Chapter 76
Chapter 76: She’s unpredictable
Viola looked at the she-wolf without a word. She wasn’t a coward and never had been.
Anyway, even though she was afraid, she had nothing to lose here but her life. And some things had taught Viola, the hard way, that her life held no value, that it meant nothing. If she backed out at this very moment because of fear, she would have absolutely nothing left to live for, nothing to look forward to, and nothing but endless regret and loneliness. Even the two friends she now had would no longer be in her life. She would be banished and sent away.
She had already sworn to herself that she would die trying to make amends to Ivy, and she wasn’t about to chicken out because of something called fear. Fear had been the main reason she had betrayed her twin once before, and it would not be the same reason that stopped her from making things right now.
She had signed a contract to leave if she failed; forfeiting would be another form of failure. Viola had made good friends she didn’t want to be forced to turn away from because she failed, friends who cared for her, and who she knew would also care for her twin once she brought her here.
This was for Ivy. And with that thought, Viola hardened her heart, shoved her fears to the back of her mind, and walked past Emilia, following the guard.
They went through the same path as the first round that led to the arena.
When Viola’s name was announced to the public and her profile picture appeared on the screen, the audience immediately erupted into chatter. They had assumed she would forfeit, just like Emilia. What did she think she was doing, stepping into the arena to fight black howlers?
“Is she crazy?”
“Just because she passed the first round doesn’t mean she can survive this one. Can someone save this suicidal girl from herself and get her off the arena?!”
“I really liked her after the first round, but I can’t help thinking she lacks sense and common brain to think. Someone save her and talk some sense into her empty brains. I really don’t want her dying.” said and elderly shewolf.
“Well, if she wants to die, let her. We’ll watch her get chewed up and swallowed by the black howlers. This is going to be fun,” Laila’s supporters said, looking forward to seeing her eaten alive, convinced she didn’t know what was good for her at all. Instead of following in Emilia’s footsteps and backing out to save herself from unnecessary death, she wanted to play a senseless heroine in the story. She must think she was the female lead of some game, who got lucky and won, how delusional could one get?
Unlike the first round, the arena had been transformed into a normal arena with sandy grounds, without burning buildings, fire, or arrows.
The sun blazed down from above, its heat burning the top of her head and causing her to squint her eyes to see ahead. When the lift carrying the next set of black howlers began to rise from the ground, Viola tightened her grip on her dagger at her waist and took a deep breath.
Viola watched as the large cages were lifted onto the arena, the snarling of the wolves sending cold shivers down her spine.
When the cages began to open, she swallowed hard and started calculating her plans in her head, counting down from ten.
Don’t be a coward, Serena. You can do this. You have to fight and show them you’re not weak, that you can take on any challenge and set things right again in your life. Don’t be a coward.
She chanted the words to herself repeatedly, even as anxiety crawled beneath her skin, tightening with every breath.
“Seb, she can’t make it through this round. The black howlers will eat her alive,” Matt muttered, shaking his head in pity. She should have just forfeited this round. “She’s—”
“Shut up, Matt, and just watch. She might be small, but you’ll be stunned by what she can do,” Sebastian interrupted, without even thinking about his own words or the effect they had on Matt and Zoe, who heard him and turned to look at him with slack jaws. Since when did he believe Viola was anything but a helpless weakling, someone he constantly judged and insulted?
They thought, but none of them said anything. There was no time for talk with what was unfolding below in the arena.
Sebastian was watching so intensely that he didn’t even blink. Zoe doubted he would respond to any of her words even if she spoke to him again.
Since when did he start caring enough about her Vee to look this invested? Zoe thought, her lips pouting slightly in suspicion as it was so unlike her brother to care of someone he showed dislike towards. She decided to investigate that later, when she wasn’t busy worrying about her friend fighting those beasts.
Sebastian, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the girl in the arena. He didn’t know how she planned to fight this and couldn’t stop the sting of worry in his chest, which he carefully hid, refusing to let it show on his face, especially not where someone might notice and read too much into it. Someone like his sister.
He kept his expression blank, his eyes fixed solely on her, until the moment the cage reached the arena floor and began to open. However, Viola did something completely unexpected, causing the entire audience to burst into laughter, as if they were watching a comedy show rather than a high-tension, life-threatening situation.
“What the hell is she doing? Why is she running away?” Matt questioned again. Because Sebastian was also wondering the same thing, he couldn’t bark at Matt to shut up.
Matt had always been the kind of man who talked even while watching a movie, or anything engaging on a screen. Even when the answer was plain and clear right in front of him, he would still ask Sebastian, who often wasn’t even watching with him, what a character was thinking or what they were doing, as if they were experiencing it together.
He was a very impatient man, the kind of person you shouldn’t sit next to while watching anything on a screen, unless you were ready to answer questions nonstop.
However, for the first time, Sebastian was also thinking that. What was she doing? He wondered, as he watched her begin to run away from the cage with all her might before it finished opening, rather than fight the wolves. Why was she running away?
He didn’t think she was the kind to cowardly run from something, so he had a feeling she was up to something, something that soon became clear when she reached the end of the arena walls and began to climb them just as the trumpet was blown for the wolves to attack.
She had already put so much distance between herself and the black howlers that by the time they reached halfway across the arena toward the walls, Viola had almost climbed to the top. She moved with speed and precision, like a skilful monkey crawling up a tree, her body agile and determined as she ascended.
The walls had a smooth surface and weren’t something one could normally climb, but Sebastian watched her stab her dagger into a soft surface between the brickwork and use it to lift herself onto the wall, finally standing at the top.
“What is she really doing?” Matt asked again, rather than watching silently. “Oh no, she’s going—”
“Matt, shut the fuck up,” Sebastian barked.
Matt, completely unaware of himself for asking questions repeatedly, quickly bit down on his lips. “She’s unpredictable, I can’t help it,” he admitted. “But really, what is she doing?”
Sebastian ignored his friend and instead narrowed his eyes on the girl, who had unhooked her bow from her waist, grabbed two arrows from her quiver, fit them onto the bow, and raised it toward the black howlers running at full speed toward the walls, targeting the creatures.