“Then prove it.” He waved to us. “You prove yourself…here, now, and not only will your parents live, but you might be reinstated back into HDF.”
“Hanna, do it! Do what he says.” Albert yelled from the stands, and Hanna clenched her jaw even stronger.
“He’s lying to you, Hanna.” I shook my head. There were so many dog whistles Caden and I learned to recognize when many did not. People only heard what they wanted.
He didn’t say her parents would be set free or even be treated well, just that they would live. And the strategic game of might be reinstated meant the chances were probably zilch.
Istvan’s glare went to me, his amusement ebbing, while Olena stirred at his side as if she was getting bored.
“Enough talking. Kill them, or you and your parents die miserable deaths. No one will remember you even existed.”
Hanna hesitated, her weight shifting nervously from foot to foot.
It was slight, but I caught the…dip of Istvan’s…head.
Bang!
The gunshot sliced through the arena, my attention jolting back to the stands with a harsh gasp. Blood from Albert’s head sprayed over Nora, his body falling hard to the ground.
Nora and Hanna’s shrill screams pierced the air with horror and grief.
Hanna collapsed to the dirt, deep wails sobbing through her, while a guard held Nora up, her body almost limp with trauma, her arms out, trying to reach for her husband as if there might be a chance to save him.
No remorse or reaction came from Istvan at murdering an old friend in cold blood. Istvan never had much substance before, a man solely driven to gain more power, but now he was becoming a replica of a cruel dictator. A narcissistic psychopath who only feels something when others suffer. And like with any drug, it would have to keep increasing to get the same high off it.
“Better decide quickly, Hanna,” Istvan warned, as the guard with Nora practically was salivating at the idea of killing her.
Hanna tried to fight back the sobs, struggling…to move.
“Lil’ viper.” Scorpion’s voice came out low, barely skimming my ears, almost intimate as he crouched near her.
“Last time I dozed, the little evil viper bit me.” The memory of him calling her that when she was chained up in the base came back to me.
Her sobs shuddered through her body, but she quieted, her blue eyes lifting to his. “Dig deep. I know you got it in you. You gonna keep crying worthless tears, or you gonna come and get me?” He rose back up, looming over her. “Here’s your chance. Were you all talk about kicking my ass? Think you got it in you? I personally think you are just a weak, pathetic human.”
It was a taunt, pushing her to get up and fight, turning her anguish to anger. Saving her mother’s life...
Hanna sneered, taking the bait. She sucked in, climbing to her feet.
“That’s it, come on.” He opened his arms, beckoning her to come and get him. “Show me what you got, Little Viper. I like the way you bite.”
Darting quickly, Hanna swiped up the hairpin I dropped, a sneer curling her lip, going into fighter mode. How fast Scorpion was able to get her to compartmentalize her grief and turn the energy into something operable.
But instead of Scorpion, it turned on me.
Stepping around him, Hanna swiped her arm at me, the dagger of the pin only a breath away from my skin. “This is all your fault.”
I darted back.
“No! Come after me.” Scorpion growled, trying to regain her attention off me. “I’m the one who kept you handcuffed to a pipe.”
“You are just a mindless soldier. Doing what you are told.” Hanna’s eyes never left mine, her pain twisting into fury, but I saw Scorpion flinch at her words. “She is the reason for all of this. It always comes back to her.” Hanna tried to cut me again, but I dodged out of her reach. “Little did I know that someone I considered a good friend would destroy my life and everything I cared about. You took everything.” A flash of agony went across her face. “My father...”
“She is not the reason your father is dead.” Scorpion moved in, creating a triangle, his hands up. “The real person to blame is the man right up there.”
“Does it matter?” Hanna’s lip trembled, no matter how much she tried to hide it. “I won’t let my mother die as well. I—I can’t.”
Fuck, did I understand.
“I know.” My teeth gritted together, my own eyes filling up.
Scorpion’s head swung to me, his eyes wide. I don’t know if it was the tone in my voice or if he was able to pick up on something, but I saw the “no” start to form around his lips, his head shaking.
I was a fighter. A survivor, but I realized with Istvan, there would be no end to the suffering. He would force me to kill each of my friends, leaving me a husk even if I made it out.
If I died, I hopefully would take the most powerful object in the world with me. It needed me. If I was dead, I felt in my gut the magic in it would wane. No one else could ever use it for their own greed and power.
If it wasn’t Istvan, it would be someone else. There would always be another wanting to possess it, to use its power.
I knew what I had to do.
Without hesitation, I whirled on the person standing next to me. My knuckles smashed into the side of Scorpion’s neck, striking the vagus nerve, the exact spot I was trained to hit to knock someone out cold. I couldn’t have him part of this fight. He would only try to stop me.
Scorpion toppled to the side, grabbing his neck, his wide eyes meeting mine in bewilderment.
I hoped in time he’d understand.
Striking again, I hit the pressure point. He tried to gasp for a breath before he fell over into the dirt. Unconscious.
“What are you doing?” Hanna gaped at me when I turned for her.
“Now, it’s just us. Your chance to finally take me down. Don’t tell me you didn’t wish every day in training for this. Just as the rest of our class did.” I leaped for her, my fist cutting across her jaw. Not enough to break, but enough to fire her up. To piss her off.
And it worked exactly as I was hoping it would.
As Scorpion was doing earlier, I wanted to turn all her sorrow into fury. Blind her to what I was tricking her into doing.
“Come on, bitch. You think you can finally challenge me? I always kicked your ass. Do you think now will be any different?”
She bellowed, coming for me, our bodies colliding and falling back into the dirt.
I put up enough of a fight to sell it, flipping her over me onto her back and jumping up. Dancing back away from her, I egged her on. I hesitated and gave her opportunities to strike. This was for show. Exactly what Warwick did with me when we were fighting the final time in Halálház. He could have killed me instantly, but he batted me around, got an arousal out of me.
I swear I could feel him slinking in around me now, but it wasn’t warm or soothing. It bristled with irritation and anger, like, “What the fuck are you doing, Kovacs?”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered under my breath to him, not ducking when Hanna’s fist collided into my kidney. My frame buckled over as stabbing pain echoed in my back, forcing tears to spill down my cheeks. A boot struck the back of my knees, my face smacking into the dirt, my head dizzy. As Bakos had taught us, Hanna didn’t hesitate, jumping on me. The girl was fierce, and I adored that about her.
She punched the back of my skull, and bile heaved up my throat, my eyesight blurring as the hits kept coming. I no longer had to feign weakness, my lungs struggling to breathe. My body wanted to curl up on itself and disappear. Blackness crept over me like fog.
Once again, I was positive I could feel Warwick’s energy stab at my skin like nettles, his anger and fear pressing in as if he could feel me giving up, realizing my plan.
I hoped he would understand eventually.
A violent roar rumbled the pit, vibrating the walls of the arena, pulsing through every cell in my body.
Livid.
Savage.
Deadly.
“Don’t you even fuckin’ think about it, Kovacs.” Warwick loomed over me, his expression burning with fury. His hazy form was next to me in the pit. It didn’t matter if he was a hallucination or not, I let myself believe, perishing with a tiny bit of happiness. “Get the fuck up. You will not die as some fucking sacrifice.” His ferocity thundered through me, making me gasp.
“I have to,” I think I whispered. “It’s the only way.”
“The hell it is, Kovacs!” He grunted, crouching down, eyes blazing. His fingers skimmed my face. It felt so real, even the buzz of energy I felt from his touch, a numbness easing the pain in my body. The darkness cleared with a rush of adrenaline searing in my veins. “Get the hell up, or I will tear through this place and fucking kill her! Do you understand? I will kill EVERYONE to get to you. I will spare nothing!”
“STOP!” A sharp voice boomed, forcing me to blink up into the seats, knowing it wasn’t the Legend who had ordered the cease.