Chapter 99

Rowena

The roar of the crowd was deafening as Emma and I made our way through the tunnels toward the main arena. I could feel the vibrations of thousands of stomping feet even from here, and it made my heart pound in anticipation.

Inside of me, my wolf was practically roiling with excitement; I had grown used to her presence over the passing days, although it felt completely and utterly natural from the beginning.

“Are you ready for this?” Emma asked with a grin, giving my arm an excited squeeze.

I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. “As long as I’ve got you by my side,” I replied.

When we finally emerged into the bright stadium lights, I had to blink a few times to adjust. The massive arena stretched out like a desert in front of us, the sandy pit already prepped for the combat rounds. Lining the walls were the colorful pavilions and banners for each warrior and manager pair.

My gaze immediately found Eric, standing tall and proud beside his pavilion across the way. He caught my eye and winked. Despite the butterflies in my stomach, I felt a surge of confidence just seeing that cocky smirk of his.

I could do this. We could win this.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite new duo.”

The snide voice had me whirling back around. Heather was sneering at us, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised as she looked us up and down.

“Hey, sis,” Emma said with a twist of her lips. “Are you here to wish Rowena good luck, or are you just here to cause more trouble?”

Heather’s eyes narrowed at her sister, but she made a show of flipping a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder. “Me? Cause trouble?” she asked. “I’d never.”

Emma scoffed loudly. Heather’s gaze snapped to her. “Got something to say, bitch?”

“Oh, nothing,” Emma shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. “Just try not to throw another one of your tantrums later when you lose. Mom and Dad are getting tired of cleaning up your messes.”

Heather’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Watch yourself, little sis, or they’ll be cleaning you up off the floor,” she growled.

Emma opened her mouth to retort, looking absolutely murderous, but I put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“Just ignore her,” I murmured. “That’s what I’m going to do.” I squared my shoulders again, meeting Heather’s gaze. “Good luck today, Heather.”

Heather snorted. “I’m not the one who’s going to need it,” she said, turning on her heel and sashaying away.

Emma opened her mouth again to protest my good spirit, but the sudden blaring of a horn cut her off. We turned to see the announcer striding out into the middle of the arena, his voice amplified through the microphone he held in his hand.

“Warriors! Managers! Spectators! Welcome to this year’s annual federal tournament!”

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers and applause. I felt Emma trembling with excitement beside me as the announcer launched into the opening remarks and rituals.

Finally, as his speech began winding down, he gestured to the three warriors—Eric, Darius, and of course, Adrian—behind him. “But first… we must start with the sacrifice!”

My stomach twisted nervously at that. The ritual sacrifice was an ancient tradition, one I hadn’t had the chance to witness myself before. From what I understood, in the old days warriors would literally sacrifice a lamb, a bull, or some other animal on this sacred ground before the battle. It was not only an offering to the gods, but the animal would also be used for the entire village to feast on afterwards during a massive party that would sometimes last for days.

Not anymore, though. Those days were long behind us, and had been abolished ever since our country had turned into a federal system.

Although, the tradition still remained—in a sense.

“Of course, we have modernized the practice in recent years,” the announcer went on. “So instead of killing an innocent creature, we ask our warriors to sacrifice something precious to them. Something symbolic of what they cherish most. Something that they can never get back.”

One by one, the warriors began filing out on horseback with bows and arrows in their hands. Attached to the ends of their arrows were the items they would ‘sacrifice’—Darius appeared to have a small locket, and Eric had taken a tiny lock of my hair. I couldn’t see what Adrian had attached to his arrow.

Darius was the first to go on his chestnut horse. “Today, I sacrifice a locket that belonged to my late mother,” he called out, his voice ringing through the stadium. He nocked his arrow and pulled the string back, aiming at a target set at the far end of the arena. His arrow hit a bullseye, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

It was rather beautiful and moving to witness, I had to admit. These tokens represented the things closest to each warrior’s heart. My gaze drifted across to find Eric, saw the tender way he stroked the arrow bound with a lock of my hair. His eyes met mine, and he winked subtly beneath his mop of golden hair.

My breath caught in my throat just from looking at him, and I had to avert my gaze before anyone could see me blushing.

Next, it was Adrian’s turn to go—and of course, he strutted out on his all-black horse with his cocky head held high as ever, waving to the swooning girls in the crowd. Both Emma and I had to resist the urge to roll our eyes at the display, exchanging annoyed glances.

Except… When I looked back to watch him make his sacrifice, I noticed something. There was nothing tied to his arrow.

A confused murmur rippled through the crowd as Adrian wheeled his horse around, nocking the empty arrow and holding it up in the air with a smug grin on his face. My heart stuttered in my chest.

He couldn’t seriously mean to… not sacrifice anything? That was a serious faux pas, indicative of someone not caring about the outcome of the tournament.

Instead of raising the arrow to shoot it though, Adrian dropped his arm and raised the other with a flourish.

“For my sacrifice,” he called out, his voice booming across the area, “I would like to offer something different. Something that is not only precious to me, but precious to many…”

He paused, turning his horse slowly. Slowly, slowly, until…

Until he faced me.

“I offer… the Northern Princess herself!”

My blood turned to ice in my veins. Across the way, Eric went rigid, a snarl twisting his features as the realization dawned on him. I saw him rein in his horse, kicking it into a gallop. But even then, he was too slow.

Adrian grinned right at me and drew his bow back, and I could see his eyes glinting maliciously despite our distance.

“I sacrifice… Rowena Griffith!”

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Adrian took in a deep breath, pulling the bowstring to his chin. To the right of him, Eric urged his horse forward, drawing his own bow. The arrow twanged free from Adrian’s bow and soared through the air. Emma screamed, grabbing my arm. My eyes widened, my wolf howled inside of me, and I felt utterly frozen to my spot.

And the arrow whizzed straight toward my head.