Page 38 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

He came at her again, and this time she attempted to fight back. But her fists shook and she was knocked off her feet. Robert twisted her to the ground, straddled her stomach, and started to pummel his fists into her chest and face. Freta lifted her arms, protecting her face.

Someone among the older students stood up. “What a disgrace to the Alegro name!”

“Disgrace!” another student cried.

“Dis-grace! Dis-grace!” the chant started, each syllable punctuated by a blow to her face. I clenched my hands into fists as Penry shrank into her seat, covering her eyes as she whimpered.

I jumped to my feet, half intending to race down the steps and intervene myself when Lotmas declared Robert the winner. Three new pairs of students were called forward as Freta was carted away on a stretcher. The crush of bodies was so close that I couldn’t see what state she was in. I took a step to go after her, but Penry grabbed my wrist.

“You haven’t been dismissed. If you try to leave, you’ll be branded a coward.” She pulled me back down.

Given this school, I wouldn’t put it past them to make that ‘branding’ literal. I turned my attention back to the fighting, my jaw tight. The six dueling students were brutal with each other. One of them ended with a dislocated shoulder, another unconscious, and the third loser got stabbed four times in the chest and stomach, and was forced to drink a healing potion right in the ring.

As the floor grew red with blood, the crowd got rowdier. The upper-level students catcalled and mocked while the bully group grew more and more excited. They shouted out insults to the outcasts, who were all beaten terribly.

I caught Seb looking at me again and tried to ignore it. But I had the most awful feeling as more fights went by. Penry was called, but none of the bullies were … and I wasn’t, either. Was Lotmas planning something big for us?

Finally, Gareth and Red were both called. To my surprise, they were put in a ring together. Red seemed caught off guard by the arrangement, but Gareth only smiled as he rolled his shoulders.

“Sorry, little buddy. But you know how this is,” Gareth said, then attacked.

I clutched the edge of my seat, my knuckles aching. The two of them clashed as though they were trying to kill each other. Though Red was quick and brutal, it quickly became apparent he was no match for Gareth. During class, both of them were always paired with people who were clearly inferior. But against each other…

Red slammed into Gareth, grappling with him. He got an arm around Gareth’s neck, but Gareth flipped him over his shoulder. Red howled, flipping back to his feet. He panted hard, lips pulled back over his teeth. The other two fights ended with both the losers being taken away on stretchers as the two circled each other.

The crowd was even more fired up than ever. Savannah and Flora were both on their feet, alternating between cheering on Gareth and Red. Even Jasper showed emotion, leaning forward in his seat and tapping one foot rapidly. Seb rubbed the back of his neck, surprisingly not joining in with the shouting.

Red went for Gareth again. They traded a few blows before Gareth knocked Red’s feet out from under him. He crashed to the ground with Gareth twisting after him. He pinned Red down, drew a knife, and slashed across his throat.

Savannah let out a whoop. I held my breath to stop from gasping. His own friend? Blood flowed freely as the barrier dropped. The nurses rushed in, and while they poured healing potions on the ugly gash and down Red’s throat, Lotmas lifted Gareth’s hand in the air. Gareth let out a triumphant laugh.

He took his seat among the other victors, looking pleased with himself. The nurses continued to work on Red. Eventually, they moved him to a stretcher and carried him out. One of his hands was still moving, lifting repeatedly into the air.

Nobody scolded Gareth for cutting Red’s throat. Did that mean he was going to survive? When I searched Gareth’s face, I saw no remorse.

Seb and Jasper were called to duel next. Both of them seemed more tense than usual as they headed to the ring. As they faced off, the way they moved was far different from that day when I found them sparring in the pavilion. Then, they moved as though they were dancing, graceful and in sync. Now, as Jasper made the first blow, hitting Seb square in the face, it was sheer force.

My hands tightened on the seat. The roar of the crowd seemed like nothing more than a buzzing in my ears as everything narrowed in on those two. For as brutal as Gareth was against Red, I was not expecting the power of these two. They bobbed and weaved, but neither dodged every blow. Blood soon smeared their faces and noses broke and teeth went missing.

Jasper stomped on Seb’s toes and attempted to knock his feet out from beneath him. Seb caught an arm around Jasper’s neck and they went down together, grappling with each other. They both wrapped their hands around the other’s throats and squeezed. Their faces went red and my stomach knotted, my throat going dry.

I leaned forward, my gaze flickering briefly to the teachers. Weren’t they going to stop this? They were going to strangle each other to death! Or was this expected, since they were from rival houses?

Both of them collapsed at the same time. The barrier disappeared and the nurses rushed in, but it was Lotmas and Thatcher who had to yank the rigid fingers off Jasper and Seb’s throats. Even unconscious, they were still choking each other out. The nurses worked on them frantically. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding against my ribs, my lungs struggling to inflate. How would the high fae punish them if they couldn’t save the two heirs?

Or rather, one heir. Jasper had been disowned, after all.

The cheering in the stands turned to muttering. Savannah and Flora both raced down to the fighting floor, and even Gareth got to his feet, looking concerned. But when first Seb, then Jasper, took a big, visible breath, the tension eased considerably. They were carried out in stretchers, too, and this time half the nurses went with them.

Well. It sucked for those of us left behind. I leaned back on my seat, letting out a shaky breath. It was a good thing Jasper and Seb hadn’t killed each other. I hated to think of how the rest of the Academy would end up punished if that had happened.

Lotmas lifted his hands to quiet the room. “This duel is a draw. Lords Seb and Jasper will have another duel when they have been healed. We shall continue the duels. Lady Flora. Lady Savannah. Miss Penry. Miss Ivana. Miss Laura. Miss Azriel.”

An all-girls fight, huh? We hadn’t had one of those. I glanced over at Penry and tried to give her an encouraging smile, but she didn’t seem to be fully aware of her surroundings. We went down to the fighting rings, where I was paired with Flora. She grinned, excited to be fighting me.

I was already on edge, my muscles sore from all tension I’d been holding. Now, I just wanted this fight over already. I drew my knife, adjusting my hold on it as I took up my proper fighting stance. Freta smirked at my knife, looking confident. She drew one herself and came at me.

What she didn’t know was that I had planned ahead. I coated my knife with a potion that had a numbing agent in it. So when she aimed for my chest, I aimed for her arm. I made a small cut as I twisted away from her blow. She followed up with a kick to my hip, and I twisted to the floor as my leg gave out, but I lashed out and sliced thinly across her ankle.