Alpha JasonI swear I’m coming. The applause had died down. The thousands of expectant eyes upon me. I glanced down at my notes; a useless formality. I had known what I was going to say for weeks, had it memorized for days.I’m coming.Deidre coughed lightly. Too much silence.“It is one of the greatest honors of my life to stand before you today as Master of Ceremony and carry out the Aperture Pack’s 67th Sacred Call.”More applause, though it was softer. Less enthusiastic. Soft chatter rippled through the crowd.“And it is now upon us to determine which of today’s competitors contains what

PerrinThe next round was Ivan and Thomas. It was brutal. And I took the extended time of the fight to study Ivan. He was an outlier. I had barely seen him train at the gym. And if he fought like he did with Peter, then it was going to be dirty. He was one challenger Mark didn’t have much to go on. Ivan was a fan of weights, but did little sparring in front of others. His bulk was proof enough of that. Perhaps he was slower than he let on?No. Not slow.Ivan and Thomas were evenly matched. Their set went for minutes, teeth and nails drawing blood and ripping uniforms. Thomas was a fighter, that much was for sure. I admired his form. His technique was something that would have made Seth proud. Ivan fought hard. He was more bulk, each punch packing more weight and force behind it th

PerrinMake him move himself? Find the balance?Ivan wasted no time. He began with a series of perrying moves that put him on the offensive to start. That was new. That was different. I could work with that.But how would Lo and I work? After all of this was over? When I was exiled and Jesamine was–I felt a crunch of my toes. Ivan had advanced so close to my body that he used his excellent footwork to cut me off. In the process he had intentionally crushed my foot. I’m sure my left foot was fractured. Shit.I backpedaled, giving myself some space. I tested my weight on my foot. Yes, definitely fractured. But I could fight through the pain. But could Lo? Living without me? She probably thought that–

PerrinThe virgin arena lay disturbed with pockets of rain and puddles. I walked slowly, the sheets of rain thick around me and wrapping me in the silence of my thoughts, forming a barrier to the screaming chants around me.The covered podium from the beginning now had canvas sides strapped down to protect it from the rain.. I couldn’t look at them, but I was aware that Mark, my father, and Deidre had taken their places.She was there, a blurred outline through the blurring wind. I could sense the chill in the air, the rain frigid and hard. But I felt nothing on my bare chest. I was impervious to all of it.I heard the blare of the speakers, but it was muddled in the rising storm. I knew what Mark had said anyway. We were taking our places. And so I advanced, my once-light feet now drag

PerrinThe car ride was quiet. No music came from the stereo; the only beats in the car were my heart against my rib cage. No more explanation from Seth. What more was there to say? It was past midnight. Jesamine had not emerged. And I was headed to the temple.Something had gone very, very wrong.**“What did he tell you?”“Not much,” Seth said, eyes on the road.“What happened?”“I don’t know.”**