Page 46

I t was five days of hell. Five days of climbing a wall with a bell that I was sure was impossible to actually reach.

Five days of running through obstacles, of running miles, of doing more push-ups, burpees, pull-ups, crunches, and weight training than I had ever done in my entire life.

Five days of firing weapons, tossing grenades, throwing knives, and disarming codes.

Five days of sparring each other—wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, karate. You name it, we did it.

Five days of little sleep, crappy food, and feeling so exhausted that even the thought of talking sounded like too much work.

And after five days, when we still didn’t reach that bell, the laps got longer.

Bricks were placed on our backs as we completed our push-ups.

Chains were looped around our dumbbells as we performed squats and bench presses.

A hand was tied behind our back when we sparred, giving us the use of only one arm to defend ourselves.

Edith was right…these were hell games.

But we fought on. As the weights got heavier, we pushed harder.

As the laps got longer, we ran faster. And as more supports fell from the wall, we got better at hanging on by one arm, one hand supporting the entire weight of our body, grasping on for dear life.

Our strength grew. Our stamina built. But we still couldn’t reach that freaking bell.

The intensity of our training required special recovery shakes that tasted awful, like bitter chalk and sawdust. And in the evenings, we all sat in barrels filled with ice water up to our necks, icing our sore muscles, bumps, and bruises.

There were no breaks, no downtime, no moment to even consider talking to Wes, much less Matias.

It was nothing but brutal work from dawn until dusk.

Then we licked our wounds, and carried our spent bodies into our bunkhouses, desperate for the few hours of sleep we would get before starting all over again.

Even Calista shut her freaking mouth after the second day of torture.

The only reprieve I got was when I was pulled out for an hour to have a seamstress take my measurements.

Apparently, a dress was being made for me for the gala—Charles’s design, of course.

But the break was short-lived, and I had no energy to ask or even wonder what the dress was going to look like.

I was back out into the training arena before I could formulate a sentence. Back into the hell games.

But we kept our heads down, kept focusing on the task at hand.

We pushed ourselves to be stronger, faster, better.

But that elusive bell remained silent, glistening in the light at the top of that godforsaken wall.

And each day that went by was a day I felt more and more worried about our mission.

If we couldn’t climb that wall, the mission would fail before it ever even started, and I could kiss the chance of ever seeing my brother alive again goodbye.

After another six days, we were at one week before go time, and my body just couldn’t do it anymore. Not just my body, but Edith was toast too, barely making it. She slammed into the ground as Calista flipped her onto the floor. “Shit,” she groused.

The sergeant blew his whistle. “Again, Le. Let’s go.”

Edith heaved as she tried to get up, struggled, and then collapsed. “I—I can’t.”

“Are you giving up, soldier? You give up and everyone takes another round of burpees.” Everybody groaned at that one.

Calista rolled her head over her shoulders and then stretched her arms, bouncing back and forth, ready to go again. “Let’s go, Le. I can do this all day.”

“You hear that, Le? You’re being called out,” the drill sergeant stated, crouching down by her on the floor.

My heart ached for her as she tried to lift herself up again, but her arms trembled. “I… I just—”

Calista cackled. “Poor girl can’t hack it. That’s why nobody picked you to go on this craptastic adventure. President De’vor knew you’d cave.”

“Hey!” I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I stepped forward.

I had to admit, Calista was a total badass, but she was mean and nasty, and she loved kicking someone when they were already down.

How Wes ever put up with her crap, I’d never know, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to put up with it anymore.

Especially toward Edith. “I want a turn, Sergeant.”

He turned to face me and then eyed Edith one more time before speaking. “All right, de la Puente. You’re up. And listen here…you all have someplace to be tomorrow night. If de la Puente can put some money where her mouth is, I’ll give you the rest of the afternoon off.”

Everyone shifted, looking from me to Calista, and back to the sergeant.

“But if Haeflinger nails her ass, you’re all doing laps.

And then your asses are coming back in here tomorrow, and you’re working until party time.

That is, with the exception of Miss Haeflinger.

Got that? Haeflinger wins and she goes free.

De la Puente wins, and you all go free, except for her,” he added as he pointed at Blondie.

And suddenly, the evil smirk dropped from her face as her eyes widened.

This was total BS. In what world was this fair?

But I took a deep breath and gave one definitive nod.

The sergeant nodded at me in return as he stood up and stepped off the mat.

I stepped on, feeling the cushion give way slightly to the weight of my body as I walked to Edith and offered her a hand.

She took it, the look of defeat and gratitude etched along all the lines of her face.

As I pulled her up, she mouthed ‘thank you’ before stepping off the mat.

I took another deep breath as I turned to face Calista, and the look she gave me would have put dear old Chelsea to shame.

I stretched out both my arms and then my neck.

Slowly, I dropped into my fighting stance, body angled, knees bent, hands up and ready to block. Calista glared as she mirrored me, readying for the fight. My heart thumped, and the seconds ticked—one, two, three—and then the whistle blew. It was on.

I had been watching Calista fight for days.

I had fought her myself. She always waited for the other person to make the first move.

Naturally, that’s what I expected. And so my plan was to wait her out, let her take the first step.

And it worked…kind of. What I didn’t expect was that the second the whistle blew, that freaking bitch would rush me.

I mean, it was instant. She cried out and charged like the most pissed off bull I had ever seen, crouching low.

She wrapped her arms around my waist and sent us both flying across the mat.

I landed hard on my back, but I exhaled with a big kiai, letting all the air escape my lungs to keep the wind from being knocked out of me.

Instantly, she crawled up my body and tried to get her legs up around my waist to pin me down, but I whipped a leg around, over her head, and pushed down with my thighs, knocking her face to the ground.

That was my chance. I scrambled to get the rest of my body out from under her and flipped onto my stomach, getting my legs underneath me.

It was then that I felt her grab my ankle, looking to pull my legs out from under me.

I didn’t even think.

I spun around, leg outstretched in a high roundhouse kick, aiming to contact her face. Calista was fast, lifting her left arm in a successful block. She leaped, striking out her right leg in a snap kick that I jumped back from, just barely missing the impact.

“Go, Mara!” Edith cried, clapping her hands. “Get her!”

Calista rushed me again, coming in hot, her fist flying. But I blocked it. Of course, I didn’t see she was coming in for a one-two combo, and her opposite fist shot out from the left side, hitting my jaw, and sending my body spinning.

Holy mother!

That woman packed a punch! I whipped around, getting ready for the next blow, but I was too late. Calista sent her leg flying, hitting me on the right.

“Mara, watch out!”

I didn’t know who was yelling at me, but I didn’t have time to think.

I staggered back, turning to face Calista as she came at me again.

But this time, I was ready. I dodged her, flipping behind her and going straight into a jump kick, my foot making contact square in her back, throwing her forward.

She staggered, but she didn’t lose her balance.

Before I knew what was happening, she whipped around and lunged at me.

Right hook, left punch, jumping roundhouse kick, left hook—it all came in rapid succession. I blocked left, blocked right, kicked back, blocked again, right hook, jump back.

The velocity intensified, wearing me down, until suddenly, I made one fatal flaw.

I took my eyes off her. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Edith wide-eyed, jumping, cheering me on, while Jim pumped his fist in the air, howling.

I saw Matias, mouth agape, shouting god knows what.

And then I saw Wes, arms crossed, stoic mask firmly in place, but his eyes were ablaze, shimmering like liquid gold.

And suddenly, Blondie’s foot made contact with my solar plexus, throwing me back with such force, I became airborne.

I landed— hard . And this time, the wind left my lungs, leaving me breathless and wheezing.

Move, move, move! My mind screamed at me as I gasped for air. I scrambled to get up, flipping onto my stomach once again, and lifted myself off the ground as fresh air finally found its way into my lungs.

But I was too slow.

Blondie’s hands dug into my hair, pulling back, threatening to rip every strand out of my skull.

“That’s not fair! That’s against the rules!” Someone shouted.

“The enemy doesn’t play by the rules. Let’s go, de la Puente! What do you do?” If my sergeant was trying to be encouraging, he sucked at it.

My hands flew to my scalp, trying to grasp at Calista’s wrists.

But all she did was pull me back harder, yanking my head backward and throwing me off balance until my back collided into her chest. She wrapped her free arm around my front, and then quickly let go of my hair, wrapping her other arm around me too, pinning my arms down.

Shit, shit, shit!

I struggled, bending forward, trying to lift her feet off the ground, but she was too tall.

She bent forward with me, molding her body to mine, pushing her body down, crushing me, trying to make me collapse under her weight.

I tried to twist to the left to use her weight against her.

She staggered, but she never loosened her grip.

And suddenly, I felt her breath hot and slick in my ear.

She whispered, “Looks like you’re going to lose. Take a hint and go back to the shithole you came from, Telvian. And don’t worry,” she added, her voice sickly sweet and menacing, “I’ll keep Wes warm for you.”

I snapped. I don’t know what came over me, but with a deep yell, I yanked myself forward and then slammed my head backwards.

I felt it.

I felt as my skull made delicious contact with the soft tissue of her face. I heard the crunch as the sheer force collapsed her nose in. Her arms dropped, and she was off me. Without even thinking, acting on pure instinct, I whirled around and sent a spinning side kick right to her chin.

SMACK!

Calista’s head snapped backwards, and she went crashing to the ground on her back. I slipped back into my fighting stance right as the whistle blew.