The Tournament 2/2 (TS_30)

"What happened to Marcus?" I asked as I made my way through the white corridors to our destination. I have no idea where he is leading me, everything here looks exactly the same. I don't understand how others know where to go here. And silence begins to bother me. I have no desire to be alone with him. And certainly not when he smiles like that, as if he knows better. Because, well, he probably knows, but hey, who doesn't?

"Nothing big, I think he broke a couple of ribs. By the time we finish it, he'll be back. That is, if his wife lets him go." his absolute lack of interest almost disturbed me. First of all, I don't want him to talk about me like that in a moment. And secondly, how come he doesn't care about Marcus? Isn't he like a part of their family or something?

"But how did it happen? And why is Emmett eliminated?"

"I don't know your brother's motives. He knocked himself out. In some arenas, both sides have to work together. That is, if both sides want to get to the end. The two were to get to the other side of the river, a short distance from the waterfall. There's a strong current, there's a lot of wind..." Damien slowed down, his gait and his pace of speech. "They got almost to the end, there's this bridge, I wouldn't say rope, but it's certainly not solid either. Marcus mistimed his jump. Emmett caught him in time, but he still hit one of the pillars, hence the ribs, and then he let go. And instead of continuing, Emmett jumped after him. So not a single one made it to the finish line. And both got eliminated."

I've seen Emmett do a lot of crazy things, and he always found a way when he wanted to. He had to decide that he just didn't want to go any further. He didn't want to win that way. "Even if he finished it, you'd still challenge me."

"Of course, it's not fair to leave you out of our entertainment," he smirked to himself. He must think I'm really naïve.

"It's entertaining for Jon and An. For the others, too, I suppose," I returned his smirk. "not for you. You don't have to pretend to like me when she's not here. It doesn't matter that much to me."

"And I'm the arrogant one here, huh? The world is not just black or white..." laughing, he digressed. "So at least one of you found him!"

"What amused you so much?"

"Your son, actually two of them," he added to his stride, as if he was about to get rid of me. "only Luke seems to be rational."

"I'm not sure I shouldn't take it personally," father laughed and quickly greeted Damien. Much more enthusiasticly than I would. "I kind of expected you not to refuse," he added, leaving the two men in white uniforms behind.

"You know me..." now I don't want to go there any more. It's not that my father has a pathological obsession with his children and projects his own ambitions onto them. Or that he would bear the loss about as well as Emmett. And then I have an even greater need to prove to him and to myself that I am much better than others. Great, real fucking great.

"Sometimes I'm not sure."

"Well, I guess that's another thing we have in common."

"Keep your tone, Steven," he laughed again. It's probably better than if he raised his voice, I just couldn't bring myself to joke with him. He's been acting like a madman lately and I'm really tired of it. I want my father. I need him. Just the way he was. "I know you want to win, but you don't have to be first in everything. Try to think about it."

Why should I think about it? I'm not going to run around and give it up. If I'm going to bother with it, I'm going to give everything to win. And if Damien is really as good as everyone thinks, he'll be better than me. And maybe not. But I will definitely not give up. "I love you, Dad, but I'm not going to pretend I don't want to win, not even for you. That's insane."

"Not as much as you might think." Damien is so annoying these days. "Can you go change so we can get started?"

"Only if you ask nicely."

"Keep it," Jon stopped me, his voice still calm. "I don't want to start judging now."

"You're going to be our referee?"

"Stephan and Thalus are gone, so it's just me. Andrea probably wouldn't be impartial in this case. Which leads me to the fact that you'll both act like best friends when you're there." at the same time, Damien and I frowned. "This is where the fun ends, Damien. If anything happens to him, she will break you and I will not defend you. He's going to fall into the water," he pointed his thumb at me. "you pull him out. Do you understand that?"

"But I can swim, Jon," I wanted to defend myself rather than Damien. I am not incapable of taking care of myself.

"I'm really glad to hear, it'll come in handy." her father's dark eyes moved to me. "The same applies to you if he falls first. I'm not going to let either of you ruin her this day. Now be so kind and go prepare. The uniform is waiting for you."

Jonathan wasn't kidding, he managed to prepare a black uniform with subtle gold details on the shoulders and sleeves. I don't know why I'm surprised, he never jokes, but there's something about the last thing he talked about. If I try to cheat Damien to win, it will piss her off more than him. And vice versa. I know for a fact that she's not so foolish as not to notice that I don't like him. I just don't know if she understands how much he gets on my nerves. And if that didn't strike me as stupid, I'd swear Damien is jealous of me. Or rather, the time she now devotes to me. Just like Emmett. They would both love to appropriate the time, and I'm not going to let them do it. They had her all the years before me. And she made her choice. I didn't force her to do anything.

I have no choice but to put on a smile and walk through the room, just as Jonathan instructed me. I feel like I'm fucked, whether I win or lose, someone gets angry. And whatever happens there, it probably won't let me sleep for a while.

"It fits perfectly," Jon said, as if he was surprised. I expected a scathing remark from Damien, but he must have calmed down. Or Jonathan gave him that look of his, which even An can't stand. For the younger, he does surprisingly well in taming Damien. "I'm not sure how much you know about this Tournament. If you don't understand something, stop me. Otherwise keep it shut."

One by one, portals opened in front of us. Each leading to a different arena. "Damien, as your challenger, has given up his right to choose. So the place you go to depends on you. You don't have to defend your reasons, you can choose randomly." desert, snow, green forest, more snow. These are not very favorable prospects, what about something tropical. I'm pretty bored with winter. "All arenas consist of three parts that test strength, stamina and agility, but also test your character and how you behave in given situations. The winner is the one who gets to the flag first." another from the portal led to the built-up city, it looks tempting. I'm sure there are plenty of alleys in which I could shake him off. Or get lost in them. "All spells are allowed, but you should know that everything here is based on old magic,"

"And as such, everything is bathed in it. In other words, I am at a disadvantage. As always. I know, Jon," without looking at him, I interrupted him. All those runes work perfectly in their world, it's not exactly news that I don't fit there. I finally found something interesting. Overgrown jungle, with lots of green trees and huge lianas, unpleasant vegetation and frightening insects. The place directly invites me to visit, tempting me to try.

"Remember, both of you, that you must not engage in a fight with each other. Naturally, you can help each other. And try to keep in mind that the arenas are real and you can hurt yourself inside one of them. If it comes down to it, I won't let either of you die, you don't have to worry about that." he finished his lecture and stopped right beside me. "Are you sure you want this one?"

"Absolutely," from what I've seen, and that most of it is just giant leaves, I can't shake the impression that I know the place.

"Well... as you wish. Damien," he paused for a moment. Damien straightened the folds on his uniform. "are you ready?" he nodded slowly, looking like he's starting to take it seriously. Concentrate. I don't know him like that. And I don't like it. "Steven, I..." my choice seemed to alarm him. Damien moved toward the portal, leaning back disinterestedly as Jon pulled me closer. "be careful with everything around you," he looked to see if his brother is paying any attention to us and added almost inaudibly. "don't draw your sword, it will slow you down, just as fighting. And avoid the fifth." he winked at me with a smile and took a step back. "When you're ready."

"Break a leg," I stood from the other side of the portal. "or something else."

"Right, you too," he took his eyes off the leaves and looked at them. "try to stay behind me, wolf." he passed with a loud laugh.

The hot, humid air was waiting for me, just like him. In a white uniform, he stands out quite a bit among all those colors and hues of green. The smell of wet clay and all the greenery around is absolutely intoxicating. Fresh and unspoiled. It takes me back years and makes me remember an incredibly similar place with giant leaves on tall trees. Colorful flowers larger than my head distract my attention just as well. I could stop here and just squirm around in the colors.

There is no trail here. The trees are far enough apart to walk comfortably between them, but don't seemingly end anywhere. Birds in the trees and other animals are heard from all sides. Insects buzz around. It's almost an uplifting symphony. There is so much life all around and it may not even be possible to see. Until it gets too close and then leaves you with an ugly bite and a dose of poison in the wound. I slowly turned around. It's exactly the same scene. I'm literally in the middle of the jungle, along with Damien, and I have to determine the right direction to go. Ideally before him.

That's a very nice start. I have nothing. I have to find the right way. And if I can't see anything here, I'll have to go higher.

I ran against the trees to my right. One of the green ropes reaches almost to the ground. I could grab it before he thought of it and get up quickly. One option is than to climb to the top with the help of my own strength. It's only about fifty meters, probably more. Tempting offer, but I'll help myself with magic. More complex spells here will be worth shit, a small loop that will take me to the end of the liana not. I quickly climbed over to the nearest branch. I still lack a good four meters to the treetops and to the light of day. I just have to climb over a thinner branch, pull myself up and climb over, I hope. Very nice warm-up after the whole day in the office. I should've thought about it a bit more.

But I don't regret it completely. The view from such a height is breathtaking. I just spread the large, bright green leaves and was offered a view of the hundreds of crowns of other trees stretching in my immediate vicinity. As I turned around through the trees, I searched for anything that would help me determine the right direction. An empty place without trees with lighter, visually hard, inflexible grass disturbed the green flood of treetops. A grassy field, which I am sure is full of life, alternates a little further by the river. Wide, with a strong current. A little further on, a mountain began to loom, not exactly large, but clearly unmistakable. The blue flag flutters in the wind, if it weren't so uncomfortably far away, I could just jump over to it. I don't believe I could do it in these conditions, but it would be nice. And it would probably spoil everyone's impression of the race.

I rolled up my sleeve, the dial on my watch shows a little after half past three. That's not exactly what interests me, but I guess it's good to keep track of time. I turned the small wheel to the side and pointed my hand in the direction I needed. A small, inconspicuous compass controlled by magic aligned itself with my goal. I can go down and not have to worry about how to turn around. Later, I'll just make sure I'm going the right way.

I climbed down one floor. I had planned to get down the same as I did up. Instead of my natural rope, there was only a withered piece of plant. And similarly look the lianas all around me. I thought he wanted to play clean. And he cheats like that. "Fuck..." I need to get down quickly and it will take too long to climb down the whole tree. I looked around, trying to find a faster way. I could jump on another tree and use another vine, if I find a suitable one, he couldn't dry this whole fucking jungle. Although… or I'll help myself a little with magic again. Everything is allowed here, and all those thick branches around me will hold me, hundred percent. So why bother and climb right down. I can just turn them around a little bit and create a safe path.

Reluctantly, they began to move. The thick branches moved with a crackle to where I led them. There is no magic formula for this, one simply has to make do with one's own imagination. I don't want to bend the branches more than necessary, for one they could crack and my journey would be over, and it's also quite exhausting. It's still a giant piece of wood that I move here as if it were twigs on the ground. I ran over to the first slightly turned branch. The next one was farther away, I had to pull it much closer, but it's thinner. It is not so difficult to move it. It's as if a strong wind was blowing. It would have shifted too, I only helped a little. I repeated it a few times and got a few floors down. It's not the fastest way, but whatever. I think it works. And I have no way of knowing who's winning. So I'm going to keep lying to myself that I still have a chance and I'm doing well.

As a reward, a perfect rope appeared before me. I slid down and ran, towards the seven on my watch. I have no idea which way it is and I don't care.

Damien vanished somewhere. I knew I was going to lose sight of him, but it would be useful to know if he is in front of me or not. He can't know which way to run based on his knowledge of the arena alone, he can hardly navigate this jungle. No one could. So, he must've used some spell. While I have to keep checking my direction. I tried to look at the sides and at the same time under my feet as I ran. Focusing on the journey seems more important to me than he is, and most of my attention is focused on it.

I could have run for about two minutes when I heard it, for the first time. Something rustles behind me. Loudly, almost threateningly. And it's getting closer. I slowed down and looked back, a green wall of leaves, roots, and other plant parts moving behind me. In an angry dance, it approaches me. It's as if the forest has decided I've been a guest here too long and it's time for me to get out. It's either the forest or one of the Heirs decided to. I didn't wait for another incentive and added to the step. I'm not going to turn around again and see how far I'm from that deadly whirlwind. I just silently prayed that it would be enough and I would be able to run out of the forest.

That I am fucked and how much I realized only when the trees and especially their roots in front of me started moving. Slowing down is not an option. And I probably won't completely clear my way with magic while running. All I have to do is keep running. Here and there I sent aside leaves or threw away the root, but nothing big. I was frightened by the parting green screen. I'm doing pretty well with my breathing, but my heart is trying to leave my body in the shortest way. But I'm already so close to that grassy area.

Something sharp cut my face, and then another sharp piece flew past my hand. So, I bounced and jumped. Fifty meters is not very far. It's just a small leap. Has to be.

Small and with a painful impact. I can't think about all aspects of every spell. Hard blades of grass greeted me outside the forest, and through my clothes I could feel them trying to pierce the fabric and stab me. So far, this race has crushed me more than my rival, I'm sure of that. "Fuck..." I sat up before the grass could eat me alive.

The forest behind me suddenly looks as friendly and innocent as when we showed up. Great. Just great.

But what really got me is Damien, who calmly came out of the forest horror and just dropped his shield. "Fuck!" ready to climb up to my feet and continue to run frantically, I had to stop.

That's exactly what he wants. What An warned me about. She told me to think it over. And he is in no hurry. My frantic climbing of trees didn't help me much and saved him the work. I stood up cautiously. The thin scratch on my hand bleeds nicely. I will definitely come back to that when it ends here. Now I have to figure out what to do next. This hard grass grows on a plateau without trees or shrubs, so it's a lot like the snow plain. All those arenas have to be similar somehow. And beyond the plain is a river. Pretty wide and wild, I could already see it from above. And it's strangely familiar to me. If there is a wooden bridge with thin supports further downstream…

"For fuck..." I cursed as quietly as I could. I can see now why the place is so familiar to me. I've been here. This is not an artificial contrived arena. This is A Tus'Parra, a piece of the most fucked up jungle I've ever seen with my own eyes. Almost as terrible as the wild places on Aet'Reon.

"That was really nice with the trees!" he called to me. I tried waving my hands at him to keep the fuck shut. This is not good at all. "Creative and..." he heard the same thing I did, that nasty hiss that made the blood run cold. All the hairs on the nape of the neck stood at attention. I held my breath. "We're not alone." he can't fucking forgive himself and has to comment on everything.

"Run to the water," I called back to him. Now it doesn't matter anyway. The first leista peeked out from behind the trees. Disgustingly large, scaly lizard covered with poison with six legs, a long tongue and at least ten eyes. If there's one thing I didn't want to get back to in life, it's this. Not that I'm afraid of them, but my respect for them is endless.

"What?" he threw up his hands in confusion. I walked slowly towards him. We are separated by only a few meters and they are provoked primarily by fast movements. As well as loud noise. I put my finger to my lips. This should be a universal sign. Damien nodded, hurray. He understood me. Fucking finally.

With that I almost averted our little crisis. Almost. The loud cracking of a branch somewhere in the forest from which we came started a whole new race. "Run," I commanded, in case he didn't realize how bad it is. That's why Jon didn't want me to bother with a sword. Even in two we don't have much of a chance, they hunt in a group of five or six. And when they want to, they're damn fast and strong.

"There's only a couple of them," he said, his annoyingly calm voice.

"Yes, I know," I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away. "You don't want to fight them."

"Why not?" he jerked his hand. He let go of me and stopped. Three leistas came out of the forest on the other side, cautiously approaching us from one side, another peeked out a few meters from them among the leaves. I nudged Damien with my elbow and pointed at the newly arrived leistas. "This isn't good, is it?" he asked quietly.

"Not at all, when we get running, they'll run too," I returned in a whisper.

"On three?" the fifth leist joined our assembly. Perhaps he wants to wait for the sixth. "One,"

The loud crunch of branches from the forest interrupted his counting. The silent forest is suddenly almost inconveniently loud. "Run, just run!" now I didn't wait to see if he is coming with me. Whatever Jonathan wants, I'm not going to wait here and get killed. I don't like him that much. Neither Jon nor Damien. Alright, maybe Jon, but not Damien.

I heard him run, and I heard the angry hiss. I don't know which one made me speed up. They shouldn't get ahead of us, it was like that last time, right? I can't remember how fast these things truly are, but I definitely don't want to find out for myself. It scares me to think that I won't run fast enough and get too close to them. Because I know exactly what happens next.

"We have to get to the bridge," he matched my pace, I thought it would take him longer or he wouldn't catch up with me at all.

"Bridge?" it's a very nice, wooden structure, but we don't have time to run about five hundred meters in a different way. "We'll never make it."

"I can slow them down, you'll have a head start." by the time I turned around, he was already drawing some runes.

"Stop it," the first wave of energy left his hand. The other one made it too before I stopped him. Both waves reached them almost simultaneously. Leista closest to us was moved back a few meters, the others just a little bit. Their hissing turned to a roar. Deafening and painful. They are already closer to us than I expected. I grabbed his sleeve again, now much tighter, and ran. "You're just going to piss them off more!"

"Perfect!" he's not as smart as I thought. Maybe that's why he follows Andrea's command's and not the other way around. "We won't make it," he tried to turn, along the river to his desired destination. I didn't let him go, our path leads straight ahead. Into a strong stream of ice water.

"Fuck the bridge, we don't need it." I'm looking for the right place in the river, if I'm wrong, we will just go for a swim. Somewhere here… among the big stones, there's a place. More to the left, it must be it, the water flows differently. I mean, it splits as if it hit a stone that isn't there. Or maybe I'm wrong? It doesn't matter! "We have to jump!"

"What?"

"Jump!" I bounced. I'd say Damien too, but I can't really verify that. I held out my hands in front of me, if I'm not mistaken, I have to grab the thing. And if I'm wrong, there won't be anything to grab anyway, unless I try my chances with that stone nearby. Pretty sharp and hard. And incredibly real.

I fell through the water with my feet first, driving into it up to my waist before I got to something solid. I fumbled with my hands in front of me, trying to find support. The roaring water and the current pulling me aside isn't help my efforts to find something stable. Instead of something solid, I completely lost the solid - well, wet and slippery - ground under my feet. I could already see myself flying into the icy water and the current dragging me down.

"I got you," he called over the hum of the water, slowly pulling me back onto the solid platform. Just in case, he leaned me against the damn pole I'd been looking for earlier. The current here is not so strong, it probably would not pull me down, but the water is so icy and splashes all around. I hate it. "How did you come up with this?"

"Jonathan..." I tried to catch my breath. All the running and jumping started to fall on me. My heart calmed down quite a bit, only to start draining my lungs. And every muscle in my entire body hurts terribly. Instead of sitting in the office, I should spend a lot more time on the training ground.

"What about him?" he held me with his hand as if I'm about to fall down any second. I pushed him away. I just need to catch my breath. And throw away the wet hair from the forehead. I'm really glad I changed into a clean uniform. The fact that it's all wet is just a bonus. "Did you know they couldn't swim?"

I shot my gaze at the beasts on the shore, all of them stopped and screamed angrily. "I never said they can't." Damien looked too. He half panicked and scribbled more runes. "I took my chances, it worked last time."

"Now you've calmed me down," I didn't look at what he is doing next. I believe he doesn't want to get eaten or piss them off even more, and I'm just going to benefit from it. "Last time? What did he say to you?"

"Same thing he told you. Try to listen to him sometime. He said it's real," I waved my hand around this horrible place. "That portal leads to the jungle, it's A Tus'Parra."

"You know it here?"

"Yeah, I was here a couple of years ago and I didn't plan on coming back. That's why I know there's no point in trying to do anything with those beasts." this is the thing, that's going to intrigue him, great. The only thing that impresses him is when something almost eats us. "They can tear a guy apart, no problem, with those middle legs. It's disgusting and really messy."

"Well… perfect," he frowned, moving as far away from me as he could. A good ten inches away. This way it sprays a lot more water right in my face, but at least I have some personal space. "You understand this is still a race. We should continue."

"Fine, go ahead. Aren't you the bloody Immortal or something?" the question isn't how to get out of here, but how do I build up a big enough lead. Beyond this water - so cold that I can no longer feel my feet - it's just a short distance at the foot of the mountain. "Andrea would have stopped the water by now and made her own bridge or something."

"She likes to show off."

"Who doesn't?" without thinking much about it, I started running again. Just like before, I don't want to think about how far behind me Damien is, and if he's doing anything at all, or how long it's going to take the current to pull me to the side. Now that I'm not leaning on anything... I just tried to get to the other shore as quickly as possible. I want to believe that I have a chance of overtaking him. Somehow to get into the lead, what do I know... This race is the craziest thing I've done lately and it's weird how much I enjoy it. So, I was naturally annoyed that Damien is already waiting on the other side, in a completely dry uniform.

All that's left is to get to those platforms. If he wants to show off, he can continue with it. I won't be distracted by his nonsense. I heard him run again, just like before, catching up with me just as quickly. But I didn't get another biting remark, we both ran as fast as we could and approached the first of the platforms. I bounced and landed on a piece of flat stone at the same time as him. I jumped to the next one before he started commenting on everything again. There is not as much of a gap between the first and the second as there was between the others. So it's only going to get worse.

Jumping on the third one turned out to be quite an ugly challenge. Damien staggered, but stayed on his feet. I was a little disappointed, I don't wish him anything bad, but if he slipped… I mean, I wouldn't mind.

I decided to make the next jump. I landed like Andrea on that piece of ice. I dug my fingers into the stone and pulled myself out with great effort. I didn't get up right away, I wanted to catch my breath again, the next one is even further. Is it even possible to jump there? I took a deep breath and sat up. The air here is completely empty. Just like the one she showed me. But why? "Fuck..."

"Come on," he laughed quietly. "You were doing so well so far."

"It's too far away," I pointed to the platform.

"Try to run for it," I stood up and looked at my least favorite Heir with narrowed eyes. I'd love to send him somewhere. There are two platforms left, and then a quick sprint. And if all goes well, I can fuck him up with a proper argument. I ran for it as he suggested and didn't jump all the way to the platform, but I didn't fall either. "Strange what a little faith and trust can do, isn't it." faith and trust? This is another one of those hints that is actually of no use to me. That's what Jonathan wanted, for me to avoid the fifth, and now I'm not even standing on that platform. The real platform is disguised by illusion and only silly bait can be seen.

"Can you please just shut up? At least for a while."

"Then I wouldn't enjoy the win."

"How many people have made it to this point with you?" he shrugged casually, ran and jumped over to the penultimate of the stone platforms. It's like the perspective has changed here, suddenly they're just as far away as the first two. I quickly got up and repeated his movements. "I won't let you win."

"You think she'll be impressed..." he smirked. I don't need to impress her, it's a bit late for that anyway. I probably won't impress her more than in Dira'K. Plus, all I need is my eyes and smile and she's mine. "You don't even know her, not really."

"I don't know her? This would work more on Emmett. You shouldn't mistake me for him." I joined him on the only platform that separated us from the last part of the race. There are about two hundred meters uphill to the blue flag marking the end.

"I don't mistake you for him, I like him a lot better," he started the race forward. The stone path up along the mountain is not a very good ground for such a sprint. We can both slip whenever, fall at any time and we still run side by side. My dream of being faster fell apart quite quickly. We are just as fast and we have exactly the same chances. That's really great. Only, there's the thing - apparently the Hale family is luckier than all the others, so if anyone is about to stumble, it's probably me.

The mountain beneath our feet shook. It threw me out of rhythm. I should have expected it not to be so easy, but I naively believed that enough was enough. The ensuing shock baffled him as well. We are halfway through, almost there. A few dozen meters left.

The loud sounds of falling rocks sent a shiver down my spine. The road ahead still looks the same. Terrified, I turned to look and confirm my conjecture. The path behind me was replaced by an abyss. The stones in it disappeared just behind our feet. "Fuck!" I couldn't forgive myself. It is the only adequate response.

I would add to the step if I could. I'm already just gasping for breath and grinding for the last remaining strength. There's only a bit of this race left, and the chances of being swallowed up by the gap grows with every step. I want so badly to win, to beat him. And it all spoils the stupid rocks falling right behind me. I should have left Damien with the beasts and run here alone. I don't owe this to him or Jon. And An certainly wouldn't be angry. She wants me to win, just as much as I do. She's so competitive, though she'd never admit it.

Just the thought of her can motivate me. Whining won't help me anyway. I have to concentrate on my steps and breathing. The last few meters are here, the deafening sound doesn't get me, not even the stones. Couple more metres and one last bounce, I'll take the flag and shove it in his ass. He's not next to me. So I got into the lead.

Wait.

How come he's not right next to me?

Something below me gave way. I tried not to panic and keep my balance, neither of which was easy. I bounced back while I had something to bounce off. I made a pretty long jump. Even in flight, I saw the stones below me collapsing into a dark abyss, and with them something white.

I'm not sure if I spun by accident or if I consciously wanted to turn towards the falling object. It's more a matter of instincts and reactions that I was raised to. Has to be. I realized that I was holding Damien only after most of the stones were lost forever. And I was left with one of his long sleeves in my hand. "I'll pull you up" I tried to tell him, I'm so exhausted from all the effort that I'd rather let him go. But it doesn't seem like a fair win to me. Not after everything that got me here.

"The fall won't kill me," I was already lying on my stomach. I held his hand with my hands and tried with all my body to utilize the solid ground and used it to push against. He pulled up very slowly, he's just as exhausted as I am. But now I can't let him go, pulling him up is the last thing I'm going to do here or go down with him. At this point I don't care. Anything that'll end it is good enough.

His legs must have found some support. The weight I was holding decreased. He moved up. I let him grab hold of the ledge left behind and help him up.

Finally done, I lay on my back and gasped. "It's not… the fall... it's the impact." my heart is pounding so fast that it will probably leave me soon. My head is spinning from all this. Hard ground is now the most comfortable thing I can put my burning muscles on. I wouldn't trade it for the softest bed, a more comfortable armchair, nothing.

"Thanks, but," the words come out of him as slowly as they come out of me. "I still like him better…" if his opinion of me changed so quickly, I wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Fuck you, Damien," I said in all honesty.

"You're cursing too much... did you notice?" sure I noticed. It's his fault and this race, which I won by the way. Wait a minute... I won!

"You lost," my breathing quickened again. Who says no one can defeat an Heir. I wanted to see his expression. Sour or angry. Anything he can come up with.

"You don't have the flag." Damien waved his hand exhausted. He knows he's lost. It's clearly written on his face, along with fear of what will happen if I take the flag. Not that I don't have the right to it, but there's a big difference between the light it would shed on me and the light it would shed on him.

"I don't want it officially. I'm not an idiot," I closed my eyes. When he catches his breath, he'll go get the flag and we'll both get out of here. I don't get up. I've done enough.

"Our power or my self-esteem is not based on one pretty flag." of course not. Their power rests on centuries of hypocrisy and careful reputational building. "Take my hand, Your Majesty. We can end it together." I don't want to get up and at the same time I know that he won't leave me alone. He sounds like Emmett, who probably learned it from Damien anyway. Great. I slowly raised my hand so that he could pull me back to my feet, rather sharply. Bastard. "Smile a little. Everybody's watching."

"Drink it." Katherine thrust something repulsively pink into my hand. "Damien," she did the same to him. "Something I should know?"

"Where is Sébastien? Why aren't you with Marcus?" he examined the cup in his hand almost incredulously before putting it down. "How is he?"

"Bass has a lot of work to do with the other injured participants of your little Tournament," her blue eyes moved from Damien to me. "The sooner you face the contents of that cup, the sooner your hand will stop bleeding. Just like this," she touched her cheek gently. I would have completely forgotten about the scratch on my hand. And the next one on my face, too. I focused on the pink liquid. It's not exactly liquid, the consistency of the thing in the cup is more like yogurt with some fruity taste. Oh great. I was expecting something bitter. "And don't worry, Jonathan has already taken Marcus. If I had to guess, he's already breaking everything I asked him to do." Katherine frowned, took my cup and checked me with a long look. "He wants him to go with him. They're leaving today."

"Since Jonathan doesn't usually bother to hold his own sword, I don't know why you're so surprised." Damien returned the cup to her without taking a sip. He snapped his fingers and cleaned both of our uniforms, drying mine as well. Nice little touch. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that if you want him to stay safely within your reach, you'll have to act like his wife and use your virtues," he laughed disdainfully. "where are they going?"

"Why don't you ask your brother?"

Damien just shrugged. I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who doesn't quite like him. "Steven, we should get back. I guess they'll want to see you."

"Not just me, I suppose."

I could have sworn that the enthusiastic applause and shouts when I returned with Damien were even greater than the ones those present had dedicated to their Heiress, Successor, and so on. Of course, I have no way to verify it, but it seems that way to me. And they don't look disappointed with the result of our little contest, quite the opposite.

Even cheering for the Heirs and my family couldn't prepare me for the spectacle back to them. Just a few days ago, I had a feeling that something very bad was brewing between her and my father. And now they're both joking quietly and watching side by side as we head towards them.

"Didn't I say they argue all the time?" Damien laughed, patting me on the shoulder on the way to his niece.

"That was very nice," my father stopped in front of me, Luke close behind. Emmett probably decided to greet Damien first, which doesn't bother me one bit. It's not like I am his brother or anything. "congratulations. I'm so proud of you,"

"But?"

"You don't have to be first at all costs." as if I ever had a choice.

"Of course I have to." Luke shook his head beside him. Maybe he realized what I was going to say, maybe he was playing neutral as always and just wanted to stop me on principle. "Perhaps it escaped your notice that I was born fourth. Who else is going to do that? It's not like there's another one in line after me. Unless you're planning to substitute me."

Father clenched his jaw. He would love to clarify the whole thing for me. From his point of view, of course. "Steven!" Emmett came off from a completely different direction than I expected. So I guess he didn't welcome Damien. And before I knew it, he was crushing me excitedly in what he calls a hug. And for once that made me really happy. "My baby brother won the whole thing, isn't that amazing?" he shouts rather unpleasantly, but it's hard not to laugh when he's so excited. He definitely shows more enthusiasm than the rest of my family, but that's the way it goes. "Did you see him?" he asked the two, still with a giant paw around me.

"Of course, Emmett. Everyone saw it. Our brother is now their new champion."

"And you two are already thinking about what that means, aren't you?" he smiled disdainfully. "Ignore them, it was perfect," he turned back to me. "my baby brother is so canny."

"Emmett, say 'baby brother' once more and I'm going to kick your ass too." he's not that much bigger, and I don't like the way he keeps repeating it. I'm not a child, let alone a baby. "And I don't need an arena for it either."

"Sure you don't, sucker." before he let me go, he managed to ruffle my still wet hair. "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." where would I go? I have no idea when this Tournament ends. There is a new pair in the next arena. And these guys chose the city.

"Well, at least someone sees it positively," I grumbled, trying to straighten my hair. If I did it to him, he wouldn't survive it. His wave of hair is annoyingly untouchable. Specially for me.

"I just wish you'd be more careful," father tried to smile, but if he can't do any better, he shouldn't try. "I'd say one reckless son is just enough."

"Dad, Steven isn't," Luke frowned as I did when father just turned and left.

"He doesn't usually do that." it's the exact opposite of what he would have done another time.

"No, no he doesn't. He loves to argue about what Emmett is like and what he should be. Steven," he took a breath to say something, but apparently changed his mind. "in that arena, that was amazing. You were amazing. I'd hate to see this spoil your party, you'll be moving to Lemford soon. I'll talk to father."

"Thanks." the truth is, I don't want to deal with it now. And when he offered himself so nicely, it would be stupid to refuse.

"It's really nothing," he smiled mischievously. I've only seen such an expression in his face a few times in my life. "don't let that glory get to your head."

"Will you join us?"

"Perhaps," Luke nodded in greeting to An. It worked out nicely for them to switch like this. "You never cease to amaze me, so young and you are already a king of your own nation, the man of my dreams and now our own champion. Unofficially, that is." she began on the way. "May I ask what's next?"

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise." she is so irresistibly beautiful. The only ambitions I have at the moment are exclusively for her. I have certain plans for the future and they cannot do without her.

"I don't like surprises," she says that so nicely, she loves my surprises. "And neither will you."

"I have a surprise for you!" my brother returned with those words. He is carrying an unpleasantly full bottle of his favorite liquor from the islands, and I should have realized that this was just the beginning.

In less than five minutes, Lemford was ready for the Athran champion and adapted everything accordingly. And for a while, I have lost my interest in surprises. It's almost impossible not to drink with him in excess. And when something like the defeat of the Second Heir himself is celebrated. That just doesn't work very well.