Page 17 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

M etal clanks around me as I take in the giant arena. Some of my competitors have already paired off to spar while others are off by themselves, practicing with their chosen weapon.

These first few days are for us to train and get a good look at our competitors. At the end of the week, we will be broadcasted for all of Lunaria and Fallout to watch as we select our chosen weapon and perform in front of the Empress.

The Empress will rank us from one through ten, one being the most impressive and ten being ‘good luck not getting killed off round one’. The Empress’ scores will be added to the public’s votes to provide our official standing for the start of the Crucible.

Our rankings will change throughout the game by votes from the public and will be important during the last couple rounds—if we make it that far.

I have never been one to aim for popularity, so this proves to be my first major challenge.

I just need to channel my inner Theo and all should go well… I hope .

Approaching the rack along the edge of the Bubble, I look over the weapons in front of me.

Weapons in every shape sit like a wall of death calling my name.

I approach a single edged sword first, tossing it between my hands.

Too heavy and not deadly enough, so I pass.

Setting it back on the rack, I eye a bow and arrow next to it, which I consider as an option.

I’m comfortable with a bow, but it’s not great for close combat.

Grazing my fingers past the bow, I notice a collection of throwing knives and stars.

My eyes instantly snag on one that looks like the perfect death contraption.

I reach up, snagging a leather grip in the center of the S-shaped double sided blade.

Each end spears out with deep serrated blades that look perfect for spilling blood.

The center is the perfect fit to grip comfortably while not getting too close to the blades on each side.

I can use it as a double sided dagger for dueling multiple people at once in close combat, as well as a boomerang.

It’s light to hold and easy to strap on my body for traveling.

I glance over the remaining weapons, ranging from spiked clubs and chains to axes and spears.

None of them call my name, so I circle back to the double sided S blade and snag it off the wall, tucking it into my boot.

Just as I’m about to turn to practice on a target, an arrow wizzes by my head and embeds itself in the rack of weapons.

“Opps, sorry. I’m still trying to get the hang of this thing,” a sly female voice coos insincerely behind me.

I grip the arrow and rip it from the rack while plastering on a feral grin. Spinning on my heels, I face the culprit, cocking back my arm and sending the arrow barreling through the air, spearing the tip of Jade’s boot.

She screams in rage. “You bitch!” Tank rips the arrow from her boot. There’s no blood on the tip of the arrow—pity.

“Unfortunately for you, I have superb aim. Just be glad it was your shoe this time and not that pretty face. Would be a shame to add a scar or two to it, don’t you think?” I send her a wink for good measure.

“Looks like more than one of us has superb aim. Your ear is making a mess. You better go clean that up before you dirty the place with your filth,” she spits back at me.

Sure enough, I feel the trickle of blood seep down my ear and drip onto my shoulder. I don’t give her the satisfaction of acknowledging the cut to my ear, tucking the pain away.

This kind of pain, I can deal with easily. It’s the pain that makes my heart feel like it’s ripped in two that I struggle to breathe through, the type of pain that haunts me not only in my dreams, but also while I’m awake, as constant and abundant as the air around me.

Swiping a glob of blood off my shoulder, I flick it at her.

“Good thing I’ve been told red is my color.

” I shoot her a venomous smile and strut past without a care in the world, bloody ear and all.

Walking to the farthest target on the opposite side of the arena, I prepare myself to practice in peace.

I need zero distractions from here on out if I want to win this thing.

Lining up in front of the stagnant target, I angle my body, brace my core, and plant my feet in a sturdy stance.

I use my left arm to point at the center of the target and raise the blade above my head with my right arm, drawing it back.

Taking one last peek at the target with my left arm still pointed, I close my eyes, draw in a deep breath, and fling the weapon forward, rotating my hips to add more strength.

Before I even get a chance to open my eyes, slow clapping echoes around the quiet corner I’m tucked in. “Impressive.” The words are whispered against the shell of my ear, sending chills down my spine.

In one, swift movement, I spin, kicking my leg out and knocking Aeron’s feet from under him in seconds. He lands with an umph on his ass, thoroughly caught off guard.

“You should never sneak up on a Vagrant, Gavis.” I smirk at him and offer up my hand for help.

He snakes his hand in mine and attempts to pull himself up.

Just as he starts to lift his body off the ground, I use his arm to spin him around, pinning his arm behind his back and driving my knee into the center of his spine, pressing him harshly to the ground.

Straddling his back, I lean down and whisper in his ear.

“Lesson number two. Never trust a Vagrant.”

“If you wanted to get on top of me, all you had to do was ask,” he purrs.

“In your dreams, pretty boy.” I push off him and strut to retrieve my blade directly in the center of the bullseye, exactly where I knew it would be. By the time I’ve pulled the blade from the target, Aeron is back on his feet and annoyingly by my side again.

“I saw that little stunt Jade pulled earlier. That was quite the show. Let me know if you need me to step in next time and be your knight in shining armor.” His chest puffs up.

“I can take care of myself just fine, thank you.”

He softens his face just a smidge. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to, Nyxi.”

I turn away from him. “I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life, and that’s not going to change now.”

He huffs to himself. “Fine. How about a partner then? Think of it as us having each other’s backs out there.”

I look him up and down; this is the first time I’ve seen him look sincere.

“You scratch my back, I scratch yours type of deal?” I raise my brows at him.

He looks at me like I’ve grown a third eye. “Is that some type of weird saying you guys use in Vagrant?”

Taking the opportunity, I pounce. “Aww, does that pea brain of yours lack in the vocabulary department?” I tease .

“Only while I’m staring at pretty women, it seems,” he replies smoothly.

Rolling my eyes, I spit on my hand and hold it up to him. “Shake on it, and you have yourself a deal, Command .”

“Did you just call me by my sector?”

“It’s very fitting, seeing as you like to command everyone around. I’m only sad I didn’t think of it sooner.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Now, do we have a deal or not?”

“Deal, Vagrant .” He spits on his hand and shakes mine, officially confirming my first alliance.

This deal better not come back to bite me in the ass, but for now, I need the pretty boy on my side to secure the public’s vote.

I can already see all the women in Lunaria falling head over heels for prince charming.

Having the little devil perched on my shoulder as a pawn is the perfect strategy.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a strong male on my side.

“Now, get out of my hair so I can get some practice in,” I scold.

“I just watched you hit a perfect bullseye with your eyes closed. I don’t think you need practice in that department.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t need practice in any department, but it doesn’t hurt to get the reps in.”

“What about shooting a bow?”

“Excellent; just ask Jade’s toe.”

He thinks to himself. “Endurance?”

I shrug, unbothered. “I could run laps around you.”

“Hand-to-hand combat?”

“The best of the best,” I coo.

He smirks with an idea. “Prove it.”

“W–what?” I stutter.

“Fight me. Right here, right now. Unless you’re scared you’ll lose, that is?” he challenges.

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ve never been scared a day in my life, Command, and that certainly won’t start today. ”

We make our way over to the closest sparring ring in the sand. I line up in the center, spreading my stance, chest to chest with Aeron. He winks at me, spreading his arms wide, and I blow him a kiss in return.

I can’t wait to wipe the smug look off his pretty little face.

Aeron’s eyes zone in on me, sizing up his prey.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, and I have this strange feeling Aeron’s eyes aren’t the only ones trained solely on me.

Even tucked in the corner of the arena, I have this overwhelming feeling that every single inch of my body is being tracked by another predator. I try my best to ignore it.

It’s paralyzing and exhilarating at the same time.

Knocking fists with Aeron to signal the start of the fight, we begin to slowly circle each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

I slowly work towards his right side, pushing him to circle around, giving me a better view of the arena.

More importantly, I spy the owner of the eyes that were burning holes into the back of my head.

Hade.

Straying my eyes from Aeron for a split second, I lock eyes with Hade, who leans leisurely against the Bubble’s force field on the opposite side of the arena, his arms folded over his chest and his ankles crossed.

The perfect depiction of unbothered.

Looking past his superficial mask, though, it’s not lost on me how his jaw is tightly clenched, or how his eyes narrow slightly any time he looks at Aeron.

He’s on edge. Interesting.