raised a brow. “And what are we playing for?”
“Oh, you’ll see,” she replied with a wink. “And believe me, even if you lose, you win.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The day of forced downtime had turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise for the lovers. While they watched as they fell farther behind in the rankings, losing their top spot to Flagro and Galla, of all people, they didn’t plummet off the board. As fate would have it, they were unwillingly, but luckily, missing out on an extremely difficult day. And as a result, the leader board didn’t shift nearly as dramatically as they’d feared. On top of that, a few highest-ranking competitors had been eliminated, further reducing the competition for the top spot.
They were behind, no doubt, but not out of reach.
Another benefit of the day was the relaxed energy as they played Bolaxis with one another, enjoying a casual lovers’ banter in the lead-up to what promised to be a very spicy evening indeed. And, to Ziana’s delight and Dorrin’s surprise, she utterly destroyed him in the game, not even coming close to losing even once.
