“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

  Ernest Hemingway

  Bethany stared at Becka in disbelief as she stood behind Zee and Abigail beyond the fence. All thoughts of Benton and the stolen book fled her mind.

  It can’t be. She can’t be here. She can’t be alive!

  Bethany felt phantom pain in her wrist where Becka had held her down as she poured the wine into her mouth. She could hear herself begging for mercy, as Becka screamed for her to swallow.

  Drink, Bethany, drink. Just drink, damn it!

  She remembered Becka’s fingers pinching her nose shut as Daniel’s hand covered her mouth. The wine burned as it went down her throat, and with every gulp, she thought she was about to die.

  Tears formed in the corners of Bethany’s eyes as she gazed at the woman she thought was dead.

  These were not the same tears that had formed that day in the Arena. These were not the tears of the abused child who had violently vomited out the wine across the concrete floor and huddled in the corner like a scared animal.

  These tears were formed of pure, unadulterated rage.

  “Zee! Abigail! What the hell are you… Bethany, what are you doing!” Rocky said, as Bethany rushed past him, clutching her hammer so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

  “That’s right, my dear. Your hero has returned,” Zee bellowed dramatically, spreading his arms wide towards Bethany. “Rush into my loving arms and… fuck!”

  Bethany hurled her hammer straight through the chain-link fence, punching through the metal like butter as it headed straight for Becka’s face. The woman, recovering from her own shock at seeing Bethany, rolled out of the way just before it struck.

  Bethany pulled the chain that bound her hammer to her wrist, returning it to her grasp. She leapt two-thirds of the way up the fence in a single leap, and swung herself over the rest in a single, agile motion. Landing hard on the other side, she dashed straight for Becka.

  “Bethany, stop!” called Emily, as Rocky rushed over to open the gate from the guard booth. The gate creaked and groaned as it opened, agonizingly slow.

  Before Zee or Abigail could recover enough to respond to Bethany’s charge, Bethany had reached Becka. She swung her hammer vertically in both hands, straight for Becka’s head. Becka rolled again, dodging the blow, and drew her black blade, holding it out defensively.

  Bethany didn’t slow her attack. She pivoted, bringing her hammer down low and forcing Becka to block low with her blade.

  As their weapons collided, Bethany let go of her hammer, throwing Becka off balance. Becka staggered, and Bethany punched her square in her face. She heard a satisfying crush as Becka was thrown backwards, her nose broken. Blood dripped down Becka’s face as she stared up at Bethany in utter shock.

  “You… you monster!” Bethany screamed, as she leapt atop the woman, hammer forgotten. Becka let her black blade fall to the earth and held her hands over her face to protect herself. “After what you did to me, you show up in my home? You’re supposed to be dead…”

  Bethany tried to pry the woman’s hands away from her face so she could punch her again, but Becka held fast, curling into a ball so Bethany had no angle of attack.

  She drew back to strike again – she’d break Becka’s arm if she had to – only to have Zee and Abigail grab her shoulders and drag her away from the prone woman.

  “Let me go! She’s a monster,” Bethany cried, angry tears flowing down her cheeks. Lacking focus, her Flow of Eternity faded away, her abandoned hammer vanishing into the darkness. “She’s a monster…”

  Rocky and Emily arrived at her side, taking over from Zee and Abigail, who rushed over to Becka. Zee’s hands glowed healing blue as he tipped Becka’s head back to staunch her bleeding nose.

  As quickly as it came, Bethany’s anger collapsed. She burst into tears as Emily wrapped her in a tight embrace meant to be part sympathetic and part restraint.

  “It was her…,” Bethany gasped between shallow breaths. “In the Arena of Dolos. With the wine. Her and her boyfriend.”

  “Fiancé,” corrected Becka, finding an anger of her own. The word sounded nasally from her broken nose. “Daniel died in that terrible place, and I was trapped there for days in the dark, crushed by my claustrophobia, until I finally found a way out. I’ve more than paid my price for what we did to you.”

  “We all could have walked out of there together. The wine wasn’t fucking poisoned! But you decided to sacrifice me to save yourself,” Bethany spat through her tears, her anger flaring up at just the sound of Becka’s voice.

  “We didn’t know that, did we?” Becka spat back. “Daniel and I did what we thought was necessary to survive. And I’d do it again if it meant having a chance to save him. Are you telling me you haven’t been forced to do worse than that to survive this nightmare? If not, you’ve lived a pretty fucking idealistic few weeks.”

  A tense silence fell between them, as Bethany slumped into Emily’s arms and Becka leaned forward into Zee’s healing touch.

  “So… this is awkward,” Zee said boisterously, hand covered in Becka’s blood. “And here I was, thinking we’d arrived the heroes. When’d Bethany become such a firecracker?”

  “She’s a fucking nutjob,” Becka accused, eyes filled with pain.

  Anger surged in Bethany’s blood. She tried to scramble towards the woman, intent on resuming her face-breaking vengeance, but Emily tightened her grip to hold her friend back.

  “I know you’re angry, Bethany,” Emily whispered in her ear. “But calm down. Now’s not the time for this.”

  Zee’s healing snapped Becka’s nose back into place, and Becka spat out an involuntary scream of pain as it did. Bethany felt a touch of satisfaction wash over her.

  “So, who was the asshole with the gun?” Zee asked, tipping Becka’s head back as he stared down the road where Benton had fled.

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  “God damn it,” Rocky swore, his attention returned to the stolen book. He glanced over at their truck, still burning. Elias and Anjali were spraying it with fire extinguishers, trying to put out the flames before they spread to their home. Brandon stood behind the truck and was slowly pushing it away with his telekinesis. Abigail, seemingly unconcerned with Bethany and Becka’s drama, returned her blood-formed claymore to her body and strode over to join their efforts.

  “Shit,” Rocky swore again. “We need to catch him.”

  “Catch him? Whoever that was drove away in a police car, Balboa. Unless you have something faster than that, he’s long gone,” Zee countered. He glanced over at the burning truck. “I’m guessing you don’t, and neither do we. My team doesn’t drive. Vehicles attract unwanted attention.”

  “Rocky,” Emily signaled, pointing to Bethany’s stomach. “Zee’s right. Even if we take Bethany’s car, he’ll be back at police headquarters before we can catch him, surrounded by people loyal to him. People with guns. Besides, Bethany needs your healing right now.”

  Rocky knelt at Bethany’s side and pressed his hands to her stomach. Bethany breathed a sigh of relief as his magic began to flow into her.

  “You’ve had a rough day,” he said softly. “You okay?”

  “I’ll live,” Bethany said through gritted teeth. She could still feel where her knuckles had collided with Becka’s nose. It felt cathartic, but the adrenaline that had driven her for the past few minutes was starting to fade.

  Separated in the maze. Attacked by wolves. Killed by a Shadowman. Killed the Shadowman. Riddle stolen. Got shot at. And now Becka shows up? Fuck this day.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Rocky said, his voice low.

  “Obviously,” Emily said, staring at Becka with daggers in her eyes. “You say the word, Bethany, and I’ll pick up where you left off.”

  “No, look, we don’t have time for that,” Rocky said, face etched with concern. “We’ve got a much bigger problem. Benton has the riddle and our notes. By morning, he’ll have assembled his team of twelve and headed for stadium to collect the Key of Metal. In the span of three minutes, we’ve gone from having a head start to falling way behind. Our survival is slipping through our fingers. We need that key.”

  “But what we can do about it?” Bethany asked. “There are only seven of us and…”

  Bethany followed Rocky’s gaze towards Zee and Becka.

  “You can’t be serious,” Bethany protested.

  “I don’t think we have another choice,” Rocky confirmed. “Not if we want to have a shot at this. We’ve fought beside Zee and Abby before. We won the Arena of Ares with their help.”

  “We can’t fight beside the woman who did that to Bethany,” Emily hissed. “No way.”

  Bethany fought against the anger boiling in her blood.

  Can I do it – fight with her? If I can’t – and we lose this chance to secure a key – someone isn’t making it out of the God Contest alive. Whose life do I trade to preserve my hate? Rocky? Emily? Elias? The kids? My own?

  “We could ask Delorus,” suggested Emily hopefully.

  “Same problem as the riddle,” Rocky sighed. “It’s not like we can walk into the HQ and ask to see her. Benton will have us shot on sight. And, frankly, we just don’t have time.”

  ‘The Contest is not fair. It is not kind. It will stretch each of the participants until they break, and only the strongest will pull themselves back together again.’ Diana told me that, on the eve of the God Contest. What Becka did to me was horrible. It nearly broke me, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her. It’s not fair that I should be forced to fight beside her, but since when has my life ever been fair?

  “I… agree with Rocky,” Bethany said reluctantly. “We don’t have a choice. Not if we want to get everyone out of this alive.”

  “Bethany,” Emily said worriedly, bundling her friend up in a hug. “You don’t need to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. But I’m not going to guarantee I won’t break her nose again,” Bethany said without humor. “I’m not afraid of her. Not anymore. If she tries anything, I’ll shatter every bone in her body.”

  Emily she saw the determination sparkling in her friend’s hourglass eyes and gave her a supportive squeeze.

  “Even with those three and Priyanka, that’s still only eleven. We’ll need another,” Bethany reminded them.

  “We bring Jaya,” Rocky quickly concluded.

  “She’s four years old, Rocky,” Emily said, startled. “She can’t do anything.”

  “She’s just to round out the roster,” Rocky explained. “Hopefully, we can leave her and Priyanka at the entrance and make do with just the ten of us. I don’t like it either, honey, but we’re out of options.”

  Rocky lifted his hand off Bethany’s stomach to inspect his healing. Her wound was sealed again, though it was still tender to the touch.

  The glow of the burning truck had started to fade as their combined efforts extinguished the fire. Elias left the rest of the fire to Anjali and Abigail to handle and strode over to them, his face twisted with concern.

  “Then we all agree?” Rocky asked quietly before Elias arrived, and Bethany and Emily nodded. “Okay. Emily and I will tell the others about the riddle and convince them to join us. It’s crazy and dangerous, so knowing Zee, he’ll be all for it. Bethany, it’s best you and Becka aren’t in the same room for this. We’ve only got so much healing magic to go around. Get some rest.”

  Bethany wanted to argue, until Elias arrived and gently lifted her to her feet. As her fingers touched his, her heart started beating in a way that had nothing to do with evil women or stolen riddles.

  “You throw a mean punch, Bethany” Elias chuckled, glancing towards Becka. “I don’t know what that was about but remind me never to get on your bad side.”

  “Walk with me to my room?” suggested Bethany, earning an excited wink from Emily. “I’ll tell you everything on the way.”

  * * *

  “That’s… a lot to take in,” Elias finally said as they arrived outside Bethany’s bedroom door. He’d been silent the whole way as Bethany rambled on about the Arena of Dolos and the riddles. “These riddles, the keys. I wish you’d told me sooner.”

  “I… I know. It was a mistake to keep you and the others in the dark. I’m sorry. I… I’m just sorry.”” Bethany replied. Anger and shame formed a potent cocktail flowing through her blood, made all the more potent by how close Elias was standing to her. She breathed in his scent and felt her heart race.

  I don’t want him to go… and Elias’ fleeting touches aren’t helping.

  As if on cue, Elias placed a gentle hand on the small of Bethany’s back and a shiver ran up her spine.

  “She had no right to do what she did to you,” Elias assured her, a gentle fury behind his eyes. “But you survived. You’re strong, Bethany. You’re the strongest woman I have ever known.”

  “I don’t feel strong,” Bethany admitted. “I feel angry and weak, all at the same time. Powerful and powerless. I’m completely lost, yet I’ve never felt so… so alive. I’m not making any sense, am I?”

  He must think I’m so stupid. A lost little girl who can’t even control her temper.

  Elias reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers, and Bethany’s heart began betting so fast she thought it might burst from her chest.

  “You make perfect sense,” Elias whispered to her, then chuckled. “I may appear to be a perfectly composed, brilliant, incredibly handsome farmer man…”

  Bethany snorted with laughter, and Elias smiled.

  “… but inside, I feel the same conflict you do. Fear and anger constantly at war with each other, and every moment I’m here, I wonder when this Contest will finally push me off the cliff. Or when it will come for those I care about. Brandon… Harmony… you…”

  “Me?”

  “Of course you,” Elias said nonchalantly, as if the revelation hadn’t just made Bethany’s heart soar.

  An awkward silence fell between them, as Bethany stared at the floor, feeling Elias’ fingers intertwined with hers as she felt her face grow hot – though she didn’t know what heat came from her desire for Elias and how much was from her hatred of Becka.

  Do I even care where these feelings come from anymore? Hate or desire – it’s all the same. It means I’m alive, and isn’t that enough? Emily’s right. Forget taking it slow. I need to start living. And I need to burn off this anger.

  “You should get some rest,” Elias said softly, reluctantly letting go of her hand. “I’ll sleep outside your door tonight, in case that woman tries anything. When this is all over, and we have that key, we’ll go on that date and…”

  Bethany didn’t let Elias finish. Grabbing him by his collar of his shirt, she dragged him towards her and kissed him hard. It was a sloppy kiss – her inexperience on full display. For a moment, she thought she’d made a terrible mistake, until Elias, regaining his composure, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close, and returned her passionate kiss.

  When they finally came up for air, Bethany’s face was flush. She gave him what she hoped was a seductive grin and opened her door.

  “How about you protect me from inside my room,” Bethany breathed, heart pounding faster than it ever had before.

  Grabbing Elias’ hand, she led him inside and shut the door behind them.

  She had died today, but life had given her a second chance.

  And she intended to finally start living.