Page 11 of A Legacy of Stars (The Lost God Legacies)

11

TEDDY

T eddy emerged from the tunnel into blinding sunlight and was instantly grabbed by two guards.

“Sorry, Your Grace. It’s part of the contest. None of the competitors are allowed to see the arena before it’s time,” a burly guard in green Olney regalia said. “Forgive me, but I have to blindfold you now.”

Teddy nodded, and the men tied a blindfold around his eyes, then began to march him forward. They guided him, with minimal directions, toward the swelling noise of the crowd. Teddy tried not to stumble, but it was difficult while being bounced between their bodies and entirely cut off from his eyesight.

A zap of energy hit him in the chest. Stella . The bond lit up. She must have been close. He tried to remember what Cecilia and Rainer had said about finding each other. There was supposed to be a sort of intuitive knowing that Teddy needed to listen to.

He imagined the bond like a rope and tugged on it. A moment later, an answering tug reverberated back. It came from his left. He wished they’d had more time to understand the language of the bond. Rainer and Cecilia could use theirs with ease. How did they check on each other? How did they understand how to communicate with it? He wished he understood more than how to keep Stella from feeling the crushing anxiety that was rising in his body again.

Adrenaline coursed through Teddy, his heart thundering loud enough to nearly drown out the roaring crowd.

“We’re going down a ramp, Your Grace. Just be mindful that we’re descending,” the guard on his right said.

Teddy nodded and focused all his concentration on not falling down the ramp or off the side in what would have certainly been an embarrassment he could not recover from.

They reached the bottom after what felt like an eternity. The wooden ramp gave way to solid dirt beneath his boots and the two guards let go of his arms.

“This is your starting place,” the guard on his left said. “Your partner is to your left. When the bell rings to begin the match, you may remove the blindfold. Bells will sound to start the match, at the match midpoint, and when there is one minute left. From the first bell, you will have twenty minutes to retrieve a large ruby from the beast that appears in your section.

“You may use all the weapons on you and anything else from your environment, but you may not use any magic. There are witches along the perimeter to ensure no one uses their magic, and if you do, you will immediately be disqualified and removed from the tournament. You may attack your peers as long as you’re still competing, but once you retrieve your ruby, your challenge will be complete and you must return to the sportsmanly decorum we expect of competitors. Remember that this is the wisdom challenge, so you should also use your head. You are our second-to-last pairing, so the match will begin soon.”

The guards marched away, their footsteps echoing off the long wooden ramp. A moment after the footsteps stopped, Teddy heard the grinding sound of the ramp sliding away from the ground.

There was no way out but through whatever beast was about to be unleashed upon them.

“Reever?”

“Yes, Your Grace? ”

“Please, just call me Teddy.”

“Yes, Teddy?”

“What did you choose?”

“Talent.”

Teddy’s stomach plummeted. “Why? I thought for sure you would say you had enough talent.”

“The more talent, the better for a mercenary. I am excellent, but it’s a moron who doesn’t know the ways in which he could be better.” Reever laughed. “I can only assume you picked talent as well.”

“Yes. Why is that funny?”

“Because a little adversity makes for a better story, and I suppose more entertainment for the crowd.”

“But we need both to win,” Teddy said.

A meaty hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Kid, I have been making my own luck since I grew up in the poorest neighborhood in Estrellas. This will hardly be new to me.”

“Why are you competing? Isn’t the whole point of being a sellsword that you value money over anything else?” Teddy asked.

It was a bold question, but understanding his new ally was the first step to trusting him, or at least trusting what he would do.

“There are more currencies than money.” Before Reever could say more, the bell rang out and the noise of the crowd grew deafening.

Teddy ripped his blindfold off and squinted into the midday sunlight. The moment it took for his eyes to adjust was the longest of his life. Even once he beheld the creature, his mind could not make sense of it.

“What is that thing?”

Reever stepped up beside him. “It looks like?—”

It looked like an enormous lobster with wings. The monstrous red mass reared up on thick humanoid legs, its enormous claws big enough to crush a skull. Black membranous wings stretched out wide on its back.

Teddy didn’t know whether to laugh or run. The thing looked absurd. Its large, beady eyes blinked and its massive claws clicked together. The pungent, herbal scent of magic hit him. He’d assumed it would be some sort of animal. He had not expected a strange mythical medley of creatures, both real and imagined. It took a powerful spell to create creatures like this.

The crowd cheered in the bleachers high above them. Teddy and Reever, and likely the other contestants, were on low ground, in a pit that had been carved out of the center of the arena. It was probably designed to corral these creatures and keep them from escaping into the stands. Teddy had been worried about keeping an eye on Stella and now he had such low ground that he couldn’t even see her. He could only see the rise of the stands and the bustling crowd bracketing the royal booth where his parents sat looking stoic.

He knew them well enough to see the tension in their hands clasped together on the arm of his father’s throne.

Teddy forced his attention back to his task.

Priestesses stood on higher ground at each corner of their pit to judge that no magic was used and that they completed their task in time. One of them held an hourglass, with sand already pouring away as Teddy stared in a stupor.

“What do you know about…lobsters?” Teddy asked, pulling his short swords from his back. They didn’t have to kill the beast, but he couldn’t imagine getting within striking distance of those giant claws with the beast conscious.

Reever brandished a large, vicious-looking axe. “I traveled with a fisherman who caught them once. Creepy things with their skittering and beady little eyes.”

The beast let out a blood-curdling screech. Its wings stretched wide, and it curled in on itself, then launched into the air. It swooped in a high arc and then plummeted toward them with claws clacking.

Teddy stood frozen in place, less out of fear than determination to figure out where the jewel was. The winged lobster closed in on him and the crowd hushed.

“Move your pampered royal ass,” Reever shouted, bumping his shoulder.

Teddy ran to the side and wheeled around with short swords flying as the lobster swooped close. His steel blades met a leathery wing, and the beast shrieked, tumbling into the dirt, sparkling brown blood puddling on the ground beneath it. The beast curled in on itself. A pungent herbal scent laced the air and Teddy’s ears rang. Whatever magic had created the beast for this contest was powerful and made Teddy’s skin prickle up close.

A loud whooshing sound split the roar of the crowd. Water rushed in from all sides of the pit. It was too fast to be natural.

This was why they had started on low ground. Water witches stood on the side of the pit, summoning water from the ground beneath them. Teddy’s magic bubbled in his chest, eager to spin the water away.

But magic wasn’t permitted in this part of the competition, so he forced it down. Sweat broke out on his brow. He needed to fight the bond, the beast, and his own impulse to rely on his magic.

As if they needed one more thing to demonstrate the urgency. It made sense that the wisdom challenge required knowing your ally and being able to think on your feet.

Normally, the first challenge of the Gauntlet Games was the easiest and the bloodbath came in the second challenge once opponents had a chance to size each other up. Of course, the god of war would choose as many violent obstacles as possible in just one challenge. If they wanted to advance, Endros wanted to make sure they bled for it first.

Water sloshed around Teddy’s boots. He’d never admit it to her face, but Stella was right. He was too slow for this type of adversary in his bulky armor, and now it would weigh him down in the water. To make matters worse, he didn’t know how to swim since they didn’t exactly have easy access to beaches in Argaria. He could have learned in the few summers they spent in Olney, but his father had drilled it into him not to be bad at something publicly and he wasn’t sure he’d recover from the embarrassment of needing to be saved from drowning in front of a crowd of Olney onlookers.

However bad that would have been, drowning in front of two kingdoms’ worth of spectators now would be worse.

Teddy needed to get the armor off, but that meant opening himself up to easier wounds from Reever and the monster they were fighting. He unsnapped the hinges on his left thigh guard and let it fall into the mud.

The wounded lobster rolled onto its stomach and skittered toward them. They stumbled back, and the beast climbed onto its humanoid legs. It slammed its tail down and mud sprayed across Teddy’s face.

As it arched back, readying to strike, a glint of ruby shone from within the interconnected shell on its torso.

“Fuck me,” Reever said, clearly seeing the jewel as well. “We’re going to have to kill it to get that ruby. No way it’s going to let us just reach in there and I’m not about to have all my fingers clawed off.”

He lifted his axe and brought it down on one of the beast’s humanoid legs with all his might. The blade glanced off the shell, and Reever narrowly dodged a claw. He tumbled into the dirt and brought the long handle of his axe up just in time to block the lobster from crushing his head in its giant claw.

Teddy dashed forward and swiped a short sword across the back of the lobster’s humanoid leg joint. It screeched and slapped him back with one of its wings. Teddy rolled over backward and pushed right back up to his feet, the blood rushing in his ears blending with the sound of water pouring into the pit.

Teddy only had a moment to glance at the water witches again. They could fill this pit in mere moments.

His mind spun wildly as the flying lobster launched into the air. The water turned the pit muddy and Teddy’s boots slipped as he searched for the solution.

It made sense why they needed luck and talent. Talent would serve them well enough, but luck would have meant they knew something about the creature they were paired with, or perhaps not being matched with a beast that essentially had natural armor. Lots of men blamed their success on talent, but plenty of great warriors fell. Battle was not a meritocracy, and it was a foolish fighter who wouldn’t admit that luck played a hand in who came out on top.

Years of training had taught Teddy every weak spot in armor, but it was hard to fight an adversary whose anatomy you didn’t know. He needed to be able to move and adapt faster.

Teddy fumbled with the buckles on the side of his chest plate and it popped free and clattered to the ground. He instantly went to work on his other thigh.

“We need a plan,” Reever said, his gaze fixed on the circling beast.

“I’m not allowed to use magic and even if I could, it wouldn’t make sense to boil water we’re standing in.”

“I think you had the right idea before.” Reever distanced himself from Teddy. “If we take out the wings, that will keep him on the ground.”

“Wings and eyes. Once he lands, I’ll—” Teddy cut himself off as the lobster charged toward them.

The beast was definitely laboring with its damaged wing. It was coming right for Teddy. He forced himself to be still, his swords at the ready.

At the very last second, he ducked, and the lobster careened past him into the wall of the pit. It crumpled to the ground, momentarily stunned.

Teddy had his opening. He took a step to charge at it and snatch the ruby.

“Teddy, duck!” It was Nathan’s voice cutting through the din of the crowd from above.

Teddy ducked and an arrow just skimmed his shoulder guard. “What the—” He turned and spotted Rett Roachelle on the edge of the wall to their right.

“The fucking Roach,” Reever yelled. Apparently, the mercenary was already acquainted with Rett. “He’s basically shooting fish in a barrel.” The mercenary drew his bow and shot an arrow back. “Dixon must have boosted him out to try to take out the competition. You focus on the beast, and I’ll focus on that weasel.”

Teddy turned and narrowly dodged a claw to the face. He sliced out with his sword reflexively and jammed it into the lobster’s eye. The water sloshed around his knees as he stepped in closer, trying to grab at the ruby .

But the beast shifted, and its shell clicked back into place, covering the gem.

Teddy jumped to the side and the lobster’s shorter, razor-sharp legs scraped across his chest. His tunic took the worst of it, but his skin burned where it was scraped.

He forced himself to stay close and crowd the beast, slicing down its other wing.

It screeched and batted him into the wall. Teddy’s head hit hard and his vision went dark for a moment as he slid down the wall. His ass hit the ground. He sputtered at the muddy water that splashed up into his face.

Forcing himself to his feet, Teddy backed away from the lobster. It was curled in on itself, making a low groaning sound and cradling its shredded wing.

“Got him,” Reever said triumphantly.

Teddy glanced up at Rett. An arrow stuck out of the gap between his breastplate and shoulder guard. But the Roach was pulling another arrow from his quiver.

“Maybe not,” Teddy said.

Reever grinned and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Not so fast, Roach. I’d finish your match and go see a healer if I were you. My arrows are coated in a healthy dose of Harlowsberry.”

Apparently, there was more than one combatant with poison-coated weapons.

Rett hesitated, his bow half-drawn and his face flushed. “Liar!”

Reever shrugged and nocked another arrow. “I guess we’ll finally get to see if you live up to the nickname.”

The Roach lifted his bow, hesitated, then turned and disappeared from view with a frustrated shout.

Teddy’s head throbbed, and the water was up to his mid-thigh. He needed to lose the rest of his armor, but his clothing was swollen and the buckle wouldn’t budge.

He could really have used some luck, but all he had was talent. He glanced up in time to see Reever rushing at him with a dagger drawn. Teddy let his guard down for one moment and Reever took advantage of it. Teddy threw his arm out and the blade deflected off his armguard.

Reever blew out an exasperated breath. “Relax. I’m trying to cut the fastening. We don’t have time to save your fancy armor, Your Grace. Get it off, live to fight another day, and buy a new set.” He jammed the tip of the blade into the buckle and yanked, and the stuck thigh guard came away with a groan of the hinge.

“Sorry,” Teddy mumbled.

A loud cheer went through the crowd. Either someone was dead or someone had succeeded in their task. Fear bubbled in Teddy’s chest, but he didn’t know why. The beast was badly wounded. Rett was gone, and the water was only up to his thighs.

The lobster rose out of its hunch, shredded wings spread wide, its one good eye blinking at Teddy. The beast had to turn its body fully to see Reever.

“One more rally, Teddy. I think we can do this before the midpoint,” Reever said. “You draw it toward you and I will jump on its back. It won’t see me coming, but hopefully I can bow it back enough for you to grab the ruby. Just do it fast.”

Teddy tapped his short swords together three times, and the beast whipped around and started toward him, Reever forgotten.

When the lobster was just a few feet from Teddy, Reever launched himself up its back. He braced his long-handled axe around the lobster’s neck area to yank it back into an arch.

Teddy sprang up the front of its body, using the gaps in its shell as handholds. He caught sight of the ruby and reached up to grab it.

Pain sliced into Teddy’s chest and his grip slipped. He fumbled for purchase, wedging his fingers into a joint on the shell of the lobster’s chest. He winced against the pain, but there was no cut on his side. He tried to make sense of it as a loud roar from the crowd to his left drew his attention.

Stella . It was her pain. Gods, it felt as real as if he’d been wounded.

“What are you doing?” Reever grunted from above him.

It was now or never. Teddy forced himself to reach up for the jewel. They needed to end this before another competitor caught on to the Roach’s strategy of trying to take out the stragglers. Were it not for Reever’s poison-tipped arrows, Teddy might have been eliminated or killed this round.

He grabbed the ruby and tugged as hard as he could, and finally, it came free. Teddy released his hold on the shell and fell back into the waist-deep water. He held the ruby high and watched as the beast shuddered, groaned, and faded into ashes so quickly that Reever landed on his ass in the water.

A red-robed priestess clapped her hands, and guards lowered a ladder into their pit. Teddy climbed out first. By the time he reached the top, he was wrung out. The trial felt like an eternity, but according to the hourglass it had taken less than ten minutes.

“Congratulations, Theodore Savero and Reever Ross. You have passed the wisdom challenge and have advanced to the memory trial next. Please go enjoy healing and refreshment in the recovery tent,” the priestess said, pointing toward the arena exit. She retreated toward her peer.

Reever strapped his axe to his back. “What was that about?” he asked.

“What was what about?” Teddy asked, feigning confusion.

“You lost focus at a mighty critical moment, Your Grace.”

“It was the crowd noise.”

“It was right before the crowd reacted,” Reever countered.

Teddy smiled tightly. He couldn’t let anyone know about the bond or they would use Stella against him. “I heard a lady friend’s voice through the crowd. A momentary distraction, that’s all.”

Reever narrowed his eyes. “You should get those scratches looked at.”

The mercenary did not seem convinced, but he headed toward the healer’s tent. Teddy couldn’t show any extra attention to Stella, so he couldn’t stay and watch, much as he wanted to.

He forced himself to walk to the healer’s tent and not even glance over as he passed the pit where Stella was still fighting.