I turned to find a gorgeous woman in a nymph-like outfit– flowers in her dark hair, flowing green dress, delicate mesh corset– the kind of ethereal beauty that normally would have had my full attention.
“You look amazing, too,”Isaid honestly, trying to shake off my brooding.
“You up for a dance?” she asked with a smile, holding out a dainty hand to me.Ilooked past her to see two other people watching us, nervous looks on their faces, as if they’d had to encourage her to come talk to me.
She was beautiful, and she had a knowing twinkle in her eye, and under normal circumstancesIwould have been delighted by the attention.ButIwas obviously distracted, and the only personIwanted to dance with was a few feet behind me, oblivious to my turmoil.
But fuck it;Ideserved to let myself get lost in the fun of the evening, too.SoItook the girl’s hand, noticing as the two people beyond her high-fived each other, and followed her deeper into the crowd, where we twirled one another and swayed to the music.Wewent to the bar together for another mead, surprisingly soon afterI’ddowned the first, andIlet her lace her fingers through mine as she pulled me back into the centre of things, drinks in hand.
I tried to lose myself in the moment, and for a while, it worked– the mead hit at just the right time, the band played banger after banger, andImanaged to get that buzzy feelingIusually had whenImet a womanIwas attracted to.Wren, her name apparently was, put a hand on my waist and pulled me in towards her, andIlet myself press my body against her, our hips moving together to the beat.Ieven felt a spark of attraction as she looked at me, her bright eyes flitting between admiring my lips and holding my gaze.Itwas kind of hot, actually.
But every time a song ended,Ilooked around forTeddywithout meaning to.Thethrongs of people were largely in my way, andIdidn’t want to make it obvious toWren, who was being very adorable, butIlooked anyway.Andafter oneparticularlygood song, whenWrenhad brought her hand up to play with my hair as we danced in a way that felt charged,Ifinally made eye contact withTeddythrough the crowd.
She was watching us with an expression that looked distinctly like jealousy.Shelooked away quickly, butI’dseen it.
Suddenly, my head was spinning, from both the mead and the moment.
“Excuse me,”Isaid apologetically toWren, “Ineed to use the loo.”AndthenIbolted.
The portable toilets were set up on the edge of the festival grounds near the stage, and it wasn’t untilIwas inside one thatIrealisedIwas significantly more drunk thanI’dthought.Theworld had gone fuzzy around the edges, andIhad to concentrate harder than usual.Thatwas whatIgot for drinking on an empty stomach,Isupposed.
I was leaving the area, shaking excess water off my hands, whenInearly collided with someone coming around the corner.
“Whoa,”Teddysaid, catching me around the waist asIstumbled. “Steadythere.”
Her hands were warm and strong on my back, and suddenly we were pressed together, her face inches from mine.Icould smell the sweetness of mead mixed with the leather of her costume, and whenImet her gaze,Inoticed that her pupils had dilated in the dim light.
For a moment, neither of us moved.Thedin of the festival felt distant, muffled, like we were in our own private bubble.
Teddy’s gaze dropped to my lips, and despite every near miss we’d had, this timeIwas absolutely certain she was about to kiss me.
ThenIburped.Loudly, and directly in her face.
Teddy burst out laughing, the spell broken, nearly dropping me as she moved her hands away, fanning one in front of her, andIfelt my face flame with embarrassment.
“Right,”Isaid, pulling away from her. “That’s… mortifying.”
But she was still laughing, and the sound was warm and genuine.
“Come on,” she said, offering me her arm. “Let’sget you some water.”
“I’m fine,”Iprotested, already striding away from her, my heart racing and my head spinning with more than just alcohol.Iheard her call after me, her voice still full of mirth, butIbeelined away from her as fast asIcould, my face growing redder by the second.
I tried to lose myself again in the festivities, even looking out forWren, who seemed to have made herself scarce.Butevery timeItried,Iwas reminded of how it had felt to haveTeddy’sarms around my waist, or how, whenI’dthought she might kiss me, the one thought in my mind had beenfinally.
I wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to cross that line, butIfelt absolutely sure of one thing.Thenext timeIthoughtTeddymight kiss me,Iwould absolutely not burp.
Chapter24
Calamity
Nashala was truly a sight to behold.Everyhit she landed practically resonated through the arena, a hush falling over the raucous crowd each time she took down a creature twice her size.Shedodged bolts of radiant energy and narrowly evaded blows that threatened to level her.Musclerippled beneath her speckled green skin as she soared through the air, rolled over the dusty ground, and twisted her body from one strike into the next.Itwas like watching a perfectly choreographed dance, andCalamitywas mesmerised.
Which was annoying, since she still didn’t trustNashala.Butat least she was fun to watch.
The sabotage had gone surprisingly well once they’d learned ofJosse’sinitial bets, with more than one fighter looking less than steady on their feet due to some dubious ale they’d all been served the night before at the contenders’ feast.Onlyone had refused, a tortoise-like creature who hadn’t been drinking at all, but she’d been matched up againstNashalain the first stage, so she went down quickly despite the sobriety.
All eight combats of the first stage took place concurrently– or seven, rather, as one competitor forfeited before the combat could begin– andJosselost them all.
