Hanna stopped, the entire place going still.
“Take me instead!” Andris had pushed himself up to the barrier, talking directly to Istvan. “Wouldn’t it be far more worthy than two young girls you’ve known since birth, Istvan?” Andris glared at my old guardian. “This is beneath even you.”
Istvan shifted on his feet.
“You know you would much rather have my death. Wouldn’t you love to kill the man who turned his back on you? Betrayed you? Who purposely chose the fae over you?”
My stomach dropped, realizing what he was doing. With terror, I shoved Hanna off me, climbing unsteadily to my feet. Somewhere in the back of my brain, I understood I shouldn’t be able to stand. I definitely shouldn’t be coherent after my fight with her and Zuz, but nothing mattered except my uncle at that moment.
“No.” It came out a whisper, my head shaking vehemently.
“What do you do, old friend? Let them go. This isn’t about them, anyway. It’s always been about you and me.” Andris paused for a moment, Istvan staying silent. “When I knew you, you weren’t someone who toyed with children. You played with those who could actually fight back. Is this what you’ve become?” Andris motioned to the three of us in the pit.
Istvan’s jaw locked down, his face turning a deep red. Finally, he dipped his head. “Fine, you want to play, Takacs?” He peered down at Samu and Joska behind the gates in the pit. “Take her and that fae out.” He pointed at Scorpion and Hanna. “But she stays.” He motioned to me.
“What?” Andris shook his head. “That’s not the deal. This is about me! I said just me.”
Istvan let out a laugh. “There’s where you are wrong, old friend. This isn’t just about you.”
He rubbed his hands together, close to the railing, seemingly to forget the woman beside him.
“And you have no say here.” Istvan’s creepy smile tugged on his lips. “But I will honor part of your wish. Now it’s you and Brexley who have to fight to the death.”
Chapter 2
I think I screamed.
I know I begged.
Terror and panic scooped out my insides, plopping my heart outside my body, leaving it to break in my hands.
Guards dragged Andris into the ring, tossing him forcefully into the dirt, slamming the gate behind them.
On his knees, Andris’s head lifted, his eyes finding mine. A sorrow so deep burned his gaze as he shakily pushed himself up, pain etching his expression, “sorry” mouthing from his lips.
“Only one of you lives,” Istvan declared. “If you forfeit, you will both be burned alive in the firepits.” Istvan motioned to the large flames set in the arena; this time, I understood what the pole in the middle would be used for. To chain someone to it and let them be seared alive. “Both of you chose fae over your own kind, and you will burn just as the soulless magic sorceresses used to be back in the day.”
“Nooooooo!” I felt the sound tear up my throat, my body collapsing to the ground, my gaze meeting my uncle’s.
He had no fight in him. Just grief and something that looked like remorse.
“Brexley...” He spoke my name like a melancholy song, taking a step toward me. I could hear the melody, the timbre of his resolve. The decision he already made for the both of us.
I became a terrified wild animal, not able to think. I could taste the panic on my tongue, the sharp, bitter fear and vomit searing up my throat.
“No. No. No.” My head shook, the word on repeat. I went from having to kill my friends to having to kill the only man left in my life I considered family. I destroyed the most powerful object in the world, ripped away my own power to bring him back to life. He was everything to me. Without a doubt, I’d do it again.
To lose him now and be the one to do it?
No.
“Drágám.” One word was all it took to break me. Because it wasn’t the word, it was the thousands of moments we shared, the times he read me stories, or when he gave me the stuffed animal, Sarkis, to watch over me. It was the sound of family, of my father, of comfort, and times of safety and happiness.
Andris was my touchstone now. The man who represented the time in my life when I still had my father. And deep inside, the dark part of me understood if my own mother or my real uncle Mykel were also in this ring, I know who’d I save. The one who had been part of my family and life since I was a baby. And this recognition merely made me sink further into bleakness.
There are those times when you get to a location, but you can’t recall how you did, your mind receding far into itself, blacking out time. That’s how I felt. Nothing seemed real.
“Drágám?” He spoke to me again, my head rising to look at him, stilling when I realized Andris hadn’t opened his mouth. He stared at me from yards away.
I could make myself believe the moments with Warwick had all been in my mind, needing the connection so bad he was with me, but not Andris.
This can’t be happening. My heart was bleeding all over the ground, my grief heaving so hard in my chest, blackness dotted my vision. I couldn’t breathe, sobs wrenching through my soul.
In the distance, I heard Istvan’s voice, my uncle’s, even my own wild wails, sounding like a wounded animal, though nothing penetrated my despair.
“Kovacs.” His voice was the only thing that cut through, piercing the barrier and yanking me back into myself. “Brex, look at me.” The feel of a hand brushed at my chin, my face turning up. The fierceness of Warwick’s eyes slammed me back to earth, a calmness sweeping over me at his touch. His heavy gaze gave me a tether to the world.
Air caught in my lungs at seeing his ghost-like form. It was nowhere near as solid as it once was, but now I knew it was real. The magic was coming back.
“Use me.” He growled. “Do whatever it takes to survive this. Mentally and physically.” My heart thumped against my chest, feeling him skim over my skin. “Don’t let Markos break you.”
“Brexley?” Andris’s call sliced through Warwick, his vision disappearing, turning my focus to my uncle. He fell on his knees in front of me, both of us ignoring the outburst from the crowd and Istvan. Only a handful in the crowd were on our side. The rest wanted the show; they wanted death and blood.
“Nagybacsi,” I croaked, my heart splintering when his hands cupped my cheeks. Did he feel the extra bond now? How could I ever hurt him? I gave everything to save him. “I-I can’t.”
“You must.” His eyes held so much sorrow, but I could feel a resigned strength in him.
“You don’t get much say in the way you die, but you can choose how you handle it.” My father’s voice came back to me. “Always hold yourself with honor. Especially in death.”
Andris lived by the same motto.
“N-n-no!” I shook my head, tears spilling down my face. “I can’t lose you; don’t you get that? It’s why I brought you back. And I would do it again without question.”
“You don’t know how much I love you for it. You gave me time to say goodbye, even if I didn’t realize it then.”
“You are not saying goodbye.”
A sad smile hinted at his mouth.
“I think we both know I am...” He lowered his head to mine. “You gave me such a gift, drágám. People don’t realize time with those they love is the most meaningful thing in the world. No money or riches could ever match it. I should have been dead the night of Samhain. But your love, your magic, gave me another chance. Now, it is my turn to sacrifice for you.”
A noise balled up my throat, my head shaking more.
“It’s not something we can stop.” He held the side of my face tighter, running his palm over my tresses. “Please, let me go...” His voice circled my ear, his eyes penetrating mine, his mouth closed.
A small gasp came from my mouth, his hand squeezing mine, his head dipping with acknowledgment of what was happening. The payment for saving his life. I had told him all about Warwick and Scorpion. He seemed to realize the bond that was there. What we shared.
“Look at me, my girl.” He forced me to look at his features. “There is no question I’d give my life for yours. It’s not even a choice.”
“N-no.” I sobbed, my head wagging.
“I love you so much. You are a daughter to me. I would do anything for you.” He held me closer. “But I don’t belong here. I don’t want to be here without her... to live a life without Ling.”
“But—”
He hushed me, his pitiful expression forcing a sob from my gut.