“Smoke,” he whispers urgently.
First Kalyan and now this. Maharaja Naupure hired Beckman to protect me.
“Adraa.”
I whip my eyes to his and the truth is embedded there. The truth and the lies.
“Puti Pavria!”I shout as loud and with as much intention as I can. My magic blasts from under the staff and a wind tunnel shoots up and out. Beckman goes along for the ride, straight to the top of dome, where I keep him plastered.I’ll pretend. I’ll more than pretend!With a twist of my hand, I release the air and Beckman thuds to the ground. I rush to him.
“I saw you at the Vencrin warehouse. Why were you there?” I hiss when I get close.
“To protect you.”
What?“I don’t need your protection.”
He slams his elbow into my side, and I crumple backward. “Yes. You do.”
I whirl and punch. He blocks. “Why should I trust anything you say?”
He slips around me, pulling my arm into a lock. “Because. I know everything and you are still alive.”
I shake my head.
“Think, Smoke,” he whispers in my ear. “How else do you think you fooled Sims all this time? Why do you think Belwar guards were there the very night you decide to raid?” He pushes me away and I stumble.
I twist back. “And the posters?” I ask as we circle one another. “You were the first I saw with them.”
“Trying to get ahead of them, to stop production. I was too late.”
Do I believe this?My gut says yes, but anger seethes. “I could have done this on my own. I didn’t need—”
A volley of water catches my foot and jerks upward. With an echoing thump to the tune of the crowd screaming “Tsunami!” I land on my back. “Yes. You did,” he says.
I jump up, flying with fury. The moment on the upper dock crashes into me again. Rakesh’s strong grip on my arm. Beckman tearing him off me. The fear. No, the terror. And now, I don’t know what’s worse, the thought I was only saved because of my title or the knowledge that I’m a girl who’s accomplished nothing. Vencrin still fill the streets. Drugs still flow right outside this arena. And I don’t have any clue where my firelight is being taken.
Rage surges. Something snaps. They thought I needed protecting. They thought I couldn’t do it.
“If you were truly here to help, then why didn’t you?” I ask, pain choking the syllables. Swords materialize in a blazing swirl of red. I whack away at my fury and the colors converge in purple sparks between us.
“I had a mission,” Beckman growls.
“As do I.”
Swish, a scream of speed. Parry, a clang. Retreating, fast feet kicking out. Beckman dodging, punching. The crowd soaking up my fear and violence. Pretend. A show. Our entire friendship fraying in a smash of purple smoke. With a twist I slash, and it hits its mark, right across Beckman’s chest. A streak of blood spatters the dome wall.
No.He was supposed to parry that, guard himself. He was supposed to…
For he is better than I am. I, who couldn’t think for the pivotal seconds when Rakesh latched on and pushed me to the ground. I, who have failed for weeks. Victim. Attacker. Savior. Vencrin. The roles mush, bleeding together as I focus on the blood.
I stall, cast in stone, as Beckman fumbles.No!I reach out, not noticing the blue stream rushing toward me untilthud,it pounds into my chest. For a second, time stops as pain erupts through me. Then I fly against the wall and my head flips back, slamming into it. My vision blurs and black dots float in front of Beckman as he steps forward, fear framing his face. I try to get up, but the black takes over.
For the second time in the past day I awaken to the warmth of Kalyan. This time, he stands over me, and with a start, I realize the warmth comes from his pink magic, his white smoking hands holding my head. He chants. A stabilizing spell. Kalyan is performing a stabilizing spell.
“Hey,” I whisper, clutching his wrist.
“Oh thank Gods.”
Reaching for the pain in the back of my head, I rise to the familiar benches, dust, and body odor of the locker room. I’m weightless and heavy with fog at the same time.
