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“It’s over already?” Emma whispered. The fight had gone on for less than ten seconds.
Priti’s voice was clear above the crowd. “Acari Lilac advances to the final round. ”
“Crap,” Yasuo muttered.
I looked at Lilac, and her gaze was waiting for me. We locked eyes. She looked eager, raging.
I wanted the Directorate Award. I wanted off the island. But did I want it badly enough to face a girl who was more physically adept than me, who felt no pain, and who’d held me locked in her sights from day one?
My body went cold. “Looks like I’m fighting Lilac. ”
“You can do it,” Emma said.
I kept my face blank, but inside I was freaking out. “What if I can’t stop her?”
“You’ve been able to do it in these last matches,” Yas said. “Pretend this is just another one. ”
But it wasn’t, because von Slutling was like the Terminator. “You don’t get it. ”
Emma leaned close. “Lilac may be the best fighter in our class, but you can outsmart her. ”
Yas nodded agreement. “You’re smaller, D, and that makes you wily. Defensively, you’re solid. Plus you have that fancy brain of yours. Outthink her. ”
“No, seriously, guys. You don’t get it. ” They both opened their mouths to protest, but I cut them off. “Lilac doesn’t feel pain. ”
That shut them up.
I regretted it instantly. Ronan had sworn me to secrecy. But I told myself not to feel guilty—information like that was too huge to keep to myself. For all I knew, this was the last time I’d talk to my friends; I had to warn them. “But you can’t tell anyone. ”
“Yeah, yeah,” Yasuo said, waving off my statement. “I get it. It’s a secret. But how did you—” Understanding dawned in his eyes. “Ronan told you, didn’t he?”
Now I felt guilty. Who deserved my allegiance more? Ronan, who had flashes of understanding but who’d also been the one to bring me here? Or Yas, my best bud, who’d one day have a big set of fangs gleaming against his undead skin? I shouldn’t have opened my mouth.
I gave him a tense nod and was grateful when Emma broke the silence. She was looking at me in utter disbelief. “But everyone feels pain. Everybody feels something. Eventually. ”
I glanced at my enemy. She was greeting her well-wishers in the audience. Bruises and scratches covered every inch of visible skin, but still she slinked around like a cat. “Not von Slutling. ”
“How can she not feel pain?” Emma sounded perplexed.
“Rare genetic disorder? Mommy drank too many in vitro cosmos? How the hell should I know?”
Yasuo’s eyes widened in question. “But you’re still going through with it?”
I came close to saying no. It would’ve been so easy. But I sensed Master Alcántara’s gaze on me, and that morbid fascination shivered up my skin. It left confidence in its wake.
I was the best student. I had the most potential. The award belonged to me, though doubts nagged at the back of my mind as I wondered how much I was driven by pride, how much by the urge to escape, and how much I simply wanted to beat the crap out of my roommate. “I am. ”
Yasuo sighed. “Then let’s do this thing. ” He turned and openly studied me. “Okay. Headlines. ” He crossed his arms over his chest, determined to distill the whole situation to fine points. “The girl’s got height on you. She feels no pain—whatever that means. And her gift is fire?”
“Her gift is pain, and her skill is fire. ”
Yas threw his hands up. “What the hell does that mean? Fire? Dude, you’re psyched she’s not busting any of that out here. ”
“How do you know she won’t?” Emma asked.
Yasuo countered, “How could she? How would someone here even fight with fire?”
I’d wondered the same thing. “I don’t know. Flamethrower? Though I definitely would’ve seen it if she’d been hiding that in our room. ”
