Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
The raven returns for a second pass at me, but this time, I swipe my knife at it, striking its beak so hard pain shoots up my forearm. It squawks in protest, flying back upward.
“So no one’s here to save me, but the birds are here to save you?” I ask lightly.
“You got help from vines last time. I didn’t see that coming. Who are you related to from the original twenty-six?”
I give her a blank look and say, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Cut her fucking head off!” a woman belts out.
“For now, she’s going back to confinement.” There’s a rumble of disagreement, and Virginia scans the faces of everyone gathered. “She’ll die soon. Just not yet.”
My head spins with sickness at the idea of being used as bait for Marcus. I can’t let him walk into their trap, even though he’d be doing it willingly.
An idea bursts out of me before I have time to even think about it. “Let’s settle it in the circle.”
The murmurs quiet, a second of silence passing before Virginia says, “What?”
I keep my chin raised, not letting her see how nervous I am. “You and me. In the circle. No weapons, no ravens, no vines. Just the two of us. The victor walks away.”
Virginia’s eyes light with something, but she doesn’t respond.
Pax shakes his head. “There’s nothing to be gained from that. We’re waiting for Marcus.”
“Are you scared?” I ask Virginia, taunting her.
She laughs bitterly. “Hardly. But Pax is right. I want Marcus to watch you die.”
I lower my brows and raise my voice. “I didn’t think refusing a call to the circle was allowed here.”
A vein pops out in Virginia’s forehead as she yells, “I can do whatever I want!”
Judgmental hums and whispers race through the bystanders lining the path. This might not have been my wisest idea ever, but it’s putting her on the spot in front of everyone.
By refusing me, she’s saying she’s above the rules here. By accepting, she can’t dump me back in the hole in the ground.
“The circle is sacred,” a man says, every one of the rib bones in his shrunken frame outlined.
Liquid fire pools in Virginia’s eyes as she hisses, “Fine. We’ll settle it in the circle. And it won’t be quick or merciful.”
I dip my chin. “I’ll make it quick and merciful, because I’m not a savage who feeds on the pain of others.”
She flashes a nasty grin. “Only the strong survive here. If that makes us savages, then we’re proud to be savages.”
Several people holler out their agreement, pumping their fists in the air.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.” I look around at their angry sneers. “You don’t have to starve and train yourselves into the ground. We have something better at our camp.”
“You think you’re better than us, bitch?” Marcelle glowers at me, her arms folded as she stands in one of the groups of people.
The rumble of discontent is louder now, most of the onlookers giving me disgusted glares.
“No! That’s not what I’m saying.”
Pax hooks my elbow. “Let’s go before you get yourself killed.”
He walks me down the path, deeper into the camp. When we reach their training area, he sits down on one side of a wooden table with built-in seats, gesturing for me to take the other side.
“What are you doing?” he whispers, his brow furrowed. “She’ll make you suffer just to prove a point.”
Conflicting emotions swim around in my head. I trusted Pax. I liked him. The aromium skewed my feelings for him, but there’s a part of the real me that still can’t bring myself to hate him.
I don’t trust him, though. My lips pressed into a thin line, I look away, refusing to answer him.
“Briar,” he says softly.
There’s a tug inside me, but I ignore it, shaking my head.
He’s not evil like Virginia, but there are two sides on this island, and he’s on the wrong one.
Hopefully McClain has the flowers now. Even if I don’t make it out of the circle, there’s hope of ending the games being played with people’s lives here.
48
Plants have their own form of chemical warfare called allelopathy, where they release chemicals that inhibit the growth of nearby plants competing for resources. They can even release chemicals that make herbivores less likely to graze by affecting their nervous systems.
- Excerpt from a lecture given by Dr. Lucinda Hollis in her Plant Evolution course
“Don’t do this.” Pax’s tone is pleading, his gaze jumping from me to Virginia and then back to me again. “If you two could just get past your anger, you’d see how alike you are. This island needs both of you.”
It’s midafternoon, the burning torches placed around the circle flickering even though we don’t need their light. Dark eye sockets in the hundreds of skulls that line the space stare out at us vacantly.