Watching the man's back disappear, Kalani's eyes darted back to Sofia.
He observed her eyes narrow into a squint— a clear sign of impatience, but instead of frowning, she smiled like a hunter who had found his prey.
The boy only let his gaze stay on her for a few seconds before the approaching clacks of heels drew his attention.
"Miss Sofia, we need to bring all participants back to the arena," the cloaked lady uttered, her voice devoid of emotion. Kalani was unable to see her face as a blank white mask covered everything except her eyes, which were a unique tint of purple.
Sofia waved her hand lazily in confirmation, not even bothering to look at the lady in the room. The woman took out a black cloth and clamped it over Kalani's nose.
A single waft of the sickly sweet fragrance was enough for the boy to slump to the ground. The cloaked lady then slung him over her shoulder and stepped out of the room. After checking both ways of the hallway, she turned left, away from the ballroom.
Though unknown to the lady, her movements were monitored by a bald aristocrat in the ballroom; however, he did not follow— only watched.
...
In another room in the manor, a young girl clung to a woman's peach-colored skirt while a group of children stared curiously at the scene.
On the other hand, the woman, who was the caretaker, was attempting to calm the crying ten-year-old boy next to her.
"SHE HIT ME!" the boy complained as he pointed fingers at the young girl. When the the woman glanced over, the girl shook her head with tears brimming in her cyan eyes. The woman let out a sigh.
"Calm down, child... She will apologize to you later," the woman cooed, pulling the boy into her arms before lifting him up. While appeasing the boy, the woman didn't notice the girl had lowered her head sadly.
She had only been stepping in when the boy snatched a toy from another kid, and she accidentally pushed the bully. Was her sense of justice wrong?
After she was scolded, the kid, who was the boy being bullied, approached her quietly.
"I'm sorry..." he mumbled.
Wiping away her tears, the girl crossed her arms before she replied, "You should say sorry to yourself; you let yourself be bullied."
To that, the boy bent his head down even further guiltily.
"I can-n't... My father told me I can't offend him." When she tilted her head in confusion, the boy further explained, "My family serves his family as a knight..." They both stayed silent, and the boy gripped his shirt, crumpling it.
"What is your name?" she then asked abruptly. Her solemn gaze triggering a response from him.
"Ansel—" he spoke his first name before she pointed her small finger in his direction.
"I won't let you be bullied any longer. I will ask my dad to bring you back home with me!" she blurted out and hastened toward the room's exit, leaving the boy stunned.
Yet before she could leave, a hand reached out and grabbed her.
"Miss Adelaide!" the caretaker uttered in exasperation, "you are not allowed to leave this room!"
"But—"
"No 'buts' young lady!" the caretaker scolded. Adelaide pouted. This was the second time she was being scolded!
The boy gazed at the girl's short figure with a twinkle in his eyes.
'Adelaide... what a pretty name...'
...
Once Kalani stepped into the brightly lit arena, his emerald eyes roved over his surroundings: weapons, usually hanged on the walls, were now randomly stuffed into a disorderly array of wooden barrels. But thankfully, crates of healing potions were placed near the entrance, making it easier to access without having to collect them.
As more slaves entered the arena, the wall opposite of theirs cracked and crumbled to reveal thick iron bars. Everyone, including the spectators, felt their hairs stand up when they realized enormous black wolves, at least double the size of an average wolf, pacing behind the cage.
Low growls reverberated across the arena.
"Arkasten wolves from the Blacklands! Ferocious aren't they?" Spencer's playful voice came over the announcement. "Welcome to team matches, folks!"
Then Natalie's voice proceeded with, "Contestants, you have five minutes to prepare." Many slaves were frozen with utter fear as they stared at the wolves.
Kalani then heard Lucas shout above the murmurs calmly, "Anyone who is new to this, get behind the group! Everyone else, follow me and distribute the weapons. Don't panic!" His words reassured the group as they finally found a leader to depend on.
At the moment, Kalani was rummaging through a fallen barrel, but he couldn't find any suitable daggers.
He scratched his neck in frustration before picking a short, silver sword, 'I guess I'll have to make do with this...'
As he thought, a hand firmly clamped down on his shoulder, and instinctively, Kalani attempted to punch the person since stealing another's weapons was possible. However, to his annoyance, it was Lucas.
"Nice reflexes," Lucas said in approval as he blocked Kalani's left fist with one hand. But he didn't expect Kalani to drop his weapon and try socking him with his right hand.
"Hold up!" Lucas cried out in shock as he barely avoided the punch to the gut. Then a clatter interrupted their fight, making both of them look at their feet. A pair of raven daggers had fallen to the ground, separating the two.
"Sorry, it's my fault! Take the daggers as my apology..." Lucas hastily took the chance to repent, but the guy's cheeky grin didn't match his plea.
As if aware of Kalani's thoughts to beat him, Lucas followed up with flattery, "And you look really handsome!"
"Yeah, compared to your ugly mug, much better," a wolf-eared boy interjected with a loud guffaw. Lucas looked daggers at the boy.
"Screw you Sam! I can also be considered attractive if I wash myself," Lucas retorted. As Kalani listened, he unconsciously curled up his lips slightly in amusement.
Sam stuck out his tongue, making all sorts of childish gestures at Lucas. Their conversation eased the tension among the group.
"One minute remaining!" the timely announcement then unraveled the relaxed atmosphere that Lucas had created.
Being reminded, Kalani knitted his brows until Lucas hooked an arm around Kalani's neck, "You and I— let's show them what we've got."
"10..."
"9..." Lucas patted Kalani's shoulder.
"8..."
"7..." Jogging forward, Lucas made his way toward the front lines.
"6..." Gripping the daggers, Kalani eyed their gleaming blades, letting the cool handles warm up to him.
"5..." More encouragements floated around, Lucas's words— calming yet fiery.
"4..."
"3..." Side by side, their eyes, one emerald and the other a dark chestnut, shared a look of tacit trust.
"2..." Lucas flashed a silly yet reassuring grin, only Kalani noticed his grip tightening around the sword.
"1..." Everyone tentatively sucked in their breaths.
"LET THE ROUND BEGIN!" the booming voice was timed with the drop of the bars.
Like lightning, the drooling wolves dashed toward the group. Kalani took off to the left while Lucas went right.
However, unlike the contestants, the spectators observed something else lurking inside the shadows of the cage; it appeared to be watching the fight closely, but the figure was too blurry to make out.
As Kalani advanced forward, an approaching wolf pounced on him, yet when it seemed to bite down on its prey, the boy avoided the attack with shocking agility and swiftly slashed its throat.
Kalani frowned when he perceived the dagger didn't go deep enough. He lost his chance to kill the wolf easily as others joined the now enraged wolf in attacking him.
With muscles stretched taut, Kalani danced with the wolves, increasing the number of wounds on their bodies while dodging the strikes. After the injured wolf missed another attack, Kalani saw an opportunity and seized it.
He plunged one of his daggers into the open wound on its neck again and twisted it until he finally struck a vital artery— killing it instantly.
Using its lifeless body, the boy pushed it toward the other wolves and used it as a temporary shield, reaping two more lives in the process. The wolves surrounding him grew wary, not attacking recklessly but watching him for any vulnerable spots.
Using the opportunity to breathe, Kalani spotted Lucas in the distance cleave large gashes on several circling wolves while trying to protect an injured teammate and the snake girl. Yet, Lucas could only do so much as a wolf managed to sneak up from behind.
An urge to warn them passed through Kalani's mind when, unexpectedly, the snake girl wrapped her tail around the wolf's snout and clamped its gaping mouth shut. Her actions bought Lucas enough time to kill the threat, and they arrived safely at the defensive formation around the crates.
Kalani's words got stuck in his throat. Then Lucas appeared to feel his stare as he turned around.
That face, an irritating familiarity, was calm and focused at the moment, but Kalani sensed a sudden change: panic flared in Lucas's eyes.
"RUN!" Lucas shouted.
Kalani immediately sprinted away from his position without looking back. Only when he had taken a few strides away from his original position did he keenly feel the claws of death pass by him. Even then, although he had evaded whatever had attacked him, he could still feel his body instinctively quivering in fear from whatever was behind him.
Understanding that he couldn't run fast enough to safety, Kalani calmly thought through his options and chose to fight. Gritting his teeth, he faced the enemy.
Surprised that the boy had dodged its fatal ambush, the alpha wolf eyed Kalani warily. This prey was a threat.
Upon decision, the alpha howled loudly. Like a signal, the wolves flew into a frenzy and rushed toward the group's formation, regardless of any wounds inflicted on them.
Even though Kalani didn't turn around, the terror-filled screams were enough to give him a picture of what was happening behind him. He clenched his daggers as he maintained eye contact with the huge beast in front of him.
Both stayed frozen, waiting for the other to slip up. Then Kalani felt his body become as heavy as lead, 'Shit, move!'
However, as if knowing that would happen, the alpha wolf lunged at him. Time appeared to slow down as Kalani watched the wolf's open jaws come ever closer toward his body.
He could hear in his mind a familiar voice urging him to sidestep, but another told him, 'Give up; rest your eyes. You have done enough...'
Feeling the rush of putrid air coming from the wolf's mouth, Kalani shut his eyes slowly, accepting his fate. Yet as he had given up, a hazy memory of a boy's smiling face flashed by in his mind. That something cracked his usually placid demeanor as his eyes snapped open abruptly with intense bloodlust.
Thinking that this was over, the alpha contemplated on who to kill next, but as it thought, a feeling of alarm brought its attention back to its prey.
The originally lifeless prey was staring at it; however, mixed inside those striking emerald eyes, a black hole in his pupils seemed to awaken and permeated his irises, erasing the green color and replacing it with a deep murky hue. Those eyes radiated such anger, sadness, and deep resentment that it sucked the wolf's attention completely. Transfixed, it didn't even notice that Kalani had evaded its attack until excruciating pain awoke it from its reverie.
The alpha wolf howled in pain and backed off as a dagger protruded out of one of its eyes.
Swaying unsteadily, the boy took labored breaths and closed his throbbing eyes. His escape could only be called miraculous, yet all Kalani could think about was the dark spots in his vision paired with a splitting headache.
...
In a VIP room above the stadium, Sofia shot up from her seat as she scrutinized Kalani's face with a hand-held telescope.
"Is his pupils black?" she finally muttered. Once she sat down, she motioned to a butler and whispered something into his ear. After which, the butler hastened away.
Leaning her cheek against her fair hand, the lady gazed at the boy's unsteady figure with her long eyelashes covering the emotions passing through her eyes.
However, her strange movement didn't go unnoticed; others also perceived the anomaly and secretly ordered for a detailed report on the situation.
...
The nearby wolves who heard the anguish in the alpha's yowl were perplexed as they looked back at their leader fumbling on the ground before the clearly fatigued boy.
The strongest warrior struggling on the ground... wounded- seeing such a scene had made the initially fervent wolves a bit uncertain on whether to continue attacking.
Seeing a chance, the group used the wolves' momentary confusion to strike back. As several more wolves were slain in quick succession, the frantic wolves decided to retreat and attempted to break out of the encirclement of children; however, it was too late. Under Lucas's precise commands, the tide began to finally turn in the group's favor.
The injured alpha wolf managed to regain its awareness of the situation, but the damage had already been done. Enraged to the point of insanity, the wolf determined to kill that boy no matter the costs.
One parry after another, Kalani couldn't help but feel his body wearing out quickly. Moreover, he was already tired to begin with.
The wounds on his body gradually grew deeper and bloodier until the wolf finally managed to snag his weapon and threw it far away.
Watching the beast approach him, Kalani slumped to the ground and sighed wearily as he glanced at his bleeding hands. "I'm sorry Dad, Mom, Whistle...I've let you down," he murmured as his eyelids gradually closed.
"Howllll!" Kalani then heard a sharp cry erupt from the alpha wolf, but because he was slipping unconscious, he couldn't open his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mute; rest well, I'll take care of this." Kalani faintly heard a familiar voice address him before he completely blacked out.
...