Twenty-six

Selene and I were led out the back of the tent into a very sandy and bloodstained fighting ring. There was an enormous crowd all around us, and everyone was yelling. The soldiers stopped walking and said, "The woman goes first." One placed a hand on my chest, attempting to hold me back. I knew that Selene could handle herself, but it was still hard to let her go into danger. Selene gave me a nod signaling that she would be okay, and began to walk into the ring. Still upset, I roughly shoved the soldier's hand off my chest, sending the surprised man stumbling back a few steps.

I sat down on a bench next to the ring and got ready to watch Selene work her magic.

A man walked into the ring, and the crowd went silent. Seeing that he had everyone's attention, he bellowed out, "Soldiers! Warriors! Today we have a treat for you. Two newcomers want to join our ranks. You all know what that means. A fight to the death!" Hearing this, the crowd went absolutely crazy. The man let everyone scream, then held up his hands for silence. Once the crowd quieted down, he continued, "Our first fight will be between the beautiful but deadly assassin who almost got to our leader and our female challenger."

As soon as he finished talking, the crowd went crazy as Selene's opponent was led into the ring. There were whistles from the crowd the whole time she walked. All the while, Selene looked like she was becoming increasingly agitated with how long everything was taking. I looked over at her opponent. While she was attractive, like the man said, I honestly didn't think she compared to Selene. Selene was on a completely different level.

I forgot that Selene could feel what I was thinking in some weird way, and she quickly turned around and gave me a wink. Annoyed that she understood my thoughts, I stared at my feet as I felt my cheeks flush.

I was saved from my embarrassment by hearing the announcer yell, "Fight!"

Looking up, I saw Selene's opponent circling her with an amused expression. Selene didn't bother to move, even when the lady was directly behind her. Standing behind Selene, her opponent faked an attack, but Selene didn't react. Shrugging to herself, the lady smiled and lunged forward, this time ready to attack.

Selene stepped to the side at the last possible moment, and the would-be assassin flew past her. As she went past, Selene extended her foot with a smirk, causing the lady to fall face-first into the sand. The crowd had been going crazy, but now the ring was completely quiet. The lady angrily got to her feet and spat sand out of her mouth. Reaching into her cloak, she produced two daggers and expertly spun them in her hands. Seeing her weapons, the crowd began to cheer. All of them seemed to be on her side. It bothered me how the lady had weapons on her. It didn't add up that a prisoner would be allowed to keep them. It seemed that a few of the guards also wanted her to win.

Again, Selene didn't react to her opponent's stalking her and only stared. The lady began to circle around Selene again, but never moved forward. Eventually, an idea seemed to hit her, and she said something that only Selene could hear. Selene didn't bother to respond, so the lady tried again. This time she said something while staring at me.

I had no idea what was said, but it was clearly the wrong move. Staring the lady right in the eyes, Selene slowly took a fighting stance. Seeing this, I let out a sigh. It was only a matter of time before Selene killed her.

Thinking she had an opening, the would-be assassin sprinted at Selene and lashed out with a dagger. Selene swung her fist, and it landed squarely on the lady's wrist, causing her to release her grip on the dagger. As soon as the dagger left her hand, Selene quickly snatched it out of the air with her free hand. Without a wasted moment, Selene quickly lodged the dagger into the hand that had just let go of it. The whole scene happened in the blink of an eye. Even the lady was trying to figure out what had happened.

The pain hit her a moment later, and she fell to her knees with a scream. To my surprise, she quickly stumbled to her feet and stared at Selene with pure hatred in her eyes. With a cry, she sprinted at Selene, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh. She was doing the same exact thing that hadn't worked before. These would be her last steps.

Exactly as I predicted, Selene had a massive smile on her face as the lady charged her with the dagger still lodged in her palm. As the lady thrust her good hand forward, Selene swung her own hand upwards, colliding with her opponent's hand. The blow's force caused the second dagger to fly out of the lady's hand and up into the sky. While everyone stared into the sky, following the dagger, I stayed focused on Selene. Still moving at blinding speed, she ripped the first dagger out of the lady's other hand and expertly thrust it into her chest.

By the time the crowd's gaze shifted back to the ring, the lady was lying face down in the sand. The place went eerily quiet as Selene made her way back to me, with a slight skip in her step. Sitting next to me, with a huge smile, she asked, "So what were you thinking about right before I started my fight?" I felt my face begin to flush again, so I deflected the question and asked, "What did she say about me to get you riled up?"

Selene quickly looked at her feet, but before I could press, multiple guards surround me, and one stated, "Your turn." With a shrug, I got to my feet and slowly walked towards the ring.